Cover image courtesy of Cambridge Stud
Cambridge Stud shuttler Hello Youmzain (Fr) had his stellar first Southern Hemisphere season of juveniles taken to the next level on Friday with the victory of his daughter Platinum Diamond (NZ) in the Listed Castletown Stakes at Otaki. His seven Australasian winners, two of which are now stakeswinners, keeps him at the top of the New Zealand first season sires’ premiership, which stands him in good stead for the upcoming breeding season.
“He’s having a really great run, it’s just what we hoped would happen,” said Cambridge Stud’s Sales and Nominations Scott Calder. “It’s gone really well. We have had a bit of a guide on his progeny from what happens in the northern hemisphere, and while it’s not always the same, what we did see was that, while he got out of the blocks quick, he really built momentum later in the season, so we hoped that would be what happened down here.”
Positive feedback
“The feedback from trainers has always been very positive,” Calder said. “And you have to appreciate that, naturally, a lot of New Zealand broodmares don’t lean towards producing early 2-year-old runners. So we were hoping he would get his fair share of 2-year-old runners as he was a good 2-year-old himself.”
From his first crop of Southern Hemisphere-bred juveniles, Hello Youmzain has struck with five winners in New Zealand and two in Australia to date. Hello Romeo (NZ) was one of his first runners out of the blocks, breaking his maiden in November at Bendigo before crossing back over the Tasman to run in the R. Listed Karaka 2YO Millions, and the gelding bounced back in terrific form last weekend to win at Sandown Hillside.
Hello Romeo (NZ) | Image courtesy of Racing Photos
“Recently, he's (Hello Youmzain) been really well represented at the trials, and a lot of those horses are going to the races and running well. To have Lucy In The Sky and Platinum Diamond both pick up stakes races, it means that whatever happens for the last little bit of the season, his haul for his first year of 2-year-olds is going to be really satisfactory.”
“...whatever happens for the last little bit of the season, his haul for his first year of 2-year-olds is going to be really satisfactory.” - Scott Calder
Five individual (New Zealand) winners may seem small by Australian standards, but Hello Youmzain is currently tracking on a par with - or ahead of - how New Zealand first season sires normally perform. Calder is happy with the progress that the stallion is making.
“He’s tied up the first season sire race, which matches what he’s been doing in France, where he’s the leading second season sire in Europe right now, so hopefully next season they’ll continue to progress. I think he’s got a lot of above average horses coming in the spring.”
Platinum Diamond’s victory on Friday for Lisa Latta is just another feather in Hello Youmzain’s cap. Calder was quick to congratulate the filly’s breeders, Beaufort Downs, who sold her to her trainer for NZ$90,000 at last year’s New Zealand Bloodstock National Yearling Sale.
“I’m really happy for Olly and Annabel (Tuthill), they’re a young farm in New Zealand and they’ve invested in some really nice horses,” he said. “It’s great to see that paying dividends for them, and it’s also a lesson to not give up breeding too early in the season. Platinum Diamond was a December foal, and she’s still come out and been one of the more precocious runners for Hello Youmzain.
“It’s a good reminder that if they hadn’t stuck to their guns and bred late in the season, they might not be in this position.”
Actions speak louder than words
Hello Youmzain’s second crop hit the sales this year on both sides of the Tasman, with his offspring cropping up at both the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale and the Inglis Australian Yearling Sale, where all that were offered were sold.
“First crop yearlings is generally when people come out and spend the most amount of money,” Calder said. “I think the standout of his second season has been the clearance rate, but even more so, if you look at who has been buying them the second time around, it’s largely people who bought from his first crop. They might not be paying as much, but I always think that actions speak louder than words.
“If you look at who has been buying them the second time around, it’s largely people who bought from his (Hello Youmzain) first crop.” - Scott Calder
“The fact that the traders are happy and that people are coming back to buy his yearlings again, I think that tells you what they are thinking about the ones they already have in their stable.”
The reception has been rosy with breeders so far; Calder has confidence that the stallion, who will stand again for NZ$30,000 (plus GST), will serve another good sized book this year.
Hello Youmzain (Fr) | Standing at Cambridge Stud
“He’s had a good base, but, like any horse, once they've started having runners, it all is very much dependent on getting the right results at the right time. The phone calls have just got progressively more and more, and after today, I think he's becoming a horse that everyone's going to be talking about. I'd expect the bookings to keep flowing in from here.
“People don’t expect the New Zealand stallions to go bang, bang, bang with their first 2-year-olds, but this time of year, it can become more of an indicator. If you look at Super Seth last year, he really started to build momentum as they turned 3-year-olds and now he’s obviously taken it to the next level. Almanzor was the same for us.
“It's a tough environment to be breeding horses right now, the sales prices at the top end are doing really well, but the effect that polarisation has had across the lower part of the market has made it harder.
“But in New Zealand, it's also a slow burn. Here, people take their time through the winter. Then spring comes around, racing starts up again, mares start foaling and then they need a stallion, so you always know there's a lot of business to be had.”
Scott Calder | Image courtesy of Cambridge Stud
Calder is conscious of the breeding population in New Zealand.
“These style of horses typically get better with time. Although Hello Youmzain has jumped to the head of the class, there's no reason to think that his progeny are just going to be 2-year-olds. I think they've got a lot more scope than that.”
Money the greatest driver
One of the greatest problems facing the modern breeder, Calder believes, comes from the prize money on offer in New Zealand. A vicious cycle for breeders, agents, and trainers is ensuring there is sufficient reward for prospective owners.
“In New Zealand we felt that pressure for quite a long time, which has largely been driven by a lack of prize money,” Calder said. “We are fortunate that, in the last two or three years, we have gotten into a much more positive environment in terms of our domestic racing and the prize money on offer, which has been a real boost to New Zealand breeding.
“However, that's tempered against the rising costs that everybody's facing and the general economic picture. I do feel that New Zealand's stallion fees have probably stayed at a reasonable level, but our base cost is still increasing and the margins are getting squeezed hard for Kiwi breeders. It’s never been easy here - and the foal crop numbers will reflect that - but a key ingredient is prize money.”
“I do feel that New Zealand's stallion fees have probably stayed at a reasonable level, but our base cost is still increasing and the margins are getting squeezed hard for Kiwi breeders.” - Scott Calder
Two years ago, New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing announced a 29 per cent increase in prize money from NZ$70.5 million to NZ$90.8 million for the 2024/25 racing season - while the money still lags far behind that of Australia, it was an immediate boon for the local racing industry.
It isn’t the only area that Calder would like to see given greater attention in the near future.
“Infrastructure is also a big problem in New Zealand,” Calder said. “Prize money does need continued investment, but so does the infrastructure. It’s been neglected here for so long. There has been some really positive stuff happening at Auckland with Ellerslie, and continuing that across more tracks should be the next big focus.”
Ellerslie track | Image courtesy of New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing
A NZ$55 million upgrade to the Ellerslie track was heralded as “miraculous” by several media outlets in January after the success of the revamped Karaka Millions meet. Calder would like to see the same care and investment put into other tracks around the country.
“Because if you’re a trainer, an owner, a breeder, a jockey, tracks are a big problem. Improving tracks and prize money is very important to the health of our industry.”
No track, no race, no prize money - the wheel grinds to a halt.
