Type and affordability: The key factors for Stokes Racing’s yearling selections

Cover image courtesy of Georgia Young Photography

While all eyes are on exciting 2-year-old colt Stretan Ruler (Wild Ruler) as he charges towards the G1 Golden Slipper, the Phillip Stokes stable has also won stakes races in Tasmania and Adelaide in the past five days with Kazaru (NZ) (Embellish {NZ}) and Rebel Tuesday (Rebel Dane) respectively.

A dual state operation

“I’ve still got a big presence in South Australia. We keep 30 horses in work there and around 50 here at Pakenham. We are into our seventh year in Victoria. We moved here because we thought we’d done enough in South Australia with its smaller population, and we had the chance to build our own stable at Pakenham,” said Phillip Stokes.

“We planned to gradually grow and it’s going along really well at the moment. I’ve got a very good team around me. My oldest son Tommy is here at Pakenham helping me, and my younger boy Kerrin is running Adelaide. I also have my other assistant Shae Dinunzio at Pakenham, and he’s currently in Sydney with Stretan Ruler.”

Stretan Ruler won Saturday’s G2 Silver Slipper and is being set for the G1 Golden Slipper.

“We hold a lot of meetings on a Monday to go through all the horses and the logistics of it. Ever since I've been in Victoria, we've been averaging over 100 winners every season, which is great. I'm just trying to keep building on it.”

Rebel Tuesday’s Listed Cinderella Stakes

On Saturday, Phillip Stokes had a dual-state 2-year-old stakes double with Stretan Ruler in Sydney and in Adelaide, his filly Rebel Tuesday won the Listed Cinderella Stakes. She was bred by Jen Campin and sold on Inglis Digital for $30,000 to JP Bloodstock and races in a big partnership led by Australian Thoroughbred Bloodstock.

“She’s owned by Darren Dance. He’s sent quite a few to us. We put her into our system, and she jumped out well, so we sent her over there. She won first up and now she’s a stakes winner.”

Rebel Tuesday debuted at Murray Bridge in early October, placing in both her two starts in the early spring. She was spelled, had a jumpout at Caulfield Heath, then sent back to Adelaide where she won her maiden at Morphettville at the start of Febuary, before Saturday’s Listed win. With two wins from four starts, Rebel Tuesday has earnings over $150,000.

“She'll come back here and she'll go to the Ottawa Stakes in about two or three weeks time at Flemington.

“We like to send all our 2-year-olds to Adelaide for their second preparation, so they get to see a different training centre. We feel it’s very beneficial (to travel them).

“Back in the day, I watched what John Hawkes and Peter Snowden did. I’m pretty sure they send all their Sydney based young horses to Melbourne and they’re very successful in doing it.”

Investing in ownership of facilities

One of the things Stokes loves about training at Pakenham is that he owns the barn and was able to build it on site to his own specifications. The family also have a farm nearby which they have purpose built to suit their needs, including a swimming pool, walking machines, and a sand track that has a hill included.

“My wife Ayumi and son Tommy live on the farm at Garfield, and we train a lot of horses there too. Caroline Searcy did a Bred To Win episode at the farm a few years ago that is on our website and shows the place off well.

“We own our stables here at Pakenham and the land and we've built the stables how we want them. And adding to that we have our own farm, uphill sand track, walking machines, and I've got a 60 metre swimming pool and dressage arena. We have numerous paddocks and spelling paddocks that we can sort of swap and change whenever we want.”

“I designed it all myself. It was pretty hard early days because there were very few stables at Pakenham to get ideas from, but we've obviously been very happy for the end product, as we are finding plenty of winners out of there. It works really well. And on the farm, they're not just in barns, they can go outside in day yards.”

By having room to spell horses on the Garfield farm, it allows Stokes Racing to have control over every step in a horse’s career.

“We keep it all in house. In Adelaide, we used to do that too, but we’ve only got our stables there now and the horses are pre-trained here before they go there.

“We send horses to Adelaide every week. Having trained there for a long time, I’ve got a good handle on what type of horse is needed to be competitive there on a Saturday. We don't have many midweek runners in South Australia, mostly only Saturdays. We won the premiership there last year, which was very satisfying.”

The yearling sales season

With the improved facilities at Pakenham bringing better results on the track, this is having a full circle effect with Stokes Racing able to invest into better pedigreed horses at the sales.

“We can probably afford to buy a better type now. Before we were restricted to going to the Adelaide sale and the Classic sale because we couldn't afford to go to those other sales. But now we can up our sights a bit more,” said Phillip Stokes. ”

Tommy Stokes is a key assistant for the team when it comes to buying yearlings, and he’s attending all the sales this year.

“I'll be there from day one of the parades at every sale and then Dad comes along once we’ve started to refine our lists to go through them then. We believe in doing it ourselves, to get a feel for each horse,” said Tommy Stokes.

“Knowing what we want to train is very important. And we trust our judgement which has been very successful so far. Now that we have moved to Melbourne, our facilities have changed as well. We used to target sprinters and fillies in Adelaide, to chase black type and turn them over, but now we are able to diversify and buy all types of different horses. We’ve had a lot of luck with staying horses lately.

“It’s about affordability and getting value. We don’t spend big at the sales, and it’s important not to overstep our mark.”

Stretan Ruler was purchased by Stokes Racing, in conjunction with Suman Hedge Bloodstock (FBAA), at last year’s Inglis Easter Yearling Sale for $220,000, far below the median price for that sale of $360,000.

“We bought Stretan Ruler at Sydney Easter sale for $220,000. He was a little bit immature looking there, but he's furnished into a lovely horse and we knew the family well,” said Phillip Stokes, who trains Stretan Ruler’s older half-sister Stretan Angel (Harry Angel {Ire}), a $1.2 million earner and Group 2 winner.

“We bought one in New Zealand, a Profondo, this year. He’s more of a staying type with OTI, so we are happy to buy all different types of horses.” The Profondo colt cost NZ$60,000 from Windsor Park Stud’s draft and is out of Listed-placed Deedee Panache (NZ) (Darci Brahma {NZ}).

The Stokes Racing team focus on type first, and then the mare’s record with the stallion coming in third in the priority rankings.

“It's always type first, and then to be honest we just need a bit of luck in securing a horse because pedigrees are just as important as type. Your chances of being better than the previous horses on that page are slim,” said Tommy Stokes.

“We are more mare focussed rather than stallions. We don't focus on stallions as much. We're a lot stronger on looking at the dam side. It’s what I liked about Stretan Ruler. He was by a first season sire but from a proven broodmare.

“Obviously it’s a harder sell (a yearling) when you buy a horse by a less commercial stallion, but our clients back us and our results speak for themselves.”

Kazaru’s Tasmanian Oaks

On Friday, Stokes Racing won the Listed Tasmanian Oaks with 3-year-old filly Kazaru who is owned by an OTI-led syndicate. She came off a maiden win at Sale before heading over to the apple isle for a Listed victory.

“I've got a young girl out there looking after her called Lauren. She took two over there with Kazaru and Taramansour who runs in Wednesday’s Launceston Cup,” said Phillip Stokes.

“We sent them over on the ferry from Geelong. They got there a couple days before. I haven’t sent horses over there for a long time and it’s quite a big deal. They leave here at lunchtime and don’t arrive there until lunch the next day, so it’s a 24-hour journey.

“I had it in the back of my mind that it was like going to Adelaide, but it's not. It's a lot harder, but I must say the people are accommodating over there.” Kazaru and Taramansour (Ire) (Dansili {GB}) are staying with John Blacker in Launceston.

“To win the Oaks with her was really satisfying, as OTI have been great clients. And if we could if we could win the Launceston Cup on Wednesday, that’d just top it off beautifully.”

Kazaru was a NZ$27,500 purchase by OTI and Phillip Cataldo Bloodstock from Cambria Park’s New Zealand Bloodstock National Yearling Sale draft. She’s the sixth stakes winner for Embellish (NZ), a G1 New Zealand 2000 Guineas winner by Savabeel, who stands at Cambridge Stud.

“She’s a half to a horse I used to train called Daqiansweet Junior. He ran in two Melbourne Cups, one in Adelaide and a couple of Sydney Cups, so she’s obviously got a lot of stamina in the family. She’ll be aimed at the South Australian Oaks. She’s coming back to our farm in the next few days here at Garfield, next to Pakenham racecourse.”

A few to follow in the autumn

Stretan Ruler is on a G1 Golden Slipper pathway. Stokes hasn’t had a runner in the Golden Slipper yet, so just getting there with Stretan Ruler will be a big step forward for the stable.

“I know what it will take to get him there and it’s just having the horse as good as we can on the day and the rest will look after itself,” said Phillip Stokes.

Who else is in the stable that we should be watching out for?

“Regal Award. He’s a really nice horse who we might take through to Sydney. If he keeps progressing, I think he could potentially head to the Stradbroke.” Regal Award (Ole Kirk) won twice in the spring, and the 3-year-old gelding also ran second in the G3 Carbine Club Stakes.

“We are setting a few for Adelaide for those Group 1s. Stretan Angel, Ferivia, Snow Mercy, they are all nice horses. Athanatos is on the border of being a nice horse. He's won a stakes race. And I’m hoping to win the Adelaide Cup with a horse called Highland Bling who went well on Saturday.”

The two 3-year-old fillies mentioned are Snow Mercy (Toronado {Ire}), won the G3 Scarborough Stakes at Moonee Valley in September, and Ferivia (Astern), who won the G2 Thousand Guineas Prelude. Athanatos (I Am Immortal) is a 4-year-old gelding who won the G3 SAJC Chairman’s Stakes last season at three.

Highland Bling (Ire) (Highland Reel {Ire}) is an OTI-owned import who ran second in the G3 Lord Reims Stakes on Saturday.