Cover image courtesy of Swettenham Stud
The son of Encosta De Lago’s Australian season so far makes for impressive reading, with 21 winners to his name, which places him ninth in the country's General Sires’ table by number of winners, while with his progeny earnings of $1,164,433, the stallion is sitting eighth by that metric and is one of only 11 sires to so far have broken the $1 million barrier.
However, it is his number of stakes winners so far that really puts into context how quickly Rubick has made his mark since August 1.
The stallion has sired three stakes winners so far, which has seen his total haul of black-type winners move to seven. The first of those this season was provided by the Archie Alexander-trained Bound For Home, handing her sire the perfect start with her victory in the G3 Quezette S. on August 13.
Gallery: Rubick's three stakes winners so far this season
Two weeks later, Rubick’s name was up in lights once again when his son Jacquinot defeated a classy field to run out a ready winner of the G3 HDF McNeil S. and looks set for bigger targets down the line, with the colt nominated for high-end events such as the G1 Golden Rose S. and G1 Caulfield Guineas.
Just when things couldn’t look rosier for the stallion, his daughter, the Bjorn Baker-trained Shades Of Rose took her unbeaten spell of unbeaten runs to four when she landed a thrilling edition of the G2 Sheraco S. at Rosehill last Saturday.
Leading the way
His almost flawless beginning sees the stallion sat alongside Widden Stud’s Zoustar as the country’s leading sire by stakes winners - one ahead of many of the best stallions Australia has to offer in Snitzel, I Am Invincible, Sebring and Deep Field.
Rubick will stand for $22,000 (inc GST) | Standing at Swettenham Stud
Standing at a service fee of $22,000 (inc GST) in 2022, Rubick is one of only two stallions inside the top six sires with two or more stakes winners under their belts so far this season, standing for under six figures - the other being Deep Field, who is standing for $88,000 (inc GST).
Meanwhile, adding to the stallion’s good few weeks he has also been represented by two winners in New Zealand and one apiece in Malaysia and Singapore, while he was also represented by a winner on the opening day of the Hong Kong season at Sha Tin on Sunday, courtesy of Ka Ying Spirit’s win in a Class 4 handicap.
Beginning his life in the breeding shed at Coolmore’s Hunter Valley base, Rubick was introduced at a fee of $17,600 (inc GST) and Bound For Home and Jacquinot were conceived during his final year at that fee before it shot up to $38,500 (inc GST) largely due to the exploits of his Group 2-winning daughter Rubisaki and his The Everest and G2 Todman S.-winning son Yes Yes Yes, who was subsequently retired to stand alongside his father in 2020.
After a year of frequenting the same barn for one season, the decision was taken to relocate Rubick to Adam Sangster’s Nagambie farm-based farm continuing a relationship with Coolmore and the Sangster family that stretches back to the best part of 40 years.
Sangster’s late father Robert was a long-term partner with Coolmore and also had a strong connection with the family of Rubick's sire, Encosta De Lago. He raced his dam Shoal Creek (Star Way {GB}) and bred and raced his sire Fairy King (USA), who stood at Coolmore in the 1980s.
Strong numbers
Before moving to Swettenham, Rubick covered his two biggest books of mares since he retired to stud, having served 263 mares, producing 174 foals, while in 2018, he followed this up by covering 262 mares and left 172 live foals on the ground.
Adam Sangster and Sam Matthews | Image courtesy of Swettenham Stud
Rubick’s strong start with his runners may have taken some by surprise, but Sangster told TDN AusNZ he was confident, given the number of mares he covered in his final two seasons in the Hunter Valley, that the best was yet to come for the now 11-year-old stallion.
“I think he’s sharing the lead in the clubhouse by stakes winners at the moment, which is obviously brilliant. Coolmore and the shareholders always said this would happen with the numbers,” said Sangster.
“Tom Magnier said Rubick and Yes Yes Yes were competing with each other up there, and it just made sense that he came down to Victoria. He said, ‘Look at the numbers, look at the quality of mares – he’ll have an absolute resurgence'.
“He (Tom Magnier) said, ‘Look at the numbers, look at the quality of mares – he’ll (Rubick) have an absolute resurgence.’” - Adam Sangster
“They knew the numbers were coming through, and they needed a proven sire down here which Victorians could go to. Because they had Yes Yes Yes up there, who was being massively supported, they thought that rather than having a father and son standing next to each other it would be a good opportunity to send Rubick to Victoria.”
The first signals of this predicted resurgence came during the yearling sales last year, when he had 97 yearlings sell for an aggregate of $5,871,624, headed by a colt who was purchased by Hong Kong Bloodstock for $300,000.
“This is just the start of it really, all the hard work has been done by Coolmore and their clients and it proves that the first yearlings were so strong in the market that people knew they had good ones in the stable,” said Sangster.
“...all the hard work has been done by Coolmore and their clients and it proves that the first (Rubick) yearlings were so strong in the market that people knew they had good ones in the stable.” - Adam Sangster
“The numbers, I think there’s 174 just-turned-2-year-olds from his higher service fee – those were his better crop of mares.”
Well-balanced book
Given his early season results, coupled with his strong finish to last season, Rubick looks set to cover a strong second book of mares in Victoria in the coming weeks and months. Sangster believes the breeders are latching on quickly to his success on the racecourse and good-value figure he is standing for this season.
"This year, breeders from Victoria, South Australia and New South Wales, are seeing the value in the numbers coming through. At the farm, we really concentrate on making sure that we’ve really done the research on the stallions that we stand.
Rubick | Standing at Swettenham Stud
“There’s a really well-balanced amount of mares coming, a lot of Victorians haven’t been to the stallion before. Just today (Tuesday) we picked up three nominations for Rubick. He’s one that people will make money from - a return on investment is there at that level.”
Such is Sangster’s unwavering faith in the sire, he said he supported him with many of his own mares last season.
“I sent about 50 per cent of my mares to him (Rubick) last year. With the numbers coming through and along with the yearlings we’d seen, we knew the quality was there and he was ripe for a resurgence.
“So You Think did it, Pierro, he did it, Shamus Award did it – a little bit of a lull and then bang, look where they are now, you can’t get into any of them.
“So You Think did it, Pierro, he did it, Shamus Award did it – a little bit of a lull and then bang, look where they are now, you can’t get into any of them.” - Adam Sangster
“We’ll always make sure that we keep the shareholders and Coolmore happy. They leave that up to us, they only guide us, but it’s up to us – we know our market down here and we’re pretty happy with where he is.”
Rubick is standing alongside five barnmates, headed by Swettenham’s leading stallion Toronado (Ire), I Am Immortal, whose first yearlings will hit the sales rings next year, another Coolmore-owned stallion in Highland Reel (Ire), Group 1-winning newbie Wooded (Ire) and Puissance De Lune (Ire).
Sangster said he is happy with the roster of stallions they have assembled at Swettenham Stud.
Gallery: Swettenham Stud's stallions for 2022
“I couldn’t be happier with it, we like to keep to only six, we don’t want to get any bigger and we make sure that there’s one which suits everybody’s pocket,” he said.
“We’re in the same boat because I send my mares to these stallions and hopefully, we’ll get the same success as the clients.”
