John Singleton is selling more than 100 horses at his Strawberry Hill Stud in August, including foals, mares, yearlings and racehorses as well as his Mount White home. He will remain in the ownership of horses raced in partnership, which includes talented I Am Invincible colt Hawaii Five Oh.

“I feel sorry for those old blokes at the races looking grumpy,” Singleton said to the Daily Telegraph, who announced the news on Tuesday.

“I always said I would sell up when I have been doing this for 50 years.”

Magic Millions has been entrusted with dispersing the valuable portfolio, with the bloodstock sale taking place on August 29 at the Central Coast property, while the property sale is slated for the end of the year. Singleton was a former owner of the sales company, selling his portion of Magic Millions to his business partners and close friends Gerry Harvey and Katie Page-Harvey.

“Singo has been an integral part of the Magic Millions landscape since the mid-90s and the blue and white colours of Strawberry Hill are synonymous with success in our industry,” said Magic Millions Managing Director Barry Bowditch.

“Although it's sad to see Singo sell up, Gerry, Katie and the Magic Millions team are honoured to be entrusted with selling an outstanding group of mares and yearlings unreserved.”

The Singleton dispersal is an offering ripe with riches, and an unusual logistical challenge for Magic Millions to host the sale on an off-site location, however Bowditch is confident his team is more than up for the task.

“It's a unique setup to be selling on-farm but is also very fitting for the backdrop to be the paddocks of Strawberry Hill where so many successful horses were born and raised.”

A Joyful legacy

While there will be numerous blueblood families on offer, much of the success of Singo's empire can be credited to the exceptional Joie Denise (Danehill {USA}), with the fortunes of Strawberry Hill flourishing through her feats and the deeds of her daughters. Jessica Owers told the story of the 'Joy' family in her 'Foundations' article in The Thoroughbred Report last Thursday.

Bloodstock Manager Andrew Baddock, who took over the role from Duncan Grimley - Singo's trusted racing manager of over 20 years - in February, calls Strawberry Hill the ‘Joie Denise farm’.

“John has had massive success with this family,” he said. “It’s just an amazing page and as good as you’ll get anywhere in the world. It’s John’s brand. It’s what he’s most known for and he’s proud of it.

“It’s a family that Strawberry Hill has developed from a long way back, and it’s John’s trademark for sure. To his credit, he raised the bar pretty high in producing More Joyous.”

All good things come to an end

Although the sale is an end of an era, Baddock was philosophical in his reflections on the impact made by Singleton's breeding endeavours.

“Singo has been a great contributor to the Australasian racing and breeding industry over many decades.

“He has orchestrated great families like a great composer and as he has always done, he is doing it in his own way.”

Singleton summarised the experience in his usual deadpan manner: “It has been one hell of a ride. The highs and lows of life all contained in a business where horses run round in a circle.”

Cover image courtesy of Tyreel Stud

Linda and Laurence Monds are the proprietors of Tyreel Stud, located in the fertile Agnes Banks Hawkesbury Valley region of New South Wales.

Despite only foaling down a boutique number of mares each season, Tyreel Stud has produced numerous high-quality gallopers, which is a testament to the quality of the land Tyreel is positioned upon, and the attention to detail and management provided by the Mondses and their team.

The farm had raised the likes of The Everest winner Classique Legend (Not A Single Doubt) and his half-brother Aethero (Sebring), who showed extraordinary talent before his career was cut short.

Gallery: Some of the Group-winning stars raised at Tyreel Stud

The grand four-time Group 1 victress Montefilia (Kermadec {NZ}) and the Newgate Farm-based stallion Tiger Of Malay are graduates of Tyreel Stud.

Behemoth (All Too Hard), a popular galloper who won three elite-level contests, was bred by Tyreel Stud under their Wallings Bloodstock banner. The recent Listed Oaklands Plate winner Coco Sun (The Autumn Sun) was also bred by Tyreel Stud.

Monds is gearing up for another season of foaling and covering and shared some of the ‘new boys on the block’ who have impressed her.

“We will be foaling down only 22 mares this season, and we have 11 dry mares to cover, some we rest last season and some we have purchased who were retiring from racing,” Monds told TTR AusNZ.

“We will be using a good mix of proven stallions and first-season sires, along with young stallions who are early into their careers this season.”

Diverse selection

Monds mentioned the stallions that are of choice for Tyreel this season. Among the list is the Coolmore Stud-based Justify (USA), who likely will be crowned Champion First Season Sire for the 2022/23 season.

The returning Darley shuttler Harry Angel (Ire) has made an impression, as have the rising guns Hellbent, Supido and Brave Smash (Jpn).

Unsurprisingly, Wootton Bassett (GB) features prominently. Despite having no Australian-conceived runners to hit the track, he has made a massive impression upon the Southern Hemisphere breeders with his good looks and outstanding results in the Northern Hemisphere.

Gallery: Some of the stallions being used by Tyreel Stud this season

The proven brigade of Dundeel (NZ), Toronado (Ire), All Too Hard, Spirit Of Boom, Exceed And Excel, Better Than Ready and Russian Revolution are also mentioned.

Monds was impressed with globe-trotting State Of Rest (Ire), who will make his debut at Newgate Farm, alongside fellow globe-trotter Artorius, who will also make his debut at the farm, and the G1 Golden Slipper hero Stay Inside, who is serving his second season at Newgate Farm.

Coolmore Stud’s Best Of Bordeaux is also likely to receive support.

Anamoe to court Tyreel's queen

However, despite the array of stars being named as likely suitors for Tyreel's broodmare band, Darley’s recently retired Champion, Anamoe, stole the show.

“After spending two days in the Hunter Valley inspecting stallions, I would have to say that Anamoe impressed us the most with his good looks and mature mind,” Monds explained to TTR AusNZ.

“As for race records, I’m not sure that you could get much better than Anamoe’s.”

Anamoe impressed Monds so sufficiently that he would receive the jewel in the crown of Tyreel's broodmare band, Pinocchio (Encosta De Lago).

The star mare is the dam of the aforementioned Classique Legend and Aethero from only seven foals and is in foal to the Champion Sire I Am Invincible.

“Pinocchio is the queen of Tyreel Stud, and she has flown the flag for us for several years. She will be visiting Anamoe this season,” Monds enthused.

“Pinocchio is a big strong mare with a great hindquarter, shoulder, deep girth and plenty of substance all round.

“She is an attractive mare and a great mum who produces strong types with good attitudes. Pinocchio hails from a great family, and I believe she has everything needed to produce successful racehorses.”

Broodmare upgrade

Tyreel Stud has downsized some of their broodmare band, selling some quality mares such as Couredge (Show A Heart), the dam of the G2 Light Fingers S. winner Every Rose (Choisir), and the G3 Typhoon Tracy S. victress Written Dash (Written Tycoon), Monds explained the decisions and ongoing commitment to filling the Tyreel pastures with quality mares.

“We have sold some very nice mares over the last couple of years, including Couregde, Written Dash, Happy Hippy and Crafty Irna, among others,” Monds said.

“We generally will be selling mares each year to make room for some younger mares, always focusing on improving our broodmare band and keeping them young.

“We are a small farm that breeds small numbers, and we are conscious of selling our mares with value still remaining for the next buyer.”

Festival Miss, a daughter of the noted broodmare sire Bernardini (USA), is one of Tyreel Stud’s recent purchasers.

Damon Gabbedy of Belmont Bloodstock Agency (FBAA) and Tyreel Stud paid $310,000 for the five-time victress from the 2021 Inglis Chairman’s Sale.

Festival Miss hails from an outstanding family, nurtured by prominent Western Australian-based owner Bob Peters, that has given him the Pierro-sired Group 1 gallopers Regal Power and Arcadia Queen.

“Festival Miss is an absolutely beautiful mare physically. She has produced an outstanding Snitzel filly, which is her first foal. The filly has everything in the right places; therefore, we could not send her anywhere else for her second foal but Snitzel, which is due this season,” Monds told TTR AusNZ.

“Festival Miss will have a change this year and will go to Pierro, with whom this family has had enormous results.”

Another Tyreel Stud mare is the G3 Angus Armanasco-placed Lunar Light (Akeed Mofeed {GB}), a daughter of the Listed-winning Malibu Moon (USA) mare Lunar Mist (USA).

Lunar Light is in foal to Darley’s champion sprinter Bivouac.

“Lunar Light had a Dirty Work colt first foal who has really grown into a very nice article,” Monds explained.

“She is an attractive mare and will be going to Capitalist this season.”

The dual Listed winner Wild Vixen (Foxwedge), has several possible options pending for her partner this season, while the Lonhro mare Magic Nera will visit the Vinery Stud-based Star Turn.

“Magic Nera will be going to Star Turn this season. She consistently produces great types, and Star Turn is ticking along nicely,” Monds told TTR AusNZ.

“Wild Vixen has a few stallions against her name, she has a very good Capitalist first foal on the farm, and we will wait to see what this next foal by, So You Think is like before we make any firm decisions.”

New and returning mares

Although Lanikai (I Am Invincible) is not one of Tyreel’s owned mares, she belongs to a long-supporting client of the farm and is the dam of a smart galloper in Kalino (Pierro), a sale graduate for Tyreel Stud.

Kalino resumed racing on Saturday, winning at Randwick, with bigger targets on the horizon in the spring.

“Lanikai is owned by Bill and Chris Lovatt, who are long supporting clients of ours, and she is their only broodmare,” Monds said.

“Lanikai is a tank, she is robust in every way, and at this stage, I believe she is heading back to Pierro. Kalino was a beautiful yearling and has gone on to be a great investment for Star Thoroughbreds purchased by Brett Howard’s Randwick Bloodstock (FBAA). Lanikai has always produced good types with strength and power.”

Tyreel Stud is also excited about some star mares that will be calling Tyreel home.

The G2 Caulfield Sprint victress Snitty Kitty (Snitzel), in foal to Zoustar, and the Group 1-placed Burgundy Belle (NZ) (Burgundy {NZ}) who is carrying to Extreme Choice, and the dual Listed winner Diamonds (Rich Enuff) who will be served for the first time this season, are all set to call Tyreel home.

“We have some new mares this season with Snitty Kitty, Burgundy Belle and Diamonds calling Tyreel home,” Monds told TTR AusNZ.

“We will be waiting to see what Snitty Kitty and Burgundy Belle's foals are like before we lock in a stallion. Diamonds is a race filly who looks to be going to Wootton Bassett this year.

“While Miss Hufflepuff, the dam of Coco Sun, will return to The Autumn Sun off the back of Coco Sun, who is undefeated and has an exciting future ahead of her in the McEvoys' stable (Tony and Calvin),” Monds said.

“Folk Dress, a daughter of Pierro, received a great update when the exciting Warlords won on Sunday for Busuttin Racing (Trent Busutttin and Natalie Young), and Folk Dress will be visiting Maurice. Perfect Thought, who won the G3 Carbine Club S., (the) dam of Perfectly Safe, will return to So You Think this year.”

Reflecting upon success

Reflecting upon the success Tyreel Stud has achieved in its short existence Monds said, “It is very rewarding watching our babies grow and develop towards the weanling or yearling sales, and it is incredibly exciting following their careers and watching the success on track for Tyreel Stud graduates.

“The pleasure we get from seeing owners and trainers succeed with a product we have produced is the ultimate reward. Many factors have contributed to the success of our graduates.

“Some of these factors include successful matings, systems on our farm, and the team we have alongside us who work tirelessly to ensure our horses grow in an educated, happy, healthy environment that includes staff, vets and farriers.”

Cover image courtesy of Noorilim Park

Only three weeks since his move, Murtagh, a native Irishman, says he’s relying only on first impressions when he reports that things are going well so far. But, having worked in some of the world’s premier breeding establishments throughout his time in the game, it’s an impression well-informed.

“I've been lucky that everywhere that I've gone, those facilities have been there,” Murtagh told TTR AusNZ. “It's very important when you're dealing with the livestock that we're dealing with that everything's up to speed.

“It's obviously nice to have your hands on good stock and they've got some beautiful mares here, a young band of broodmares that are on the rise and they're giving them every chance.

“They're sending them to all the commercial stallions and they're also investing in the pinhooking side of it. They've bought some beautiful weanlings to prep and take to the next level as well.

“They're really throwing a fair bit of money at the stumps, which is great, and when you look at the place too, their attention to detail is second to none, from the maintenance of the grounds all the way through to the facilities, they've spared nothing.”

The 1700 acres against the banks of the Goulburn River which makes up Noorilim Park is certainly up to scratch according to Murtagh, despite his arrival coming less than a year after the “devastating” flood which affected the Seymour, Nagambie and Euroa regions.

The recovery is testament to the team at Noorilim, says Murtagh, which is run by Business Manager Glen Carrick, son of the farm’s owner Peter.

“Chris (Kent) who was here beforehand and Sherah (Sullivan) before that, all very good people and the place is beautifully set up for horses.

“I can't believe how well they've recovered since the flood. You would never know that a flood had gone through here last year, they've just done an amazing job.”

A valuable acquisition

Much to the Carricks' benefit, securing Murtagh as operations manager also means bringing in wife Shelly, a qualified vet nurse and one half of a well-oiled partnership.

“Everything that we do, we pretty well do it together,” Murtagh added. “So, although I'm the operations manager, it's a team effort, the two of us - we pretty well finish each other's sentences.

“She specialises in foaling and looking after foals that have any issues at all, that's, that's her big thing.

“She's just very good at what she does, which includes the administration side of it as well, which frees me up. Without her, I couldn't do it.”

Speaking to TTR AusNZ, Glen Carrick said it’s the years of joint experience the pair bring to the farm that he’s most excited about.

“I'm looking forward to Tom and Shelly really having a good stint at Noorilim Park,” he said. “The wealth of knowledge they bring is invaluable, and they have a great mix of youth and experience as well.

“They’ve come across from Darren Dance’s, which is a good thing because he's a well-respected person in the industry, so I'm happy to have them on board.”

Leaving on the best terms

The seven years spent in his previous role will assure his new employers that Murtagh is a man who does things the right way - which explains why he’s arrived closer to the breeding season than he’d ideally have liked.

Formerly managing the breeding component of Australian Thoroughbred Bloodstock (ATB), Murtagh set out that he’d only be available once he’d fully tied up loose ends there, a job he was only inclined to leave due to owners Darren and Liz Dance’s decision to downsize.

“He's changing tack,” said Murtagh. “He's getting very elite now, he'll probably end up downsizing to an elite dozen or fifteen mares.

“That's the way he wants to go, and most of the stallions that he wants to go to are in New South Wales, so I thought it was a good time for me to move on, and so I had a chat with him, and he was happy enough for me to move on - it suited him, and it suited me.

“Anywhere that I've gone, I've been very, very lucky over the years, whether it was Cornerstone, or whether it was Darren and Liz (Dance), and when I was in Europe as well, I've just been blessed with the people I've worked for.”

So, when the Dances asked him to trade the last of the commercial weanlings they were dispersing, Murtagh had no hesitation in seeing out his tenure properly and found the Carricks only too happy to oblige.

Around the world

Although he now finds himself about as far from his roots as possible, Murtagh began his journey at Coolmore Ireland. It’s a time he’s often reminded of, not least because of the small world that racing and breeding often seems.

“It seems to me an awful lot of my friends that I had years ago, the likes of Gordon Cunningham at Curraghmore, Michael Kirwan and plenty of others, all of those were there when I was there at Coolmore a lifetime ago.

“It was a great melting pot of different people and from different parts of the world as well, not just the Irish. You met people from all over the world when you worked there and it was a great stepping stone for me starting off as a youngster.”

Graduating to managing Derrinstown Stud for Sheikh Hamdan, not only was Murtagh beginning to develop a lifelong passion for the thoroughbred, it was there that he met his future wife, Shelly, a New Zealander.

After she left for the States to broaden her experience, Murtagh was similarly inspired…

“I decided to come over to New Zealand and to have a look around, and I told the crew that I'd be back in six months, but I never came back,” he said.

The allure of Sir Peter Vela’s Pencarrow Stud proved too strong, and after some time there Murtagh enjoyed a stint in Japan before returning to New Zealand and establishing his own business, Esker Lodge, which he’d eventually bring over to run within the Dances own operation.

Meanwhile, Shelly returned to her native New Zealand, with the pair eventually marrying and never looking back.

But it was crossing the Tasman to work for Cornerstone Stud, whose Sam Hayes describes Murtagh as “a very gifted horseman,” that proved decisive for Murtagh in the end.

“I can't get over it here in Australia,” he said. “Just how it's about taking over from cricket as the number one sport now. Everybody seems to have a leg or an ear in a horse over here and prizemoney is amazing.”

As the type of people that invest themselves fully wherever they go, the Murtaghs look set to become familiar representatives of Noorilim over the coming years and, at a time of strong investment from the Carricks, theirs are some enviable shoes.