Cover image courtesy of Swettenham Stud
The breeding season is in full swing for Swettenham Stud and their stallion roster. With illness putting a hold on flagship stallion Toronado’s (Ire) covering season, some of their mares have had to find new dance partners, but as Nominations Manager Marcus Heritage shared with TTR, all this means is a wealth of opportunities for the roster’s younger members.
Marcus Heritage | Image supplied
Sepals’ success decides his dam’s direction
“We bought a mare package from Greg Perry, who’s obviously a very good breeder, and was dispersing his stock,” said Heritage. “We were able to get What’s New, who is the dam of Sepals.”
The winding down of operations for industry-leading breeder Greg Perry, a former part owner of Vinery Stud and breeder of the likes of G1 VRC Oaks winner Aristia (Lonhro), has been a boon to places like Swettenham, who are always looking to upgrade their broodmare band.
Casino Prince mare What’s New (NZ) was a private acquisition for the team, having been withdrawn from the Magic Millions Gold Coast National Broodmare Sale earlier this year, and her page has taken a huge leap forward since the purchase, courtesy of her first foal Sepals (Calyx {GB}). The 4-year-old gelding won the G3 CS Hayes Stakes in the autumn and showed a taste of Group 1 talent with his next start fourth in the G1 Australian Guineas.
What's New (NZ) | Image courtesy of Magic Millions
He was right on target last start in the G1 Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes, which provides an excellent update to the page ahead of the 2026 yearling sales series, where his brother by Star Turn will be offered.
What’s New, herself a multiple Listed winner in Singapore for Sepals’ trainer Cliff Brown, arrived in Swettenham’s care in foal to Exceedance, but sadly lost the foal after birth.
“We actually bought this package with Toronado in mind for all of them, but given he has had his setback, we have shuffled a few around and What’s New is going to Home Affairs,” Heritage said.
“With Sepals being a Group 1 winner at the weekend, Home Affairs is a good fit (for What's New) being from the same sireline.” - Marcus Heritage
“Obviously, with Sepals being a Group 1 winner at the weekend, Home Affairs is a good fit being from the same sireline. So we can tap into that nick, and she's not an overly big mare, so physically, it's a good mating.”
Home Affairs’ first 2-year-olds have already made a cracking start at the trials, with three winners in total, including two at the official 2-year-old trials at Kensington on Monday. The late Calyx (GB) was a son of Kingman (GB), himself a son of Invincible Spirit (Ire), and Sepals is his first Group 1 winner.
“Home Affairs is a stallion that has been very well supported by Coolmore, so we are happy to jump in on the back of what they have done for the stallion,” Heritage said. “He’s a huge chance.”
Home Affairs | Standing at Coolmore
Repeating a winning formula
From the same package deal, Swettenham acquired Naantali (NZ) (Rip Van Winkle {Ire}), whose six wins on the track include the Listed Anniversary Vase. Her high-flying performances have meant she has visited the likes of Zoustar, Ole Kirk, and Alabama Express to date - and it is the latter that she will return to this spring, off of the back of a cracking colt born in early September.
“Naantali was another mare that we really liked for Toronado,” said Heritage. “But she had an early foal by Alabama Express that’s an absolute cracker, and so with Toronado not being available, it was no brainer to send her back across to our neighbours and go back to Alabama Express. He’s close by and he’s doing a great job. He has picked up quite a few mares off of Toronado’s book, and we don't need to reinvent the wheel with that mating if it's worked.”
“She (Naantali) had an early foal by Alabama Express that’s an absolute cracker... it was no brainer to send her back across to our neighbours and go back to Alabama Express.” - Marcus Heritage
Naantali (NZ) | Image courtesy of Magic Millions
Alabama Express’s fee has risen to an all-time high of $66,000 inc GST - in no small part due to the exploits of his daughter Treasurethe Moment. But at the same time, she is just one of four stakes winners and a further eight stakes-performed offspring with his eldest crop having just turned four.
“It’s a mating that was put together by Greg Perry, who's arguably the best breeder in Australia,” Heritage added. “So if he liked the mating and it produced a nice foal, it makes sense to go back.”
Supporting the neighbours
Another Perry mare purchased by Swettenham is Grace And Harmony (NZ) (Sebring); the winner of the Listed Gold Coast Bracelet has her first foal, a yearling filly by Zoustar, bound for the sales next year. After slipping to Home Affairs, the Swettenham team decided to keep her local, and also patronise one of the state’s best stallions with her next match.
“She’s going to Street Boss,” Heritage shared. “She’s matched to him in a similar way that she was matched to Toronado. They’re two of Victoria’s most proven high-end stallions. We will keep her local, and he (Street Boss) just makes sense to go to.”
“They’re (Toronado and Street Boss) two of Victoria’s most proven high-end stallions.” - Marcus Heritage
Grace And Harmony (NZ) | Image courtesy of Magic Millions
Street Boss’s (USA) name was up in lights again this past racing season, thanks to the abilities of Godolphin juveniles Tempted and Tentyris. The former lines up for the G1 Golden Rose Stakes at the weekend as the only filly against a field of colts, but crucially she has already beaten most of them when taking home the G2 Run To The Rose a fortnight again.
As the resulting foal will be the mare’s second, Heritage saw the pragmatism in getting the mare off to a flying start by sending her to another proven stallion.
“We know the Street Bosses, we know what they like physically, and it makes sense to support our neighbours.”
Two top selections for Lofty Strike
The youngest member of Swettenham’s roster, Lofty Strike welcomes his first foals this spring, and the stud is keen to keep his momentum rolling by sending him more high quality mares. Group-performed Decent Raine (Dissident), currently in foal to Toronado, and classy city-winning mare Energy Within (Toronado {Ire}) are both on his books for the season.
The latter has a yearling and a 2-year-old by Wooded (Ire), whose first juveniles hit the track this spring. TAB Racing Club paid NZ$200,000 for Energy Within’s juvenile at this year’s New Zealand Bloodstock National Yearling Sale.
“Decent Raine is a mare that we raced, and her first foal was an absolute ripper by Toronado,” Heritage said. “The plan was always to go back to him, but we have turned the negative into a positive for our up-and-coming stallions. We're going to send them a mare that they probably wouldn't have covered if the top horse was fit and firing.
“We're going to send them (the younger stallions) a mare that they probably wouldn't have covered if the top horse was fit and firing.” - Marcus Heritage
“So she's going to go to Lofty Strike, which actually looks like a really nice mating on the similar Snitzel-More Than Ready cross that produced Shinzo.”
Decent Raine when racing | Image courtesy of Racing Photos
As a daughter of Toronado, Energy Within was always destined for one of the others on the roster, but she profiles well to give Lofty Strike the kickstart he needs.
“She's had two really nice foals, including the first one being the highest price Wooded yearling last year,” said Heritage. “We're going to swap her to Lofty Strike this year for no fault of the Wooded mating, but just to not have her first three foals all by the same sire.
“The Toronado mares we've been really bullish on for Wooded, but they actually match really well with Lofty Strike too. A lot of them are outcross mares too, which is important for Lofty Strike.”
“The Toronado mares we've been really bullish on for Wooded, but they actually match really well with Lofty Strike too.” - Marcus Heritage
Lofty Strike’s double up of Danehill (USA) via sire Snitzel and damsire Exceed And Excel benefits greatly from the Danehill-free pedigree of Energy Within.
A gem for Wooded
Energy Within’s half-sister Bralca’s Gem (Fastnet Rock) will head back to Wooded this spring after delivering a filly by the sire last year. She is currently in foal to Toronado, which will produce a three-quarter-sibling to Energy Within.
Bralca’s Gem as a yearling | Image courtesy of Inglis
“We'll send her back to Wooded this year and create a three-quarter relation to the one that made $200,000 at the Karaka sale,” Heritage said. “We're still very much backing our young stallions coming through, and I just think it's a good opportunity for them this year to get some really nice mares as well.
“She's already got a nice Wooded filly on the ground that will likely go to the yearling sales next year, which obviously gives us a lot of confidence to go back to the mating. Being in foal to Toronado, she’s being bred upwards, and she can produce a nice foal. So we are happy to go back to Wooded with her.”
“Being in foal to Toronado, she’s (Bralca's Gem) being bred upwards, and she can produce a nice foal.” - Marcus Heritage
Wooded’s first Northern Hemisphere crop have already started with a bang, which has given the Swettenham team significant hope that they will see something similar happen down under.
“He's already had a Group 1 winner in the Northern Hemisphere with Woodshauna, so there's no reason to not send him some nice mares,” Heritage said. The winner of four starts from eight, Woodshauna (Fr) (Wooded {Ire}) added the G1 Prix Jean Prat to his record in July.
Hope for the late season
Another mare acquired from Perry, Sezanne (More Than Ready {USA}) is a three-quarter-sister to Grace And Harmony, and arrived in foal to Pierata on a late November cover. Although she never snared a stakes race, she did run second in the G1 Flight Stakes to Global Glamour (Star Witness) and was also second in the G2 Fillies Classic.
Those performances earned her a spot in the books of Snitzel, All Too Hard, and Street Boss in her first years at stud, and her first two runners on the track are both multiple winners. The timing, as well as her performance so far, has the Swettenham team holding onto her for Toronado.
Sezanne as a yearling | Image courtesy of Inglis
“She’s having a late foal,” said Heritage. “So while we have touched on Toronado earlier, he is actually well ahead on his recovery from where we thought he would be. So, given she’s going to be late in the season and how well he’s gone, we actually haven't booked her in anywhere. We have kept her at the top of Toronado’s list if he is able to serve.
“He (Toronado) is actually well ahead on his recovery from where we thought he would be.” - Marcus Heritage
“Given his progress, I'd be confident she will visit him, all things going well. If he doesn't come back this year, it won't be the end of the world, but she'll probably have a year off and go to him early next year.”
The team has yet to let on that their headline act is well on the road to recovery. While Toronado isn’t entirely out of the woods yet, they are hopeful a small number of mares could visit him before the covering shed closes its doors for the season.
“We didn't want to keep anyone waiting, so we told everyone to change plans just because there's so much unknown about his injury,” Heritage said. “But I saw him (on Monday) and he’s just going so well, and the vets are really happy with him. We won't push him, but he's well ahead of where we thought he'd be.”
