Foal Focus: Extreme Choice colt 'looks like his father'

The dam of this impressive Extreme Choice colt is Duchess, a five-time winning daughter of More Than Ready (USA).

This striking colt is only her first foal for Alma Vale who picked her up this year at the Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale , so she has started in great fashion for her new connections.

The story behind Duchess

Duchess was a five-time winner on the track over distances up to 1100 metres, including a victory at metropolitan level in Sydney on the Kensington track and wins at Kembla Grange, Canberra and twice at Gosford. Her racing record was solid, but it is her pedigree and broodmare potential that has captured attention in recent years.

She is out of Tenant’s Tiara (Beautiful Crown {USA}), a four-time winner herself, who notched a victory in the Listed Eskimo Prince Stakes and placed in the G2 Sapphire Stakes. Tenant's Tiara has been very good at stud, producing seven winners, including the 13-time winner Zoutenant (Zizou), who claimed the R. Listed Wyong Magic Millions 2YO Classic and placed in the G2 Roman Consul Stakes.

Duchess has changed hands a few times since her initial $210,000 purchase by JHB Syndications at the 2019 William Inglis Classic Yearling Sale, and this year Alma Vale Thoroughbreds secured the mare, along with partners, for $500,000 at the Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale. She was in foal to Extreme Choice at the time of purchase.

Oscar Engelbrecht, Stud Manager at Alma Vale, explained the appeal of the mare.

“We were very happy to pick her up, we loved the fact that the mare was in foal to Extreme Choice, but also really liked the mare, and see her as an important mare for the stud in years to come.

“We love buying off good farms like Newgate Farm. We knew that they don’t sex test, so we had a 50/50 chance of getting a colt, which we really wanted, so we are rapt with the result.

“She is a mare from quite a young family on the rise, was in foal to Extreme Choice, and she could gallop, so she really appealed.”

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He looks very typical of the sireline

The colt born from that mating has impressed Engelbrecht, not only for his pedigree and cross, but also for his physical similarity to his sire.

“He looks like his father, very similar to him, chestnut, with a bit of a blaze. Not a big imposing horse, but he has lovely shape about him and quality. You can tell he is an Extreme Choice, and he looks like he will be able to run.

“It’s a big positive to have an Extreme Choice colt that we can potentially offer at any of the sales as a yearling, so understandably we were very happy with him being a colt, and the mare is off to a good start for us.”

Bred on a cross that works

Extreme Choice has established himself as an elite stallion, siring 16 stakes winners from just 142 runners at an elite stakes-winners-to-runners ratio of 11.2%, including six individual Group 1 winners.

The cross with More Than Ready (USA) mares has been particularly potent. Of five runners to date, four have been winners, including two Group winners: G1 Melbourne Cup hero Knight’s Choice and Group 2 winner and emerging young sire Tiger Of Malay, giving a Group winners-to-runners ratio of 40%. Even with such a small sample size, the results are striking, and Engelbrecht clearly values the cross.

“This colt is bred on the great cross of Extreme Choice over More Than Ready mares, just like Knight’s Choice and Tiger Of Malay,” he said.

“We really believe in the cross, and the mare is actually back in foal to Stay Inside, who obviously is a son of Extreme Choice, and the resultant foal will be a three-quarter sibling to this colt on the ground.”

“Stay Inside has started very well, they sold well, they are racing well, and he has good numbers, so we were keen to use him with this mare.”