Cover image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
Officially retired in February this year, Hitotsu ran his last race in the G1 ATC Derby in April last year. Initially sidelined by a suspensory injury, it was another leg injury which ultimately put paid to his career.
When his retirement was announced earlier this year, it was said that connections of the horse, whose managing owner is Ozzie Kheir, were already considering stud options. Why, then, has this latest announcement been such a long time coming?
“The horse hasn't been well,” Messara told TDN AusNZ. “He's had this hock injury, which might have had a more lasting effect than looks like it has had.
“So, we wanted to be sure that the horse could actually carry on in a normal way when he went to stud, and we are pretty satisfied that's the case now so we were able to move forward.”
Like father, like son
As the best son of Arrowfield’s rising star Maurice (Jpn), Messara and his team hardly had to swot up on his achievements on the track when it came to considering Hitotsu’s place on their roster.
Precocious enough to contest the G3 Blue Diamond Preview (Colts and Geldings), the feature race itself and the G2 VRC Sires’ Produces S. as a 2-year-old, it was as a 3-year-old that Hitotsu really made his mark last season.
Maurice (Jpn) | Standing at Arrowfield Stud
After breaking his maiden in September 2021, Hitotsu was fifth in that classy renewal of the G1 Caulfield Guineas won by Anamoe, before he ended that preparation by winning the G1 Victoria Derby.
Returning in 2022, Hitotsu claimed the G1 Australian Guineas before bringing home his second Derby at Randwick, confirming his superstar qualities as he dropped back to a mile then up to 2400 metres in the process.
“He's the current star of Maurice and we love Maurice; he’s doing very well, and he's got a chock-a-block book of mares this year of high quality,” Messara said.
“He had one last year as well, and we just thought this is a horse with an exceptional heart and lung capacity, much like his father.”
“He's (Hitotsu) the current star of Maurice and we love Maurice; he’s doing very well... we just thought this is a horse with an exceptional heart and lung capacity, much like his father.” - John Messara
Still only a 4-year-old now, it’s a case of what could have been for Hitotsu, with Messara’s assessment of his physical capacity based on more than just a good racing eye.
“If you talk to Ciaron Maher he will tell you that his recovery rate was extraordinary and he had enormous speed, which was never actually brought to bear,” Messara said.
“That was a special thing about his old man - his heart and lungs. What I was getting from Ciaron was exactly what I got from our Japanese partners about Maurice, that he too had had an outstanding heart and lungs.
“So, he's passed it through to this guy and I hope this guy passes on to his own progeny.”
Hitotsu | Image courtesy of Racing Photos
Backing the breeders
Hitotsu’s initial fee of $22,000 (inc GST) makes him the second-cheapest option on Arrowfield’s now eight-strong roster, sharing that spot with Japanese Champion 2-Year-Old Colt Admire Mars (Jpn).
The only stallion cheaper at Arrowfield is Showtime, their Group 2-winning son of Snitzel who has enjoyed stakes success with his first juveniles this season. For comparison, Maurice started his Australian covering career at $33,000 (inc GST) back in 2017 and, despite his international acclaim, stallion prices have since risen in general.
“Lower than Maurice started, well below where Maurice is now, he's $75,000 (plus GST) now, so he's a long way below, but he's got to make it,” Messara said.
John Messara
Whilst aiming to ‘give breeders a chance to make some proper money out of it’, don’t think for a second that Messara is heading down the route of quantity over quality though when it comes to the mares he hopes to provide Hitotsu.
“I don't think it's a numbers game,” Messara declared. “I think he has to get quality mares and we'll be giving him a minimum of 25 mares of ours, and we've paired down our mares to basically a reasonably high standard now.
“So, whatever he gets from us will be pretty competitive with what's around, and I'm hoping and expecting that Ciaron Maher and the whole troop there also want to send mares of quality.
“I think he (Hitotsu) has to get quality mares and we'll be giving him a minimum of 25 mares of ours, and we've paired down our mares to basically a reasonably high standard now.” - John Messara
“And, I must say, a couple of the shareholders want to buy mares and want to be guided on what to buy that will suit him. We're doing some work on that at the moment. So, there's an enthusiastic group of owners there, and I think he’ll get a very good chance.”
With Arrowfield’s internal research still being conducted ahead of their typically two-day mating planning meeting which will be held in the coming weeks, Messara couldn’t yet say exactly what sort of mares he’ll be sending Hitotsu.
However, there’s plenty in his pedigree to whet the appetite, which goes beyond the obvious comparison to his own sire according to the Arrowfield supremo.
“He's got an extra factor there,” he said. “He's out of a Redoute’s Choice mare, so we're just careful not to overload him with Danehill.
Hitotsu when racing | Image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
“So we'll be looking for Danehill on the female line a bit further back, but we'll be looking with things that have worked with Maurice, and trying a few different things as we settle down to work it out.”
Japanese influence
The addition of Hitotsu doesn’t change the number of Japanese-bred stallions on Arrowfield’s roster, but his inclusion is a clear indication of Messara’s opinion of the bloodline.
Japanese-bred horses have accounted for three of the world’s five richest races in 2023, with the global showpiece, on prizemoney, being the G1 Saudi Cup won by Panthalassa (Jpn) (Lord Kanaloa {Jpn}).
Hitotsu might have arguably been a high-class juvenile performer on talent alone, but it is the search for that talent, as Messara explained, that has propelled Japanese breeding to success on the world stage.
Hitotsu’s evident versatility aside, in general the star Japanese performers are not what commercial Australian breeders target - getting over distance and later maturing.
But their propensity cannot be denied. A $100,000 purchase at the 2020 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale, Hitotsu himself earned connections well over $3 million in his all too brief career.
“They're very, very keen on super performers and they're the horses they like to stand at stud,” Messara explained. “Obviously, pedigree counts, but performance is the thing.
“This guy's performance is peerless actually. Who knows what he could have done if he hadn't hurt himself, but Cox Plates and all those sorts of races would've been within his grasp.
“This guy's (Hitotsu's) performance is peerless actually. Who knows what he could have done if he hadn't hurt himself, but Cox Plates and all those sorts of races would've been within his grasp.” - John Messara
“The best in Japan are generally as good as, or better than the best elsewhere, and Hitotsu is a direct product of it, out of a Redoute’s Choice mare who's probably the best broodmare sire down here.
“He's got the mix that we like to see, he was bred at Arrowfield and we always liked to bring our own boys home.”
