Carlson on cloud nine as Manaal delivers early punch for Tassort

Cover image courtesy of Newgate Stud Farm

Siring a stakes winner with your first ever runner is the dream start for any stallion, and that dream became a reality for all those connected with first-season sire Tassort on Saturday when the Michael Freedman-trained filly Manaal (Tassort) timed her challenge to perfection to make a winning debut in the G3 Gimcrack S. at Royal Randwick.

An Emirates Park homebred out of the US-bred stakes winner Red Lodge (USA) (Midshipman {USA}), Manaal led home a 1-2-3 for Newgate Farm-based stallions, beating Celestial Bling (Capitalist) by 0.06l with Repose (Russian Revolution) only a nose further back in what was a blanket finish to Sydney’s first 2-year-old race of the season.

Manaal’s victory also catapulted an emotional Tommy Berry back onto the big stage, with the leading hoop only returning from a nine month riding ban earlier in the week.

It was a dream result on all fronts according to Emirates Park General Manager Bryan Carlson, who remained optimistic over Manaal’s chances despite a lack of market confidence jumping at double-figure odds.

“She had a good barrier (three) and jumped better than she normally does, but she didn’t get everything her own way,” Carlson told The Thoroughbred Report AusNZ.

“She worked very well during the week with older horses and we knew that if she got space she could run well. The market didn’t think so, but I thought she was a top three chance and to get it done is a huge relief.

“Red Lodge is the only mare we have bought out of Keeneland, and to be the dam of the Keeneland Gimcrack Stakes winner is a great result for the sponsors. They are great supporters of the industry down here.

“It was just a great result for everyone. From Tommy (Berry) to Keeneland to ourselves and Newgate. It’s just a great story.”

The famous green and white silks of Emirates Park are almost synonymous with the G1 Golden Slipper S. having been carried to success with Mossfun (Mossman) and Estijaab (Snitzel) in the past decade, and Carlson revealed that Manaal will be given every chance to emulate those two flying fillies in next year’s $5 million feature.

“Either today or Monday she’ll be in the paddock and we’ll look at races like the Widden and possibly the (Golden) Slipper for her going forward,” he added.

“She’ll definitely be treated as a Golden Slipper horse. One of Hussain Lootah’s favourite races is the Slipper, so if we can win it with a homebred that would be fantastic.

“We have a few 2-year-olds on that campaign, so that’s our aim anyway.”

Unrelenting support

Manaal is far from the only Tassort 2-year-old whom Emirates Park have high hopes for, with fellow homebreds Qaraar - a half-sister to Enthaar (Written Tycoon) - and Manaajem - a half-sister to stakes-winning siblings Charm Stone (I Am Invincible) and Najmaty (I Am Invincible) - both having put their hands up as horses of promise at this early stage in the season.

The Murrurundi-based operation has thrown its full weight of support behind the stallion in no uncertain terms, and part of that approach has seen Emirates Park retain a number of Tassort’s best-bred stock to race, instead of testing the market with them at the yearling sales earlier this year.

“We bought the stallion off Godolphin, which we very much appreciate them allowing us to do, and then set up the partnership with Newgate,” Carlson said of Tassort. “We thought if we’re going to do it, we’re going to put 100 per cent into it and give him every chance.

“We sold Fightertown out of the mare last year for good money and we could have put Manaal through the sale, but to give the stallion every chance we said we’d retain the nice ones.

“We have eight Tassorts in the stable and it has started out very well.”

It is easy to see why Carlson was so keen to support Tassort at stud, given that he hails from one of the most current and prolific families in the world of thoroughbred breeding.

By Group 1-winning sprinter Brazen Beau out of the blue hen mare Essaouira (Exceed And Excel), Tassort is a half-brother to Champion 3-Year-Old Filly Alizee (Sepoy) and Darley’s Group 1-producing sire Astern, as well as multiple stakes placegetter Mogador (Lonhro) and Leopard (Animal Kingdom {USA}), the dam of this year’s T L Ballieu H. hero Amur (Snitzel).

It was his race record as much as his pedigree, however, that prompted Carlson to secure a stake in the lightly-raced colt. A dominant 5.3l winner of the Golden Gift on debut, Tassort was put on a G1 Golden Slipper S. path but only managed one more start - a second in the G2 Silver Slipper S. - before injury curtailed what promised to be a hugely successful career on the track.

“I like Brazen Beau and the I Am Invincible line, I think Brazen Beau is a very underrated stallion,” Carlson said.

“Tassort is out of a lovely Exceed And Excel mare and the family speaks for itself - he’s out of one of the best mares in the Stud Book.

“The biggest thing though, and I know he only had a couple of starts, was the way Tassort raced as a 2-year-old. He just got on with the job, he had that 2-year-old early speed and we probably never got to see the best of him.

“Standing at around $10,000 isn’t easy, but if you give them every chance, they can make it.”

Emirates Park has certainly done just that, with Red Lodge joined by the likes of dual Group 3 winner and proven stakes producer Najoom (Northern Meteor) in Tassort’s very first book of mares.

Other high-profile mares sent his way during his debut season at stud included the dams of fellow G3 Gimcrack S. heroine Enthaar (Written Tycoon), Group 2 winner and multiple Group 1 placegetter Hilal (Fastnet Rock) and Group 2-winning juvenile Lightsaber, the latter of which is standing his first season at Darling View Thoroughbreds in Western Australia this year.

“Since then we’ve only been upgrading our mares more, so he’s only going to get more quality from here,” Carlson added.

“You’ve only got to look at the foals by him that we’re having this year. Mossfun has had a filly by him, Shumookh, Liwa and a few other stakes winners as well. If he keeps going the right way, we’re going to benefit from that at the sales in the coming years.

“Just thinking of some of the Tassorts that we still have to come, it’s only going to be upwards from here.”

Just the beginning

The future certainly looks bright for Tassort, who has covered books of 137, 181 and 132 respectively since he was first introduced to breeders at a fee of $11,000 (inc GST) back in 2020.

Tassort’s book for the current Southern Hemisphere breeding season is looking stronger by the day, thanks in large part to a couple of promising showings at the official 2-year-old trials in Sydney earlier this month, and Carlson was quick to thank the team at Newgate and all those who have supported the stallion since it was announced that he’d be standing at the Aberdeen-based farm.

“Off the back of the trials he picked up 40-plus mares, so this year he’s looking at covering about 180 at the moment - and that was before Saturday!” Carlson revealed.

“Talking with Newgate, they’re going to assess his book after Saturday and just see what they do, but I’d say he’ll be covering another nice book of mares this year.

“It makes a huge difference when the farms believe in a stallion and I’ve got to say a big thank you to all the breeding rights holders who have put their belief in him, we’re just so thankful to everyone that has supported him with their mares.

“A lot of small breeders have come along for the ride too and hopefully they can all have some fun and success with him.”

Having covered the likes of Mossfun, Enthaar and dual Group 2 winner Shumookh (Dream Ahead {USA}) last year, Emirates Park will once again be supporting Tassort with both quantity and quality this breeding season, as has been the case ever since he retired to stud.

Roughly 20 members of the Emirates Park broodmare band are currently pencilled in for the son of Brazen Beau, although plans still remain fluid at this stage, particularly in light of Saturday's breakthrough result.

“We’ve got some lovely mares going to him this year but we’re probably going to switch a few around and upgrade them even more,” Carlson revealed to TTR AusNZ.

“With stallions you’ve just got to work out what year to support them heavily and most of our mares will only go once to Tassort, mainly because we try not to go to too many unproven stallions with mares in order to give them every chance at stud.

“We’ve got a lovely American mare called Okinawa going there and Red Lodge may go back to him as well, but we’ll just wait and see.”

Back to the well

The Emirates Park team will be hoping that lightning strikes twice with Okinawa (USA) (The Factor {USA}), who like Red Lodge was bred in the US and was competitive at stakes level during her time stateside.

Red Lodge has been nothing short of a roaring success since she was purchased by Emirates Park for US$500,000 (AUS$777,600) at the Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale back in 2018, having produced $1.1 million Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale graduate Fightertown (Snitzel) with her first Southern Hemisphere-born foal and Manaal with her second.

Manaal wasn’t the only product of an American-bred mare to record a stakes race victory in Australia on Saturday, with Listed R M Ansett Classic winner Born A King (GB) (Frankel {GB}) and the hugely-progressive G1 Metropolitan H. hero Just Fine (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) also out of mares from across the Pacific.

It’s a trend that continues to pop up in the pedigrees of several top-class horses in Australia, and given the immediate success the farm has had with Red Lodge, Carlson is understandably keen to head back over to America for the upcoming breeding stock sales.

“I think Red Lodge still holds the track record at Belmont and she went and raced at Royal Ascot - she was a very good 2-year-old for Wesley Ward, she wasn’t just any American mare,” he said.

“Since 1980, its something like close to 70-plus Group 1 winners have come of American mares down here (in Australia).

“The stats speak for themselves and I’m a huge supporter of American mares, they’re very tough and they breed tough horses down here. If I could have 20 more American mares I would.

“I think we’ll be going back to the well and buying some more this year.”

Whilst Carlson and his team turn their attention to bolstering the broodmare band with further US-bred talent, Red Lodge will continue to fly the flag Down Under for Emirates Park in the meantime.

The daughter of Midshipman (USA) is due to foal to Widden Stud linchpin Zoustar in the coming weeks and already has a filly by reigning Champion Sire I Am Invincible on the ground, a yearling who would certainly command plenty of attention should she be sold at auction next year.

She may still be retained to race, however, with that call likely to be made in the coming weeks as the team establish their plans for the 2024 yearling sales.

“She’s a very high-quality filly and I think we’ve had something like seven or eight stakes horses by Vinnie that we’ve either bred or raced, so we’re very big supporters of his,” Carlson added.

“We haven’t finalised anything for our yearling crop at this stage, but she’s a lovely filly and we’ll make a decision on her in the near future.”

Regardless of whether she is sent to auction or retained to race, Emirates Park has yet another hugely exciting prospect on its hands.