Cover image courtesy of Vinery Stud
Sunday marked the last of four straight days of stallion parades in the Hunter Valley, with the final parades taking place at Vinery Stud, Arrowfield Stud, Widden Stud, and Coolmore Stud.
With the covering season just over a week away, guests took a last chance to admire the bloodstock on offer in the valley and nominations agents made the most of the fair weather to lock in a couple more bookings.
The draw of the Dubawi factor
Arrowfield Stud, Vinery Stud, and Coolmore Stud all introduced another point of access to the Dubawi (Ire) sireline amongst their 2026 rosters; G1 Lockinge Stakes winner Lead Artist (GB) has shuttled from Juddmonte to Arrowfield, Coolmore will stand their own dual Group 1 winner Delacroix (Ire), and Vinery will offer Kia Ora Stud’s homegrown G1 Oakleigh Plate victor Tropicus.
Tropicus, introduced at a fee of $27,500 inc GST, is by Dubawi’s hottest sire son Too Darn Hot (GB) - who drew the crowds on Saturday at Darley - while the other two are direct sons of the Dalham Hall Stud resident.
Tropicus | Standing at Vinery Stud
All three offer a different flavour via their damlines, with Tropicus being out of an Exceed And Excel mare, Delacroix - $38,500 inc GST - being out of Bernstein’s (USA) best daughter Tepin (USA), and Lead Artist - also $27,500 inc GST being out of a daughter of Frankel (GB).
The latter was a particularly popular sight at both of Arrowfield’s morning parades.
“When he came out, I thought, ‘that’s Dubawi’,” said John O’Shea. “He has a lovely depth of girth and is very typical of the Dubawi offspring we saw when his sire first came out to Australia. It’s a sireline that is becoming very prevalent in Australia and we have some very good examples of it here, particularly with him and Delacroix.”
“When he (Lead Artist) came out, I thought, ‘that’s Dubawi’.” - John O'Shea
Lead Artist at the 2026 Arrowfield Stallion Parades | Image courtesy of Arrowfield Stud
“I thought Lead Artist was very impressive,” Astute Bloodstock’s Will MacDonald agreed.
“Lead Artist is a very striking individual,” said Riverstone Lodge’s George Gilfeather. “He is a very good addition to the stallions available in the valley, as is Tropicus. We are sending two mares to him this year and we look forward to seeing the results of those matings. He has a lot of quality about him.”
Breeders were very enthused with Delacroix in the flesh at Coolmore’s parades.
“Delacroix oozes quality and substance, which will be passed on to his offspring,” Bangaloe Stud’s Julia Ritchie said. “I love him as a type.”
“Delacroix oozes quality and substance.” - Julia Ritchie
“He’s a stunning type of horse,” said Danric Lodge’s Operations Manager Louise Lyndsay. “He is very typical of Dubawi on type. All the horses at Coolmore were exceptionally well presented.”
Delacroix also caught the eye of breeder Etak Thoroughbreds’ Kate Nivison, who was recognised by Coolmore’s Breeder of the Year award before the Sunday afternoon parade.
“The way he moves is very powerful,” she said. “He was just a very nice horse overall, and he had a really amazing presence to him. Some stallions really have a presence and he certainly does.”
Getting better with age
One of the valley’s biggest strengths is its pool of proven talent, and while Gilfeather had been impressed by Lead Artist, he equally enjoyed viewing his Arrowfield rostermate Maurice (Jpn) as well.
“It was really good to see Maurice in the flesh,” he said. “I have a mare booked to him this year and he is a high quality individual who has been putting that into his stock.”
Widden Stud, home to Champion Sire Zoustar, has built a high quality roster full of consistent types, and MacDonald was pleased to see some of the stallions in person that he has been drawn to in the sales ring.
“It was great to see Written By at Widden in the week,” he said. “We bought a lovely Written By from Gilgai Farm at Inglis Premier this year, and we are very happy to see that his offspring are inheriting his strength.”
“Zoustar is a Champion Sire and one that’s crying out for a really good son to follow in his footsteps... (Zousain) is a real chip off the old block.” - Marcus Heritage
“I was very taken with Zousain,” said Swettenham Stud’s Marcus Heritage, who visited the valley to view the outside stallions being patronised by the Victorian farm. “Zoustar is a Champion Sire and one that’s crying out for a really good son to follow in his footsteps. Zousain has quite a few winners on the board now and he’s a real chip off the old block.
“Obviously we can’t all afford Zoustar, so Zousain is a nice, obvious option for maiden mares to get them off on the right track with a proven sire.”
At Vinery Stud, it was All Too Hard who was the crowd pleaser to Lyndsay.
“All Too Hard is wonderful,” she said. “We have always been fans of Casino Prince, and even though All Too Hard doesn’t look like him, he has such a great record of producing good racehorses. It was very good to see him in person.”
All Too Hard | Standing at Vinery Stud
Down the road at Arrowfield, Lyndsay paid tribute to the High Chaparral (Ire) sireline that is thriving at the stud courtesy of Dundeel (NZ) and his son Castelvecchio.
“Castelvecchio has really matured,” she said. “He’s a very solid, well-conformed horse. I have always liked Dundeel and the High Chaparral sireline. We have an Ace High at home, so we are always happy to see that sireline continuing so strongly.”
“Castelvecchio has really matured. He’s a very solid, well-conformed horse.” - Louise Lyndsay
Castelvecchio | Standing at Arrowfield Stud
The sires everyone wants
One of the main drawcards at Arrowfield was always going to be The Autumn Sun, whose daughter Autumn Glow added a fourth Group 1 win to her glittering record on Saturday when resuming in the G1 Winx Stakes.
“Everyone at Arrowfield was gorgeous, but The Autumn Sun is an incredibly beautiful horse in particular,” Lyndsay said. “We have seen Redoute’s Choice in the past and it’s just lovely to see the lineage continuing in such a strong fashion.”
“The Autumn Sun is one I have loved since his first season, and he just gets better and better with every year.” - Will MacDonald
“The Autumn Sun is one I have loved since his first season, and he just gets better and better with every year,” MacDonald said. “We are always interested in looking at his progeny at the sales.”
“He’s an absolute star,” Heritage said of the son of Redoute’s Choice. “When he walked in, he had the same aura that all the good stallions in every parade have. Toronado has it when we bring him out at home, and Zoustar had it at Widden as well, so did I Am Invincible on Friday.
“When he (The Autumn Sun) walked in, he had the same aura that all the good stallions in every parade have.” - Marcus Heritage
“You can see it in him, he has that little bit of arrogance when he stands up and poses - he almost looks down on you. He knows his worth.”
While the presence of Redoute’s Choice in Super Seth’s family is through his damline, he also created a stir at Coolmore.
Super Seth | Standing at Coolmore
“It was great to see Super Seth, they have some amazing stallions to see at Coolmore,” said O’Shea, who has been one of the most successful trainers of the sire’s progeny, having trained two of his Group 1 winners in Linebacker (NZ) and Maison Louis (NZ).
“Super Seth was a standout, with his athletic physique, strong shoulders, and great walk,” Lyndsay said. “He has such a great pedigree with his combination of High Chaparral and Redoute’s Choice.”
Visitors to Coolmore were made to wait to view newly anointed Champion First Season Sire Home Affairs, who was brought out last in the parade.
“Home Affairs was very striking with his strong, powerful physique and presence,” Lyndsay said. “Coolmore were introducing him as the ‘Tower of Power’ and it’s an accurate title.”
“Coolmore were introducing him (Home Affairs) as the ‘Tower of Power’ and it’s an accurate title.” - Louise Lyndsay
Home Affairs | Standing at Coolmore Stud
Vinery Stud stands the previous season’s Champion First Season Sire Ole Kirk, as well as his main rival for that title in Farnan, whose son Ninja is on a G1 The Everest path after winning the G2 Missile Stakes earlier in the month.
“Farnan really took my eye, and Ole Kirk is a great type,” said Ritchie.
“Ole Kirk is a beautiful sort of horse,” MacDonald said.
The best is yet to come
For the youngest stallions on the roster, the anticipation is for seeing their first foals hit the ground and their first yearlings hit the sales ring. Coolmore’s City Of Troy (USA) welcomes his first crop of Southern Hemisphere-bred foals this spring.
“I liked seeing City Of Troy again, it’s the first time I have seen him since last year and he has really let down,” Nivison said. “He’s becoming a really lovely animal. He was my standout, along with Delacroix.”
“He’s (City Of Troy) becoming a really lovely animal. He was my standout, along with Delacroix.” - Kate Nivison
City Of Troy (USA) | Standing at Coolmore Stud
G1 Golden Slipper Stakes winner Shinzo averaged over $130,000 with his first weanlings in the sales ring this year, and he caught the eye of John O’Shea, who may have even more of a reason to check out the son of Snitzel’s progeny in 2027.
“Shinzo is looking really fantastic,” he said.
Vinery’s Hawaii Five Oh will also have his first yearlings hit the sales ring in 2027, with a bumper crop of 118 ready to represent him.
“Hawaii Five Oh was lovely, he’s a very striking horse,” said Lyndsay.
“I really liked Hawaii Five Oh,” Heritage said. “He was a horse that I enjoyed following through his racing career, and he was one that was certainly up on the whiteboard as a stallion prospect that we respected and were keeping an eye on.
“He (Hawaii Five Oh) has a beautiful pedigree on him, and he is also physically very strong, which is what you want to see from a Vinnie son.” - Marcus Heritage
“He has a beautiful pedigree on him, and he is also physically very strong, which is what you want to see from a Vinnie son. He is a very similar bodied horse to I Am Immortal, who's doing a great job upgrading mares for us. I saw a bit of him in Hawaii Five Oh, but also a lot of the old man in him.”
Hawaii Five Oh | Standing at Vinery Stud
If he can have 'a bit' of the old man's ability as a sire as well, the future looks very bright for Hawaii Five Oh.
