Between his two operations this season - Baramul Stud in New South Wales and Westbury Stud in New Zealand - Harvey has bred 14 stakes winners, which places him second behind global powerhouse Godolphin Australia - who have bred 27 - and just ahead of Bob Peters on 13.

The 2021/22 roll of honour includes some of the headline horses in Australia at the moment, including Swiss Exile (Pariah), winner of the G2 Spirit Of Boom Classic and Stroll (Snitzel), who won Saturday’s Listed Bill Carter S. as well as G1 South Australian Derby winner and Hong Kong-bound star Jungle Magnate (NZ) (Tarzino {NZ}).

Gallery: Some of the headline stakes winners bred by Gerry Harvey in the 2021/22 season

Harvey’s Racing and Bloodstock Manager Luke McDonald told TDN AusNZ it has been a satisfying few months and said it was just reward for Harvey’s huge investment in the industry.

“It has been a brilliant year for us in terms of winners we have bred and sold. Gerry has just produced stakes winner after stakes winner,” said McDonald. “It is great to see the brand in the winner’s picture and it is so well deserved because he has put so much into the industry and he is getting the results now, which is what it is all about.”

Dominant season

Stroll was purchased by Jamie Walter’s Proven Thoroughbreds and her trainers Steve O'Dea and Matthew Hoysted Racing for $450,000 from the Baramul Stud draft at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale, but her victory in the Listed Bill Carter S. at Eagle Farm was one strand of Harvey's success story over the weekend.

Another brilliant result came when Baller (High Chaparral {Ire}), who was also sold by Baramul - for $160,000 to Anthony Cummings at the Gold Coast Yearling Sale in 2017, landed the G2 Moreton Cup.

Meanwhile, Harvey’s Westbury Stud arm also bred and sold Sharp ‘N’ Smart (NZ) (Redwood {GB}), who was narrowly denied victory in the Listed The Phoenix and looks a huge chance in Saturday’s G1 JJ Atkins S.

“On Saturday, we had one of the best weekends we’ve ever had. We produced Stroll and Sharp ‘N’ Smart, who we have big shares in - so that is rewarding to see them run well. Despite not winning, Sharp ‘N’ Smart will now head to the JJ Atkins as one of the favourites and I daresay he will be close to winning.

“We also had Baller on Saturday who we also sold and retained a share in. We are just having a really dominant season and we are extremely proud of what the Gerry Harvey broodmare band can produce and we are looking to go on to bigger and better things in the future.”

McDonald said the success of the juveniles off the farm this season has been hugely satisfying, especially given the competitive nature of this side of the market in Australia.

“In the past Gerry hasn’t always been known to breed a lot of 2-year-olds, but this year we have gone from strength to strength with the juveniles. We are trying to mate the most commercial horses for the Australian market, who obviously love that precocious, sharp speed.”

The headline act

Perhaps the most exciting of the Harvey graduates for the 2021 Sale season is Best Of Bordeaux (Snitzel), whose exploits on the racetrack in winning the G3 Canonbury S. and G2 Silver Slipper S. has earned him a place on the Coolmore Stud roster at the end of his racing career.

Despite being narrowly denied the perfect end to his 2-year-old season when finishing second behind Fireburn (Rebel Dane) in the G1 Golden Slipper S., McDonald is confident he will prove to be a high-class 3-year-old next season.

The son of Snitzel was purchased by his trainer Kacy Fogden for $425,000 from the Baramul Stud draft at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale in 2021, with Harvey retaining a share in the colt.

“The most satisfying result this year has probably been Best Of Bordeaux, who was second in a Golden Slipper and will obviously stand at Coolmore at the end of his racing career and we will be supporting him heavily. We have retained our share in the horse and we are really excited to see what he can go on to achieve as a 3-year-old.

“He is so precocious and has this beautiful family and it will keep improving. I hope he will be aiming at the Golden Rose and if he wins that he will have a high price for his first year at stud.

“Gerry is a big believer in his broodmare band and you can never have too much of a good thing these days. We keep reinvesting into these beautiful families and there is no surprise to them getting the best results on the racetrack. It is great to see for the whole team - it's fantastic.”

Tarzino: a star ascending

While this season has been fruitful on the track for Harvey as a breeder, the emergence of Westbury Stud stallion Tarzino (NZ) will undoubtedly steal the headlines when one looks back on the season.

The team at Westbury's faith in the son of Tavistock’s (NZ) talents as a stallion were rewarded once again on Saturday, when he was represented by his second Group 1 winner of the season when Gypsy Goddess (NZ) produce an impressive display to win the G1 Queensland Oaks.

Tarzino - whose first Group 1 winner Jungle Magnate was bred and raised at Westbury and fittingly he was co-owned by Harvey and trained by Mick Price and Michael Kent Jnr, with the former having trained the stallion to his pair of Group 1 wins. The gelding will continue his career in Hong Kong, with connections having sold him after last month’s Group 1 victory.

While some may be surprised by Tarzino’s continued success, McDonald said he always believed the stallion had the potential to make it in the breeding barn.

“We always believed in the stallion and that is why Gerry sends a huge number of mares to him each year. I reckon we have averaged around 50 mares to him each season, so he alone has definitely added to the horse's numbers and helped him have the runners each year which is what a stallion needs.

“We bred Jungle Magnate, so that is very pleasing as well and we are extremely proud of the sire. For him to produce two Group 1 winners in his first crop puts him in high regard to everyone in the industry and places him up there with some of the best stallions in Australasia.

“Hopefully he can continue his success and I know that he has plenty of horses that people really think are Saturday and above class, so that is obviously very exciting. Mick Price has a number of Tarzinos in his stable that he thinks the world of, so the future certainly looks bright for the stallion.”

Best value stallion

Despite looking like he has the the world at his feet, Tarzino will stand the 2022 season for an ultra competitive fee of NZ$15,000 plus GST and McDonald believes this figure makes him one of the best value stallions not just in his native New Zealand, but in the whole of the Southern Hemisphere

“I think you have to give back to the breeders. We set him reasonably early at NZ$15,000 and he was very popular. He was always going to fill up regardless of whether he got these Group 1 winners or not and I think on that fee he has to be one of the best-priced stallions in the Southern Hemisphere at the moment.

“We now have Australians sending mares to New Zealand to be covered by Tarzino and that speaks volumes and tells you that he is just so well priced within the industry. The great thing about the stallion is that he gets a great type and he ticks every box that every breeder is looking for. If the fee was increased significantly, I’m pretty sure he would still sell. There are a lot of people out there who just want to send them mares.

“He has bred that nice Classic horse and staying horse, but his progeny are also showing speed over the shorter trips and his sire Tavistock did the same and that is a sign of a good stallion. We are very lucky to be standing him at Westbury with Russell (Warwick, general manager) and the team, it’s looking good for the stallion, that’s for sure.”

This season’s success is testament to Harvey's continued commitment to the industry and McDonald said his boss' passion and thirst for racing and breeding is still as strong as ever.

“He is the most hands-on person I know, which is great to see,” said McDonald. “You could so easily sit back and watch everything unfold, but he gets out there and is involved in every aspect of the business including the matings and the sales. The most amazing thing about Gerry is the passion and love he has for every aspect of the game. I wouldn’t want it any other way and it is good for the morale and everyone that works for him.

“I think he gets so much enjoyment watching the horses we have sold and bred win, even if we haven’t got anything to do with them anymore.

"He checks up on the results everyday and that is what he enjoys the most, watching the family upgrade because he has retained these families for a long period of time and when good horses like Stroll, Swiss Exile or Sharp ‘N’ Smart come along and upgrade those pedigrees, it is so rewarding for him and the business as a whole.”

Cover image courtesy of Scoop Dyga

In Europe, Churchill’s oldest crop are 3-year-olds and Vadeni is one of five stakes winners for the son of Galileo (Ire). In Australia, Churchill has sired two winners and he will return to the Hunter Valley in 2022 and his fee has been set at $22,000 (inc GST) for the second consecutive year.

The winner of a Listed race as a 2-year-old, Vadeni finished fifth at Group 3 level on his first start as a 3-year-old, but managed to get his career back on track when he landed the G3 Prix de Guiche on May 10.

Ridden by Christophe Soumillon, the colt never looked in any danger and smoothly pulled clear of his rivals, eventually beating the Australian-owned El Bodegon (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}) by 5l, which instantly propelled Vadeni into second favouritism behind Saturday’s G1 Epsom Derby Desert Crown (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}) for the G1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.

“I’m happy when a horse is flying like him today (Sunday). I like him and thought he could run well. I thought he would stay the trip strongly but maybe didn’t have enough speed and would be better at a mile and a half,” Rouget told At The Races.

“He had a very good draw and was always in a good position. After that, the acceleration was the same as when he won for the first time out last year in La Teste. He is a horse with a lot of class.

“He was not a smashing yearling, he was quite a poor yearling, but he improved a lot.

“I hope he will have a good summer and autumn. The horse ran above my expectations. He won so easily, in the final yards you could see that he was going so easily, he produced a performance that was certainly better than expected.

“He’s already established among the best horses and we hope we can take him into the autumn and we can keep him at that level.”

Bred and raced by the Aga Khan, Vadeni is one of four winners out of winning mare Vaderana (Fr) (Monsun {Ger}) and her progeny also includes Australian stakes-placed gelding Vadiyann (Fr) (Footstepsinthesand {GB}) and fellow stakes-placegetter Vadsena (Fr) (Makfi {GB}).

Vaderana herself is out of French Group 1 winner Vadawina (Ire) (Unfuwain {USA}) and she is also the dam of Group 2 winner Vadamar (Fr) (Dalakhani {Ire}) and Group 3-winning pair The Pentagon (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and Vedouma (Fr) (Dalakhani {Ire}).

Shuttlers performing well

Also at Chantilly on Sunday, Churchill’s barnmate Wootton Bassett (GB) - who also shuttles to Coolmore’s Australian base - was provided with a new stakes winner when 2-year-old filly Wootton City (Fr) preserved her unbeaten record victory in the Listed Prix la Fleche which saw the stallion’s total number of stakes winners swell to 28.

Bred and raced by Jean-Claude Seroul, Wootton City is out of Listed winner Absolute City (Fr) (Elusive City {USA}) and she is herself out of Absolutely True (GB) (Westerner {GB}), making her half-sister Allons Y (Fr) (Soldier Of Fortune {Ire}), whose best victory came at Listed level.

Wootton Bassett covered 188 mares at Coolmore’s Jerrys Plains base at a fee of $71,500 (inc GST) and he will stand for the same fee in 2022.

Meanwhile at Musselburgh in the UK, Haunui Farm shuttler Ribchester (Ire) was provided with his third stakes winner when the Karl Burke-trained Snooze N You Lose (Fr) (Ribchester {Ire}) took out the Listed Queen Of Scots S.

The filly was bred by Laundry Cottage Stud Farm and she is out of the Listed-placed mare Wake Up Call (GB) (Noverre {USA}) and she is also the dam of Listed scorer Zaman (GB) (Dutch Art {GB}).

Ribchester, who began his shuttling career at Darley’s Kelvinside, has sired two winners in Australia from six runners and he will stand at Haunui Farm in New Zealand for an unchanged fee of NZ$15,000 plus GST.

With less than two months of the season remaining, the race to be crowned Australia’s Champion 3-Year-Old Sire is set to go down to the wire, with very little separating Maurice (Jpn) and I Am Invincible.

Arrowfield Stud’s Japanese shuttler Maurice currently leads the way, with his progeny amassing a staggering $6,875,040.

I Am Invincible, who is the flagbearer at Yarraman Park, is just $24,503 behind in second.

Maurice has had just the 56 runners', with 32 winners tallying 54 wins, for a winners-to-runner ratio of 57.1 per cent. He has had two stakes winners combine for eight stakes wins.

Not surprisingly, Maurice’s star performer is Hitotsu, who has won three Group 1s this season; the Victorian Derby, the Australian Guineas and ATC Derby.

The Ciaron Maher and Dave Eustace-trained colt has contributed $3,171,250 to Maurice’s earnings, having won four of his eight starts.

Maurice’s other stakes winner is Mazu. The decision to geld the Team Snowden-trained sprinter has proved genius, with Mazu victorious at his past six outings; five of them have been at stakes level, while his most recent success was a maiden Group 1 triumph in the Doomben 10,000.

Mazu has raced nine times this season, accruing a whopping $1,707,100 in prizemoney.

Also worthy of a mention is Maurice’s Medad, who has placed at Group 3 and Listed level this season; Balmaurice (Group 3-placed), Yaki Ishi (Group 2-placed), Matcha Latte (Group 3-placed), Sharp Response (Listed-placed) and Port Louis (Listed-placed).

'Vinnie', meanwhile, has had nearly twice as many runners' (103), with 53 winners notching 88 wins, for a winners-to-runner ratio of 51.5 per cent. He has had three stakes winners combine for five stakes wins.

His star performer is the Chris Waller-trained Home Affairs, who is currently in the UK readying himself for a tilt at Royal Ascot glory in the G1 Platinum Jubilee S. on June 18.

Home Affairs has won three of his five starts this season, including the G1 Coolmore Stud S. and G1 Black Caviar Lightning, for stakes totalling $2,046,600.

I Am Invincible’s two other stakes winners are Najmaty, who won the recent Helen Coughlan S. and King Of Sparta, the winner of the R. Listed Magic Millions 3YO Guineas.

‘Vinnie’ also has a host of stakes-placed progeny, including La Mexicana and Zambezi River.

Arrowfield Stud has won the Champion 3-Year-Old Sire title with Hussonet (USA) (2007/08), Redoute’s Choice (2008/09), Not A Single Doubt (2015/16) and Snitzel (2016/17, 2017/18).

Although Yarraman Park is yet to claim the trophy, I Am Invincible has finished in the top five during the past five years, while their ill-fated star Hinchinbrook finished fifth in 2016/17.

Harry Mitchell – director at Yarraman Park – said it would be a huge honour to win the crown.

“To be the champion sire of 3-year-olds would be a great thrill,” Mitchell told TDN AusNZ.

“He’s given himself every chance.

“Obviously, Maurice has had a very good season with those two horses (Hitotsu and Mazu). By the same token, Home Affairs has done very well for us this year.”

Mitchell hopes the Team Snowden-trained Najmaty, an impressive last-start victress of the Listed Helen Coughlan S. at Eagle Farm, can continue her winning ways.

The filly is entered for Saturday’s $200,000 G2 Dane Ripper S. at Eagle Farm.

“She looks very exciting now that they seem to have the key to her by riding her back, she seems pretty dynamic,” Mitchell said.

“I think we still have enough of his progeny coming through, although, the winter months now, the wet tracks don’t really suit us.

“King Of Sparta is getting ready to race, so there’s still a few irons in our fire.”

Rounding out the top five this season is Snitzel ($6,518,709), Street Boss (USA) ($4,872,590) and Capitalist ($4,087,960).

‘Vinnie’ also locked in battle to be Australia’s Champion Sire

I Am Invincible is the chaser in the race to be the premier sire of 3-year-olds, but he is the pacemaker when it comes to the General Sires’ table.

Ahead of Monday’s race meetings, ‘Vinnie’ held a $406,908 lead over Coolmore Australia’s star So You Think (NZ).

“Being the champion sire is probably the most important for us, he’s finished second the last four years, so it would be nice to tick that box,” said Mitchell.

I Am Invincible also holds a slender lead over Written Tycoon for most winners in 2021/22.

“It would be nice to win all three titles (Overall, 3-Year-Old and Most Winners), it would be wonderful,” Mitchell added.

Nicconi, Snitzel and Shamus Award comprise the remainder of the top five on the General Sires' table.