Cover image courtesy of Eureka Stud
Eureka Stud announced on Wednesday that their proven Group 1 sire Spirit Of Boom had died overnight due to a ruptured bowel. The sudden loss of the 18-year-old stallion leaves a huge hole in the Queensland stallion ranks. He sired 32 stakes winners led by Group 1 winner Jonker, who moves to Eureka Stud for 2026.
“Beyond the statistics, Spirit of Boom was a horse with enormous presence and personality, adored by everyone who worked with him daily. He gave owners, breeders, trainers and racing fans unforgettable moments and helped elevate Queensland breeding onto the national stage," said Eureka Stud’s Scott McAlpine.
A life-changing horse for Eureka Stud
A third generation Eureka Stud product, the Queensland farm sold Spirit Of Boom at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale for $90,000 and kept 15% in case he might make them a stallion prospect. It was a good investment that sadly ended on Tuesday night with the 18-year-old stallion's death.
“He was a healthy horse, but fate has taken over,” said McAlpine.
“He (Spirit Of Boom) was a healthy horse, but fate has taken over.” - Scott McAlpine
“We’d only just worked out what fee we were going to stand him at for the season. It took my breath away. I was in Sydney yesterday and got home last night at 9 o'clock, and then Angus (McAlpine) rings up at 6 o'clock this morning and said ‘Spirit Of Boom is dead.’ I didn't know what to do.
“We've had an enormous ride. We know that and we've taken advantage of what he generated and where it's taken us on our journey. We’ve got three boys and we got them educated. I said, ‘Go out and find another profession besides breeding racehorses.’ Then Spirit Of Boom came home and they did too.”
Scott McAlpine | Image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
Angus works as the Stud Manager, Harry is the Nominations Manager, and Charlie is the Farm Manager.
“We bred him and sold him, like his brother Temple Of Boom. We kept 10% in his brother and 15% in him, and when he was ready to go to stud, we purchased him out right, and then we sold shares in him at $33,000 plus the insurance. We got a lot of local clients and our own clients to buy shares. It was a fair bit of money to buy a share in a stallion back in 2014, and some clients jibbed at it but the ones who didn’t all say it was like having lotto walk in the door.”
Spirit Of Boom, a son of Sequalo who sired 20 stakes winners led by Spirit Of Boom and G1 Queensland Sires’ Produce Stakes winner Star Shiraz, retired in 2014 and covered 154 mares at an introductory fee of $11,000 including GST.
“He was the Champion First Season Sire in Australia, and has been the leading sire in Queensland on four occasions. He’s currently leading the 2-year-old table here again, so hopefully he gets one more title at the end of this season,” said McAlpine.
“He was the Champion First Season Sire in Australia, and has been the leading sire in Queensland on four occasions.” - Scott McAlpine
“He's always able to get them up and running early and he gets the numbers. He's always had the numbers and that probably helps. They are 2-year-olds, they are runners and they are definitely winners.”
The late Spirit Of Boom | Image courtesy of Eureka Stud
Spirit Of Boom currently sits in seventh on the Australian 2-Year-Old Sires’ Premiership, and is the leading Queensland based sire on that list, with eight individual juvenile winners this season of 11 races. Leading the charge for him so far is Tony Gollan-trained Boomelli who recently won the Listed Calaway Gal Stakes, while Eureka Stud have shares in Rex Lipp-trained filly Esperanza who won on debut and was second in the QTIS 2YO Jewel before sixth last start behind Boomelli.
“It was wet and slippery that day, but we are going to nominate her for the Spirit Of Boom Classic in two weeks, and hopefully she’ll do the old man proud,” said McAlpine.
Waiting a lifetime for a horse like him
From Spirit Of Boom’s first crop came Jonker, who won the Max Lees Classic on debut, followed by the R.Listed Wyong Magic Millions 2YO Classic at his second start.
“When Jonker won that race at Newcastle leading into the Magic Millions, I said to my wife, ‘you watch, the phone will start ringing in five minutes.’ It wouldn’t have been three minutes and the big studs are all on the phone trying to buy him (Spirit Of Boom). ‘About that horse, we need to talk!’ they all said.
“It was interesting trying to beat them all off so we could keep him. The big studs all got on the bandwagon, they were all trying to buy him, and I just said, ‘He’s not for sale.’ They all said, ‘Everything is for sale for the right price,’ but I said, ‘Not this one.”
“It was interesting trying to beat them all off so we could keep him. I just said, ‘He’s (Spirit Of Boom) not for sale.’ They all said, ‘Everything is for sale for the right price,’ but I said, ‘Not this one.” - Scott McAlpine
“My shareholders have waited for a horse like this to come along all their lives and they've got it. They not about to run and take the money.”
Jonker followed his sire’s racing trajectory, being a stakes winning juvenile who added a Group 1 win as an older horse in the 2021 G1 Manikato Stakes before retiring to Aquis Farm where his first crop are 2-year-olds.
Jonker winning the R.Listed Wyong Magic Millions 2YO | Image courtesy of Magic Millions
“It’s been a fantastic journey for all of us. We bred his mother, we bred his grandmother, and we bought his great-grandmother. His grandmother was by Semipalatinsk, our leading stallion back in the 80s, so it’s a Eureka family.”
“We bred his mother, we bred his grandmother, and we bought his great-grandmother. His grandmother was by Semipalatinsk, our leading stallion back in the 80s, so it’s a Eureka family.” - Scott McAlpine
Spirit Of Boom and Group 1 winner Temple Of Boom (Piccolo) are the only two winners from four live foals, for Listed Golden Garter Handicap-placed Temple Spirit (Special Dane) who won eight races. Her other two foals are both fillies and they’ve collectively produced seven winners.
Temple Of Boom | Image courtesy of Sportpix
Temple Spirit’s dam Temple Top (Semipalatinsk) won twice at two, while third dam Temple Black (Without Fear {Fr}) was unraced but did produce seven winners.
“Queensland is going to suffer a lot without him. We’ve got him and Better Than Ready leading the charge to keep Queensland on the map.”
“Queensland is going to suffer a lot without him (Spirit Of Boom). We’ve got him and Better Than Ready leading the charge to keep Queensland on the map.” - Scott McAlpine
A gentleman in the barn
Across 12 seasons at stud, Spirit Of Boom covered 1948 mares with only 331 who missed, a staggeringly good fertility record. His final crop will be born this spring, and he covered 132 mares at $38,500 including GST in 2025.
“When he came to the barn, and I've had a fair few stallions in my time, and I said, ‘This stallion here, he is the most fertile, the most gentlest horse. I never seen a stallion work like him.’
“He was just a gentleman. He came in and he just did his job nice and quietly and said, ‘Thanks very much’. And he was very fertile,” said McAlpine.
“He (Spirit Of Boom) was just a gentleman. He came in and he just did his job nice and quietly and said, ‘Thanks very much’. And he was very fertile.” - Scott McAlpine.
“For a horse to do what he's done in his lifetime producing horses competitively across Australia from the quality of mares he got in his first three seasons is wonderful. He established himself as a quality horse. He had to do it from the bottom up.”
Without a big commercial pedigree behind him, and having won his Group 1s as an older horse, Spirit Of Boom worked his way up from an $11,000 including GST fee to a peak of $55,000 including GST. Since turning 16, he came back a little to $38,500 including GST.
Spirit Of Boom | Image courtesy of Eureka Stud
It’s early days for him as a broodmare sire with his oldest foals in this role being 4-year-olds. He’s on the board with Listed winner Hi Barbie (I Am Invincible) out of his Listed winner Outback Barbie, and this season’s Listed Valley Pearl Stakes winner Rich On Bubbles (Capitalist).
Jonker to join Eureka Stud
Before Spirit Of Boom’s untimely death, Eureka Stud were already doing a deal with Aquis Farm to move Spirit Of Boom’s Group 1 winning son Jonker to stand alongside his sire. Now Jonker gets to headline at Eureka Stud with big boots to fill.
“We've been negotiating to have Jonker move here from Aquis. We have the deal done and now (Spirit Of Boom) has died, I thought, you didn’t need to do that you old bugger. You could have stayed and been with him, not moving on,” said McAlpine.
“They were going to be standing next to each other. We were going to stand father and son and now we're only going to have a son.
“Jonker’s horses probably just aren't as early as what Jonker was or as early as what Spirit of Boom was, but they're nice horses. He hasn't had a lot of runners, and he's got a couple of winners, and you can't throw them away yet. He’s still got a good chance, and now Spirit Of Boom is gone, hopefully we can capitalise on the fact to get some more investment into him, to give him a bigger chance with some nice mares to try and get him established.”
Jonker | to stand at Eureka Stud
Jonker’s first crop of 2-year-olds have seen two salute the judge so far. Gone Country won her first two starts, while Hold My Hand won at her second start.
“We've invested in a couple of Spirit Of Boom colts who are in work and coming through, so we're trying to do what the big boys do, we're going to try to buy a nicely bred colt that we can turn into a stallion to be replacement. I’ve got to kick up the ante a bit now and get going a bit quicker.”
Spirit Of Boom Classic
Such is his influence on Queensland racing that the G2 Champagne Classic for 2-year-olds was named in his honour in 2021 and the inaugural running under his name was won his son gelded son Prince Of Boom. Ironically, Spirit Of Boom himself ran second in this race in 2010 behind Pressday (Domesday) who went on the win that season’s G1 JJ Atkins Plate.
Prince Of Boom | Image courtesy of Magic Millions
“He’s been life changing for me, he and his brother both were,” trainer Tony Gollan said. Gollan trained Spirit Of Boom’s older half-brother Temple Of Boom to 11 victories including the 2012 G1 Galaxy Handicap.
“This is very upsetting, Angus (McAlpine) called me this morning and it was terrible news, you just don’t expect it. He was a very healthy and sound horse, but unfortunately he has passed away. I still remember the first time I saw him as a weanling in the paddock, he was always easy to identify with that big black patch he had on him.”
Angus Scott and Harry McAlpine | Image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
Spirit Of Boom, a year younger than Temple Of Boom, was equally as tough winning nine times, including three at two. He won the 2014 G1 William Reid Stakes and G1 Doomben 10,000, but he’d shown his ability early winning debuting in the Listed Phelan Ready Stakes and running second before winning his maiden at his next start.
“He was good as a 2-year-old himself and then it took him four years before he got his two Group 1 wins but he was 17-times group placed and he won nine races,” said McAlpine.
“He (Spirit Of Boom) was good as a 2-year-old himself and then it took him four years before he got his two Group 1 wins but he was 17-times group placed and he won nine races.” - Scott McAlpine
“He was competitive from the day he first raced, second in a Listed race, and was beaten in the Magic Millions by the draw. In those big races, we know what happens. The pressure's on, and if something goes wrong, you’re spat out the back and you're in trouble.”
Back for the Queensland winter carnival he won twice more including the Listed Ken Russell Memorial Classic. A winner at three and a couple of times stakes placed, he returned at four to add another Listed win as well as the rich Magic Millions Cup.
Sent into Group 1 company for the first time as a winter 4-year-old, Spirit Of Boom ran fourth in a hot G1 Doomben 10,000 behind Sea Siren (Fastnet Rock), Champion Sprinter Buffering (Mossman) and his own half-brother Temple Of Boom.
The late Black Caviar | Image courtesy of Sportpix
The following spring he travelled to WA to run third in the G1 Winterbottom Stakes then came back east to fill the same place in the G1 Oakleigh Plate. He ran into the incomparable Black Caviar (Bel Esprit) in the G1 William Reid Stakes that year, and finished that season with fourths in the G1 Doomben 10,000 and G1 Stradbroke Handicap.
Back for another season, Spirit Of Boom epitomised his toughness with a win and three placings from his first four starts that campaign, all at Group 2 level, before heading west again where he was fourth in Buffering’s G1 Winterbottom Stakes. Back east he ran into Champion Sprinter Lankan Rupee (Redoute’s Choice) when second to him in both the G1 Oakleigh Plate and G1 Lightning Stakes, before finally breaking through for his first, well deserved, Group 1 victory in the G1 William Reid Stakes. Two more group seconds followed before he won the G1 Doomben 10,000.
“He won $2.4 million which is hard to do running mostly in Queensland. We sent him to West Australia, Victoria, Sydney, he was running in all the races that mattered, and unfortunately we had Black Caviar, Hay List, Buffering, Lankan Rupee as our opposition, and they probably were just a bit too good for us,” said McAlpine.
Tony Gollan | Image courtesy of Magic Millions
Spirit Of Boom retired in 2014 after a last start fourth in the G1 Stradbroke Handicap. He retired with earnings of $2.4 million from 52 starts. And that was three years before The Everest made its debut as a big earner for top class sprinters.
“Spirit Of Boom did it twice for me. He did it on the racetrack and he also then did it at stud. I trained a high percentage of his stakes winners on the track,” said Gollan.
“He (Spirit Of Boom) was simply a remarkable horse. I owe the horse so much and it is just so sad to see him pass away, but he had a great life and a great career.” - Tony Gollan
“He was simply a remarkable horse. He was great for Queensland racing and great for Queensland breeding. I owe the horse so much and it is just so sad to see him pass away, but he had a great life and a great career.”
