Cover image courtesy of Newgate

When it comes to matings plans, Field is clear about his priorities for Newgate’s 14-strong roster.

“The main purpose of our broodmare band is to breed top-class racehorses by our young stallions,” Field told TTR AusNZ.

“We really want to support our young stallions with mares that are capable of throwing good runners and getting them off the ground. It doesn't matter if the mares aren't the most fashionable in the world - that's not really our main purpose.”

Maintaining a high level of support through each stallion’s early years is a pillar of Newgate’s success, and there’s no better example than Russian Revolution. Crowned Champion First Season Sire in 2022, this year saw the son of Snitzel take class honours yet again.

After securing his first Group 1 winner via Communist in the Randwick Guineas, Russian Revolution will undoubtedly be as busy as ever this season, and he’s earned his spot amongst the trio of Newgate elites who will receive a modicum of in-house support.

The other two are of course Capitalist, another Champion First Season Sire, and the peerless Extreme Choice, with Field reporting that the latter has “more good quality yearlings on the ground now than his first four years combined.”

“We do breed mares to our big boys,” Field continued. “But, in reality, we have seven first- and second-season sires on the roster this year so that will be the majority of our broadband band, and we'll bring really good mares to them.

“That's our commitment - to give them that opportunity, and we've got great shareholders in all of our stallions and they do the same, so we're all committed to the cause.”

Armed to the hilt

The might of 120-odd Newgate mares combines with 100 or so from Field’s prominent investor Matthew Sandblom (of Kingstar Farm) to give each of Newgate’s three freshmen sires an enviable selection in their maiden years.

The syndicated approach means a horse such as In The Congo, who retired to the Hunter Valley this year having raced to Group 1 success in the red with yellow stars of China Horse Club, has the support of powerful breeders such as Sir Owen Glenn’s Go Bloodstock, Glenlogan Park, Highgrove Stud and Steve Grant of Silverdale Farm.

Home support for In The Congo will include Exceed And Excel mare Prompt, dam of G1 Tattersall's Tiara winner Prompt Response (Beneteau). Both she and Prompt’s other stakes-winning produce are by Beneteau, making In The Congo, as a grandson of Danehill (USA), an obvious choice for this mare according to Field.

“Prompt is one of the stalwart mares at Newgate,” he said. “She's been a great mare for us. We've got a Snitzel filly out of her that will go to the yearling sales, she’s a beauty, and we feel the Snitzel cross goes well with her.”

That the cross lines up so well in this case is a bonus to Field, who explained that he has a different priority in mating decisions.

“Type is the most important thing for us,” he said. “Then, it’s just common sense pedigree mating.”

His defeat of Anamoe (Street Boss {USA}) in the G1 Golden Rose amply qualified him for a place on the roster, and Field said he’s not the only one who’s delighted with the way In The Congo has let down now he’s at stud.

“He's been red hot,” he reported. “He's going to breed a big, robust book of mares - he's been very well received.

“I had the Godolphin Flying Start group at Newgate the other day, and as he stood up I said to them, ‘This is the template for a fast Australian horse,’ he’s just beautifully put together and in proportion.”

Bucking the trend

Whilst most stud farms would be quite content with the buzz around supporting and promoting one first-season sire each breeding season, Field is relishing the launch of three in 2023. Notably outside the Australian template, State Of Rest (Ire) is also standing for the first time at Newgate.

A son of Starspangledbanner, he brings a diversity to the roster with his globetrotting tally of four Group 1s in as many continents achieved around the 2000-metre trip.

“We feel that State Of Rest is going to really suit these fast, Australian, square mares,” Field said.

“He's a lovely, elegant horse, he's got scope and a beautiful action. He's a Classic middle-distance type of horse, and obviously an incredible world-class performer and Cox Plate winner.

“So, we’re really getting behind him with some outstanding mares.”

Typifying the sort of mare that will be targeted at State Of Rest this year, Field will send him the homebred Xilong (Deep Field), winner of the G2 Euclase S. and placed in the G1 Surround S., who went to Stay Inside last year.

“She’s a very talented mare,” Field added. “She’s a perfect physical mating for the stallion, and that is fast, square, 15.3hh.

“He’ll put length and elegance into them, and I think that he'll really complement our broodmare band in Australia.”

The value pick

He might be the best value of Newgate’s three freshmen, but dual Group 1 winner Artorius will receive just as much home support as his peers according to Field. He highlighted Rosina Kojonup (Shamus Award), a half-sister to G1 Golden Slipper S. winner She Will Reign (Manhattan Rain), as an example of that.

“Rosina Kojanup is an interesting mare,” Field said. “She’s the daughter of blue hen mare Courgette, who we bought on the advice of Blake Shinn.

“He had done a lot of work on her, and rated her amongst the fastest fillies that he’d ever sat on. She went amiss, but she had super duper talent.”

Bought for $550,000 at the 2021 Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale, Rosina Kojanup - a two-time winner herself - saw Extreme Choice last year, whilst her first foal is colt by I Am Invincible.

“She’s pencilled in for Artorius,” Field revealed, adding that breeders might be in for a surprise when they pay the stallion a visit

“I don't think he's what people expect to see,” he said. “He's a very typey, medium-sized, good-moving, pretty horse.

“He's really going to put some lovely refined quality into a mare like Rosina Kojonup, who’s a big, strong, powerful brute of a mare.”

Physical qualities aside, it’s an invisible trait in Artorius which Field rates as one of his key assets.

“I think a stallion’s mental capacity is not to be underestimated,” he said. “I really think it's a very heritable trait, just like disposition in, it's a big thing.”

Hopeful that Artorius can pass that on to his progeny, Field hails him as the best-value first-season sire in Australia with his $27,500 (inc GST) fee this year. That compares to $33,000 for In The Congo and $44,000 for State Of Rest.

“He won a Blue Diamond, he trained on to win a Group 1 race at weight for age and placed in another four of the world's best Group 1 races,” he noted.

“There's not many stallions that are dominant Blue Diamond winners that can go on as he did as a 3- and 4-year-old.”

Sustaining the second years

As Field outlined, the Newgate approach focuses very much on heavy support across each of the stallion’s early years. With that in mind, there are some exciting plans for both Wild Ruler and Stay Inside, whose first foals are beginning to appear.

Bred by Sandblom’s Kingstar Farm, Stay Inside is a flagbearer for Field, being by Extreme Choice and winning the G1 Golden Slipper S. after Newgate and co-bought into him following his debut win in the Pierro Plate.

“We think that he's the greatest bullseye stallion prospect we’ve ever stood,” enthused Field. “Anytime you have a son of a phenomenal sire who’s a Golden Slipper winner, you've got a recipe to be a very, very important stallion.”

After sending him “the best first book of mares ever to a Newgate stallion” last year, Stay Inside will receive just as much support this year.

“Breeding to him second season, with the credentials he’s got… I think he’s the greatest no-brainer,” Field added.

With a handful of foals on the ground so far living up to Field’s expectations, Stay Inside will be visited by one of Newgate’s star mares this year in My Conquestadory (USA) (Artie Schiller {USA}).

She was an elite-level juvenile winner, who took the G1 Alcibiades S. and finished fourth in the G1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies’ Turf, before training on to place in the G1 Del Mar Oaks. She also cost a pretty penny, fetching US$1.5 million (AU$2.34 million) at the 2016 Keeneland November Breeding Sale (purchased in conjunction with SF Bloodstock).

“She's the most expensive mare that we've ever bought,” Field said. “She was a very highly rated mare in North America.”

Whilst Field noted that they’ve never paid that much money for a mare subsequently, he’s gladly able to show a good return on investment, at least.

Bought in-foal to Tapit (USA), the subsequent filly foal sold as a weanling at the 2017 Keeneland Keeneland November Breeding Sale for US$775,000 (AU$1.21 million). Whilst that filly’s year-old brother went on to become an elite-level performer in the US, My Conquestadory was bred to Russian Revolution for her first Southern Hemisphere mating, producing the smart 2-year-old Russian Conquest.

Now a 4-year-old, she’s with Peter and Paul Snowden who, alongside William Johnson Bloodstock (FBAA) and Trilogy, went to $1.25 million for her sister at this year’s Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale.

“She's been a really good mare to us, and she had a belting Snitzel foal the other day” Field reported.

Following a similar theme, American mare Spanish Pipedream (USA) (Scat Daddy {USA}) will visit Wild Ruler this year, another of Newgate’s second-season sires.

Spanish Pipedream was twice a stakes winner in the US, and made the Royal Ascot raiding squad for her trainer Wesley Ward, running fourth as a juvenile in Royal Ascot’s G2 Queen Mary S.

She was picked up by Newgate and SF Bloodstock for US$370,000 at the 2016 Keeneland November Breeding Sale as a maiden mare, and was bred to Capitalist in 2018.

The resultant filly foal sold to Ciaron Maher at the 2021 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale for $475,000, and was named Latizia.

“Latizia showed a huge amount of ability in the Maher/Eustace stable, but unfortunately died prematurely,” Field said of the G3 Blue Diamond Preview (Fillies) placegetter. Following her is an Exceed And Excel filly, who is now a 3-year-old named Costa Smeralda. She bucked the trend in being retained, and is making pleasing steps towards her first race for Ciaron Maher and David Eustace.

“We've kept her and we like her. That year we only kept two yearlings off the whole farm - everything we breed goes to market.

“That was the only one that didn't get offered in a sale, because she had a terrible OCD in her shoulder.”

With only her second yearling to make the sales being the $900,000 I Am Invincible filly which changed hands at this year’s Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale to the Snowdens and William Johnson Bloodstock (FBAA), Field is hopeful that Wild Ruler - himself Newgate’s “number one ranked yearling of his crop” - will complement Spanish Pipedream.

“She's a nice mare, she's proven she can throw a runner, and she's a lovely outcross to go to a Redoute’s Choice-line stallion,” he said.

“He's throwing stock that looks like himself, and from what we've seen so far we couldn’t be more pleased.

“So, we're going to load back in; we've had four foals by him on the farm so far, and we'll add another half a dozen mares onto his book this year as a result.”

Table: Some of the matings Newgate is planning for the 2023 season

Despite being famous as a nation of horse lovers, horseracing fans in particular, Ireland is not immune to the same problems faced by most of the world’s major racing nations; a general public who are slowly drifting away from the animal that was once, not so long ago, at the heart of society.

The latest innovation at the Irish National Stud (INS), a state-owned institution, is aiming to address the growing detachment between horse and human, and serve as an educational experience on an industry in which Ireland punches well above its weight on the world stage.

“The idea started out with a need to upgrade the museum we’ve had here for a long time,” INS CEO Cathal Beale told TTR AusNZ. “We had support from Failte Ireland, the National Tourism Development Agency, so we decided to actually tell a story this time and create something that people could interact with.

“We came up with a narrative that mirrored our Japanese Garden by taking the visitor on a journey through the life of a thoroughbred from foaling to racing by letting them make all the decisions and getting to ride their own horse in a virtual race.”

The Irish Racehorse Experience, a €3.2million (AU$5.37 million) project (61 per cent of which was grant supported), was born. Beale’s ambition with the experience is to highlight all the elements of the thoroughbred lifecycle that are usually hidden, encouraging visitors to invest in the story behind what they may have seen briefly on TV.

“After a brief introduction the game element starts in Goffs where you must purchase a yearling,” he explained. You must name your new purchase, decide on the trainer and, most importantly, how it should be trained, and then you pick your colours.

“Once all the information is locked in you are ready to race. Throughout this journey there are digital, physical, interactive displays and information points to show people how these animals are raised, the depths of their physiological capacity, the role of jockeys, the whip, and raceday itself.

“We also have our own equine karaoke where you can practise your race calling skills while racing the words to a famous race. I suppose the idea is that it is education by stealth, using technology and hopefully engaging the senses and letting people have some fun with it.”

Getting off the ground

Amongst the 150,000 visitors the Irish National Stud welcomes through its gates each year the demographic is wide-ranging, from primary school groups to retirees. Beale reported that all newcomers will pass through the experience, and hence it was imperative from the start that it cater to everyone.

After running several workshops with a large focus group of industry and tourism leaders, Beale employed DMW Creative to curate and organise the story, the telling of which ultimately meant construction of a new building to house the digital experience.

Gallery: Images of the new Irish Racehorse Experience

“This actually helped,” he explained. “The creative team were able to input into decisions like where mech and electricity infrastructure needed to be rather than trying to shoe-horn their ideas into an existing building.

“It is completely original bespoke technology. GPS sensors are placed centimetres apart throughout the roof to track you throughout the visit and load the next piece of audio or gameplay at various points.

“The game itself is designed around an algorithm that places emphasis on your selection and training methodology in particular. There is an element of chance loaded in for going condition changes or unforeseen – we thought that was more realistic.”

Adding to the realism, the filmed elements of the experience place the visitor into the centre of the industry. Collaborating with Goffs, visitors are immersed in the life of an auction house whilst ‘The Big Race’, which the whole experience works towards, sees visitors taking their seat alongside five others on racehorse simulators as the gates open on the big screen in front of them.

That element, so crucial to the experience, took no small amount of work to realise according to Beale.

“We spent a long time trying to work that one out,” he said. “Eventually we convinced Naas Racecourse to allow us to ride one horse up the straight on a raceday in between two races.

“Johnny Murtagh was brilliant to supply us with the horse and we had Gary Carroll ride, who is the son of Sally Carroll who ran our Education Course so brilliantly for years.

“On the day itself Naas was brilliant and allowed me to be interviewed in the parade ring to explain to all the racegoers what was going on. We needed to make it look crowded so we asked everyone there to stand on the rails and cheer them on like Gary was winning the Derby.”

Whether it’s the realism, the quality of the experience or the fascinating animal behind it all, Beale’s aim in capturing wider attention has proved successful, and the Irish Racehorse Experience has been the recipient of several awards including the THEA in 2022.

“These are the Oscars for the global Visitor Experience sector,” Beale explained. “It was a great kick to see our little Irish thoroughbred competing with Super Mario, Jurassic Park and Disney among others.”

“While these Awards are great we actively built the experience for the median person, the general visitor, and to see them smiling and laughing and having a great time going through it is much more important and satisfying.”

Taking the lead

The Irish National Stud’s position as a government body means that Beale must have a far wider lens than most who sit at the head of breeding organisations, though he’s still plain about the bottom line.

The goal of promoting Ireland as “a world centre of excellence for thoroughbred breeding care” can only be achieved by developments in commercial activity, he argues.

“We do that by supporting innovation, education, tourism and sustainability to be a showcase for Ireland’s bloodstock sector.

“Every major project we look at tries to achieve at least one of those objectives. We have invested significantly in boarding facilities and infrastructure, in our broodmare band, in stallions and in our tourism offering. Those are the drivers of our revenue.”

Beale is frank about the contribution of the stud’s flagbearer, the 26-year-old Invincible Spirit (Ire), whom he hails as “by far the greatest” of all the stallions to have walked the same pastures in over 120 years.

Without him, even grant-supported projects such as the Irish Racehorse Experience might not have been possible.

“From those revenue streams,” Beale continued. “We’ve been able to help create the National Equine Innovation Centre on our campus, to enhance our education program, achieving QQI Level 6 status on the National Framework of Qualifications, and develop tourism infrastructure that better tells our story.”

Whilst the Irish Racehorse Experience is a class-leading innovation itself, the industry-first approach on which all INS activities has, in the case of the National Equine Innovation Centre, been the catalyst for further innovation.

Video: One of the Irish National Stud activities

“It was launched a couple of years ago now and houses equine tech and innovation companies such as Equitrace and Trojan Track as well as Treo Eile and Thoroughbred Country,” Beale explained.

“It places INS as a hub for international equine technology development and has created a network beyond the physical infrastructure of the building itself.

“Just last week we hosted a trade delegation through Enterprise Ireland with over 30 companies displaying their services to delegates throughout the world.”

A clear vision

Beale is clearly an innovator. Though he’s happy to share his experiences, he modestly refused to laud the Irish Racehorse Experience as a template to be copied around the world but, as for his take on the challenges our industry faces, its existence tells you all you need to know.

“I think like everywhere else we have an amazing thing that is hiding in plain sight,” he said. “We all know the pressures on our social licence in this sport.

“I firmly believe we have a great story to tell. The thoroughbred and the people who look after them are fascinating to the general public. We see it everyday at INS. When people are given access to be near them their reactions are amazing.

“Our view is that people need to be welcomed in, to see what we do, to understand where we are coming from. We have to open our gates and let people see it because I have absolute confidence in what we do. The more people we can pass through those doors the more people I believe we convert to being, if not fans, at least understanding bystanders.”

Cover image courtesy of Rich Hill Stud

Ahead of the new breeding season, the Waikato branch of the NZTBA last weekend hosted its annual stallion parade, enabling some of the finest farms in Australasia the opportunity to showcase their stallions to prospective breeders.

The parade kicked off in Matamata on Saturday at 9.30am local time and finished up on Sunday afternoon at Cambridge Stud.

NZTBA members Dave Duley and Dylan Johnson were tasked with master of ceremonies duties across the two days, with Duley in charge at Matamata and Johnson guiding proceedings at Cambridge/Hamilton.

“It was very well-received; I’ve been doing the stallion parade for the past five years and it was definitely one of the bigger crowds. It was really good. And it was nice to see new breeders there. There were people there with the odd mare, looking to find a good sire, so it was really positive,” Duley told The Thoroughbred Report.

“There was a great feeling around the farms. I think it’s helped with Entain coming on board. The studs all spoke with passion and enthusiasm, so there was a real spring in everyone’s step.”

Johnson echoed his colleague’s sentiments, admitting he too was thrilled with the turnout and mood of the participants.

“I’ve done it the past three or four years and this was quite comfortably a bigger turnout than what we’ve ever had. At the height of it, we would have had well over 200 people, probably closer to 250,” he told The Thoroughbred Report.

“The studs here do a great job; they really make the day. They opened their gates and their stallions were so well-presented.

“It really kick-starts the season here. One of the things in New Zealand… breeders tend to make their minds up a little bit later, so there’s still a number of breeders who are yet to decide where their mares are going.

“That’s probably a key difference between us and Australia, the Aussies tend to lock in their matings early, whereas New Zealanders don’t, so this is a great opportunity for those that are still undecided and it’s probably a weekend where a lot of decisions are made. It’s definitely a weekend where business is done and breeders do book mares in.”

A breeder’s perspective (Matamata farms)

Following the weekend, TTR AusNZ caught up with prominent breeder Tony Bambry, who also holds a trainer’s licence. Bambry is the proprietor of Mangatiti Bloodstock - a 53-acre property situated just 10 minutes from Palmerston North, at the lower end of New Zealand’s North Island.

Bambry attended each of the studs across the two days, starting at Mapperley Stud, which showed off its four-member roster of Armory (Ire), Contributer (Ire), Savile Row (NZ) and Puccini (NZ). Mapperley Stud also stands Profondo in partnership with Windsor Park Stud.

“The stud farms were in immaculate order, given the winter we have had. They did a super job,” Bambry explained.

“I was really impressed with Armory, he is a very neat type of horse and he’s got a bit of 2-year-old form. He was a lovely type. Size-wise, he’s not too big and he seemed to have a good demeanour about him. He looks good value at NZ$10,000 (plus GST) for a horse that ran second in the Cox Plate.

“Contributer is a lovely big horse.”

New Zealand’s Champion Sire Proisir is the kingpin at Rich Hill Stud and there was a big crowd on hand to see him. He stands alongside Ace High, Satono Aladdin (Jpn), Shocking and Vadamos (Fr).

“He (Proisir) is very impressive, there’s no denying that,” Bambry said.

“Satono Aladdin looked a picture of health and, being a shuttler, he’s only just come out of quarantine.”

New Zealand’s multiple Champion Sire Savabeel rightly holds court at Waikato Stud, but it was his son, Noverre (NZ), that really impressed Bambry.

“Noverre is a big, physical sort of horse, and being from a sprinting family, I think that will help him across the New Zealand mare,” he said.

“Waikato’s stallions are always well-presented and that was the case on Saturday. It’s a quality lineup, with Savabeel, Ocean Park, Tivaci, Super Seth Ardrossan and Banquo. Ardrossan is such a good-looking horse and I reckon Banquo will be a good breed-to-race horse.”

Nick King’s Brighthill Farm was the last of the farms to showcase its stallions on Saturday. It has Dalghar (Fr), Eminent (Ire) and Preferment (NZ) on its roster.

“Eminent has a great pedigree, being a son of Frankel. I’ve seen some of his progeny at the trials and they’ve been winning 2-year-old trials, so they may not take as long to come to hand as people think. He’s a big, rangy horse,” Bambry said.

A breeder’s perspective (Cambridge/Hamilton farms)

Sunday’s session kicked off at Highview Stud in Ngahinapouri, which is the new home for the Group 2-producing sire Divine Prophet. A barnmate of Santos and Wrote (Ire), he stands his maiden season in New Zealand for NZ$13,500 (plus GST).

“Divine Prophet is doing a good job and to get a horse like him over here is quite a coup, considering he’s a full brother to Proisir. He is a nice horse,” said Bambry.

“Wrote is a nice, neat type of horse and he’s doing a really good job up in Hong Kong, too.”

It didn’t take long for breeders to throw their weight of support behind Profondo - a Group 1-winning son of the great Deep Impact (Jpn). His book was full by early July and he will serve approximately 140 mares in his debut season.

“He was in great shape. He’s quite a performer, he was on his back legs quite a bit and putting on a show for everybody and showing off. But, yeah, he looked great. The fact he was booked out before he went public is quite something,” Bambry commented.

Profondo stands alongside Circus Maximus (Ire), Turn Me Loose (NZ), Shamexpress (NZ) and Vanbrugh at Windsor Park Stud.

Bambry revealed he is a bit biased towards U S Navy Flag (USA), who stands at The Oaks Stud for NZ$15,000 (plus GST). Roc De Cambes (NZ) and The Chosen One (NZ) are also residents at the Cambridge-based farm.

“My daughter Chrissy trains a 3-year-old filly called Chantilly Lace and she won a stakes race by 10 lengths in June. Apparently, it hasn’t been done in 50 years. I’m confident she will win the Wanganui Guineas on Saturday week,” said Bambry.

“U S Navy Flag has done a good job and I think his progeny are a really tough breed. The stallion himself raced 11 times as a 2-year-old. He must be sound. Our filly is very sound, both mentally and physically. I think he’s got a big future here and it’s great he’s now owned here in New Zealand and not shuttling.”

Sweynesse - the sire of Hong Kong’s best sprinter Lucky Sweynesse (NZ) - is one of five stallions at Novara Park. He stands at a fee of NZ$10,000 (plus GST) and is a barnmate of King Of Comedy, Staphanos (Jpn), Press Statement and What’s The Story (NZ).

“They were all really impressive,” Bambry said.

“Press Statement is a great addition to our ranks. I hadn’t considered him, but I would now that I’ve seen him. He’s got an amazing record of runners to winners. I spoke to a few Australian trainers about him and they quite like him.

“Staphanos is another impressive son of Deep Impact and it's good to have that option available.”

Cambridge Stud’s roster features Hello Youmzain (Fr), Almanzor (Fr), Embellish (NZ) and Sword Of State.

“Hello Youmzain is a big, strong horse and pretty typical of the Kodiac line. I’m surprised he’s the first Kodiac horse to come down here, but apparently he’s the best son of Kodiac at stud at the moment and he will leave impressive horses. And apparently they’re very easy to train, so I reckon he has a big future,” said Bambry.

“I was also very impressed by Sword Of State. He’s an ideal horse for the New Zealand breeder, he’s that early maturing speed, and you put that across our slower maturing mares… you need to be racing as a 2-and 3-year-old, really, that’s where the good stakemoney is. He was a very good horse and he’s a son of Snitzel.”

Cover image courtesy of The Image Is Everything

In today's Q & A, we feature a quick-fire round with Julian Blaxland, owner of Julian Blaxland Bloodstock (FBAA).

Favourite moment - racing, sales or breeding related - for the 2022/23 season?

Julian Blaxland: Watching Artorius win the G1 Canterbury S. in Sydney for Anthony and Sam Freedman. I was at Flemington with Dean Hawthorne, Andy Williams and Guy Mulcaster for Australian Guineas Day. Artorius has been such an elite performer and he got a brilliant ride from Zac Purton, so it was great to see it all come together. I was particularly pleased for Sam after so many near misses with the horse in Group 1 races over the past year and such huge runs by the horse in the UK.

Which sire do you consider a value sire? Fee <$50k and not a first-season sire.

JB: Hard question as I think a lot of stallions are still overpriced – despite what could be coming ahead next sales season with the economy. Harry Angel (Ire) is a horse I have a lot of time for. I’ve liked his sales progeny and they look like Australian-style horses in the mould of our good sprinters. He’s not expensive and he’s done a great job so far.

What young sire (less than three crops) do you think will one day be Champion Sire?

JB: I think Justify (USA) is the obvious choice on paper. He’s a Champion, a Triple Crown winner and what he’s done with his 2-year-olds here and abroad to date is just the start of it. He’s been heavily supported with some of the best mares in Australia by Coolmore and local breeders, and I think he could be anything.

Which yearling purchase in 2023 are you most excited about?

JB: The Frosted (USA) x Southbank colt ($75,000) from the Bhima Thoroughbreds draft at the January Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale, bred by Jonathan Munz. He was great value and is out of a mare that went within a whisker of winning a 1000 Guineas. With Anthony and Sam Freedman, and will get every chance.

What, if any, is your greatest current-industry concern?

JB: The anti-racing sentiment that’s growing across the country. I worry about what it will be in 20 years’ time. It was barely mentioned 20 years ago but it seems to get stronger every year. It’s a product of the world we live in today.

Yes, it’s uneducated and generally incorrect in regards to facts, but it can’t be ignored and it has an effect on people in the general public and the image of our sport. I applaud the work of Kick Up for Racing and they should be supported by all of the industry in stating the facts and setting the record straight. More people need to be turned onto racing and not turned off by misinformation. This problem isn’t going away anytime soon.

Name an emerging human talent in the industry, and say why?

JB: Georgia Everingham – bloodstock consultant at Magic Millions. Smart, hardworking and will go places. She does the miles and will keep getting better.

If you had $10 million to invest in an industry initiative, what would it be and why?

JB: I’d build an industry-specific facility for Lindy Maurice’s Thoroughbred Industry Careers (TIC) program. The industry doesn’t operate without a pathway for young people to enter and work in thoroughbred racing and breeding.

We have one of the most enviable and vibrant racing jurisdictions in the world and Lindy and her team did all the work setting this program up and produced umpteen wonderful graduates that live and breathe and work in the game today. If you can’t see it, you can’t be it – and I think it’s a travesty this program has been halted due to state government politics. We need not only this program up and running in NSW, but a branch in every state of Australia.