Stallion parade perspectives: Darley Northwood, Lovatsville, Swettenham, Yulong

Cover image courtesy of Darley

Breeders, bloodstock agents, and sale house representatives were among those who gave their opinions on the stallions at Darley’s Northwood Park, Lovatsville, Swettenham Stud and Yulong on Thursday.

“We've had a lot of rain early on in the week, so we were very lucky that the weather held off and it was a nice sunny day,” said Inglis representative Will Stott.

Vinrock impresses at Yulong

Yulong Victoria will stand nine stallions in 2026 and it was first season sire Vinrock who stood out for several of the people who visited.

“Yulong was great. There were loads of people there. Mr. Zhang was there. Jun was there,” said Stott.

“Vinrock is a beautiful looking horse, very I Am Invincible with a deep girth, a real quality animal. And the sons of I Am Invincible are absolutely flying, if you look at Home Affairs, Hellbent, I An Immortal. They're doing really well, so I think he's a very exciting young stallion prospect for Victoria.”

Winner of the G1 Sires’ Produce Stakes and G2 VRC Sires’ Produce Stakes, Vinrock is a son of I Am Invincible.

“Vinrock. He's a very impressive horse that fits the mould of the successful sons of I Am Invincible. He's not as big as I Am Invincible but a very nice moving horse and it won't be hard to find a suitable mare to go to him,” said Garry Cuddy.

Vinrock is out of Redoute’s Choice mare Girl Gone Rockin’ who won the G2 Matriarch Stakes.

“Vinrock was very impressive for a first season, he's going to be a really impressive type,” Liam Howley said.

“I was really impressed with Vinrock. I think that stallion line, you look at Home Affairs, Brazen Beau, Hellbent, and even a horse that started at the lower end, I Am Immortal. I think they're all good stallions. I think that line is going to be very prominent and I Am Invincible is going to be a serious sire of stallions,” Ciaron Maher’s Head Of Bloodstock Will Bourne said.

A common name among those TTR chatted to about Yulong’s roster was G1 The Everest, G1 Coolmore Stud Stakes, and G1 Manikato Stakes-placed Group 3 winner Growing Empire. His first foals are due this spring.

“Growing Empire is the one that caught my eye. I thought he was a really good model of Zoustar. Very athletic. He was the one who stood out, but I was really impressed with the quality right across the board at Yulong,” Howley said.

First Settler, winner of the G2 Danehill Stakes, is another whose first foals are due this spring.

“Yulong paraded Growing Empire and First Settler. I'm very keen on Growing Empire, he’s all speed and has a lot of Zoustar quality. I can see him leaving very attractive sales types and First Settler is very much in the mould of Written Tycoon, being a strong brute of a horse and again I could see him leaving very attractive yearlings,” Stott said.

“They paraded Written Tycoon at the end. He looks amazing so that was pretty cool.”

Panthalassa (Jpn), a globetrotter who raced in four different countries, and won twice at Group 1 level is another that appealed to trainer Liam Howley.

“The stallion at Yulong that I'm looking at closely, and I'm interested to see what his first stock looks like is Panthalassa. I thought the improvement in him to now was great. He looks so athletic, and for a guy that loves training a stayer, he’s a stallion I'm going to follow closely. A powerhouse of a racehorse,” Howley said.

“To be honest, here in Victoria, we're spoiled for choice in that price band for breeding a nice middle distance horse.

“I'd like to think I'm quite patient and I like developing those middle distance horses. I came away from today thinking that the future's pretty good. There's going to be some nice good quality stock coming through over the next couple of years with some new stallions on the board.”

Observer looks classy at Darley

Will Bourne was thrilled to get out to Darley to see recently retired Observer, who won the G1 Victoria Derby and G1 Australian Guineas for the Maher stable.

“At Darley, I have a little soft spot for Observer, how tough he was and it was good to see him again. He's an absolute jet,” Bourne said.

Inglis’ representative Will Stott called Darley’s line up “spectacular.”

“Observer, their first season horse, is a very appealing Derby winner. He has real quality. You can see why he was such a good athlete. A lovely horse.”

Observer, a son of Ghiayyath (Ire), stands alongside his sire and they are two of the seven horses standing at Darley’s Northwood Park farm in Victoria.

“Darley have one of the most complete rosters that you could find anywhere in the country, clearly, here in Victoria from Street Boss at the top and exciting horses like Observer and obviously Ghaiyyath,” Cuddy said.

Paulele, whose first crop have just turned two, caught the eye of trainer Liam Howley.

“At Darley I was blown away with Ghaiyyath. I was quite taken with Paulele and the way he’s let down. He impressed me. I thought him and Cylinder both looked really good. I would certainly breed a mare to Paulele on what I saw today, and I didn't go there thinking he would be one.”

Lovatsville’s Cup winner has everyone talking

Lovatsville has six stallions on their roster and there was one horse that everyone was talking about. G1 Melbourne Cup winner Gold Trip (Fr) grabbed almost all the attention with many comments reserved for first season sire Espionage too.

“All the Lovatsville horses looked amazing. Espionage is magnificent looking, you can see why he was a $1 million yearling. He’s just Zoustar quality,” Stott said.

Will Bourne agreed. “Espionage. I can see why he made a $1 million as a yearling. He’s a Zoustar and very good looking. There's no doubt about it. He's going to win a few beauty contests. I know that's not what it's all about. He was obviously very precocious 2-year-old, and his looks really stood out to me.”

Espionage won the G3 Breeders’ Plate and G3 Kindergarten Stakes at two and for part-owner Jo O’Gorman of Parsons Creek, he was the reason they made the trip to Lovatsville.

“It was a flying visit to Lovatsville, because we obviously know Espionage well, as we raced him with the James Harron partnership and I was keen to get down and see him,” O’Gorman said.

“We stayed in him, so we're probably a little bit biased. He’s a good looking horse, he always was. James bought him and paid big money for him. He's probably going to take a little while to let down, but he’s still very impressive. He's a lot like his dad, with his beautiful head and he’s a good mover. He seemed to be pretty well received.

“He's just got a really good temperament, which I think is key. I think if he can get yearlings that look like him and behave like him, then I think he could upgrade a few mares, and put a bit of quality and substance into them. We'll be supporting him with a couple of our own.”

Espionage is out of Street Cry (Ire) mare In Times Of War.

“I was super impressed with Espionage. I think he's just an incredible type. He really caught my eye. Espionage, he just looks like he's ready made for the job. Just the way he carried himself and he owned the moment really well. Espionage had that real stamp of a powerhouse look about him and he has a presence that I'm looking for,” Howley said.

But much of the talk was about Gold Trip.

“Another horse I liked is Gold Trip. He looks amazing, having seen him over the last few years, and he's just a beautiful horse. I said to Sam that I've seen a couple of yearlings by him in the paddocks over the last couple weeks on our inspections, and they're really nice big strong forward horses. I think they'll be saleable,” Stott said.

“Obviously he got over ground, but his yearlings have a good bit of strength about them, maybe from Exceed And Excel. They're not light framed staying types, they've got a bit of strength and substance.”

Gold Trip raced from age two till seven, winning the G1 Melbourne Cup and G1 Turnbull Stakes.

“At Lovatsville, Sam does a great job. He's putting a collection of horses together that are affordable to breeders. Physically, my favourite horse there would have to be Gold Trip. I think if he can throw himself, people will have a bit of fun racing his stock,” Cuddy said.

“I was really impressed by the development of Gold Trip from last year to this year. The way he’s let down into a stallion really caught my eye,” Howley said.

For Ciaron Maher’s Will Bourne, getting to see Gold Trip was more emotional than for anyone else as he was a stalwart of the stable for so many years.

“A horse I get very nostalgic about is Gold Trip, and I'm getting a lot of good feedback about his foals, but I just love to see him again. He knows he's good and he's the king and he pranced around there. He's an absolute beast, and I love that horse to death,” Bourne said.

“He was such a kid's pony (in work). I even used to ride him, and you see him now and he gets up from his back legs and he struts around and he can kick out and he's glowing. He was very fresh, very well, and knows he's the boss.

“I could be blinded by love a bit, but he does stand out. He does have a personality and plenty of presence. In the yard, he had better manners than my friends at dinner. Just an absolute gentleman and a king of a horse and I was very lucky to have a little bit to do with him.”

O’Gorman also mentioned Group 1 winning juvenile Move To Strike.

“Sam White, he was excellent. It was nice to go and see the set up and I was pretty impressed. All the stallions there were very well looked after and they had great temperaments," O'Gorman said.

“Move To Strike is an impressive horse. He’s a beautiful striking colour and he was a good mover as well. He looked nice and something that could go well with a lot of our mares and being by Vinnie. I was quite impressed by him."

Diego Velazquez pulls a crowd at Swettenham

Swettenham Stud will stand five stallions in 2026, led by proven Group 1 sire Toronado (Ire) with shuttle sire Diego Velazquez (Ire) standing his first year this spring.

“We finished at Swettenham, which was great. Obviously Toronado is flying with Tron Bolt, who we sold at Inglis and the Ready2Race Sale. Toronado looks phenomenal,” Stott said.

“I Am Immortal is punching above his weight and upgrading mares. I think he's great value for under 10 grand down here and Lofty Strike looks awesome. I’ve seen some very nice yearlings by him on our inspections.

“The new horse Diego Velazquez actually looks really fast. He's got a beautiful hind leg, very like strong hocks, really good action. He looks like he'll leave speed horses, and he's got a beautiful pedigree. I think he profiles up similarly to how Toronado did when he retired.”

Diego Velazquez is a son of Frankel (GB) who won at Group 2 level at two and three and was successful in the G1 Prix Jacques le Marois at four.

“We finished off at Swettenham and they saved him till the end, but Diego Velazquez is a very well credentialed, and good looking. He’s every bit as flashy as he looks in the pictures,” Cuddy said.

“I Am Immortal just gets winners every day of the week which is what you look for when you’re breeding to race in his price bracket.”

Both Liam Howley and Will Bourne didn’t make it to Swettenham on Thursday, while O’Gorman dashed in for a quick visit.

“We did pop in quickly to Swettenham and only saw Wooded. I like him, he's a really beautiful horse, obviously being by Wootton Bassett, and with him not being around anymore. I was quite impressed with Wooded,” O’Gorman said.

“He’s a nice big, strong, robust horse. He’s doing well on the track, especially overseas.”

Wooded (Ire) is the sire of Group 1 winner Woodshauna (Fr) and his oldest Australian-born foals are 3-year-olds.

“All the first season horses (seen today) are differently credentialled. They’re all very appealing for the Victorian marketplace and are horses that Victorian breeders should be supporting,” Stott said.