Cover image courtesy of New Zealand Bloodstock
Wentwood Grange Stud's Yearling Manager Brad Molander was born into a racing family. The son of a trainer, he spent his childhood around horses with early memories of attending yearling sales.
Strapping on weekends and during school holidays, Brad was destined to work with thoroughbreds. It was always the dream to have shares in horses, to head to the track and cheer them on, but a passion for the breeding side developed.
After spending time working at Blue Gum Farm in Victoria and Lane's End Farm in Kentucky, Brad returned to the country of his birth to work for Wentwood Grange in 2016.
Taking the dive - breeding racehorses
It was initially due to be a short stint, but Brad loves the farm he describes as “horse heaven” and working with the Hawkins family has enabled him “the opportunity to take a dive and breed my own horses.”
Teaming with friend John Atkinson (Wentwood Grange's farrier), Brad made his first broodmare purchase in August 2021, securing for just $600 the well related Missouri (NZ) (Iffraaj {GB}).
Originally a $30,000 yearling purchased by Trevor McKee, Missouri filled a placing once in six starts and didn't catch the eye when placed in an online Gavelhouse sale.
Well she didn't catch other people's eye but she looked the goods for Brad who said “I don't know why she was so cheap. We've actually tried to sell her twice since we bought her but she has not attracted any bids!”
Brad Molander | Image courtesy of Wentwood Grange Stud
Impressed by her on type, Brad was also “really loved” Missouri's genetics.
“She is by Iffraaj who is doing a phenomenal job as a broodmare sire and she is out of a mare by Redoute's Choice, who was my favourite stallion when I was growing up.”
Missouri hails from a family well known for producing tough gallopers in Australia, her dam All Our Chips (Redoute's Choice) being a half-sister to the Listed James HB Carr Stakes winner Poppett (Mukaddamah {USA}).
All Our Chips' dam is a full sister to the stakes-placed All Sold (Northern Spring {Ire}) who did such a great job with her eight winners, including the durable multiple Group 1 winner All Our Mob (What A Guest {Ire}), the G1 1000 Guineas heroine All Time High (Flying Spur) and the four-time Group winning sprinter All Archie (Archregent {Can}).
When it came time to choose a mate for Missouri's debut season, Brad and John were happy to settle on Cambridge Stud's G1 New Zealand 2000 Guineas winner Embellish (NZ).
Embellish (NZ) | Standing at Cambridge Stud
“As a yearling manager, I had worked with quite a few of his first crop progeny and I really liked them, they had good bone and good brains.”
The first foal from the match pleased his breeders who thought that the 2023 New Zealand Bloodstock National Weanling Sale would be a good fit for Missouri's son.
In The Air makes breeders proud
He was sold for $27,500 (the highest priced Embellish weanling at that sale) with Brad and John delighted that he was purchased by Chris Rutten to be trained by Roydon Bergerson.
Fast forward and that horse, now two, is named In The Air (NZ) and he is already doing his breeders proud, winning over 1000 metres at Tauherenikau in early January before taking his place in the R. Listed Karaka 2YO Millions last weekend.
Always wide from an outside gate, In The Air was unfortunately at the rear of the field, but Brad was still delighted.
In The Air as a weanling | Image courtesy of New Zealand Bloodstock
“It was amazing to go that meeting having bred one of the runners,” he said, “and it was lovely to go and give him a pat having not seen him since he was sold.”
“He raced greenly and got a bit lost, but the stable are confident that there is more to come from him.”
With Missouri's second Embellish colt looking to be more of a later 2-year-old/3-year-old type, his breeders decided to “take the punt" and wait for the yearling sales, hopeful that In The Air would show talent and “boost the pedigree.”
“He (In The Air) raced greenly and got a bit lost but the stable are confident that there is more to come from him.” - Brad Molander
Again providing Embellish with his best sales result, the colt made his way through the Karaka ring on Wednesday with a number of good judges on him.
Off a $4,000 service fee fetching $100,000, the colt provided his breeders with “a life-changing” result; an outstanding effort not only for such a cheap mare but also for small breeders who have only a couple of other mares in partnership with Wentwood Grange.
Amazing, emotional, bittersweet
“It was an amazing and emotional experience,” Brad said, though also “bittersweet; it is pretty hard to let them go!”
But things could not have worked out better with the colt purchased by trainer Ross McCarroll who is “just down the road from us.”
“The colt is actually coming back to Wentwood before he is broken in so I will get to spend more time with him, and we are going to keep a little share.”
Lot 728 - Embellish (NZ) x Missouri (NZ) (colt) | Image courtesy of New Zealand Bloodstock
Brad is happy to be sharing the experience and the success with John Atkinson who he said “works incredibly hard over the whole sales period, shoeing for quite a few major farms.”
“It is amazing to see him get a result and experience this side of the industry.”
Hopefully there there is plenty to come for their young horse and also from his dam who is currently in foal to Shamexpress (NZ).
Sword Of State colt's big fan club
Another $100,000 result for a Cambridge Stud stallion provided a great Karaka story with Lot 756 purchased by St Kilda Lodge.
A first crop son of the G1 Sistema Stakes winner Sword Of State, the colt presented by Little Avondale Stud had the sale ring alight when the hammer went down as he had not just one or two owners happy with the result, but 11!
“One was crying, they were all gasping, high-fiving and hugging,” said a delighted Sam Williams whose idea it get his staff together to buy a weanling.
Lot 756 - Sword Of State x Ohio Girl (colt) | Image cour
It is something they have been doing for the last few years, and what started out as a way of nurturing and educating staff members has also turned out to be a great team-building exercise.
“You just can't buy morale boosting like this!,” Sam said.
“When we first thought of this it was to show our younger staff what it takes to get a horse to the sales, to have them really be involved rather than just going through the motions.”
“It was a way to nurture the next generation involved in this amazing game of ours. We hope that this is what their careers will be.”
“It was a way to nurture the next generation involved in this amazing game of ours. We hope that this is what their careers will be.” - Sam Williams
And it certainly worked out well, with the Sword Of State colt winning hearts and ending up, Sam laughed, a little spoilt when it came to the bells and whistles.
“I had a look at the posh rug he had on at the sales and I said, 'I don't remember buying that!'”
“Ah, we bought that,” was the rather sheepish reply from the Little Avondale staff members who had understandably fallen in love with their charge.
Little Avondale Stud Staff | Image courtesy of New Zealand Bloodstock
And little wonder, the colt is “a gun” according to Sam. “He settled in so well at the sales and he was just a dream,” he said.
A nice bonus
With each owner ending up with around $8,000 (“a nice little bonus”) in their pocket, Sam is looking forward to their next weanling sale venture, laughing as he said “I might let them spend a little bit more next time, maybe up to $15,000!”
It was just $13,000 that secured this colt who impressed Sam at the 2024 New Zealand Bloodstock National Weanling Sale.
“He had that bit of presence and vitality and being by a first season sire who we liked, we thought let's jump on this one.”
Lot 756 - Sword Of State x Ohio Girl (colt) as a weanling | Image courtesy of New Zealand Bloodstock
“As it turned out, Sword Of State is one of the hottest first season sire and everyone has been on them."
When the weanling sale catalogue comes out, Sam gets his staff (who must be full time, if they leave they forgo their share) to go through the pedigrees and pick out who they like.
“Then I go and have a look at them and suggest who to have a crack at within their budget.”
Sam enjoyed the colt's time in the ring, noting that “the master auctioneer Steve Davis was making it entertaining, telling everyone that they should bid on the staff horse!”
Sam Williams | Image courtesy of Little Avondale Stud
A half-brother to the stakes-placed Ohio Showgirl (NZ) (Showcasing {GB}), the staff colt is out of the unplaced Ohio Girl (NZ) (O'Reilly {NZ}) whose dam Falsetto (NZ) (Zabeel {NZ}) was placed in the G1 New Zealand Oaks won by Legs (NZ) (Pins).
Turning $500 into $300,000
It was another exciting New Zealand based first season sire who provided a hard stud worker with a great result, Waikato Stud's Dry Mare Manager Simon Lawson in celebratory mode after selling Lot 282 to Wexford Stables for $300,000.
An superlative effort when considering the mare cost Simon just $500 online!
The story of this colt goes back to five years ago when Simon first began work at Waikato Stud, making a career switch after a successful career driving trotters.
It happened to be the year that Waikato had bred a Savabeel colt who really caught the eye, Simon describing him as “a phenomenal yearling.”
Lot 282 - Noverre (NZ) x Serenella (NZ) (colt) | Image courtesy of New Zealand Bloodstock
“I remember him being so popular at the sales, he was constantly out of his box and even though he was buggered by the end of it, he never turned a hair.”
The colt was Noverre (NZ), sold to David Ellis for $800,000 before embarking on a short but impressive career that saw him win three of his seven starts including, at his finale, the G1 New Zealand 2000 Guineas.
Waikato had remained in his ownership and were keen to welcome him back into the fold, as was Simon who said that he “absolutely loved him as a racehorse.”
“It's just a shame that he never got to go to Australia,” he said; Noverre retired young having incurred ligament damage.
Noverre (NZ) | Standing at Waikato Stud
A share in Noverre? Hell yeah!
Simon expressed interest in taking a share in Noverre and when reminded of this by Mark Chittick he was quick to put his hand up; “I said hell yeah!'"
And so the search for the right mare began, Simon hunting through “Gavelhouse for a long time” before coming across the unraced Serenella (NZ) (Jimmy Choux {NZ}).
“I was looking for a mare who had family members coming through and I had worked a fair bit with her grandam who had thrown a good horse. She had a few injuries including a broken wither which I think turned people off, but her owners had done the right thing by her and, by the time she got to me, she had recovered.”
Simon Lawson | Image courtesy of New Zealand Bloodstock
“A sweetheart born to be a mother” is how Simon describes Serenella who “absolutely loves her foals and she does so well by them.”
Her $300,000 son is her first foal, one who has “been lovely all the way through.”
“I am just noting the similarities in temperament at the sales between him and his sire,” he said, both horses remaining chilled through dozens of inspections.
Several dozen in fact, Simon's colt taken out 174 times!
“At the start of the week all I knew was that I had a nice colt but he became the second most popular horse in the draft so I was thinking that he was going to get a special price. But I was not thinking $300,000 special!”
“....I was thinking that he (Lot 282) was going to get a special price. But I was not thinking $300,000 special!” - Sam Williams
“There were not just two people on him,” he said, “there were plenty of good judges who liked him. I was standing with Mark watching and he patted me on the back when he got to $200,000 and I had a big smile on my face then!”
And when the hammer went down, a tear or two. “It was pretty special,” he said, looking forward to putting a bit of a dent in his mortgage.
A perfect marriage
Simon is excited to have another Noverre colt out of Serenella who is back in foal to him; “she is married to him at the moment,” he laughed.
The thrill of the successful sale had many levels to it for Simon, who is proud of the stallion he loves and delighted that he is “not the only one who believes in him.”
He is also proud of his mare, of the colt himself and of the Waikato team who he said were such a great help along the way; “everyone treated him like he was one of the stud's own horses,” he said.
Mark Chittick was also thrilled. “I am very proud of our team, they put a lot of time and effort in and it was great to see one of our members get such a great result.”
“I am very proud of our team, they put a lot of time and effort in and it was great to see one of our members get such a great result.” - Mark Chittick
A half-sister to the G1 Queensland Derby winner Kovalica (NZ) (Ocean Park {NZ}), Serenella hails from a high class New Zealand family, her dam Vitesse (NZ) (Makfi {GB}) being a half-sister to the triple Group 1 winner The Bostonian (NZ) (Jimmy Choux) whilst her grandam is a half-sister to the two-time New Zealand Horse Of The Year Mufhasa (NZ) (Pentire {GB}).
