Managing a carefully curated broodmare band comprising fewer than 10 mares, Des Pope and his family's compact yet powerful breeding operation consistently exceeds expectations. With two stakes winners who have collectively secured five stakes races this season alone, the Pope family's breeding enterprise is once again enjoying a remarkable season.
The Pope family have bred five individual stakes winners in the last five seasons.
Bloodstock bred by the Pope family account for 20 per cent of Brazen Beau’s stakes winners in Australasia.
Bold Bastille has claimed 16 per cent of Victoria’s juvenile stakes races this season.
Innovation Girl is directly responsible or the grandam of four of the five stakes winners bred by the Pope Family.
Consistently showcasing her talent, She Dances (Street Boss {USA}) made a winning debut as a juvenile and followed up with a second-place finish in the G2 Tobin Bronze S. as a 3-year-old. Now an accomplished mare, She Dances has secured impressive back-to-back stakes victories in the G3 Northwood Plume S. and Listed Chautauqua S., boosting her earnings to over $775,000.
Trained by Peter Moody and Catherine Coleman, she is the first offspring of the family's home-bred Charleston Dancer (Lonhro). She Dances was purchased by John Foote Bloodstock for $180,000 at the 2021 Inglis Premier Yearling Sale.
Adding to the family's success this season is Bold Bastille (Brazen Beau), the second stakes winner bred by the Pope family. The highly talented 2-year-old achieved three black-type victories this season, exemplifying her dominance in the juvenile ranks.
Gallery: Adding to the Pope family's success are stakes winners She Dances and Bold Bastille, images courtesy of The Image Is Everything
Notably, Bold Bastille has emerged victorious in 16 per cent of Victoria’s juvenile races this season, including the RL Inglis Banner, where she secured the family's second triumph in the race's nine-year history, following Ideas Man’s victory (Brazen Beau) in 2019.
Descending from the Pope family’s own home-bred stakes-winning mare Chloe In Paris (Exceed and Excel), Bold Bastille was presented by Blue Gum Farm at last year’s Inglis Premier Sale and acquired by Lindsay Park Racing / Group 1 Bloodstock (FBAA) for $270,000.
| 2023/24 | She Dances | Street Boss | Charleston Dancer |
| 2023/24 | Bold Bastille | Brazen Beau | Chloe In Paris |
| 2020/21 | Tyche Goddess | Teofilo | Corneila Marie |
| 2019/20 | Ideas Man | Brazen Beau | Innovation Girl |
| 2019/20 | Larimer Street | Brazen Beau | Original Choice |
Table: Pope family's stakes winners - last five years
The breeding operation of the Pope family has achieved generational success, as evidenced by all five of their stakes-winning graduates being produced from mares bred within their own ranks.
Notably, Innovation Girl (Rubiton) has played a pivotal role, serving as the dam or grand-dam of four out of the five stakes winners. Bred by the Pope family, Innovation Girl descends from Rubiton, a stallion whom Des Pope invested in and actively supported throughout his stud career at Blue Gum Farm. While Innovation Girl herself has produced two stakes winners, including the RL Inglis Banner victor Ideas Man (Brazen Beau), her true significance lies in her daughters. She Dances (Street Boss {USA}), Bold Bastille, and Larimer Street (Brazen Beau) all trace their lineage back to Innovation Girl as their second dam.
Notably, the Pope family’s homebred stars account for nearly 20 per cent of Brazen Beau’s 17 Australasian stakes winners. Furthermore, their other stakes winners have roots in current or former Darley-based sires, including She Dance’s shuttle sire Street Boss and the former shuttle sire Teofilo {Ire}, who sired G3 Auraria S. home-bred winner, Tyche Goddess.
| She Dances | 2021 Inglis Premier Sale | $180,000 |
| Bold Bastille | 2023 Inglis Premier Sale | $270,000 |
| Tyche Goddess | 2019 Inglis Premier Sale | $100,000 |
| Ideas Man | 2019 Inglis Premier Sale | $575,000 |
| Larimer Street | 2019 Inglis Premier Sale | $450,000 |
Table: Pope family's stakes winners by sale and price
All of the Pope Family’s stakes winners in the past-five years have been consigned at the Inglis Premier Sale under the Blue Gum Farm banner. Remarkably, all three of the Pope family’s offerings at the 2019 Inglis Premier Sale eventuated to be stakes winners with Tychee Goddess, Ideas Man and Larimer Street all hailing from the same sale.
Renowned for their ability to breed successive generations of stakes winners, the Pope family's stock have garnered significant attention at sales. The full-sister of She Dances commanded a noteworthy price of $650,000 at the recent Inglis Premier Yearling sale, with the buyer being none other than Moody Racing, the trainer of her sibling.
Although the broodmare band may be modest in size, the calibre of racehorses bred by the Pope family is truly extraordinary. While Innovation Girl may have passed, her female descendants persist in upholding her esteemed bloodlines and contributing to the storied legacy of the family's compact yet formidable breeding enterprise.
