‘It’s been a really tough road for him’: Contributer’s big Boxing Day a highlight for Davison

Cover image courtesy of Mapperley Stud

For Simms Davison, co-owner of the Matamata-based Mapperley Stud, Tuesday saw one of his operation’s biggest days since he and wife Margaux took over the property some 13 years ago. On one of the premium days of racing in New Zealand, Campionessa (NZ) (Contributer {Ire}) was able to break through for a much-deserved win in the G1 Zabeel Classic, providing her stallion with his second win at the highest level.

Fittingly, hours later, the gelding who provided his first, Lion's Roar (NZ) (Contributer {Ire}), broke a run of outs dating back to his G1 Randwick Guineas success in March of 2021 when taking out the G3 Summer Cup at Randwick.

With the dust settled on a dream day for Contributer (Ire), The Thoroughbred Report caught up with Davison, to reflect on the journey so far, as well as a look ahead to the strategy for the upcoming sales.

Stars shine bright on big stage

Both Campionessa and Lion’s Roar had to fight doggedly for their respective victories, in near replications of each other, striking the lead before having to stave off last-second challengers to their crown.

Davison was glowing of the bravery both showed, saying, “First of all, it was great to see Lion’s Roar get back to his best.

Gallery: Progenies of Contributor (Ire), Campionessa (NZ) and Lion’s Roar (NZ) had to fight doggedly for their respective victories, in near replications of each other

“We all know he had an injury earlier, and for a lot of horses they don’t come back to their best, and what John O’Shea has done with the horse, it’s just fantastic. To see him come back and show us a glimpse of what he did as a 3-year-old was fantastic.

“One thing about these Contributers is their tasking, I think we see them as their getting older as well, they do train on, they do fight.

“Then Campionessa, it was another tough race (for her), what she did last year, she came second in two Group 1s against probably the best 3-year-olds in the country, Sharp ‘N’ Smart and Prowess. They both went over to Australia and won Group 1s, so she (Campionessa) really deserved that win.

“We’re rapped with today, he’s one of those stallions that deserves this success because he’s tough and he does a good job.”

Contributer’s hard road

Breeding, just like almost every facet of this industry, can be defined by split-second moments in time, sometimes for better, and sometimes for worse.

In the case of Contributer, a freak accident early on threatened to derail his stallion career almost before it had begun, Davison explained.

“He got hurt, he got kicked in the breeding shed halfway through his second season, and he ended up getting blood in his semen. So for a couple of years he had very small books coming through until we had to have surgery done to fix the problem.

“It’s been tough right from the start, but Campionessa is from the same year as Lion’s Roar, so he’s now had two Group 1 winners in his first crop, we’re over the moon.

“He came out in his first year, and then to have the injury, it’s been a really tough road for him as far as getting over the injury, and then us trying to promote him again.”

Prior to his unfortunate accident in the breeding shed, Contributer had begun positively, with 69 foals in his first crop resulting in 60 runners, of which 44 won. Alongside the aforementioned duo is the likes of the G2 Lowland S. winner Llanacord (NZ) and dual-Listed winner Maria Farina (NZ).

The injury resulted in an immediate drop in number, falling to 38 foals to race in his second crop, not clearing 40 in his subsequent two crops to produce runners.

But as Davison tells it, things are looking up for the son of High Chaparral (Ire), with a strong 2023 a positive sign for the future.

“He’s got great support now, which is fantastic, and we’ve seen the results he can produce, (almost) one in four of his fillies are getting black type. He’s doing a great job in New Zealand, and we’d love to get more of them over to Australia. His stats are phenomenal given he’s not had too many horses on the ground.”

Karaka firmly in the sights of Mapperley

Turning his attention forward to the future, Davison is hoping a new approach to selling Mapperley Stud stock will be a recipe for success, as breeders and buyers keep a sharp eye on the metrics at worldwide yearling sales as the climate shifts.

Often sighted crossing the Tasman to enter yearlings in Australian catalogues, the Mapperley Stud team have instead put all their eggs in the local basket, with the 2024 New Zealand Bloodstock National Yearling Sale at Karaka serving as the platform for their 2022 foals to go through the ring.

“This year we decided to keep it at Karaka,” Davison explained. “We usually have horses sort of all over Australia, but with things tightening up a little bit, we thought it was a smart idea to keep everything under the one book. The other thing that probably made it a bit easier (to focus on the one sale) was what the New Zealand horses have done in Australia.

“We could see that need (for New Zealand-bred horses in Australia), hopefully the Australians will get on the plane and come over here. We didn’t think we needed to get ours over there as much as we had in previous years, we’re hoping the success New Zealand horses have had over there has done enough to attract all those top buyers to get on a plane and come to Karaka in 2024.”

Mapperley Stud are currently scheduled to take 14 yearlings to Karaka, of which seven are sired by Contributer. Also represented in their draft are first-season sires Russian Camelot (Ire) and Circus Maximus (Ire), alongside Ocean Park (NZ), who enjoyed success of his own on Tuesday when Kai (NZ) won the Listed Hazlett S. at Wingatui.

Contributer stood in 2023 for a fee of NZ$18,000 (plus GST) at Mapperley Stud, the most prominent member of a roster boasting the likes of Profondo, one of the last sons of the legendary Deep Impact (Jpn) to win a Group 1, and Armory (Ire), who chased Sir Dragonet (Ire) in the G1 WS Cox Plate in 2020.