Silver Slipper makes a Golden case for Wild Ruler

Cover image courtesy of Georgia Young Photography

Winner of Saturday’s G2 Silver Slipper Stakes, Stretan Ruler (Wild Ruler) shifted sharply into G1 Golden Slipper calculations with an emphatic victory winning by 3.5 lengths from Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott-trained Eviction Notice (Stay Inside) with Chris Waller-trained G3 Cannonbury Stakes winner Hidrix (Extreme Choice) in third.

Stretan Ruler is the first stakes winner for first season sire Wild Ruler, and the second stakes winner for his dam Sretan (Bernardini {USA}).

An Easter colt from a small farm

Sretan Ruler was bred by Cheval Properties and Kirks Bridge Farm from Kirks Bridge Farm’s brilliant broodmare Sretan. She was sold by Godolphin at the Inglis Sydney Broodmare Sale of 2017 to Trevor Lobb for $35,000, and ended up at Kirks Bridge Farm where she’s spent her entire breeding life.

“We bought Sretan as a maiden and have bred every foal from her,” Brad McCarthy, Kirks Bridge Farm’s manager, said. Stretan Ruler is her fifth live foal and she’s previously produced $1.2 million earner and G2 Danehill Stakes winner Stretan Angel (Harry Angel {Ire}).

Notably, only three of Sretan’s six foals through the sales ring have gone through a Kirks Bridge Farm draft, with Stretan Angel being sold by Raheen Stud, Vantan Express (Vancouver) sold by Widden Stud and Stretan Ruler sold by Willow Park Stud.

“We only had the one horse going to Easter that year, so we put him through the Willow Park draft. It’s more cost effective for us, as you aren’t at the sale with only one horse, and for him, he can go through a draft with other horses,” McCarthy said.

“This year a lot of our yearlings made Gold Coast and Classic, so we had bigger drafts for them. It’s good as a small to farm to be able to take quality horses under our own banner and sell them to good homes.” Kirks Bridge Farm sold the full brother to Stretan Angel at this year’s Classic Yearling Sale for $540,000 to Equine Growth Fund, and he was the second top price at the sale.

“Stretan Ruler is a very true Wild Ruler type. He fits the Snitzel mould pretty well, with that Snitzel head, big jowl but he wasn’t a big imposing horse as a yearling. When you looked at him, he was pretty hard to knock. There wasn't a whole lot wrong with him, he just looked like a racehorse. He just wasn’t the big imposing Easter style colt.”

Stretan Ruler wasn’t as popular as Willow Park Stud felt he could be.

“He looked to be a $250 000 to $300 000 colt in my eyes and as far as we were concerned his X-rays were clear,” said Willow Park Stud’s Glen Burrows who pointed out that he is the 49th stakes winner sold as a yearling by the farm.

“He only had three x-ray hits which was less than half of the average number that my draft at that particular sale. I had a filly with 18 hits so you can see the disparity. Why was he such good value and why wasn't he more popular in the repository? All I can put it down to is that he popped a couple of splints six months beforehand that remained the same size and never affected his soundness. He never, ever took a lame step.

“We have an elite draft of eight yearlings in the upcoming Easter yearling sale and after Stretan Ruler becomes our Easter Group 1 winning graduate number six (in the Golden Slipper), we'll look forward to number seven and possibly eight by this time next year!”

Hunting for value at Easter

Stretan Ruler was purchased by Stokes Racing and Suman Hedge Bloodstock (FBAA) at the Inglis Easter Yearling Sale for $220,000 from Willow Park Stud’s draft. The price is much lower than the median of $360,000 achieved at the 2025 Inglis Easter Yearling Sale, and agent Suman Hedge talked about how he likes to look for value at that end of the sale.

“Sometimes horses like him, by first season sires at Easter, are a little bit harder to make the big money at that sale, as it seems to be focused on established, proven stallions who sell really well there. A horse like him can get under the guard a little bit,” said Hedge.

“We try to mine for value and go against the grain a little bit, and that price point at Easter has been good for us. Really anything at Easter that’s $120,000 through to the $250,000 range, there’s such a good record historically coming from there. There’s a perception you have to buy the million dollar horses there, but if you unwind it and look at the stats, there’s a lot of value to be had at that sale.”

The 2025 Easter sale has seen three stakes winning juveniles led by Stretan Ruler. Hidrix was a $1.7 million purchase by Chris Waller, Mulcaster Bloodstock, and B2B Thoroughbreds and won the G3 Cannonbury Stakes on debut and was third to Stretan Ruler on Saturday. Fireball (Snitzel) cost James Harron Bloodstock $460,000 and won the R.Listed Inglis Millennium Stakes.

Of the 3-year-olds from the 2024 Easter Sale, there have been 12 stakes winners to date, ranging from $230,000 to $550,000 in price, while the stakes placed 3-year-olds from 2024’s sale range from $170,000 to $3 million in price.

A farm favourite at Kirks Bridge

Sretan wasn’t much chop as a racemare, only having three starts, placing on debut at Kembla Grange and finishing her career with a fourth at Hawkesbury.

“I probably shouldn’t have favourites, but I absolutely adore her,” said McCarthy.

“She's an absolute gem of a mare from a lot of different perspectives. Physically she’s a Bernardini mare, and she’s got plenty of bone and she's nice long mare with a very attractive head. She’s very sweet and easy to do anything with. She’s a great mother and her foal always look terrific. She puts everything into them.

“The Harry Angel (yearling) colt this year was a lot more like her than Harry Angel, but Stretan Ruler was very much like Wild Ruler. She’s gone to a lot of stallions early in their career. Stretan Angel was from Harry Angel’s first crop, then she had a Brutal called Glorious Moments who has won twice in town. He would’ve been from Brutal’s first crop, and obviously Stretan Ruler is from Wild Ruler’s first crop.”

Glorious Moments (Brutal {NZ}) is a 4-year-old gelding who ran in the G3 Pago Pago Stakes at two, and won his last two starts in succession in Sydney at the end of his 3-year-old season. He’s trained by Jim and Greg Lee.

“She’s thrown three above-average gallopers from stallions very early in their career. And I think that takes a pretty special mare to do that.”

Temperament the unknown variable

Stretan Ruler was first seen at the end of November when second to Eternal Warrior (Extreme Warrior) in the Listed Merson Cooper Stakes. Given a short let up, he resumed with a fourth in the G3 Blue Diamond Prelude (c&g) won by Closer To Free (Street Boss {USA}) who was second in Saturday’s G1 Blue Diamond Stakes.

“The stable has always held a very good opinion of the horse. I inquired about him early in the spring and they were always positive about his ability and that he could show up early. It’s nice to see him come out and win so emphatically,” said Hedge.

“(At the sale) he was a very nice type, a really lovely animal. An extremely well balanced horse. As buyers you go to the sale with different criteria, and we look at a horse in three even parts. In his case, he’s got beautiful conformation. Very strong horse, and moved particularly well, and had a good pedigree.”

On the next step to the G1 Golden Slipper, Hedge was wary.

“We know in racing that everything is temporary, so the connections are enjoying the moment and that he’s had a great day, and we hope everything will continue moving forward. But there are so many different variables – it’s why racing is never boring.”

But it’s Stretan Ruler’s temperament that will hold him well if he does progress onwards.

“It looks very promising for him because he’s a straight-forward horse who does everything that is asked of him. The trip away from Melbourne has been the making of him. He’s had to travel and grow up and be in a different environment and it can often take a young horse to a new level.

“We ask a lot of our horses, and especially young horses who are still growing and mentally working everything out. The ones who tend to be the best 2-year-olds, they just have really good brains. Most 2-year-olds enjoy the work and enjoy racing and the good ones, they thrive and they are easier to manage. He’s probably in that bucket.”

When asked if temperament is something that can be selected for at the sales, Hedge said he’d like to think it can be but it’s only one variable and the sales environment can be so different to life in a stable.

“If you talk to some of the bigger buyers, they look for temperament, but I’m not so sure. I’ve seen horses that were very naughty at the sales, and then in a different environment once challenged and given more work they settle down. and others were as quiet as a lamb and then turn into Hannibal Lector as soon as they go to the trainer.

“We always talk to everyone about them, to garner that information, but there’s still a lot of guess work involved.”

Wild Ruler’s first stakes winner

Stretan Ruler is the first stakes winner for first season sire Wild Ruler, who stands at Newgate Farm. He stood for $38,500 including GST in his first two seasons with 120 live 2-year-olds and has 90 yearlings from his second season.

“He’s a nice first stakes winner to get. It’s such an important lead up race to the Golden Slipper, probably the most important commercial race in the country and one of the most important races on the Australian calendar,” said Newgate Farm’s Bruce Slade.

“For Stretan Ruler to win that like that was impressive and exciting. He has to be a genuine Golden Slipper chance now, and it’s a hard thing for any sire to get a live chance for the Golden Slipper.”

Trainer Phillip Stokes reported that Stretan Ruler is on song for the G2 Todman Stakes next.

“I’ve just got back from there and he’s pulled up well and I can’t wait for him to step out next in the Todman (Stakes),” Stokes told racing.com on Sunday.

For Wild Ruler to sire an early runner is not surprise to Newgate Farm.

“Wild Ruler was a horse who was a pre-Christmas 2-year-old winner himself, he was obviously a horse that was pretty precocious, and he trained on at three and four,” said Slade.

Wild Ruler, a son of Snitzel, won the G1 AJ Moir Stakes as a spring 4-year-old, as well as the R.Listed Inglis Nursery Stakes at two and two Group 2 races at three.

“It's exciting. They have got a bit of scope to them, a bit of length, and they've got the natural athleticism and temperaments to go early. He’s had eight runners so far and a couple of winners. He had a couple of colts in the Silver Slipper yesterday which is a good sign. You’d like to think that there’s more to come from them.

“This year, he's had a 100% clearance at the sales, which is a good sign. I think there's a good feel on the horse. People that have got them like them, and were happy to go back and buy them again. It's pretty hard for a horse to average the same in his second season as his first, as they are the hottest in their first season, but this year so far he's maintaining the same average and median as last year.”

In his third season, his fee dropped to $27,500 including GST and he has 56 live foals born in 2025. At the same fee in 2025, he covered 104 mares for his tricky fourth season.

“In his third season he was let down by a hoof injury, like a foot abscess that became quite deep seated. We couldn't get rid of it and it became a real problem for him covering mares, so he missed a big chunk of the season and only covered 91 that year. And then last year in his fourth season, which we all know is a notoriously hard season, he covered just over 100 mares.

“We felt that was a good sign. He has good shareholder support behind him, and he’s a horse with a good race record and a big pedigree. His mother was a proper racehorse.” Wild Ruler is out of American dual Grade 2 winner Gypsy Robin (USA) (Daaher {USA}).

Changing his mind on the stallion

“I really like the sire, but I know it’s easy to say that today!” Hedge laughed.

“If you talk to my clients and the trainers I’ve been working with, we have shortlisted quite a few of them last year and this year. There was a filly in the Newgate draft this year that I thought we’d get cheap, being second season and the horse hadn’t had a stakes horse at the time, but she made huge money.

“He’s interesting for me. When he went to stud, he was just another stallion, and I was pretty ambivalent.

“But having seen the stock he’s produced, I’ve been impressed. He leaves a lot of good shaped horses that look very athletic and his profile now is very promising. His sire has just gone to another level, which is hard to believe because he’s been such a good sire, Snitzel, but he’s now in such rarified air now, there’s genuine excitement about a few of his sons. The one in New Zealand is doing a tremendous job too,” Hedge said, referring to Cambridge Stud stallion Sword Of State.

“When I was in New Zealand, there was so much excitement with Sword Of State and the way they were selling was incredible for a cheaper stallion. That’s good for this horse (Wild Ruler). Hopefully it all goes well for him.

“But even if Stretan Ruler turns out to be a star, he’ll need to produce a few more. I do think there are definitely some green shoots there and there’s a reason to be positive about Wild Ruler.”

Newgate Farm stand three sons of Snitzel; Wild Ruler, Russian Revolution, and In The Congo.

“Russian Revolution is doing great job for us and his best crops are only coming through now. best crops coming through now. Trapeze Artist is doing a really handy job and obviously there is Shinzo and Switzerland to come alongside Wild Ruler,” said Slade.

“If you look at the data of Snitzel, he’s going to have sons of his that will carry on the sireline because he’s just so dominant as a stallion. His best sons at stud are still to come, along with Russian Revolution’s best crops, and it wouldn’t surprise me if one of his sons went bang.

“We’d happily stand more Group 1 winning sons of Snitzel.”