Cover image courtesy of Darling View Thoroughbreds
Western Australia’s premier sire Playing God will remain at the same fee heading into 2025. The sire of 23 stakes winners from only 231 runner, an impressive rate of 9.9 per cent, has had another fabulous season with two 3-year-old stakes winners in September Born and West Star, who won the G3 Northam Stakes ten days ago.
“Playing God is doing an enormous job and is especially fantastic at home. The great thing for the horse is that most farms will send their better calibre mares to him. I can only see him continuing to improve as he’s getting better and better mares every season. He gets the best of what we’ve got over here,” Darling View Thoroughbreds manager Brent Atwell said.
“I can only see him (Playing God) continuing to improve as he’s getting better and better mares every season. He gets the best of what we’ve got over here.” - Brent Atwell
“He’s getting to the back end of his career but he’s going stronger than ever and he’s already had a lot of bookings for the spring, and we have no doubt that he’ll get to his full lot of 140 mares, which is what we restrict him to.” Playing God is rising 18, and raced from two till six, winning the G1 Kingston Town Classic (now the Northerly Stakes) at three and again at four, and adding more group success as a 6-year-old. Initially unpopular, he served less than 50 mares a season for his first three seasons, slowly growing his numbers and fee as his progeny began to run and win.
Playing God | Standing at Darling View Thoroughbreds
“He’s got some nice horses coming back for the spring. West Star heads to Belmont Sprint this Saturday and September Born won a trial on Monday. It’s exciting to see him back after a break. He’s generally got a bit of firepower around, and Peter Moody has a nice one on the east coast with Nunthorpe.”
Nunthorpe ran third in the G2 VRC AV Kewney Stakes and was entered for the Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale but has been withdrawn.
“We try to say to agents, ‘Come to Perth and buy a Playing God.’ Sheamus Mills did that last year, buying the sale topping filly who was a record for Perth, but unfortunately she died shortly after arriving out east, which was massively disappointing. Every foal the mare had had, she’d produced a stakes horses, so it would’ve been great to have one on the east coast.”
Brent Atwell | Image courtesy of Magic Millions
Named Fight For Life, the filly was sold by Mungrup Stud for $675,000 to Sheamus Mills Bloodstock, she was full sister to Group 1 winner Bustler. September Born, who won the Listed Fairetha Stakes earlier this season is a full brother to Group 1 winner Kay Cee.
Zoustar’s Lightsaber is popular
Zoustar’s G2 VRC Sires’ Produce Stakes winner Lightsaber enters his third season in 2025, and Darling View Thoroughbreds will keep his fee unchanged at $6600 including GST. “He’s been really popular in his first two seasons, covering around 190 mares total, which is really good for Western Australia. We are getting good feedback on his weanlings and there are several entered in the Perth Winter Sale.”
The Magic Millions Perth Winter Sale will be held on June 22, but the catalogue hasn’t been released yet.
Lightsaber | Standing at Darling View Thoroughbreds
Lightsaber won the G2 VRC Sires’ Produce Stakes at two, winning three of his five starts as a juvenile, then trained on to add the G3 Caulfield Guineas Prelude at three and was second to Hitotsu in the G1 Caulfield Guineas. A son of Zoustar, whose Zousain has started so well, Lightsaber is from the family of Fastnet Rock.
Anticipation and nerves for Splintex
Splintex, a son of Snitzel, who won every season from two till five and performed in group company against the best eastern seaboard sprinters will head into his fourth season in 2025. His first yearlings sold up to $100,000, which is a great effort off his initial fee of $11,000 including GST, and he gets a reduction to $7700 for 2025.
“It’s a reflection of the market and of timing, but we felt that even with the market reducing slightly, they were still popular and have gone into good yards like Simon Miller and Pearce Racing,” said Atwell.
“He’s had good books all the way through and now we await his first runner later this year. We are getting good reports from breakers. It’s not everything but it’s a start and it’s nice to hear that they have good attitudes.” Splintex served 118 mares in his first season and 112 in his second, but this dropped to 63 last year.
Spintex | Standing at Darling Views Thoroughbreds
Splintex won twice in Sydney as a 2-year-old, then added the G2 Arrowfield 3YO Sprint at three, training on to win the G3 Hall Mark Stakes at four and the G2 Bobby Lewis Handicap at five beating Away Game (Snitzel). His sire, Snitzel, needs no introduction and he’s out of stakes placed O’Reilly (NZ) mare Acquired (NZ), who also produced Listed winner Invictus Salute (Exceed And Excel).
“It’s exciting times ahead and we are waiting with anticipation. With that first horse at the trials or the races, we’ll be there watching for sure. They look like forward types, he was a winner at two himself and I dare say that they are in the mould of their sire, so trainers will be looking to run them pre-Christmas.
“It’s exciting times ahead and we are waiting with anticipation. With that first horse at the trials or the races, we’ll be there watching for sure.” - Brent Atwell
“It’s an anxious moment for us, but also from a holistic point of view, Western Australia needs a nice new stallion so we hope he’s the one. There’s certainly space here for a couple of young sires to push forward.
“We’ve only got a small pool of mares here (in WA), so it’s tough to try and make young stallions. Thankfully our two have had great support which gives them the best opportunity, and hopefully they can repay those who’ve supported them.”
Western Australia produced 8 per cent of Australia's foal crop in 2024, amounting to 928 foals.
| Playing God | Blackfriars | $ 49,500 | $ 49,500 |
| Splintex | Snitzel | $ 7,700 | $ 11,000 |
| Lightsaber | Zoustar | $ 6,600 | $ 6,600 |
