Cover image courtesy of Trackside Photography
A Sunshine Coast 2-year-old maiden on a Sunday afternoon might not ordinarily command obvious attention, but for Torryburn Stud, Home Tomurra’s breakthrough victory carried far greater meaning than the grade of race suggested.
The colt not only became the 10th winner for exciting first-season sire Home Affairs, but importantly, the first winner bred by the farm that bred, raised and sold the Coolmore stallion.
The link between Home Affairs and Torryburn continues
Bred by Torryburn Stud and sold to Tom Magnier for $875,000 at the Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale during the COVID-affected 2020 edition, Home Affairs has rapidly emerged as one of Australia’s most exciting young stallions. Now on track to be crowned Champion First Season Sire and potentially 2-year-old Champion Sire this season, he added another milestone on Sunday through one of Torryburn’s own.
Trained by Henry Dwyer, Home Tomurra (Home Affairs) was having just his second start after an encouraging debut third at Doomben last month behind the classy Berzelius (Extreme Choice) who subsequently ran a fast finishing fourth behind St Gotthard (Snitzel) in the G3 Ken Russell Stakes. On Sunday he delivered, producing a strong finishing display to break his maiden over 1000 metres at the Sunshine Coast.
Purchased by Dwyer for $130,000 from the Torryburn Stud draft at last year's Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale, Home Tomurra is the fifth winner from six foals to race out of Apamurra (USA), an imported Godolphin-bred daughter of Lonhro and a half-sister to blue hen Essaouira (Exceed And Excel), the dam of Group 1 winners Alizee (Sepoy) and Astern.
Home Tomurra winning the Happy Mother's Day Maiden Plate | Image courtesy of Trackside Photography
Apamurra has become a consistent supporter of Home Affairs at stud, already producing multiple foals by the young sire. She currently has a weanling filly by Shinzo and was covered last spring by Storm Boy.
Home Affairs has now sired winners of more than $4.2 million in Australia including the G1 Golden Slipper winner Guest House, surpassing the previous earnings record for a first-season sire set by Too Darn Hot (GB) in 2024. His outstanding debut season has as a result been rewarded with a fee increase to $176,000 inc GST this spring.
A meaningful result for familiar connections
For Torryburn Stud’s Mel Copelin, the result was made even more satisfying through the colt’s connection with trainer Henry Dwyer.
“He’s trained by Henry Dwyer, he's a great trainer and he used to be the main trainer for one of our good clients in Anthony Bongiorno who has passed away. So I've got a really good relationship with Henry and he has kept us filled in about the horse,” Copelin explained.
“He’s trained by Henry Dwyer, he's a great trainer and he used to be the main trainer for one of our good clients... I've got a really good relationship with Henry and he has kept us filled in about the horse.” - Mel Copelin
“The horse has kept pleasing him and at one point he was going to go to South Australia and the next he's taxing up to Queensland. So he has a good opinion of him and it is really good to get that win on the board.”
Mel Copelin | Image courtesy of Torryburn Stud
While Sunday’s race may have been only a Sunday maiden, Copelin believes the colt has the talent to continue progressing.
“It’s only a maiden, but it's a 2-year-old winner which is always good for the farm, and it should set him up and hopefully he can go on with it from there.
“It’s always nice when horses you sell go to good trainers like Henry.”
Connection of Home Tommura winning at Sunshine Coast | Image courtesy of Trackside Photography
Torryburn’s strong support of Home Affairs paying dividends
Given their deep connection to Home Affairs, Torryburn naturally committed heavily to supporting the stallion in his formative seasons at stud - a decision now beginning to look increasingly astute.
“We supported Home Affairs heavily in the first and second year. We actually sent both our Lonhro mares and Apamurra, the dam of Home Tomurra went again the next year and unfortunately she lost it mid-term, so obviously we're on the right track there.
“The other Lonhro mare Red Hearts, we sold her Home Affairs filly this year at Classic really well for $250,000 to Catheryne Bruggeman and Paul Moroney.”
Lot 341 - Home Affairs x Red Hearts filly | Image courtesy of Inglis
The farm’s investment in the son of I Am Invincible extends beyond the sales ring.
“We are also lucky enough to have 50% in Red Heart’s first Home Affairs filly and she is with Sara Ryan, so that's good, we get to race one as well.”
Copelin also highlighted another promising Home Affairs progeny already making an impression.
“We also bred a Home Affairs gelding that won a trial quite impressively at Rosehill named Like An Eagle that is trained by Gerald Ryan and Sterling Alexiou, we sold him for $220,000, so it’s quite exciting, we are getting on a bit of a roll with them.”
Faith in the horse - not just sentiment
For Copelin, supporting Home Affairs so strongly was always partly emotional given Torryburn bred the horse themselves, but ultimately the decisions were based on his performance and pedigree, but even more so, his physical profile and compatibility with their mares.
“We did go pretty heavy on him. We had a lot of faith in him and at times I questioned whether were we being too sentimental about it? But it turned out that we were on the right track.
“We had a lot of faith in him (Home Affaris) and at times I questioned whether were we being too sentimental about it? But it turned out that we were on the right track.” - Mel Copelin
“I think Home Affairs’ physical attributes were the main reason those two Lonhro mares went to him, and also the mating with them - there's the double cross of Nureyev was one of the other reasons to go.
“But a lot of it was because of his physique, he's such a big, imposing horse and sending these neater mares is where you get the right product.”
Home Affairs | Standing at Coolmore Australia
While Home Affairs himself showed high class at two, Copelin admitted surprise at the precocity of his first crop.
“I didn't actually expect them to go this well at two to be honest. I know Home Affairs ran well at two, but he was a better horse at three and I think a few people will have some just waiting in the wings ready to pounce very soon and next season.
“I think by the looks of them, they all do look like they'll race on, so obviously they've got very good minds and they're very sound, and both the fillies and colts are going well, so no sex bias there.”
Temperament proving just as important
Home Affairs was always an imposing physical specimen, but Copelin believes one of his greatest strengths was his professionalism and temperament, a trait now emerging strongly in his offspring.
“He was amazing to deal with. A lot of people know that he himself had two yearling preparations, he went to the Magic Millions and hurt himself on the way.
“He (Home Tommura) was amazing to deal with. A lot of people know that he himself had two yearling preparations, he went to the Magic Millions and hurt himself on the way.” - Mel Copelin
“We had to fix that up, so we had this 520kg colt that we had to contain from October till April.
“He was really, really good about it. Didn't really give us any problems, just a really good horse. I think his mother was a little bit hard to handle on the track, I think she was quite strong-willed, but he was and is a proper professional and it looks like it is coming through with his stock.”
Mating decisions looming for the spring
With Home Affairs’ profile continuing to surge, Torryburn now face the enviable challenge of deciding which mares will visit the booming young sire this season.
“Now we're just going to pick who we're going to send this year. We have four beautiful Home Affairs filly weanlings on the ground and we've got a couple in the belly to come, so that's really good.
“We will have to pick through the mares and see who'll go this year while we can still afford it. Because you get the feeling it's only going to go up and up with the mares he's served and the quality and the way he's doing it.
“We will have to pick through the mares and see who'll go this year while we can still afford it.” - Mel Copelin
“I think he's made his own luck a bit also because he's so fertile, he has given himself the best chance and we look forward to his story continuing to develop.”
