Six mares and a $2 million winner: B2B’s smaller operation delivers

Cover image courtesy of Georgia Young Photography

Ricky Surace Jnr and the B2B Thoroughbreds team enjoyed a standout day at Randwick on Saturday, with Revolina (Russian Revolution) winning the Listed Brian Crowley Stakes before Lazzura (Snitzel) captured the $2 million Group 2 The Invitational.

The double offered an interesting snapshot of the operation, with the two winners representing different sides of its approach. Revolina was bred and retained by B2B, while Lazzura was purchased for $500,000 from the Arrowfield Stud draft at the 2023 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale.

Their contrasting paths to success also reflected a broader philosophy, while breeding to sell remains central to the business, racing comes first and foremost.

Surace Jnr is prepared to retain and race horses when he believes they have the ability to make their mark on the track and aren't considered 'sales types' for whatever reason.

“Days don't get much better than that, you always go into days like yesterday trying to have little expectations and be more hopeful but it worked out great,” Surace Jnr said.

“The horses were both cherry ripe for the weekend.”

A homebred who took the long road

Revolina's stakes success was particularly rewarding given the challenges she faced early in life and the decision to retain her rather than offer her for sale.

Bred and raced by B2B Thoroughbreds, she is the second foal out of the four-time winner She's Furline (I Am Invincible), a half-sister to dual Group-placed 2-year-old Smart Manoeuvre (Smart Missile).

The extended family also includes G1 Epsom Handicap winner Captain Sonador (Shamardal {USA}) and dual Group 2 winner and Group 1-placed Umaline (Umatilla {NZ}).

She's Furline was purchased on behalf of B2B Thoroughbreds by Belmont Bloodstock Agency (FBAA) for $175,000 at the 2020 Magic Millions Gold Coast National Broodmare Sale. Although she had no black type on her record, Surace Jnr believed her ability had not been fully reflected by her race results.

“We bought She's Furline for not a huge amount of money as a broodmare in 2020, she didn't have black type, but she had a lot of ability and had some issues, so she was probably better than her record suggested.”

The mare's first mating for B2B was with Toronado (Ire), producing a colt who was sold to Denise Martin before being sold to Hong Kong for good money after winning a trial.

Her next mating was with Russian Revolution, a stallion who was in strong demand at the time. The resulting filly, however, arrived at a time when commercial interest in the sire's progeny had cooled.

“We then sent her to Russian Revolution, who was hot at the time, but as can happen she had a filly and everyone had gone off the Russian Revolutions by then, and now they are going great again.”

Revolina's early challenges went beyond the commercial market. She showed signs of being a dummy foal at birth, requiring considerable care from the B2B team on the farm.

“When Revolina was born she was showing signs of being a dummy foal, our team on the farm, when we had the farm, did a great job with her.”

Her development also influenced the decision to keep her. Initially underdeveloped, she was not necessarily the type B2B wanted to send through the yearling sales ring, particularly given the prevailing market sentiment towards Russian Revolution.

“She had a challenging start and was initially quite immature physically. When the time came to sell, we felt she was better suited to retaining and racing ourselves, given her stage of development and the fact that her sire wasn’t particularly sought-after in the market at the time.

“We sent her to Segenhoe and she just continued to grow and do well, and she grew to a nice average size filly but nice and strong, we have taken out riem right along and put her into our system, and she just kept developing.”

Despite her difficult start, there were early signs of the speed that would eventually translate to the racetrack.

“When she was young, even though she had issues and a tough start, she could always zoom around the paddock, quicker than many other foals, I always remember that.”

A calculated step up with the Freedmans

While many B2B Thoroughbreds runners are prepared by Champion trainer Chris Waller, Revolina was entrusted to Richard and Will Freedman, with Surace Jnr having a longstanding friendship with Will.

The association has developed into an opportunity for the stable to handle selected B2B homebreds, with the operation looking to send the Freedmans a horse each year when the right candidate emerges.

“Chris Waller is the core of our business, but Will has been a great mate of mine for a long time. Whenever we have a homebred that we feel is the right fit, we’re more than happy to give Richard and Will the opportunity to train them.

“They’ve done a great job with Revolina, and I’m absolutely stoked for everyone involved.”

Revolina continued to progress through the Freedmans' stable, pleasing connections in her early trials before being given additional time to develop.

“With the Freedmans, she trialled really nice early and then we gave her a little bit more time and she has just kept improving.

“She won her maiden nicely, and we saw on Monday that there were only five nominations for the Brian Crowley, so I had a chat with Will, and we decided we would have a crack, what was there really to lose.”

The decision proved worthwhile. Revolina had originally been scheduled to run in a Class 1 at Gosford on Thursday, but the limited nominations for the Brian Crowley Stakes presented an opportunity to test her against stronger opposition.

“She was actually supposed to run in a Class 1 at Gosford on Thursday, so I'm glad we changed tack and had a crack. It was a very rewarding win for many reasons.”

Surace Jnr acknowledged that the race was a significant step up, with the initial aim simply to see Revolina measure up and perhaps secure some valuable black type.

“We were very much throwing Revolina in the deep end, and were hoping that if we could sneak some black type and run in the top three or four it would be fantastic.”

Instead, she came away with the stakes win, with Tommy Berry helping her make the most of the opportunity in a small field.

“She is smart, it was a small field and Tommy (Berry) rode her well and took luck out of the equation.”

A classy purchase

Where Revolina represents the rewards of breeding and retaining a homebred, Lazzura illustrates the other side of the B2B model: identifying a yearling with the quality to become a successful racehorse, which is what Surace Jnr targets as the most important compoent of the business, racing top-level horses.

Purchased for $500,000 from the Arrowfield Stud draft at the 2023 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale, Lazzura is by Snitzel and out of the Japanese-bred mare Laguna Azzurra (Jpn) (Heart's Cry {Jpn}), a winner over 1800 metres in Japan.

Laguna Azzurra has produced three foals to race, all winners. Alongside Lazzura, her progeny include the smart juvenile Portorosa (Not A Single Doubt), who has also been placed at Listed level.

Lazzura's victory in the $2 million G2 The Invitational added another significant result to her record and boosted her total prizemoney to a tick over $3.1 million. Surace Jnr admitted there were some pre-race concerns about the way the track was playing and how best to approach the contest.

“Lazzura is such a good mare, we were a bit worried before the race with the way the track was playing, and we weren't sure what we were going to do in regard to tactics and Tommy (Berry) confirmed this after the race.

“We rode her like the best horse in the race and I'm not going to lie, I was a bit nervous when I saw she was running some 10.5s sectionals early on, but she was tough and good enough to overcome that.”

Her ability to overcome circumstances has been a feature of her campaign, even when connections have not always been able to execute their preferred tactics.

“We actually haven't been able to ride her to her strengths much this campaign, but she always gives her all and gets the job done.”

For Surace Jnr, Lazzura's consistency reflects a mare who has matured into a formidable racehorse, with barriers and weight proving less significant than her underlying ability.

“I think when the barriers came out, plenty of her rivals would have been pretty happy with their draws, but she’s shown she can get the job done regardless of the barrier or the weight she has to carry. She’s a class above, has been placed beautifully, and is now a strong, fully mature mare who knows her job.”

A smaller breeding operation with a clear focus

The two stakes winners also provide a timely illustration of the direction B2B Thoroughbreds has taken in recent years.

A couple of years ago, Surace Jnr and his father, Ricky Snr, reassessed the operation's long-term goals, moving towards quality over quantity and reducing the size of their broodmare band and focusing more on the racing part of the business.

The change had been under consideration for some time rather than being a spur-of-the-moment decision. The pair reduced their numbers, moved the mares off-farm and based them at Segenhoe Stud.

Following Yulong's purchase of Segenhoe Stud, the B2B mares moved to Arrowfield Stud, where the smaller broodmare band now numbers about half a dozen.

“The breeding side of things is going well. We changed direction, cut right back and focused on quality, and that approach has worked. We’ve been able to make money from it, but there’s no getting away from the fact that breeding is a very tough game.

"For us it’s also a passion project. We love racing, and that’s a big part of why we do it.”

The mares are at Arrowfield now, which is a wonderful farm.”

While the intention within the breeding operation is to sell the yearlings, Surace Jnr says their passion for racing means they’re never tied to that outcome.

“We breed to sell, but we’re not locked into it. We love racing, and if we have a horse we believe in and the right opportunity to sell doesn’t come along, we’re more than happy to keep it and race it ourselves.

“We have confidence in what we breed, and Revolina is a perfect example of that. We believed in her, and we were happy to keep her and see what she could do on the track.”

“We breed with confidence and are happy to race them if it doesn't work out selling, or they can't be sold for whatever reason, like Revolina.”

That confidence comes from considering both physical and genetic qualities when making breeding decisions, rather than focusing solely on the prospects of selling a yearling.

“We look to breed them correctly both physically and genetically and we genuinely believe in our product.

“If you breed purely to sell and not thinking about the other aspects I don't think that is the mentality, everything we breed we would be happy to race if need be.”

Revolina is a clear example of that philosophy in practice. A filly who might not have been ideally suited to the yearling sales ring at the time was given the opportunity to mature and develop within the racing system, ultimately delivering a stakes victory.

Lazzura, meanwhile, demonstrates the returns that can come from purchasing the right yearling and giving it the opportunity to fulfil its potential.

Faith in the Snitzel line, but an open mind

One constant in the Surace family's approach has been its affinity with champion sire Snitzel and his sons. Lazzura is by Snitzel, while other notable B2B runners are by son's of Snitzel including Revolina, being by Russian Revolution, and Panova by Trapeze Artist.

Surace Jnr has maintained his faith in the Snitzel sire line, including during periods when some of the stallion's sons were not receiving the same level of commercial support.

“Snitzels just make great racehorses. They’re tough, durable and sound, and they’ve got that real competitive edge about them. They might not always be the biggest horses physically, but they’re genuine fighters who keep turning up and love a battle.”

Beyond the racetrack, Snitzel's record as a broodmare sire has also been important to the operation's thinking.

“He was an incredibly dominant sire and a very good broodmare sire also which is important for us.

“They just make good racehorses.”

Despite that preference, Surace Jnr is not inclined to limit the operation to one sire line. He points to the performances of other horses in the stable as evidence that quality can emerge from a variety of pedigrees.

"At the moment, two of our standout horses are Striking Alibi, by Hanseatic, and Generosity, by Divine Prophet. We actually purchased Generosity in the twilight of her racing career, and she gave us a very nice bonus by going out and winning the Group 2 Challenge Stakes at weight-for-age. Both are great examples of how good horses can come from anywhere, and whether we're buying or breeding, we're never afraid to look outside the square.

Ultimately, the approach comes back to the belief that good breeding and buying decisions need to be supported by the right environment and opportunities for each horse to develop.

“If you believe in your product, put them in the right system and give them every chance, they can come from anywhere.”