Where are the Coolmore mares going this season? Tom Moore has the answers

Cover image courtesy of Shannay VanDyk

The 2023 breeding season is a week old, and most of the big operators are in full swing. Months-long planning has been replaced by long, busy days in the covering sheds, and equally long nights in the foaling units.

It’s a ritualistic time of year, but it’s also an evolving one for Coolmore Stud in Jerrys Plains. Weekly, even daily, the farm’s management team is reassessing its matings plans for what is, without argument, one of the most lavish bands of broodmares in the country.

Maastricht (NZ) (Mastercraftsman {Ire}), Sunlight (Zoustar) and Global Glamour (Star Witness)... these are just some of the exceptional stock that frequent the Coolmore paddocks. They are joined by the likes of Avantage (Fastnet Rock), who cost no less than NZ$4.1 million, and Piping Hot (More Than Ready {USA}), who cost $3 million recently, as well as other recent millionaire purchases like Miss Roseiano (Exceed And Excel) and Nimalee (So You Think {NZ}).

It’s an embarrassment of riches for Coolmore, but no accident. As it has done at its Tipperary and Kentucky operations for decades, it has carefully curated its broodmare collection in Australia to support its stallion roster.

The Coolmore mares can be the making of new and young stallions, and few operations have this down to a fine art as much as Coolmore.

“Depending on the mare, discussions about matings can start many months before they are covered,” said Tom Moore, Coolmore’s marketing and nominations, speaking to TTR AusNZ. “In the case of some of the high-profile mares that have been purchased by Coolmore and partners over the past few years, there are discussions that take place immediately after they are purchased.

“For example, a mare like Sunlight was purchased specifically to go to Justify, and her 2-year-old colt, Dawn Service, is showing extremely positive signs in the Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott stable. As a result, she will return to Justify again this season.”

Matings like that are fairly logical for Coolmore. First foals, a particularly good foal or a cross that fires will ebb and flow the team's mating decisions on a monthly, weekly and daily basis.

“There is a team of us that goes through the mare book in great detail to identify the stallion that we believe gives the resulting progeny the greatest chance of being a top-class racehorse,” Moore added. “And when you have stallions of the quality of Fastnet Rock, Wootton Bassett, So You Think, Justify, Pierro and St Mark’s Basilica at your disposal, it makes it a bit easier to find a suitable mating.”

Big names to Justify

This spring, the farm has 14 stallions in residence. When the roster was announced in April, the big news was that Justify (USA) was returning to the fold after a year’s hiatus. And it was good timing.

The Triple Crown winner was, just a handful of weeks ago, crowned Australia’s Champion First-Season Sire for season 2022/23, a feat that hadn’t been achieved by a shuttle stallion since More Than Ready (USA) in 2004/05.

It’s expected his book will be sizeable and, given he has covered the likes of Atlantic Jewel (Fastnet Rock), Hips Don’t Lie (NZ) (Stravinsky {USA}), Maastricht and Srikandi (Dubawi {Ire}) during his three previous seasons in Australia, the quality will be there again this spring.

In support of Justify, Coolmore has committed, as an example, two very good mares to the horse. The first is Coolangatta (Written Tycoon), whose exploits need no introduction, and the second is Ennis Hill (Fastnet Rock), the dam of Learning To Fly (Justify {USA}). On the surface, they are logical matings.

The news that Coolmore had pounced on Coolangatta came as recently as a month ago when it was reported that a multi-million-dollar agreement had been reached between parties for the filly to head to Jerrys Plains.

At the time the private deal was secured for Coolangatta, one that was described as one of the most expensive for an off-track mare in Australia, Coolmore announced that the 4-year-old would visit Home Affairs in that stallion’s second season. However, Coolmore has opted instead for the imposing Justify, with Coolangatta’s dam, Piping Hot (another headline purchase earlier this year), going instead to Home Affairs.

The union of Coolangatta and Justify will be an exciting one for the farm and, with her family already affirmed, Coolangatta doesn’t have the usual concerns surrounding a maiden mare going to a young stallion.

Justify has already produced the local stakes winners Learning To Fly, Air Assault, a G3 Sires' Produce S. winner in South Australia, and Legacies.

In that vein, sending Ennis Hill to Justify was a logical decision. This mare’s daughter, Learning To Fly, was one of the most promising juvenile fillies in the country this side of Christmas, winning the G2 Reisling S. and G3 Widden S. before going amiss in a strong Golden Slipper. She is highly talented and the product of the only time that her dam has visited Justify.

Eight-year-old Ennis Hill, herself a daughter of Hips Don’t Lie, has offspring by American Pharoah (USA), Pierro and I Am Invincible, and she will foal a Snitzel this season. It’s one of the most valuable families in Coolmore’s possession, so continuing to build it is a logical and important call.

Equally, the priceless mare Sunlight will also visit Justify. Since her purchase by Coolmore for $4.2 million on the Gold Coast in 2020, the 8-year-old mare has produced the Justify colt Dawn Service and a Wootton Bassett (GB) colt last spring. She is due to foal to Home Affairs shortly.

Dawn Service is trained by Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott at Tulloch Lodge. The colt is a new-season 2-year-old, and he was bought by his trainers and Kestrel Thoroughbreds for $1.4 million at this year’s Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale.

Raced in alliance by Coolmore, Go Bloodstock and other partners, he has been promising enough that another date with Justify is justified for Sunlight, particularly with this family firing as it is. Sunlight’s full brother, Kandinsky Abstract (Zoustar), was a 2-year-old winner on debut last season and a $3 million yearling purchase for Magnier at the 2022 Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale.

“In his short career at stud, Justify has already proven that he is capable of producing high-class 2-year-olds in both hemispheres,” Moore said.

“In Australia, Learning To Fly is a great example of that, so it’s an easy decision for Ennis Hill to return to Justify this season. She was extremely precocious and fast herself and is the right style of mare to send to him. Learning To Fly was a particularly good-looking yearling, as good as you will ever see, so we wanted to find some other mares with similar profiles for Justify.”

On this account, Sunlight was a good fit for the American shuttler. However, Moore said Coolangatta was equally so.

“Coolangatta had incredible speed and was precocious enough to win both the Gimcrack and Magic Millions, and she matches up particularly well with Justify on type. Also, the elements of More Than Ready and Danehill in her pedigree have already been successful with him.

“The decision was made to send Coolangatta to a proven stallion in her first season, and she can go to Home Affairs next season if and when Piping Hot has a nice Home Affairs foal.”

Logical options

With Coolangatta committed to Justify, Coolmore will send her dam, the 10-year-old Piping Hot, to Home Affairs. She was a $3 million buy for Tom Magnier at the 2023 Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale in May.

Magnier and the team were still bouncing at that point from their Golden Slipper victory with Shinzo (Snitzel), a colt that had resulted from a similarly expensive purchase ($1.8 million) in Samaready (More Than Ready {USA}). It gave Coolmore confidence in committing once again to these pricey purchases, so that its faith in Piping Hot is well-placed.

Piping Hot was bought in-foal to I Am Invincible, the result of which was a filly born on August 18. By all accounts, she is a lovely sample of foal and it was logical, therefore, to send the mare to Home Affairs, himself a leading son of I Am Invincible.

Home Affairs is standing for $99,000 (inc GST) this spring. In similar support of him, Coolmore is sending him the 6-year-old mare Tangier (Medaglia D’Oro {USA}), whom it purchased for $1.3 million last year out of the Magic Millions National Sale catalogue. Again, this is an enormous page for Home Affairs.

Tangier had raced for Godolphin for a Wyong win in four starts. However, as a daughter of Essaouira (Exceed And Excel), she is a full sister to Astern, a half-sister to Tassort and a half-sister to Alizee (Sepoy). This is a silk-lined pedigree in the Australian Stud Book, and Magnier purchased Tangier in foal to I Am Invincible, the result of which was a fine colt born last year.

The mare was sent to Home Affairs in the stallion’s first season last year and, returning to him again, Coolmore is building Tangier’s young profile on the I Am Invincible cross.

“We are so impressed with the first crop of Home Affairs foals that we want to support him heavily again,” Moore said. “Tangier is a quality mare with a highly rated I Am Invincible yearling colt going to the sales next year, so similar to Piping Hot, the idea is to produce a three-quarter relation by sending her to Home Affairs this season.”

Gallery: Some of Home Affairs' first foals, images courtesy of Coolmore

First-crop foal strength

Justify and Home Affairs are among the headline acts at Jerrys Plains this spring. However, it wouldn’t be a typical season at Coolmore if there weren’t other stallions snapping at their heels.

Wootton Bassett is one such horse, a European star that first graced Australia in 2021 and has returned again this season for his third Southern Hemisphere book.

The son of Iffraaj (GB) is asking for $93,500 (inc GST) right now, and Coolmore has had no problem filling his book. In support of him, the farm is sending an array of mares and just two of them are the G1 South Australian Derby winner Qafila (Not A Single Doubt) and the dual Group-winning Tulip (Pierro).

Qafila was bought by Dean Hawthorne Bloodstock (BAFNZ) for $2 million at the 2021 Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale. She is part of Jonathan Munz’s GSA Bloodstock band. She visited Wootton Bassett in 2021, the result of which was a lovely filly last spring. On the strength of that mating, she will return this season after foaling to I Am Invincible.

Tulip, on the other hand, was raced by Coolmore. She won the Group 3 pair of the Magic Night S. and Typhoon Tracy S., and she is a half-sister to the G3 Caulfield Classic winner Sacred Eye (High Chaparral {Ire}). Her dam, also in the Coolmore fold, is the Group 3-winning Musidora (Rock Of Gibraltar {Ire}), with Tulip’s fourth dam being no less than Fanfreluche (Can) (Northern Dancer {Can}).

“Wootton Bassett is a stallion we have supported heavily in both his previous seasons at stud in Australia,” said Moore.

“Qafila and Tulip have two particularly nice yearlings going to the sales next year and they’ll (the mares) both return to Wootton Bassett this season.”

Gallery: Some of the mares visiting Wootton Bassett (GB) this season

On farm, Coolmore has new yearlings by Wootton Bassett from the likes of Sunlight, Avantage, Invincibella (I Am Invincible) and Champagne Cuddles (Not A Single Doubt), while the stallion has produced siblings to recent Group 1 winner Fangirl (Sebring), freshman sire Jacquinot and Thousand Guineas winner Madame Pommery (No Nay Never {USA}).

He is a stallion on the rise in these parts.

On the Mark again

St Mark’s Basilica (Fr), at a returning fee of $44,000 (inc GST), is back for his second Australian book. Last spring he covered 159 mares, which wasn’t a surprise to anyone given this horse’s credentials.

By Siyouni (Fr), a sireline that is blazing across Europe, St Mark’s Basilica is a half-brother to fellow former shuttler Magna Grecia (Ire), but he packs Group 1 victories in England, Ireland and France, is a European Horse of the Year and an ideal Danehill (USA) outcross in a broodmare market that is crying out for such a thing.

His first Australian foals are starting to dot local paddocks. Among them will be the offspring of Group 1 winner Serious Speed (Royal Academy {USA}), proven producer Nechita (Fastnet Rock) and the three-time Group 1 winner Sea Siren (Fastnet Rock).

“St Mark’s Basilica is another stallion that we want to support heavily on the strength of his first-crop foals,” Moore said. “We went on a mission to find as many suitable mares for him as we could, and two of those were Nakeeta Jane and Global Glamour.

“Both are obviously high-class racehorses in their own right, but they’re also big, strong, powerful mares that we think will complement the stallion very well.”

This spring, Coolmore has committed both Global Glamour and Nakeeta Jane (So You Think {NZ}) to St Mark’s Basilica. The former recently foaled a filly by Snitzel after not producing a foal since her Justify filly in 2020.

Global Glamour was among Coolmore’s hot buys in 2019, purchased by Magnier at the 2019 Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale for $1.55 million. She had won the G1 Flight S. and G1 Thousand Guineas during her brilliant track career, as well as a Group 2 pair.

Equally, Nakeeta Jane will support St Mark’s Basilica with her credentials, which include the 2019 G1 Surround S. and G2 Light Fingers S. After foals by Justify and Wootton Bassett in 2021 and 2022 respectively, and she had a December cover to Wootton Bassett last spring.

Gallery: Some of the mares visiting St Mark’s Basilica (Fr) this season

The Siyouni line has ballooned in popularity this last year in Australia. In June, it was confirmed by Aga Khan Studs that Siyouni, along with his barn mate Zarak (Fr), would be available to Southern Hemisphere time.

Up to that point, the Siyouni sireline was enjoying headlines surrounding the Western Australian star Amelia’s Jewel (Siyouni {Fr}) and, in very recent months, Coolmore itself has enjoyed great success with its multiple Group 1 winner Paddington (GB) (Siyouni {Fr}) in Europe.

An arsenal of talent

The old Champion Fastnet Rock covered 49 mares last spring and is managing his books just fine. Among the names to visit him from Coolmore paddocks this spring will be Savvy Coup (NZ) (Savabeel), who has been loyal to the Champion stallion on previous occasions.

Savvy Coup was a million-dollar purchase for Magnier and James Bester Bloodstock in 2019, and a dual Group 1 winner during her racing career, which included the 2018 G1 New Zealand Oaks. On the strength of her Fastnet Rock mating in 2021, she will return to the stallion again.

“Fastnet Rock is still doing it on the track and in the sale ring,” Moore said. “He produced two million-dollar yearlings this season, as well as a $950,000 filly out of Savvy Coup, so she will go back to him this season. Fastnet Rock has an outstanding record with Zabeel-line mares so we think this mating is a no-brainer.”

So You Think (NZ), meanwhile, will be supported by the I Am Invincible mare Invincible Star, who has visited Justify on two occasions and is expecting a So You Think foal any day.

Invincible Star was added to Coolmore’s broodmare band in 2019 when she was sold by Yarraman Park for $1.45 million to Magnier at the Magic Millions National Sale. She has a Justify yearling colt on the farm.

“So You Think is such a versatile stallion who has produced Group 1 winners from 1300 metres to 3200 metres,” Moore said. “We set out to find him a selection of mares that he would suit physically, and one such mare is Invincible Star who is a medium-sized, fast I Am Invincible that we believe will be a lovely mating. Again.

“This stallion continues to get better and better as a sire, so he is a sire that we are compelled to support with quality mares because we think he could be a Champion sire in the next couple of years. He looks to have a live chance in The Everest this year (with Think About It), so a mare like Invincible Star is capable of producing another top-class sprinter by him.”

Table: Some of the matings Coolmore are planning in 2023