Breeding a Group 1 winner and two Listed winners: Perks enjoys super Saturday

Cover image courtesy of The Image Is Everything

Don't discount the South Australians! Despite the state's breeding industry operating on much smaller numbers than other Australian states, the 'city of churches' continues to churn out quality racehorses.

On Saturday, the prominent South Australian breeder Harry Perks enjoyed the day of all days when his Toorak Thoroughbred Trust bred three individual stakes winners in three different states.

The headline act was the handsome Attrition (Churchill {Ire}), who provided his young trainer Mitchell Freedman and jockey Beau Mertens with their first taste of Group 1 glory when taking out the Toorak H.

In Sydney, the Gerald Ryan and Sterling Alexiou-trained Arctic Glamour (Frosted {USA}) put her hand up as a genuine chance in the G1 Thousand Guineas, with a thrilling win in the Listed Reginald Allen Quality H.

While in South Australia, Air Assault (Justify {USA}), co-owned by Perks, showed himself a G1 VRC Derby hope with a show of sustained stamina in the Listed Hill Smith S.

However, Perks is no one-trick pony. His presence and navy blue and white star silks are some of the most recognisable in South Australia.

From a broodmare population of less than 40, Perks has bred stars such as the G1 Caulfield Cup heroine Southern Speed (Southern Image {USA}), the late Rebel Raider, a victor of the G1 VRC Derby, while the triple Group 1 winner Gold Guru (Geiger Counter {USA}) is another product of Perks' program.

As good as it gets

On a rather wintery Sunday in Victoria, Perks was visiting another of his former superstars - Dalasaan. The good-looking and Group 1-placed son of Dalakhani (Ire) is standing his first season at Riverbank Farm.

“Saturday was very exciting. From a breeding point of view, it was huge, as good as it gets breeding a Group 1 winner and two Listed winners.

“Air Assault is the horse I co-own, while I sold the other two (Attrition and Arctic Glamour). As an owner, winning a Caulfield Cup and a VRC Derby are very special, but this is right up there: an extraordinary Saturday,” Perks told TTR AusNZ.

“I've got 24 mares in my name, and I am involved in about 10 others in a partnership.

“I really like breeding to Group 1 performers; I sent mares to Blue Point and Too Darn Hot. So, I like stallions with that sort of performance.

“With a bit of help from Adrian (Hancock), we discussed what stallions suit the mares best.”

Learning the ropes

Perks has been involved with racing since the late 70s.

“I bought my first racehorse right back in the late 70s. But in the early 80s, we actually set up our own stud - Toorak Park Stud, in about 1980 and stood a couple of stallions there.

“So, I learned by the school of hard knocks. We only had a little money and bought cheap mares and all that stuff, but you learn as you go along.

“Sending all your mares to one or two stallions, and if they're unsuccessful, doesn't help your mares. We moved the mares to Mill Park around '93, which is a fantastic facility.

“It is built upon limestone on the Limestone Coast and is near places like the Coorong National Park in eastern South Australia. It's been very successful.

“Chris (Watson) and the team all do a terrific job raising horses. Having the mares down there with people who know what they're doing is so much easier.

“It's a very professional organisation.”

Key update

Although the Listed-winning filly Arctic Glamour was one Perks sold, he has the filly's dam, who is carrying an early cover to Dalasan.

“Fartoo Flashy is in foal to Dalasan, a very early cover. We've sent six mares to him, and I will support him as much as I can. Dalasan is a lovely horse; he had speed and versatility and raced against the best of his generation.”

Lovely and Assault to carry the flag

Perks is also looking towards the career of Air Assault, the galloper he kept after failing to field a bid when offered at the 2022 Inglis Premier Yearling Sale.

“We've bred some good horses from Elegant Eagle, like Go Indy Go and Essay Raider. Air Assault was a bit immature at the sales. I had two Justify's there, and at the end of the day, I said, “I'm not giving this horse (Air Assault) away. I'll just give him time,” and that has worked out.

“I syndicated him with some people in Adelaide. Some pleased people now. Air Assault won very easily on Saturday. We will chat about where to go now and whether we push on towards the Derby.

“Andrew (Gluyas) has done a great job of getting the gelding to run 1800 metres after missing last start due to the needle getting broken when they went to take blood. He wasn't allowed to run that day, so he went into Saturday with only one race.

“It's a fair climb 1200 to 1800 metres. So, it was a great result, and he's a very promising horse.

“I'd love to win another Derby; you don't get sick of winning Derbys. But whether it's a Derby this time or another in the autumn will be worked out.

“Because Air Assault is still learning, he still bounces around a bit before the races, and then it can take two to lead him around the mounting enclosure. We had to geld him at one stage there because he had just been getting too out of control.”

Perks also looks forward to Lovely Lookin', a daughter of American Pharoah (USA), playing a role during the spring.

She, like Air Assault, is trained by Gluyas and has won two of her three starts. Lovely Lookin' is the first foal from the New Approach (Ire) mare Gogo Grace, a victress of the G3 Bow Mistress S.

Gogo Grace descends from the outstanding broodmare Cotehele House (GB) (My Swanee {GB}), the dam of Commands and Danewin.

“Lovely Lookin'. I am looking forward to seeing her in Melbourne. She's won her last two starts and won easily by about 4l.

“Jason Holder rode her, and he didn't even have to ride her out. She'll be heading towards the Thousand Guineas Prelude, I believe.

“Gogo Grace, her dam, was a pretty good filly. She won a stakes race and needed time, but this filly has showed plenty of potential.”

Hancock helping out

The respected bloodstock agent Adrian Hancock of Hancock Quality Bloodstock (FBAA) and Chris Watson of the family-owned Mill Park Stud are instrumental to Perks' success.

Hancock and Watson's Mill Park Stud all played a vital part in the selection and upbringing of Saturday's super trio.

Hancock, a self-described 'proud South Australian', has been Perks' right-hand man when it comes to sourcing mares.

“For Harry to have all that success on Saturday is great. He's a typical breeder; you hear about the good parts, but you don't always hear about the sad parts,” Hancock told TTR AusNZ.

“Harry is a very successful breeder and keeps it pretty simple. Days like Saturday don't come along often, but that's what it's all about.”

Sourcing the mares

Perks and Hancock purchased the dams of Saturday's trio in 2008 and 2009.

The Toorak hero, Attrition, is the ninth foal from the French Deputy (USA) mare Queen's Kiss, who Hancock Quality purchased for $54,000 at the 2008 Magic Millions Winter Broodmare Sale.

While Air Assault's dam, the Zabeel (NZ) mare Elegant Eagle (NZ),was the most expensive of the trio at $75,000 from the 2008 Inglis Sydney Broodmare Sale.

Rounding out the purchases was the Galileo (Ire) mare Fartoo Flashy, who was bought as a yearling by Adrian Hancock at the 2009 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale for $30,000. Fartoo Flashy is the dam of Arctic Glamour.

“I help Harry. I give my two bobs' worth of opinion and more so help with the physical side of things with the mares. When we buy mares, make sure the mares are the suitable types.

“Queen's Kiss, the dam of Attrition, was a mare we bought on the Gold Coast. She was off the track, and she was surplus for her owners at the time.

“But we thought we could win a race or two with her. Harry generally only breeds from mares that have city form or metropolitan winners. It's a basic requirement.

“So as long as they've shown good city ability, it's a bit of a blueprint for where he buys mare. Sometimes, we buy black type when they're affordable. But we paid $54,000 for Queen's Kiss, and she won a race in Adelaide.

“She was a lovely sort of mare, medium-sized and a lot of quality. She's been an excellent broodmare and bred a few nice horses by Rebel Raider, another horse Harry bred. But that's why we bought Queen's Kiss, a lovely running mare.

“She was rising five when we purchased her, and there was nothing wrong with her. It was a good old South Australian family, and Queen's Kiss had Without Fear in her blood. I knew the family well, and she's done the job for Harry.

“Before Attrition, she produced Royal Rumble, a very good horse who won half-a-million dollars racing around in South Australia. That's a big effort because prizemoney was maybe $20,000 to the winner at the time.

“Danger Deel was another good produce of hers, and now she's got a quality horse like Attrition.”

Focus on quality

“Harry likes to breed to good proper races horses like Churchill, Justify and Frosted. We've bred to American Pharoah also, and we latched onto horses such as Zabeel and Galileo in their early days as broodmare sires. We have managed to buy a few mares by those stallions, and that has stood Harry in good stead,” Hancock said.

“He's happy to breed horses with stamina, which makes him in a small minority of Australian breeders. It is getting harder with all the imports but he's happy to target the 3-year-old Classics.

“Air Assault proved yesterday he has a natural heart and lung capacity by winning over 1800 metres, having only one 1200-metre run under his belt.

“They are bred to run well out of that family. We bought his dam Elegant Eagle at a Sydney broodmare sale in 2008 for $75,000. Her first foal was Essay Raider by Bernardini, again a multiple Group 1 winner. She produced Go Indy Go to him, and she won a (G1) Champagne,” Hancock told TTR AusNZ.

“Elegant Eagle had a bit of a quiet run, and now she's popped up with Air Assault, against all the old mare prejudice. He couldn't get a bid at the Inglis Premier Yearling because he was a big, narrow, leggy, backward and immature Justify out of an old mare. It's Not an ideal recipe for a yearling sale. But Harry believed in him.

“I remember talking to Chris (Watson) about it, Air Assault was always backward. The old mare thing is a bit of a fallacy, Mill Park with the attention to detail and the management of these old mares, you get the best foals. Same with late foals, Harry is more happy to cover a mare in December Harry doesn't follow the rules.

“Arctic Glamour's dam, Fartoo Flashy, was only lightly raced and she placed but had some issues so she could never be trained properly.

“But at the yearling sales Harry, Leon McDonald and I went down to look at her right towards the back of the complex, and we liked her, so we bought her.

“Fartoo Flashy went to Frosted to produce Arctic Glamour. Again, a very fast racehorse that hasn't been that successful here, but he was a great-looking horse.

“So, we chose to send a Galileo mare to horse that could run a mile or 1800 metres to try and breed a similar horse and that's what we have with Arctic Glamour.

“You watch all of her wins; she's been a bit of a standout. Arctic Glamour was very well-named because she is a glamour. She has the Galileo and the Success Express, the grandmother, who's a huge influence is by Vain.

“Harry also was part of the group that bred Rose Quartz, who placed in a Group 3 on Saturday. But I'm just the spoke in the wheel of the team. I'm part of the team that helps put the pieces together, and Harry pulls the trigger.

“Harry is a great racing man. He enjoys the win, and he takes the hard losses and moves on. Harry rang me up when Air Assault missed a run last start because when they took pre-race bloods part of the needle broke in the horse and they couldn't get it out, he said, “Mate you wouldn't believe it, there's another chapter in the book of why I can't get to the races,” but he moved on. He's a great, very positive owner, win, lose or draw.”

Watson and Mill Park vital to the operation

Chris Watson, the general manager of Mill Park Stud, a vital cog in the wheel. The Watson/Mill Park Stud relationship with Perks stretches back to the Toorak Park Stud days.

Watson oversees the management and development of Perks' broodmares and foals.

Watson was well-acquainted with Saturday's trio. However, due to the devastation of COVID around travel and staff restrictions, Air Assault and Arctic Glamour were consigned under different vendors at the 2022 Inglis Premier Yearling Sale.

Stonehouse Thoroughbreds consigned the passed-in Air Assault and Noorilim Park presenting Arctic Glamour who sold for $185,000 to Ryan and Alexiou Racing.

“The relationship with Harry stretches back to the late 80s. It's a good sort of 30-year relationship we've had.

“Harry is a great breeder. And if you look at the stock from South Australia on a statistical level, the amount we've bred and the number of stakes winner we've (Mill Park) raised or sold in South Australia, and not only us many other properties it would read extremely well, I think.

“I've had numerous conversations with Adrian Hancock in the past regarding South Australia. It was a real juggernaut back in the 60s and 70s, and the population has sort of declined a little bit here, and the breeders have dropped off.

“The numbers and volume haven't come out of the state, but I think on a statistical level the number of stakes winners bred or sold would show a positive outlook on the South Australian breeding industry.”

Attrition pleases the eyes

“Harry loves and is heavily influenced by international breeding. He loves a stallion that brings performance and a big, deep family.

“Attrition was part of the first crop of Churchill that year (2021). We sold him in Melbourne for $180,000 to Mitch Freedman. Attrition always had a lot of quality even though it was obvious he wasn't going to be an early 2-year-old, but he had the look that he would be a 3-year-old and get over a bit of a trip.

“He was a beautiful moving horse, just really gorgeous to look at. I thought that the price for a Churchill at that stage was pretty well found. I think a lot of people were quite attracted to him and obviously, Mitch was really taken with Attrition,” Watson told TTR AusNZ.

“Arctic Glamour was a little different. She was quite a strong filly. Arctic Glamour had a lot of power and strength to her. She was a very well-put-together filly, and probably Frosted, not really on everybody's radar, held her back.

“Gerald Ryan had a lot of difficulties trying to sell her shares in her early on. I think the Frosted factor was probably the reason. So much of the Australian marketplace is after the Australian colonial sprinting lines, so this was a little bit different, but she was a gorgeous type.

“It also shows they can come anywhere. The first crop of Justify's we had were from mares with stout bloodlines as we were trying to chase that sort of middle-distance aspect.

“When Air Assault arrived the others were very tall, leggy, lean-looking horses that you could see needed a heap of time.

“Air Assault was very immature as a yearling. However, he was very athletic but certainly wasn't your typical sales horse. He found it very difficult to find a home at that stage. But Harry, being so persistent, was very happy to take him home, and it turned out to be a successful move.

“It's very exciting for Harry, and it's all looking very promising for Air Assault and that stallion.”