Cover image courtesy of Coolmore

There are as many ways to define a leading sire as there are sires in existence. For the purposes of this article, ‘leading sire’ has been defined as a stallion who has been in the top ten of Australia Sires Championship at least once in the last ten years.

For the 100 available positions that this gives (10 sires over 10 years), there are only 28 individual stallions who have achieved this.

Table 1: Leading sires in last decade showing how many times they’ve been in the top 10 of Australian Sires Championship table

This table also has the season of their first 2-year-olds and which stallion was the Champion First Season Sire in that season. TTR wrote about this last week:

Too quick to judge?

By looking at the date of the first stakes winner sired by each of these 28 stallions, we can determine if a stallion shows promise early. Essentially, how soon does the data show an indication that a stallion can achieve becoming a leading sire.

The range of outcomes for these 28 stallions was much wider than expected with only three siring their first stakes winner within 100 days of their first crop turning two, all the way out to Street Boss (USA) who took 724 days to sire his first Southern Hemisphere stakes winner with Thiamandi winning the G3 Bletchingly S. on 26 July 2014 of his 3-year-old season.

He had sired a 3-year-old Grade 1 winner by then with his first Northern Hemisphere-crop almost a year prior in August 2013 with G1 King’s Bishop S. winner Capo Bastone (USA).

Quickly out of the blocks

The three fastest on our list are Exceed And Excel, Choisir, and Pride Of Dubai who might surprise several readers with this figure, given that he’s now seen as a sire of high-class older horses like Bella Nipotina, Pride Of Jenni, and Dubai Honour (Ire).

“It’s a good group to be in, however, it’s just a moment in time and nothing more. There are very few races at that time of year and even less stakes races for 2-year-olds, even if all three have turned out to be very good sires,” Coolmore’s Colm Santry said.

“I’d be more interested in how many of leading sires waited until they were three. Most of our best stallions tend to have their best stakes winners at three, because the older horses get, the harder it is to win a stakes race. You don’t need to be a good horse to win a pre-Christmas stakes race. You’re only running against a tiny portion of the population, maybe two or five per cent and they might all be no good yet. It’s the easiest time to get black type.”

Table 3: Timing of the first stakes winner for these 28 sires

One quarter of the 28 sires in our ‘leading sires’ group sired their first stakes winner after their first crop had turned three. However, the largest group at 54 per cent of sires was to sire their first stakes winner in January, February or March of their Southern Hemisphere 2-year-old season.

“Sirelines are important too. If you want to win a stakes race at two, running against a small part of the population, there are sirelines you need to chase to achieve that, but they might not train on and become elite individuals,” said Santry.

Is the first stakes win an indication of class?

The first stakes winner doesn't necessarily indicate the full quality and class of a stallion. It’s a milestone for a stallion to achieve his first stakes winner, one that says a stallion isn’t going to be a complete failure, but it’s not enough to make a stallion into a leading sire over time.

“If you want a miler or a good older horse, you need a leading sire like Pierro, High Chaparral, So You Think. These sires have progeny who go on into their 4-year-old season, and they have to run against the older horses. The older horses are the best of any generation as they are good enough to stay in training," said Santry.

Basically, if a horse is slow or unsound, owners won’t invest in keeping them in training, so the outcome is that it’s the very best horses who stay in training for longer.

Winning stakes races versus winning Group 1 races

By taking a sire’s lifetime stakes winners and their lifetime Group 1 winners, this looks at how often they convert a stakes winner into a Group 1 and this can be one way to indicate class.

Table 4: Conversion rate of career stakes winners into career Group 1 winners

Of the 28 sires who have been in the top 10 on the Australian Sires Championship list in the last decade, 10 have a conversion rate over 20 per cent. And most of them are not really known for their 2-year-olds.

“The perception needs to be changed. An awful lot of good stallions appear at with their first 3-year-olds and often by then the sires who had one or two early runners are gone. The best horses continue to grow and improve, look at our brilliant champions like Winx and Makybe Diva, Bella Nipotina. They keep improving with age," said Santry.

“The best of them all, perhaps the greatest sire in history in this region, was Zabeel. He was a champion 3-year-old and a Guineas winner, yet people were selling their stallion shares in him when his oldest were three. He was completely written off at the end of his career but he’s an outstanding example of a horse who excelled when his first crop turned five.”

Zabeel (NZ)’s first stakes winner was the wonderful Octagonal (NZ) who won the G2 Todman S. in March 1995, but like Pride Of Dubai whose first stakes winner came early, Zabeel didn’t put himself forward commercially until later. By the end of 1997, Zabeel’s first crop were 4-year-olds and he had three Group 1 winners, Octagonal, his brother Mouawad (NZ) and G1 Adelaide Cup winner Cronus (NZ) which was hardly the stuff to inspire the market.

Might And Power (NZ) was a group winning 3-year-old who’d yet to hit his straps. Jezabeel (NZ), from his first crop, had won a Listed race at two but hadn’t been seen at three or four. Her Melbourne Cup was to come later in 1998, when Zabeel’s first crop were 5-year-olds.

“Many of these amazing stallions that are perceived to be uncommercial, like Pride Of Dubai, All Too Hard, and lots of other good value horses like that, even Pierro, they are siring Group 1 winner after Group 1 winner and yet they are not straightforward in yearling market place.”

Is Easter the first judging point?

With three-quarters of our group of leading sires having sired their first stakes winner by Easter, is Easter the earliest time we can judge a stallion? The data shows that 25 per cent of leading sires didn’t get their first stakes winner until after Easter of their first crop’s juvenile season, so it would be harsh to write off any horse by this point. However, with 75 per cent of leading sires getting one good horse by now, it does seem to be the earliest point in time where the market can start to make some calls.

“We always looked at Northern Meteor as the benchmark. He was written off in the marketplace with his early runners, and then we saw an abundance of stakes winners around Easter and suddenly he was the hottest thing ever,” said Widden Stud’s Matt Comerford.

Northern Meteor’s first stakes winner, The Voice, won the G3 Thoroughbred Breeders’ S. in April, followed quickly by Zoustar who won the G2 BRC Sires’ Produce S. and Romantic Touch won the G1 JJ Atkins S. soon after that.

Zoustar achieved his first stakes winner in January when Sunlight won the R. Listed Magic Millions 2YO Classic.

“A lot of Zoustar’s quality horses came after Sunlight, commercially Sunlight helped, but as far as being in the top 10 sires and a Champion 2-year-old and Champion 3-year-old sire, he’s taken a bit of time to build that momentum. He was fortunate to have Sunlight, but the others took more time.

“People took the punt on him thanks to her. Sometimes the market writes off a horse before they’ve even had runners. You can see it in their book sizes in their third and fourth seasons. It gripes everyone to see this, and so studs do discounts and deals to keep the numbers strong to a horse.

“And then you have horses like Rebel Dane and Gold Standard who’ve covered less than a 100 mares in their first few years at stud. Rebel Dane’s statistics in his first two crops were amazing, and people flooded to him, then they’ve abandoned him again. I bet Pride Of Dubai has similar ups and downs in his book sizes.”

Rebel Dane had 28 foals in his first crop for Group winner Subterranean, and 26 in his second which included G1 Golden Slipper winner Fireburn. He then had two tiny crops of 7 and 8 foals respectively before Fireburn arrived at the races. His next crop, while Fireburn was a spring 2-year-old went up to 34 foals, and after her win, he’s had 74 and 38 foals in his next two crops.

“Another thing to look at is price, and whether a horse is siring progeny that train on. The hardest thing to try and do is be a 3-year-old and beat the older horses. That’s real class. Portland Sky did that, and you could justifiably say that he was more talented than the rest of his crop because of it.”

Not A Single Doubt’s unusual pathway

In second slowest, after Street Boss, is Not A Single Doubt who took 708 days to sire his first stakes winner. His first stakes winner, Doubtful Jack, came in July of his 3-year-old season, and yet, Not A Single Doubt became known as a sire of juveniles. It’s an unusual statistic for a horse with his reputation.

“I think he had plenty of winners but he was just a horse that got better and better as he went along. He was phenomenal sire, and those first few crops were useful but not spectacular,” said Arrowfield’s Jon Freyer.

“Some horses take their time to develop. Look at Castelvecchio, he’s a case in point. He was 10th or so on the first season sires list and now he’s leading the second season sire list. You can’t judge sires too quickly and you ought not judge them on one crop.

“Look at the bottom few on this list, Street Cry, High Chaparral, Not A Single Doubt, they were all capable of getting champions. It tells you that the first crop before Christmas isn’t super important.”

Table 5: The eight slowest of the leading sires

All Too Hard took almost a year to get his first stakes winner, and now he has five Group 1 winners. Street Cry (Ire) and High Chaparral (Ire) both have 23 Group 1 winners.

“Not A Single Doubt was something of an anomaly, a consistent winner getter, then he was struggling to get mares until Doubtful Jack arrived and he got a full book. That allowed him to keep the momentum going.

“Street Cry missed a couple of seasons early, and Maurice lost a season due to COVID. It means a stallion can lose their momentum and they need to restart. It’s almost like they become first season sires again.”

Cover image courtesy of The Image Is Everything

As the costs of all aspects of breeding increase and shifts in the sales market have seen the mid to low value tiers of bloodstock lower even further, an increasing number of broodmares are exchanging hands at the sales or leaving the industry altogether.

Where are they going, and how can we ensure that these important components of the racing industry are given the aftercare they deserve? For inspiration, we have gone overseas.

A seat at the table

Pennsylvania-born and raised Kyle Rothfus caught the horse bug as a child, and when he returned to horses in 2014 after a break, he became heavily involved in the United States life after racing community. Mares have always been his favourite to work with, and he began to recognise a gap in what was on offer for the most vulnerable among them.

“I really enjoy racing, and the breed is obviously purpose-bred for that, so we decided to get into breeding and racing so that I could actually be an insider and understand the sport more,” he told TTR AusNZ. “Then when I actually started breeding, I started to really see that there is a gap with broodmare retirement, and a lot of farms just don't know what to do.”

From Rothfus’s recognition, sprang Mareworthy Charities - Rothfus and his husband Sean Smith’s not-for-profit organisation for retired broodmares that facilitates rehoming for broodmares at the end of their breeding career. Their property in Lexington, Kentucky, is home to several retired broodmares, both permanent residents and transients on the way to their new homes, and they also assist with direct placement with mares coming to their farm in the intermediary.

They aren’t alone in their efforts - other charitable organisations stateside such as Second Stride and Mims Retirement Haven have broodmare arms - but Rothfus is more vocal than most in the thoroughbred industry about the broodmare’s plight.

Mares at risk

A primary concern for Rothfus is what happens when a broodmare outlives her purpose for one owner and is moved on without much consideration of where she will end up. While the Australian foal crop has stayed fairly level around 12-13,000 foals for the last decade, the US crop has halved in the last 20 years, falling from 34,000 to 17,000 in 2023.

“I don't think there's anything wrong with a kind end of life on a farm where a mare has actually been comfortable her whole life,” he said. “That, to me, is okay. I'd rather that than the horse who ends up with, ‘oh, we give them to a friend. We didn't follow up. There's no contract in place.’

“And that horse is the one who ends up in a bad spot.”

Older mares are particularly vulnerable to falling through the cracks, and the sales ring is no guarantee of a good home either. Numbers of mares heading through public auctions have not dramatically increased in this time, but Rothfus has seen trends in the prices they sell for.

In his Paulick Report article on how retired broodmares end up in killpens, Rothfus looked at the hard numbers for older mares sold through the Keeneland mare sales and where they ended up. He observed that the median sale price for broodmares fell dramatically with age; for mares aged 15 and under, the median price was US$25,000 (A$39,000), dropping to US$13,000 (A$20,200) when the mare turns 16, and dropping as low as US$5000 (A$7800) when the mare is 19.

Keeneland, whose mare sales are regularly attended by Rothfus, stipulates that broodmares aged 18 years and upwards must be in foal to be eligible for the sale. He has noticed a trend in these mares being sold for a loss on the service fee, increasing their risk of disappearing from the industry.

“Those mares are really bought by people who are only buying the baby in the belly,” Rothfus said. “Once they have the baby, the mare ends up kind of in trouble.”

Inglis, for both their physical and digital auctions, is a little more lenient, permitting mares aged 20 and older into the sale if they are in foal, with a hard cut-off for entry at age 22. Magic Millions advised that, in line with Society of International Thoroughbred Auctioneers guidelines, mares above the age of 18 would not be accepted into their sales, aside from under special circumstances.

Sales trends in Australia differ slightly from the States; from small samples taken from the last eight Inglis Digital online sales, the average service fee among the 10 cheapest mares in foal or with foal at foot (not including passed in lots) was $24,524, whereas the average sales price for those mares was $11,902. However, the average age of these mares was 9.9-years-old, which suggests the need for further study into the age and prospects of mares going through sales.

According to data from Racing Australia, the average sale price for a broodmare across all sales dropped to $62,461 in the 2023/24 season - the lowest since 2015/16 - with the median down to a new low of $7500. There is no national breakdown by age, but does suggest a concerning amount of vulnerable mares at the lower end of the market.

Creating safety nets

Part of Rothfus’s mission involves connecting with farms and making vendors aware of alternative options for these older, less commercially valuable mares. Studs such as Claiborne Farm and Bonne Chance Farm are starting to implement safety nets to protect the more vulnerable mares offered for sale, including organising bidders ahead of time to give a mare a soft landing if she won’t make a profit.

Earlier this year, Claiborne Farm announced to the Paulick Report that they would be examining sales data across their consignments to determine an age cut-off for consigning broodmares, and also would be extending their in-house retirement services to their clients. Driven by breeder Dell Hancock, Claiborne’s existing retirement scheme covers retired geldings and broodmares, and facilitates private rehoming for Claiborne racehorses at the end of their careers. A two-part solution in one fell swoop.

Will Bishop, financial manager and CFO at Claiborne, is keen to reduce the risk of broodmares ending up in the slaughterhouse pipeline - a pervasive problem in America.

“We don’t want these types of situations,” Bishop told the Paulick Report. “Obviously when you sell a horse, you expect that the person buying it is going to take as good of care of it as you have, but that may not happen, especially with these older horses. We just don’t want to risk that, and we don’t want our clients to have to risk that.

“If implementing an age cut-off and offering a retirement option prevents even a handful of these situations from getting to that point, it will be a win.”

Pathways after racing

Jennifer Krawczyk (nee Hughes), Equine Welfare Consultant, has been an important figure in the equine welfare sphere over recent years, previously having led the development and delivery of Racing Victoria’s Equine Welfare Strategic Plan.

As part of her commitment to safeguarding racehorse welfare, she has become involved with the International Forum for the Aftercare of Racehorses. Her belief is that the conversation of aftercare can begin even earlier, and should start as the racing career of a potential broodmare comes to a close.

“These are the principles that I try to speak to people about,” she said. “It starts with when they retire from racing. Be really clear about the decision you make to retire your mare into breeding, and that's kind of broader about bringing another foal into the world. I think you can't have this conversation without talking about that.

“Should your mare even be bred? Because otherwise, it possibly would be better for that horse to become a ridden horse and then have 15 years in (the) equestrian (world).”

Krawczyk pointed out that an older horse often struggles to adjust to a second or third career, particularly when the demands on their body and mind are very different to what they have been previously doing. In her work expanding Racing Victoria’s Off The Track Program, she has witnessed this firsthand.

“When horses retire from racing, they go through a transition and you (have to) assess their risk status. Broodmares are at higher risk for a number of reasons. They're usually older, they've been in a paddock for a few years. They've lost all that ridden condition. So their options at the point of retiring from being a broodmare are a lot less than their options at the point of retiring from racing.”

She also advocates for reassessing a mare’s suitability - and success - as a broodmare after her first few foals, and retiring her earlier when she is less likely to struggle with transition.

“In the RESET program, we knew that if a horse came in for retraining over the age of 15 or having had more than a year in the paddock, all of those things contributed to it being very hard to transition them.

“You (have to) look at the horse's value and their risk of being unwanted, and (the likelihood of) not finding a suitable home for them,” she said.

The other challenge facing the broodmare transitioning to a third career is a lack of incentive for the equestrian community to take them home.

Rothfus recently launched Mareworthy Academy, a free 8-week course that aims to educate new would-be owners on equine husbandry and demonstrate how the broodmare can be the perfect first horse; she is generally well handled, level headed, and looking for love. He hopes to boost the amount of people considering welcoming a retired broodmare into their life.

In 2023, The Thoroughbred Makeover Project piloted a Broodmare Division of their competition, which attracted 26 mares with an average age of 12 competing across nine of the ten disciplines available.

This has transformed into a fully fledged part of the program at this year’s competition, with the backing of Claiborne Farm and Lane’s End Farm. This could be an avenue for events like Equimillion, who this year launched their New Star class for thoroughbreds retiring in the 12 months before the competition.

End of life planning

“We, as an industry, need to get more comfortable talking about end of life planning.”

When Rothfus talks about aftercare, he places particular emphasis on end of life care and the importance of giving a comfortable end to a mare’s life. He is no stranger to receiving backlash for embracing euthanasia as sometimes the kindest answer, but he is steadfast in his opinion.

“Part of the reason we are based in the Lexington, Kentucky area is because we have access to the best veterinarians,” he said. “I have never had a problem or a lack of veterinary care. When I made a decision to euthanise something, it’s because I've watched the horse suffer.

“We need to be willing to show the bad days. I can prep the public for the same experience I have. If all they ever see (on social media) is the happy, healthy horse that's out there running around, (then) I need to show them the 90 per cent of the time where the horse can't get up off the ground.

“We would, as an industry, serve ourselves better if we decided we are the finality. We made the decision to bring the horse into the world, and we are therefore also deciding the right thing to do is to euthanise it today so that we don't have a horse suffering for five years.”

Rothfus understands the industry’s fears about publicising end of life decisions for horses. The recent death of Black Caviar made waves beyond the sphere of the industry, and breeders have a right to be wary of the fallout.

At a certain point though, Rothfus pointed out, euthanasia becomes the ethical and financially viable choice, and we shouldn’t be afraid of that. It is far more preferable than the alternative; hoping someone else will take the burden for you.

“It looks better for me if I sold the horse and then it's someone else's problem, than if I report the horse died on my watch,” Rothfus said.

“If you've taken in 30 (horses) and you've euthanised 10, that looks really bad. People ask, ‘why are they all dying when they get to your farm?’ Well, no. We're taking in all the crippled, broken horses. We took in 30 and we rehomed 20. And we kept 10, and the 10 that we kept might all be completely crippled.”

Krawczyk had similar feelings on the subject, echoing Rothfus’s idea of “lifetime commitment” to mares. She strongly supports looking for a new home first, but also acknowledges sometimes circumstances force your hand and that it is kinder than the alternative.

“Be really honest about your horse’s prospects,” she reiterated. “If they don't have prospects sometimes, (one of) the kinder things to do is to make the decision about an 18 or a 19-year-old horse that euthanasia might be better than going around the sales houses and hoping someone else will provide for them for the remainder of their life.”

Lessons to learn

There is no easy solution to life after breeding. Broodmares have narrowed prospects post-breeding compared to the racehorse just retiring off of the track, often they have greater care needs and there are less incentives to take one in. Sometimes we can repay them with years in the paddock or a third career in a new home, sometimes a comfortable death at home is the ultimate kindness.

What industry participants need to consider is a commitment to broodmares beyond their last foal, and governing bodies need to consider including broodmares in their aftercare planning. Openly discussing the avenues available to older mares and the challenges they face can go hand in hand with improving the outcomes for these vulnerable horses at the end of their service to us.

Cover image courtesy of Magic Millions

Racing never stops and every weekend there are more black type races run and won, resulting in pedigree updates for the families in question. Several lots at the upcoming Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale have enjoyed a recent rise in status.

Pisces brings the Blue Sapphire home

Twice a winner at two, 3-year-old gelding Pisces (Frosted {USA}) won the G3 Blue Sapphire S. at his second start this season after running second to Bittercreek (Snitzel) when resuming in the G3 Red Anchor S. Trained by James Cummings for Godolphin, his half-sister, Lot 790, is being consigned by Emirates Park Stud.

Godolphin sold his dam Pleiades (Redoute’s Choice) for $16,000 at the 2023 Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale to Merricks Station in conjunction with Matt Houldsworth and Group 1 Bloodstock (FBAA) and she foaled this filly a few months later.

“We are selling her on behalf of Merricks Station. She’s a lovely filly by Victor Ludorum and is very much like her sire. He was a good 2-year-old and doesn’t necessarily get the recognition but his stock are selling well in the Northern Hemisphere,” said Emirates Park’s Bryan Carlson.

“I think people will be surprised when they see her, she’s athletic and going places. It’s a great female family too with Champion 2YO Broadsiding.” Group placed Pleiades is a full sister to Broadsiding’s grandam Glissade.

“We are very excited to present the Gun Runner colt from Golden Slipper winner Estijaab. He’s a lovely colt, the mare has already produced a stakes horse in Ejaabiayh, and we think it’s a match made in heaven.”

“We have a few in the draft who have recent trial-winning siblings. Strada Varenna won a trial on the first day of trials in September and then was scratched on the morning of the Gimcrack, so watch out for her. She’s out of Varenna Miss and the yearling filly is a strong 2-year-old type who looks like she’ll go early.”

Lot 67 is a Tassort filly from Group 2 winner Varenna Miss (Redoute’s Choice), who is a half-sister to Group 1 winners Criterion (Sebring) and Comin’ Through (Fastnet Rock) from the family of recent 3-year-old group winner Bittercreek. Strada Varenna is by Street Boss (USA).

“Lot 710 is a half-sister to an unraced Tassort filly who won a trial recently and a full sister to Charm Stone. She’s a typical I Am Invincible filly, an attractive and athletic type.”

Charm Stone (I Am Invincible) was sold by Emirates Park at this sale in 2022 for $1.55 million to Sheamus Mills Bloodstock (FBAA) and since then she won the G3 Ottawa S. at two, added two more stakes races at three, and this season at four, she’s run third in the G3 Rising Fast S. Charm Stone is out of dual Group 3 winner Najoom (Northern Meteor) and her 3-year-old filly by Tassort who won a trial recently is named Manaajem.

“Another trial winner recently is Balance The Books who won impressively in Brisbane. She’s a half-sister to Lot 936, an All Too Hard filly who is a quality type, correct with a huge hindquarter and is from the family of Shameka.”

Lot 936 and Balance The Books (Capitalist) are out of Snitzel mare Shuwaamekh who is a daughter of Emirates Park’s triple Group 1 winner Shameka (Secret Savings {USA}).

Full sister to Amelita at Cressfield

Cressfield will present Lot 662 a full sister to G3 Red Roses S. winner Amelita (Zousain). “She’s a lovely big strong filly who has been one of the better types on the farm all the way through, and it’s nice to see the first foal come out and uplift the pedigree with a Group 3 win at her fifth start,” said Cressfield's Wayne Bedggood.

Amelita, trained by Chris Waller, was sold by Edinglassie Thoroughbreds for $280,000 at the 2023 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale and purchased by Magic Bloodstock, Noel and Maria Greenhalgh and Julia Ritchie.

“The second foal (Buckeye) has won a trial and ran fifth or sixth on debut. It was a handy first run.” Buckeye, a Zousain colt, ran sixth of nine in a Sydney maiden for 2-year-olds on November 30. He was sold by Cressfield for $200,000 to James Bester Bloodstock and John O’Shea Racing.

Of the yearling, Bedggood said, “She’s a beauty. The pick of our draft and it’s nice when the form is franked like that. Amelita ran well immediately and then won black type. The stable has a big opinion of her, so there should be more to come. I think we’ll have some fun with Miss Amelia. Edinglassie sold Amelita, so I didn’t see her as a yearling. This year’s one is like the mare.”

This is a brilliant family with Miss Amelia (More Than Ready {USA}) winning three of her six starts, and she is a daughter of G2 Silver Slipper winner Amelia’s Dream (Redoute’s Choice).

“The same clients have Lot 3, who has been a lovely sort all the way through. He’s not overly big, but he’s well put together.” By Maurice (Jpn), Lot 3 is a half-brother to Extremely Lucky (Extreme Choice) who won the G3 John Hawkes S. in April 2024.

“We have a half to Spring Lee, who is with Bjorn Baker, and he’s a Home Affairs colt who is a lovely big horse. He’s a late foal who will furnish into a nice big horse and he’s been well-received at our inspections so far. We like the Home Affairs that we have here.”

Lot 96 is from the family of Overpass (Vancouver) and is a half-brother to Listed Denise’s Joy S.-placed Spring Lee (Zoustar) who is a last start winner. Spring Lee and Lot 96 are out of Group 2 winner Wild Rain (Manhattan Rain) whose unraced 2-year-old has been named Rainbow Glow (Snitzel).

Lime Country’s Tycoon Star

G3 Maribyrnong Plate winner Tycoon Star (Written Tycoon) was sold by Yulong at the 2024 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale, and in 2025, Lime Country Thoroughbreds will offer his Home Affairs half-brother as Lot 668. He was pinhooked as a weanling bought by James Bester Bloodstock from Milburn Creek for $280,000 at the Magic Millions National Weanling Sale.

Tycoon Star was also a pinhook, being sold as a weanling by Milburn Creek for $350,000 and onsold by Yulong to Lindsay Park as a yearling for $400,000.

“This colt is very similar in style to Tycoon Star at this time last year. It was a huge effort to win a Group 3 on debut on Melbourne Cup Day. Can you imagine the crowd noise? To do that at two on debut was a sensational result,” said Lime Country Thoroughbred’s Jo Griffin.

Segenhoe Stud’s trio with Golden Slipper aims

Segenhoe Stud’s draft of 35 horses for the 2025 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale include several yearlings whose families have enjoyed upgrades recently, including three whose year-older siblings are on a G1 Golden Slipper pathway.

G3 Caulfield Thoroughbred Club S. winner Jasmine Rouge (Dundeel {NZ}) is a half-sister to Lot 1019, a So You Think (NZ) filly.

“It’s fair to say that Sweetener had been a disappointing mare before Jasmine Rouge. We always had faith in her, she’s from a beautiful family and is a beautiful mare," said Peter O'Brien.

“Jasmine Rouge was ironically the worst foal that Sweetener has thrown. She wasn’t bad, just was very immature and lacked a bit of substance. Clinton McDonald gave her the time she needed and that’s been the key. Getting her in the right hands was the making of her.

“We felt the mare needed more size and scope, hence the mating choice (of So You Think) for this yearling. The mare is a very strong, short coupled Snitzel mare. Snitzel is doing super as a broodmare sire, he’s really putting his hand up in that realm.

“The yearling is the strongest So You Think I’ve seen, she looks like a colt and So You Think has added in that beautiful head and quality of his. I’m delighted for Sweetener, we’ve backed her all the way, and I’m thrilled she’s thrown a group winner. I really think this yearling is the best foal she’s had.

“Her first foal, Disruptor, won brilliantly as a 2-year-old. He had a massive reputation but broke down, so we knew Sweetener could throw a racehorse, we just had to tweak our matings to find one. And it’s the Denise’s Joy family, which is probably the best filly’s family in Australia.”

Sweetener (Snitzel) was a winner over 1000 metres and ran third in the G3 Blue Diamond Prelude (Fillies) and is a half-sister to Group 1 winner Sweet Agenda (Not A Single Doubt).

Lot 234 is a full brother to Group 1 winner Amelia’s Jewel (Siyouni {Fr}) who ran second in the G1 Empire Rose S. this spring, and a half-brother to Group 1-placed Bosustow (Blue Point {Ire}) who ran second in the Listed Amanda Elliot H. this spring.

“He’s a stunning individual. We obviously had Amelia’s Jewel and Bosustow as young horses and in my humble opinion this fellow has a better physique. He’s beautiful with plenty of quality and a lovely action and has been popular in parades. The dam has had two foals to race, both Group 1 class.”

Lot 857 is an I Am Invincible half-sister to 2024 Listed Starlight S. winner Eagle Nest (Shalaa {Ire}) who took his record to five wins with his first black type win this spring. The filly is also a half-sister to G3 Black Opal S. winner Kalashnikov (Capitalist).

“Eagle Nest was a stunning yearling herself, and the mare has had four to race for two stakes winners, which is pretty impressive. It’s a stunning family and a particularly good female family. This is the same I Am Invincible Flying Spur cross as Home Affairs.

“Most importantly, she is an adonis. As good a filly as I’ve seen in my life. Totally elite.”

“Those are the ones in our draft with immediate black type and we also have three whose siblings are heading towards the Slipper.”

Lot 425, a Home Affairs colt out of Listed winner and Group 1-placed Fundamentalist (Not A Single Doubt) has a year older half-brother named Fermoy (Zoustar) who ran third on debut in November. “The half-brother ran a huge race on debut at two and is being aimed at the Golden Slipper by Chris Waller.”

Another with Chris Waller is Wodeton (Wootton Bassett {GB}) who is also on a Golden Slipper pathway. His half-brother by I Am Invincible is Lot 396. “Wodeton trialled brilliantly recently.”

Lot 87 is a Snitzel colt, whose 2-year-old full brother United States is also with Chris Waller and was a $1.75 million yearling in 2024. “Chris holds him in high regard.”