PRIME DISPATCH

Edition 83 – 17/09/2015 Compiled by Joe O’Neill

Husson Eagle winning at Caulfield 

We shouldn’t forget the racing in Sydney and Melbourne last weekend was simply outstanding and once again this weekend we have some cracking races.  Also the Newcastle Cup meeting is on this Friday with the Cameron Handicap a good lead into the Epsom.  We will start to see the Country Cups circuit kick in shortly in Victoria.  These are great days out and should you be visiting for a Saturday meeting I suggest you look and see if there are any country cups running about when you are in town and head out for a great day’s country racing.  I’m really looking forward to the racing over the coming weeks. It should be outstanding.

WHEN IS THE ‘RIGHT’ TIME TO MOVE ON?

The most difficult decision I have to make is when to recommend to owners the ‘right’ time to move a horse on. It is only natural that owners get attached to their horses and when you have 10 owners or more you will have people with different opinions. 

When we make a recommendation to the owners to move a horse on it is done after considerable consultation with the trainers.  In our case I have the utmost respect for the opinions of our trainers.  It is important you understand from a financial perspective it isn’t in our interests or the trainer’s to sack horses.  We don’t make the decision lightly but the fact is that we retire about one horse per month.  To put it into perspective if we syndicate 12 horses each year then we retire 12 horses per year.

It is great when a horse does well, wins races and lives up to its owners’ expectations.  Unfortunately, this isn’t always the case.  In our industry about 50% of each foal crop race and somewhere between 15 and 20% win a race.  In our business we have consistently managed to get in excess of 90% of the horses we syndicate to the races with about 70% winning which is exceptional considering the average purchase price of our yearlings up until this year was only about $45,000. 

To put this in perspective the January Gold Coast Magic Millions Sale average this year was $167,197 and Inglis Easter Yearling Sale $290,944.

Horses are generally retired for three reasons.  Firstly, they injure themselves and physically can’t continue.  Secondly, they reach a level where they can no longer be consistently competitive which is generally the main reason we recommend that horses are moved on. Finally, particularly in the case of well-bred or performed race mares they are retired to stud.

Currently we have a situation where we have a horse that has little if any ability and we have recommended selling it after only one run. This is an unusual situation but the horse has had every chance and is almost certain not to get a ‘photo’ on the wall for its owners.  I feel for the owners but it is important when a horse is identified as having little ability we move it on as quickly as we can. 

Having said that I don’t feel it is fair to condemn a horse until it gets into its three year old season and has had time to ‘make the grade’ if it can.  In my opinion only about 20% of horses are ready to race as two year olds with a majority needing to get to their three year old year before being physically strong enough to show if they have enough potential to go on with.

In conclusion, I see one of my most important jobs is to find the ‘right’ home for these retired horse. This can take time but we almost always get a good result.  This year the market for even well performed mares like Terra Amata and Faith’n’Courage, both metropolitan winners is tougher than I have seen it in the past.  If anyone is after a well performed mare to breed with give me a call on 0433762700.

VICTORIA IN SPRING A GREAT PLACE TO VISIT

Over the next two months a lot of you will visit Melbourne for the Carnival.  You should look at getting around the regional areas which are close to Melbourne.  Victoria isn’t a big state.  I will recommend some nice things to do that are about an hour’s drive from Melbourne in our next few newsletters.  This week I’ll concentrate on the Yarra Valley which is only a short drive from the city.  There are several great restaurants, quaint villages and high class wineries in the area and one of my very favourite parts of the state.

My recommendations are for you to visit the likes of Yering Station, Oakridge Winery, Tram Trak and Chandon wineries.  The hotels in Healesville and Yarra Glen have excellent counter meals.  The weekends can be busy but during the week there are no issues.  

The RACV Club has a high class Resort at Healesville with good accommodation and challenging golf course.  The Farmer’s Markets are also first class with The Yering Station Market on the 3rd Sunday of the month being outstanding.  Accommodation is easy to find and you will enjoy spending a couple of days in this beautiful part of the state.  A visit to Marysville is also recommended.

My favourite restaurant in the Valley is Bella Vedere Cucina at Coldstream.  It is a cracker with just about the best desserts you could imagine.  Not cheap but great.

HINCHINBROOK – PRINCESS ANNA FILLY

I wrote last week that I had purchased two fillies to be the start of our 2016 team.  The first of these is a Hinchinbrook filly out of the Encosta de Lago filly Princess Anna.  See the details on her below:Hinchinbrook filly out of Princess Anna 2014

John Thompson to train at Randwick

10% shares $7,900

5% shares $3,950

This filly is a strong nicely balanced athlete that gets around well and has a real presence about her.  She is very strong behind and through the hocks which is a characteristic of the progeny of Hinchinbrook.

She vetted out without any issues and was reared at Yarraman Park one of Australia’s most well respected boutique nurseries.

The filly is an August foal and will be broken in in February/ March of 2016 with a view to giving her every chance to run as a two year old.  She comes from a very precocious family with her dam’s ½ sister winning stakes races twice as a two year old and being placed in the $1million Gold Coast Magic Millions Two Year Old Classic.

Hinchinbrook

After I inspected the yearlings by the first season sires in 2013 I made the prediction that Hinchinbrook would be Australia’s leading first season sire.  He didn’t let me down winning the title in a field of over 50 contenders for the title.  This was a wonderful effort considering the horse didn’t serve a big book of mares and stood at a modest fee.

A lot of the credit for his success goes to the team at Yarraman Park.  The farm consistently punches above its weight with the yearlings coming off the farm setting the benchmark across our industry.  It should be remembered Yarraman Park’s I Am Invincible won the title in the previous season.

In winning the title Hinchinbrook not only got early runners but high class juveniles including the Group 1 winner Press statement and multiple stakes winner Flippant.

Hinchinbrook was a top class juvenile winning the Group III AJC Skyline Stakes and Listed Canonbury Stakes before being the first colt home when fourth to Crystal Lily in the Group I STC Golden Slipper and was then third in the Group I AJC Sires Produce Stakes.

He then trained on at three for Group I placings in the AJC All Aged Stakes, MRC Oakleigh Plate and MVRC William Reid Stakes, before being injured in the UK while preparing for Royal Ascot and retiring with earnings in excess of $590,000.

He is a three-quarter brother to leading young sire Snitzel and Group III winner Viennese by champion sire Fastnet Rock from stakes-winning sprinter Snippets’ Lass.

Snippet’s Lass was the best mare trained by Bill Mitchell while I was with him and had one of the very best pedigrees in Australia.  While she was only small in stature she was big on quality and had a heart as big as herself.

It looks as though Hinchinbrook will continue the great start he had in his first season with The most impressive trial winner to my eye to date has been the Hinchinbrook filly Divajeu at Randwick recently. 

I have been very big supporter of Hinchinbrook and have three two year old fillies at various stages of their development as well as two three year olds including Shining Brooke who is being prepared for the Spring Carnival.  Hinchinbrook really impresses me and during my visits to the Hunter over the past few months I have left each time with the feeling that he is going to be a great success at stud.  I can’t get enough of them!!!

Princess Anna

Princess Anna was by Encosta de Lago.  Princess Anna is very well related and was a $200,000 Easter yearling.  This is her first foal which I love buying.  Horses bred on this cross include the Group or Stakes winners Musir, Empress Rock, Pheidon, Killua Castle, Proisir, Beneteau, Sookie, Instinction, Essington, Mohave, Ghost, Peeping, Inner Warrior, Frespanol, Burnstone.

As I wrote earlier Princess Anna comes from a very precocious two year old family that includes the outstanding racehorses Faith Hill, Black Minx, Simply Believe, Mr Make Believe, Chosen Moment, Truly Believe, Pure Of Heart and the successful sire Lion Hunter.

It is important to note the 2nd and 3rd dams both won high class stakes races with the conversion rate of winners to runners in the first 4 dams being very good when you consider the level that they raced at.

Encosta de Lago is proving to be one of our very best broodmare sires and is currently placed 2nd behind Flying Spur on the broodmare sires list.  The previous three seasons has seen him progress from 14th to 5th to 4th and now 2nd on this highly competitive list.  His best to race this season is Japonisme. 

It isn’t surprising for him to be so well up on the list as he offers a terrific outcross to the dozens of sons and grandsons of Danehill standing here in Australia.  Encosta de Lago has also been a highly successful sire in his own right.

I am really looking forward to this filly racing and feel I purchased her well under the odds.