Smashing it: Brave Smash's progeny continue to pick up momentum

Cover image courtesy of Yarraman Park

Four winners in seven days for Yarraman Park Stud resident Brave Smash (Jpn) has connections looking forward to what’s to come. The dual Group 1-winning sprinter’s first crop of Yarraman-bred foals are about to become yearlings, and stud director Harry Mitchell is certain that they will be his best crop to the sales yet.

Kicking off last weekend with back-to-back metropolitan winner Mickey’s Medal and Listed Oxlade Stakes winner Brave Design, Brave Smash has chalked up two more winners this week, as well as seeing the retirement announcement for his exceptional G1 Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes-winning daughter Kimochi. He currently has seven more individual winners than last season, with over a month still to go.

Limitless talent

“Obviously, he (Brave Smash) showed early on that he was a very talented stallion from very limited crops,” Mitchell said on Sunday. “He had Kimochi from his first crop, he had a very good 2-year-old in Perth (Brave Spirit), and he got Brave Mead, so we identified him early and were able to do a deal to acquire the horse. We knew we would get a couple of quieter seasons before the better mares kicked in.”

Brave Smash finished his first season of juveniles with 11 winners - a result that looks all the more rosy given he had only 67 confirmed foals on the ground, in comparison to stallions with larger books. The crop has since developed to produce 36 winners, five of which are stakes performers.

His second season brought a total haul of 30 winners, again from limited numbers, but the 2023/24 racing season also saw the emergence of Kimochi as a superb 3-year-old, who was unlucky to not win a Group 1 on numerous occasions.

“We're thrilled by the way he's going from fairly modest beginnings,” Mitchell said. “He just keeps churning them out, and they look to be very genuine, very sound. We're excited about getting some of the better ones that are coming through now to the sales and to the races.”

It’s only up from here - helped in part by some serious partners in the horse. Mitchell isn’t too worried about finding outside support for the stallion, due to the confidence held in Brave Smash.

“We’ve got some great partners in the horse,” he said. “Emirates Park, Glenlogan Park, Australian Bloodstock, and Mt Hallowell Stud, they’re all involved in the horse. We’re not looking for a lot of outside nominations because we have a core group of breeders who really believe in him.

“He’s not a horse that covers huge numbers either - he's a horse that has 100 mares and that's what suits him with his fertility, and then we can manage him very well that way.

“It’s still a work in progress for us, but we are very excited about what we've got on the ground and what's to come.”

A genuine horse

Limited Brave Smash weanlings have been on offer this season, with breeders deliberately keeping their cards close to their chest with the stallion’s progeny. All eight on offer this year have sold, for an average of $34,687, with Yarraman Park offering three.

“What they've all got is they've got a fantastic hindquarter and a very good hind leg,” Mitchell said. “He really puts a great hind leg on them, and a great natural muscle. They're a very healthy looking sort of horse, who is very sound.

“He's not a very big horse himself, but most of them are good size, just average size and they just look like what they are. They look like racehorses.”

Racehorses beget racehorses; Yarraman Park's stallions are all living proof of that ethos.

“He was a very genuine horse himself, and I think that's what his stock are. Brave Design is a good example. To say the least, he is an averagely bred horse, but he's doing a great job for his owners. He cost $150,000, and he's now a stakes winner and he ran second to Vinrock in the Sires’.”

Brave Design was purchased by Danny O'Brien Racing from Yarraman Park’s draft at last year’s Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale; O’Brien confirmed on Sunday that his next target will be the Listed Tattersall’s Stakes in a week’s time.

“I think, as we go along in time, Brave Smash will be a horse that people will love to buy yearlings by, because they're going to get 2-year-olds and they're going to get horses that can train on.

“Kimochi is only a little thing, but didn’t she train on well? Obviously she’s out of an I Am Invincible mare, so we’ve been sending lots of I Am Invincible mares to him and we’re very happy with the results. Some of our best foals by him are out of I Am Invincible mares.”

Mitchell feels fortunate to have the outcross available on farm; with a Danehill (USA) free pedigree, Brave Smash can match with mares by fellow resident Hellbent as well.

Bracing for difficulty

Mitchell is not ignorant of the shifting mood in the breeding world this year, and that has played into the decision-making process for 2025’s stallion fees; Brave Smash will stand for $27,500 inc GST, and Hellbent for $38,500 inc GST. Resident champion I Am Invincible has also taken a minor discount as the Mitchells seek to reward the stallion’s long-term supporters.

Gallery: Other Yarraman Park stallions, images courtesy of Yarraman Park Stud

“I think it's going to be more difficult (this season),” Mitchell said. “We reduced his (Brave Smash’s) fee slightly. I’m very happy that Yarraman Park has two horses that are going so well at a sensible fee, because I think it’s incredibly important that they’re sound, they’re tough, they train on. They’ve both proven early in their careers that they can get Group 1 winners, and I think that is terribly important.

“People are going to get - firstly - they throw nice types, so they’ll sell well, and - secondly - that the trainers like them because they perform at the races. I think the days of just getting 2-year-olds only are nearly gone. People want a bit of longevity, because horses aren't cheap.”

Mitchell is enthused to see how Brave Smash’s “upgraded” progeny will perform, both in the sales ring and on the race track, thanks to Yarraman Park’s broodmare band.

“It'll be interesting to see what he can achieve,” he said. “I Am Invincible has been the horse of a lifetime, but it’s nice having these younger horses come through, doing what we like to see as breeders.

"They’re the sort of horses we would be breeding to if we didn’t stand them, because they’re reliable and they can get you a good one.”