Cover image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
Lady Of Camelot (Written Tycoon) was supposed to be heading towards the world stage. Instead, her racing career has ended by freak circumstance, turning one of Australia’s most valuable young mares from headline racehorse to broodmare proposition almost overnight.
For Sir Owen Glenn’s Go Bloodstock, she is the crown jewel of a family years in the making. Bred and raced in his colours, she delivered the dream every owner-breeder is chasing: a Golden Slipper winner from a mare they already believed in.
That would usually make her almost impossible to buy.
But Go Bloodstock’s bloodstock manager Steve O’Connor is pragmatic about what comes next. Sir Owen would love to keep her, he says, but he has always been prepared to listen when people are serious about horses of this calibre.
With Lady Of Camelot now retired, that may be the most interesting part of the story. Keeping her makes perfect sense, but selling her would offer a rare test of the market’s appetite for a filly of this calibre.
“Sir Owen is a very successful businessman, and no matter what horse he's ever owned, going back to the days of Criterion, he's always open to listen to people that might be interested in a mare of her calibre,” said O’Connor.
“If she ever went to auction or was for sale, you’d expect she should be the most valuable, the most hot, best mare to go to sale in Australia if she ever did. She's a Golden Slipper winner from an outstanding family.”
With the Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale coming up in two weeks, the question had to be asked, but the simple answer was No.
“She’s just been through a traumatic event and wouldn’t be ready in time for auction, but that doesn’t stop anyone who wants to have the discussion and agree a price.
“Sir Owen has always been a big believer in doing what's best for the horse and given that she's just had a trauma that, thankfully, hasn't affected the joints.”
Steve O’Connor | Image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
What is a Slipper winner worth?
Bloodstock agent Paul Moroney has been there from the beginning, purchasing Lady Of Camelot’s dam as a yearling for Go Bloodstock for $430,000.
“Lady of Camelot would have to be right up there with any filly that has gone to sale. She would likely bring an Australasian record because she's a Golden Slipper winner and she's out of a blue hen mare and her second dam was a Breeders’ Cup winner. It’s just a fantastic family.
Paul Moroney | Image courtesy of Magic Millions
“Those sort of mares are absolute gems that anyone would give their eye teeth to own, anywhere in the world.”
“She (Lady Of Camelot) would likely bring an Australasian record because she's a Golden Slipper winner and she's out of a blue hen mare and her second dam was a Breeders’ Cup winner.” - Paul Moroney
At public auctions across Australia, multiple Group 1 winner Imperatriz (I Am Invincible) holds the record at $6.5 million at the Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale with Zougotcha (Zoustar) making $5.25 million to be the second topped price in that sale’s history.
G2 Reisling Stakes winner Chayan (I Am Invincible) topped this year’s Inglis Chairman’s Sales at $5.6 million while the previous record for that sale was Bella Nipotina (Pride Of Dubai) at $4.2 million - although Milanova (Danehill {USA}) sold for $5 million at the old Inglis Australian Breeding Stock Sale back in 2008.
Gallery: Some of the mares who realised top prices at public auctions in Australia
Sunlight (Zoustar) sold for $4.2 million, Espiona (Extreme Choice) for $4.15 million, and Away Game (Snitzel) for $4 million to round out the biggest selling broodmares recently, all selling through Magic Millions either online or at the National Sale.
“I’d say she’s the most valuable broodmare in Australia and the Southern Hemisphere, Miss Debutante, with her record today. Lady Of Camelot is going to follow suit and go to stud. It’s a shame how her career has ended but she did fulfill Sir Owen’s dream of breeding and owning a Golden Slipper winner.
“I would presume that she's probably his favourite horse of all time for getting the job done. Myself and my business partner, Catheryne Bruggeman, we're very proud of the fact that we did select her dam as a yearling.”
Lady Of Camelot, winner of the 2024 G1 Golden Slipper Stakes | Image courtesy of Sportpix
One of the other Fastnet Rock mares that Moroney bought at that sale was Dynastic Lady who produced Saturday’s Listed winner Riverplate (NZ) (Flying Artie) and Group 2 winner Amazonian Lass (More Than Ready {USA}).
The complete package
Lady Of Camelot is from a family that is tightly held by Go Bloodstock. Her older half-sister Platinum Jubilee (Zoustar) was sold to Coolmore Stud at the 2024 Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale for $3.5 million, but the remaining fillies in the family belong to Sir Owen Glenn.
“We'll decide over the next few weeks what Sir Owen wants to do with her. It's a family we've created, one that we are really proud of, and one that we will keep going. Queen Of The Ball has lovely foals. Platinum Jubilee is lovely, and her dam, Miss Debutante is in foal to Extreme Choice. Obviously, Lady Of Camelot should be the crown jewel of our breeding empire,” said O’Connor.
Platinum Jubilee sold for $3.5 million at the 2024 Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale | Image courtesy of Magic Millions
Lady Of Camelot is the third foal and third Group winner for Listed Denise’s Joy Stakes winner Miss Debutante (Fastnet Rock), who previously produced triple Group 3 winner Queen Of The Ball (I Am Invincible) and G3 Gimcrack Stakes winner Platinum Jubilee.
“Her two older sisters are Group-winning 2-year-olds that ran in the Slipper. Lancelot Du Lac was sold to Hong Kong off two Sydney wins,” said O’Connor.
Miss Debutante’s current 3-year-old colt Lancelot Du Lac (Flying Artie) won two of his five starts this spring, while 2-year-old filly Lone Piper (I Am Invincible) is unraced but has trialled. Miss Debutante has no yearling and has a Zoustar filly weanling and is in foal to Extreme Choice.
“We're always open to having the discussion about what her future plans would be. I’d love to breed her as part of a generational future of Go Bloodstock but Sir Owen is a businessman and we’re always open to the discussion with people who might be interested in buying her.
“I’d love to breed her as part of a generational future of Go Bloodstock but Sir Owen is a businessman and we’re always open to the discussion with people who might be interested in buying her.” - Steve O'Connor
“We would never shut that down. It won't be rocket science to name the half-dozen or so people that could potentially buy her.”
A global family with broad appeal
One of the reasons behind heading to Royal Ascot with Lady Of Camelot was to increase the global appeal of her family.
“We’ve had people enquire about her in the past and we’ve told them that Ascot was the dream. To have a runner in Sir Owen’s colours and to be the first Golden Slipper winner to run there. Now we've had this injury and the related trauma, so we have to adjust our mindset about what comes next,” said O’Connor.
“If we had gone to Ascot, that would be a more serious conversation, whether she could be a mare you might consider selling at Tattersalls or Fasig-Tipton or Keeneland, but the breeding season is coming and we have shares in stallions like Extreme Choice.”
“If we (Lady Of Camelot) had gone to Ascot, that would be a more serious conversation, whether she could be a mare you might consider selling at Tattersalls or Fasig-Tipton or Keeneland.” - Steve O'Connor
Miss Debutante is a daughter of G2 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf Stakes winner More Than Real (USA) (More Than Ready {USA}). G1 Kentucky Oaks victrix Always A Runner (USA) (Gun Runner {USA}) shares the same third dam, five-time Listed winner Miss Seffens (USA) (Dehere {USA}).
“She's a very different prospect in the sense that this year’s Kentucky Oaks winner is in the same family, and her grandmother's American. It's very much a global family and that was the idea of going to Ascot. We'd love to have gone there and then it'd be a completely global family and make the whole family that we have worth a lot more.
“She would have appeal from everywhere, from the big owner breeders in Europe, to the main guys in America, to the main guys that compete here, for the top mares, and I think she would have to be the best credentialed young race filly ever to be sold, if she does get sold.”
A brilliant racemare
More than just a Golden Slipper winner, Lady Of Camelot returned at three to run third in the G1 AJ Moir Stakes when resuming. Fourth in Bella Nipotina’s The Everest, she then ran third in the G1 Coolmore Stud Stakes won by Switzerland. In the autumn at three, she placed in the G1 Surround Stakes and G1 Coolmore Classic.
“She's given us an incredible run,” co-trainer Adrian Bott told racenet.com.au. “She didn't quite get all the way there, but she retires with nothing left to prove either with what she's achieved.
“To win the pinnacle of our 2-year-old races in the Golden Slipper and race at the elite level right through her career speaks to how tough and talented she was. She was a bit unlucky in a Blue Diamond as well and obviously ran brilliantly in a Coolmore (Stud Stakes) and The Everest as well. There was an unlucky stretch there in some big races stretching out in distance but she was always extremely brave.”
“To win the pinnacle of our 2-year-old races in the Golden Slipper and race at the elite level right through her (Lady Of Camelot) career speaks to how tough and talented she was.” - Adrian Bott
All up, Lady Of Camelot won twice and placed eight times in 14 starts, earning over $5.9 million.
“She's been a great racemare. She always showed up, never ran a bad race. She placed in four or five Group 1, she’s won the Slipper and probably could have won the Blue Diamond. She’s been a great ambassador for Go Bloodstock’s brand and while it’s sad to see her racing career end on a disappointing note, we're excited for the future,” said O’Connor.
“The whole family can run and if she does remain part of our broodmare band, it’ll be exciting to see what she can produce.
“But first and foremost we want to get her discharged and comfortable at home before we have that discussion.”
Recovery is going well
A stingray injury is quintessentially Australian, although not common for racehorses despite the frequency that trainers use our beaches for training and swimming.
“Her recovery has been pretty straightforward. It’s obviously a unique style of injury,” said O’Connor.
“It’s disappointing in the short term but on the plus side, it’s only lacerations on the back of her leg. The issue was more that they were in awkward spots, close to joints and tendons, so we didn’t want to take any risks.
“She’s been at the University Of Queensland Veterinary clinic and our vet, Dave Garth from Sydney Equine has been overseeing her. I would expect her to be released and discharged all a-okay by the middle of next week.
“I don't know all the details of the incident, but my understanding is it was in the shallow water as she was getting out of the water and she walked on it or close to the stingray, and startled it and just ended up getting her back of her front leg hit by the tail.”
