Reserve Bank to be the 'cherry on top' of Evergreen Stud's operations

Cover image courtesy of Racing SA

G1 Goodwood winner Reserve Bank will begin his stud career at Evergreen Stud this spring at a fee of $16,500 (inc GST), completing what Aaron Bott describes as the final piece of the family operation.

The son of Capitalist became the first horse sold through the Inglis Bull Ring, the auction house’s new private trading platform, when Botty’s Bloodstock secured him in June.

For Bott, the purchase brought together the right horse and the right market. Evergreen already foals mares, prepares yearlings, and operates breaking-in and pre-training divisions. Reserve Bank gives the farm its first commercial stallion, at a time when Bott believes falling mare values are creating opportunities for buyers prepared to invest.

Banking on it

A $410,000 Inglis Premier Yearling Sale purchase for trainers Mick Price and Michael Kent Jnr, Reserve Bank kicked off his career in a stylish fashion in the winter of his 2-year-old year with a five and a half-length win against older horses at Bendigo.

“That first win is a big plus, especially to perform like that against the older horses,” said Bott.

Back as a 3-year-old, he put in another win at Ballarat before heading to the G2 Danehill Stakes where he was beaten a head by First Settler.

“He got beaten a pimple in the Danehill. He probably should have won that race.”

Reserve Bank made his major progression that autumn. After finishing sixth behind Schwarz in the G1 William Reid Stakes, he won three consecutive stakes races: the Listed Redelva Stakes, the G2 Tobin Bronze Stakes and the G1 Goodwood.

He had the hardest task of the three when back up in grade in the G1 Goodwood Handicap, seeing off Sir Sway (Sir Prancealot {Ire}) by a length and a third, with Giga Kick (Scissor Kick) rounding out the placings.

The victory made him the only 3-year-old colt to win the race over the past two decades - an additional feather in his cap.

“It’s hard enough to win three races, let alone three stakes races, and two at Group level,” said Bott. “He beat four Group 1 horses in that race as well. There's no easy Group 1s to win and that was by no means an easy race either. He did it in style as well - he came from behind and displayed that turn of foot that is so critical to have in a good stallion.”

These attributes are the foundation of Reserve Bank’s selling point for Bott. The combination of performance with a sireline that continues to prove itself both on Australian soil and overseas made the opportunity to purchase the stallion one not to be missed. Bott secured the entire for an undisclosed sum in partnership with several valued clients.

“We are big breeders, and we have had a lot of success breeding,” said Bott. Reserve Bank will not be the first stallion at Evergreen Stud, but he will be the first commercial one. “We saw an opportunity to get hold of a quality horse when he was offered through Inglis. This was the last ingredient in a way to our operations.

“We will be using a lot of our own mares on him, and we will be sourcing mares as well to send to him. Naturally, I am also hoping that other breeders will see the same opportunity in him as we do.”

All the right pieces

“It’s a sireline that has done very well in this country, and he is very much in the same mould as Capitalist and Written Tycoon,” Bott said.” He is a lovely liver chestnut like Written Tycoon, who is just doing a phenomenal job, and it doesn’t seem like age is slowing him down.”

Written Tycoon turns 24 in August, but his season has been highlighted by his unbeaten daughter Well Written, whose six victories include the G1 New Zealand 1000 Guineas, the R. Listed NZB Kiwi, and the R. Listed Karaka Million 3YO.

“He’s done it everywhere he has stood,” Bott said of the Yulong resident. “Queensland, Victoria, New South Wales, he has achieved everywhere. And Capitalist has it all as well. He has the speed, he’s well proven, and he has got the numbers coming through to sustain it.”

Capitalist currently leads the Australian general sires list by winners, and is in third spot on the list in Hong Kong with his 15 winners sharing in over HK$40 million (AU$7.38 million) in prize money. His sons Captivant and Profiteer launched their first 2-year-olds this season, with Captivant siring the G2 Spirit Of Boom Classic winner Vantorix.

“So this horse (Reserve Bank) has, to me, all of the credentials to succeed,” said Bott. “There’s no reason that he can’t do it too.”

Evergreen continuing to flourish

Something Bott is keen to impress is how the addition of a stallion Evergreen Stud is the “final ingredient” to an already well-rounded operation. The Bott family farm foals down mares, takes drafts to the yearling sales, and provides a breaking in and pretraining service overseen by Gordon Pratt, who joined the operation in 2018 on the recommendation of Gai Waterhouse and Bott’s brother Adrian.

“It’s kind of a one-stop shop,” Bott said. “We breed, we foal down, we raise horses and attend all the major yearling sales, and we also offer breaking and pretraining.”

The high water marks during the 2026 sales season for Evergreen were selling a $500,000 Zoustar filly at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale to Rapid Equine Breeding, Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott, and Kestrel Thoroughbreds. They also sold Listed Jim Moloney Stakes winner Oz Empress (Exceed And Excel) to Corumbene Stud and Vin Cox Bloodstock for $550,000 at the Magic Millions Gold Coast National Broodmare Sale.

The breaking and pretraining arm caters to a wide range of clients, including a large portion of Tulloch Lodge’s annual yearling crop.

“We are lucky to have the facilities to provide all of these services,” Bott said. The 500-acre farm boasts its own synthetic training track, 80 stables split up into three barns, and spelling facilities. “We’ve even added a waterwalker now.”

The farm’s foaling paddocks and yearling drafts have turned out a number of stars over the years, both out of mares owned by the Bott family and those bred by clients. G1 Randwick Guineas winner Converge (Frankel {GB}), Listed Maribyrnong Trial Stakes winner Eurocanto (Per Incanto {USA}), and multiple Group performer Anode (I Am Invincible) are amongst their number.

“We have a proven track record on all fronts for producing elite horses,” Bott said. “That’s something we are very proud of. As part of that we feel very fortunate to have such a successful relationship with Gai and Adrian. They are a very successful organisation, and it has worked well for both of us to continue the association.”

Now is the time to invest

“People think I am mad for jumping in on a new stallion when there are a lot of people looking to get out,” Bott said.

He sees the softer market as an opportunity. Lower mare values have made it more affordable to assemble a suitable first book for Reserve Bank, while Evergreen can redirect some of its annual spend on outside service fees into its own stallion.

“But at the same time, my glass is half full rather than half empty. While there are downsides for some people, there is also opportunity if you are looking in the right places.

“The way the prices are for mares at the moment, it’s a great time to buy. You can buy a quality mare for essentially not a lot of money, especially compared to what you would have paid for them a few years ago. That’s a view shared by some of our clients, and they are getting stuck in to backing this horse.

“On the flipside as well, stallion fees are only getting dearer. We spend a lot of money on service fees, but in this way, that money is getting invested into our stallion instead.”

Bott acknowledges that the market is cyclical, and believes that the current softening can be advantageous to the keen buyer.

“I would say maybe three years ago, the top of the market was at its peak, and since then the middle market has picked up again,” he said. “It hasn’t levelled out entirely, in part due to the current economic climate with the price of diesel and overseas conflict, and obviously the cost of living is affecting a lot of syndicators and the like at the moment.

“But Australian racing is so healthy. We have great prize money on offer, we have some of the best racing in the world here. Things will get back on their feet and the market will adjust.”

Which makes now such a critical time to invest, in order to take advantage of that upswing in coming years.

Planning for the future

Another area experiencing change is the Australian stallion landscape itself. The loss of Snitzel, Wootton Bassett (GB), So You Think (NZ), and Spirit Of Boom amongst others has profoundly altered what is available for the 2026 breeding season.

“Many of those stallions were older, but many also went out too early,” said Bott. “Fortunately, several of them were so elite, and so they have quality sons and grandsons to step up. And so we will go again.”

Reserve Bank is, after all, a stallion ready to fill a niche and be given his chance to succeed.

“It’s already a successful line,” Bott said. “He’s by Written Tycoon out of a Fastnet Rock mare, out of a Singspiel mare. It’s some of the best bloodlines in the world and some of the most successful blood here in Australia. You mix that with some of our nicely bred mares - metropolitan winners, stakes winners, dams of stakes winners - and you give a horse like this the chance to succeed.”

Bott wouldn’t be against adding another stallion in the future, but it would have to be another case of ‘right stallion, right time’.

“I’m not interested in becoming a stallion station,” he said. “The focus right now is setting Reserve Bank up to succeed. At the moment, this is working for us, and hopefully it will work for other people too.”