'With it being the ‘risky year’... I think he’s a really good punt.'

Cover image courtesy of Widden Stud

Having attended them on and off for the last 20 years, I always feel that Widden have a special way of organising their parades, it’s one we really look forward to every year.

The way in which it’s done with all the staff and the family pitching together makes it feel very homely. Adding to the intimate feel, they limit the numbers so that they can provide a generous lunch afterwards too.

It was our first public parade for a while, so it was nice to see lots of familiar faces and catch up with people we haven’t seen since the sales.

Obviously, I’m extraordinarily biased when it comes to Widden given my connection to Zoustar, and I always look forward to seeing the horse. I hadn’t seen him for a couple of years due to COVID so it was great to see him again.

They were good enough to take us to see him before the parade, as well as some pinhooks we have at the farm – they’re very accommodating.

Zoustar is a mature horse now and he looked great. He seems to have come back from his European season well, and he’s starting to get some nice winners up there too. He’s always going to be the standout for us.

However, I was really taken by the roster as a whole this year. They’ve clearly invested heavily into some younger stallions, and Rebel Dane joins them as well.

Gallery: Zoustar will stand for $198,000 (inc GST) | Standing at Widden Stud, images courtesy of Widden Stud

I’ve seen most of Zoustar’s progeny in Australia, and I still think that Zousain is the most reminiscent of him in his physique. He’s so similar, not just in body shape but also in his movement and some idiosyncrasies such as how he puts his head down when he moves – very much a Northern Meteor trait.

They have a unique style in the way they move, they have the same swagger, the same athleticism and share a beautiful head.

I was pleased because we have some very dear clients who have taken breeding rights in him and they saw him for the first time on Sunday.

Anders was very interesting, I’d encouraged one of my main clients to invest in him, mostly based on what I’d seen on the racetrack. It was a bit of a punt but all the people I respected had talked really favourably about him. His first foals are arriving now, so it’s an exciting time.

He’s not a Group 1 winner, so in that perspective he’s a little shy of what we usually look for, but what he has is an abundance of speed. Probably a good stallion to compare him to, profile-wise, is Deep Field, who went to stud having broken track records and wasn’t a Group 1 winner but had a good pedigree. He’s now a very respectable stallion.

I really liked him as a type, he looks so strong, has a beautiful hip on him and looks like a horse that will produce early 2-year-olds. I think he has a nice profile to be popular at the sales too.

Gallery: Images from Widden Stud's stallion parade, images courtesy of Widden Stud

It was the first time I’d seen Portland Sky and he was a very handsome horse, could see why they were drawn to him. He was well-balanced and put together, and moves well too. He doesn’t have a huge service fee at $27,500 (inc GST), so I think he’s priced well.

It was important to have the open days for a horse like him. After we’d seen all the stallions there was naturally lots of discussion about which ones everyone liked, and he was one that drew a lot of comments.

Written By was another that I liked physically. We liked his yearlings, many of them made our shortlists at the sales earlier this year. He profiled as a horse that’s likely to get early 2-year-olds, and if you were looking for that option, with it being the ‘risky year’ as his first crop are about to hit the tracks, I think he’s a really good punt.