Cover image courtesy of Durham Park
Durham Park makes its maiden appearance as a thoroughbred breeder at the Inglis Great Southern Sale, at Oaklands Junction this Friday. The Thoroughbred Report caught up with Bruce Edward to talk about the journey he has been on over the last 18 months and to talk about a major pedigree update that his Justify (USA) colt received when his half-sister Pillow Fight (Zoustar) won stylishly at Canterbury on debut on Monday.
The Origins of Durham Park
Durham Park, under the guidance of Edward, was established just outside Ballarat in 2006 and has spent close to two decades breeding standardbred horses. But around 18 months ago, Edward decided he was ready for a new challenge.
“I wanted to give breeding thoroughbreds a crack,” he said candidly.
Since then, Durham Park has added 11 thoroughbred mares to its broodmare band, purchased through either Inglis Online Sales or the Inglis Chairman’s Sale. While the transition into thoroughbreds marks the beginning of a fresh era for the farm, Edward is confident that the lessons learnt from his time in standardbreds will translate well.
Bruce Edward | Image courtesy of Durham Park
“This is a new and exciting era for Durham Park,” he said. “It will involve a lot of learning, but also an opportunity to apply 20 years of knowledge and experience gained from our breeding success with standardbreds.
“We’ve been in the horse game a very long time. We decided about 18 months ago that it was time to have a crack. We’ve picked up some really nice broodmares.
“I’m in the game because I love horses. I want to be as good as I can, and we’ve done particularly well with the standardbreds, we’ve won 16 Group 1 races. Our main aim was to breed to sell, but we raced a few for whatever reason as well. The horses have done particularly well, but it was time for a new challenge, and that’s breeding thoroughbreds.”
Thoroughbreds are an exciting but daunting challenge
Edward and the team at Durham Park are under no illusions about the difficulty of establishing themselves in the competitive world of thoroughbred breeding. But he is optimistic as people have been viewing their draft and taking a solid interest in the farms progression.
“We know it’s going to be harder and a big challenge, but we are an established farm that has been breeding and racing for a long time,” he said.
“We know it’s going to be harder and a big challenge, but we are an established farm that has been breeding and racing for a long time,” - Bruce Edward
“We put a lot of time and effort into our young horses, and I’m sure it will pay off for us.
“We’re going into it with our eyes wide open. Nobody knows us, but we’re out there getting amongst it. A lot of people have come to visit us and talk to us, so that is really positive.
“We are very much in a learning situation, and there is no doubt that we will get bigger and better as a result of our first crack at it.”
Edward is hoping that his extensive knowledge around genetics and breeding will pay off.
“There are as many theories around as there are people,” Edward said, laughing.
“I’ll stick to the theories I believe in and have utilised throughout the years successfully in standardbreds, and we’ll see how I go.”
“I’ll stick to the theories I believe in and have utilised throughout the years successfully in standardbreds, and we’ll see how I go.” - Bruce Edward
The Great Southern way
When asked whether there was a specific plan behind taking his entire 2024 foal crop to the 2025 Inglis Great Southern Sale as weanlings, Edward was pragmatic.
“We thought we would put all six of our weanlings in this sale, as we have 26 standardbreds that we’ll take through the sales later in the year, and we don’t have the resources to deal with it all,” he explained. “So we’re going for the all-in theory. We’ll get a bit more organised as the years go on, but this is a good learning experience., it's more around making things happen logistically than a planned target.”
“We’ll get a bit more organised as the years go on, but this is a good learning experience” - Bruce Edward
A bonus of this way of thinking and presenting their draft is the fact that buyers can have full faith in that the best produce are being offered for sale, as Edward summarised.
“No picking and choosing is going on here. This is the lot, and all of the mares we purchased were in foal, these weanlings are the result.”
A lovely mix of weanlings in the draft
With all of these weanlings being in utero before the mares were purchased, the current draft doesn’t yet have a “Durham Park twist” in terms of matings, but Edward focused heavily on acquiring mares with strong pedigrees with the being in foal to exciting stallions being a lovely bonus.
“In this game, things are quite expensive. We bought the best mares we could afford within our budget,” he said.
“I really focused on getting the best bloodlines I could. I love looking into the second, third, and fourth generations, and that’s what I did when selecting these mares. We really did pick up some mares with sensational bloodlines, and in foal to some nice stallions, so it will be interesting to see how they sell.”
The draft includes fillies by Brazen Beau, Hellbent and Anamoe, as well as colts by Bivouac, Tassort and Justify (USA), a nice blend of proven and up-and-coming stallions offering plenty of appeal to buyers.
Lot 57 - Bivouac x Enchanted Dawn (USA) | Image courtesy of Inglis
A colt that Edward holds in particularly high regard is Lot 57, a Bivouac colt out of Enchanted Dawn (USA) (War Front {USA}), a full sister to the Listed winner and sire Sweet Orange (USA) and the Group 3 winner Intelligence Cross (USA) (War Front {USA}).
“I really like the Bivouac colt. He is a strong, rangy, tall colt. I really do think that Bivouac could end up being something special, and this colt looks an obvious racehorse in the making.” Edward said.
Lot 234, an Anamoe filly out of Solaia (Toronado {Ire}), a dual Listed winner in Perth is her dam’s first foal. The Anamoe progeny have created strong interest in the weanling ring this year, and Edward has high hopes.
Lot 234 - Anamoe x Solaia | Image courtesy of Inglis
“The dam of the Anamoe was a lovely mare. We purchased her from the Chairman’s Sale for $400,000, and we’ll be very surprised if he doesn’t make it as a stallion. This filly is a nice, compact, strong filly, much like her stakes-winning dam.”
Lot 185, a well-bred Brazen Beau filly, is the second live foal of a dual-winning full sister to three-time Group winner Daisies (Sebring), as well as the Listed-placed Motown Lil (Sebring), and a half-sister to Zou Tiger (Zoustar), a Listed winner and dual Group 1 placegetter.
“The Brazen Beau is solid, well-boned and typical of the Brazen Beau breed. I think she will go early, and I really like her.” Edward said
Lot 185 - Brazen Beau x Passionate Lass | Image courtesy of Inglis
Timely pedigree update
In a case of perfect timing, Lot 228 - a colt by Justify (USA) out of Slumber Party (Snitzel), received a major pedigree update on King’s Birthday Monday when his half-sister Pillow Fight (Zoustar) won impressively on debut at metropolitan level at Canterbury. for trainer-Bjorn Baker.
Lot 228 - Justify (USA) x Slumber Party | Image courtesy of Inglis
Pillow Fight was purchased for $375,000 by Bjorn Baker Racing, Cunningham Thoroughbreds and Clarke Bloodstock from the 2024 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale. All four of Slumber Party’s named foals are now winners. She hails from the extended family of Not A Single Doubt, King’s Legacy, and Group 1 winner Oohood (I Am Invincible).
Durham Park purchased Slumber Party in foal to Justify for $255,000 from the 2024 Inglis Digital January Sale and will be looking to recoup as much of that back as possible with her first produce for her new owners.
“The timing was good. Hopefully, it makes a difference when we sell the half-brother,, he is very impressive, the colt. You need some luck occasionally in this game, ” Edward said.
“The timing was good. Hopefully, it makes a difference when we sell the half-brother, he is very impressive, the colt” - Bruce Edward
“We purchased the mare in foal to Justify just before Storm Boy and the likes kicked some goals for the stallion. Justify has gone on to become a very good stallion and now stands in America for about $400,000 Australian dollars. We got the timing right when we bought the mare and after the impressive win on Monday, the mare is now four to race for four winners.
Justify | Standing at Coolmore
“The dam is a beautiful mare with great bloodlines, and this colt is a standout to look at. He’s a light bay, almost looks chestnut, with a big white blaze. Thankfully, he’s got the looks of both his sire and his dam.”
There is no doubt that the colt has the looks, pedigree and the commercial appeal to sell well on Friday, but no matter what happens, it will be a starting point for Durham Park. They will take the experience, soak up everything, and learn from the way thoroughbred sales are done.
