Many Australian breeders are currently finalizing mating plans for their mares and, this year, as arguably never before, the merits of the home-grown stallions have to be weighed against the plethora of classy imports, writes John Berry.
Historically, it has been no contest: the imports have swept the board. Imported stallions won the Australian general sires’ premiership throughout the ’50s and ’60s. In the ‘70s and early ’80s, the homebred stallions started to make their presence felt, with Bletchingly winning three premierships, and Matrice, Century and Vain, one each. But then there began the era of dominance of the US-bred (NZ-domiciled) Sir Tristram, which was followed by the era of Danehill.
For imported stallions, we should now read ‘dual-hemisphere’, but the point remains: the greatest stallions in Australasian history – Delville Wood, Star Kingdom, Wilkes, Better Boy, Sir Tristram and Danehill – were neither bred nor raced in the antipodes.
In years gone by, there was a good reason for this: the standard of racing in Australia was not as good as in Europe, so the imports often had better credentials, in either form or pedigree, than their colonial counterparts. Genuinely world-class antipodean horses, such as Phar Lap, Tulloch, Vain and Kingston Town, were the exception rather than the rule.
However, that is no longer the case, as English race-goers are nowadays reminded at most Royal Ascots. The colonial-bred and raced sons of the great imports became their fathers' successors: Todman and Bletchingly inherited the mantle of Star Kingdom, while Vain and Century took the places of their sires Wilkes and Better Boy. Nowadays, Zabeel has come close to filling Sir Tristram’s shoes, while sons of Danehill abound.
More than any other stallion, Danehill flew the flag for dual-hemisphere sires. American-bred and raced in the UK, he flew back and forth between Ireland and NSW annually to become known as the greatest stallion in Australian history since Star Kingdom – until eventually people began to omit the words ‘since Star Kingdom’ from that phrase. It wouldn’t require too much poetic license to say that he built Coolmore’s magnificent Hunter Valley property at Jerry’s Plain, so it is unsurprising that the stud will be making no fewer than seven of his sons available to antipodean breeders this coming season. Six of the seven – the exception being Fastnet Rock – were bred and raced in the northern hemisphere.
However, it would be foolish to maintain that the best Danehill-line options in Australia nowadays are the imports, with Flying Spur (pictured) and Redoute’s Choice likely to quinella the sires’ premiership. Next in the sires’ table we see Zabeel, Encosta De Lago and the deceased pair Lion Hunter and Danehill. Lion Hunter was an Australian-bred and –raced son of Danehill (from Pure Of Heart, the mare who provided the inspiration for the shuttle experiment: she was exported to Australia in utero, and her racecourse success prompted Coolmore to make her sire Godswalk the first regular shuttler); Zabeel and Encosta De Lago are also antipodean-bred and Australian-raced sons of imported stallions (Sir Tristram and Fairy King).
While there is no denying the quality of the imported sires available to Australian mare-owners, Australian racing and breeding is nowadays so good that it is unlikely that they will ever dominate again. The current season has suggested this, with Zabeel siring the winners of the VRC and AJC Derbys, Flying Spur the winners of the Blue Diamond and Golden Slipper, (the late) Rubiton and Pins the quinella in the Cox Plate, and Encounter the winner of the BMW. Arguably the finest two-year-old has been Strategic’s son Meurice, while the ill-fated He’s No Pie Eater acted as a fine advertisement for his father Canny Lad.
Between them, the imports and the locally-bred sires give Australian mare-owners a superb choice – but it would not be surprising if many breeders decide that being proven under Australian racing conditions could be the deciding factor in selecting who, for their mares, will be first among equals.
(www.thoroughbredinternet.com.au)
Historically, it has been no contest: the imports have swept the board. Imported stallions won the Australian general sires’ premiership throughout the ’50s and ’60s. In the ‘70s and early ’80s, the homebred stallions started to make their presence felt, with Bletchingly winning three premierships, and Matrice, Century and Vain, one each. But then there began the era of dominance of the US-bred (NZ-domiciled) Sir Tristram, which was followed by the era of Danehill.
For imported stallions, we should now read ‘dual-hemisphere’, but the point remains: the greatest stallions in Australasian history – Delville Wood, Star Kingdom, Wilkes, Better Boy, Sir Tristram and Danehill – were neither bred nor raced in the antipodes.
In years gone by, there was a good reason for this: the standard of racing in Australia was not as good as in Europe, so the imports often had better credentials, in either form or pedigree, than their colonial counterparts. Genuinely world-class antipodean horses, such as Phar Lap, Tulloch, Vain and Kingston Town, were the exception rather than the rule.
However, that is no longer the case, as English race-goers are nowadays reminded at most Royal Ascots. The colonial-bred and raced sons of the great imports became their fathers' successors: Todman and Bletchingly inherited the mantle of Star Kingdom, while Vain and Century took the places of their sires Wilkes and Better Boy. Nowadays, Zabeel has come close to filling Sir Tristram’s shoes, while sons of Danehill abound.
More than any other stallion, Danehill flew the flag for dual-hemisphere sires. American-bred and raced in the UK, he flew back and forth between Ireland and NSW annually to become known as the greatest stallion in Australian history since Star Kingdom – until eventually people began to omit the words ‘since Star Kingdom’ from that phrase. It wouldn’t require too much poetic license to say that he built Coolmore’s magnificent Hunter Valley property at Jerry’s Plain, so it is unsurprising that the stud will be making no fewer than seven of his sons available to antipodean breeders this coming season. Six of the seven – the exception being Fastnet Rock – were bred and raced in the northern hemisphere.
However, it would be foolish to maintain that the best Danehill-line options in Australia nowadays are the imports, with Flying Spur (pictured) and Redoute’s Choice likely to quinella the sires’ premiership. Next in the sires’ table we see Zabeel, Encosta De Lago and the deceased pair Lion Hunter and Danehill. Lion Hunter was an Australian-bred and –raced son of Danehill (from Pure Of Heart, the mare who provided the inspiration for the shuttle experiment: she was exported to Australia in utero, and her racecourse success prompted Coolmore to make her sire Godswalk the first regular shuttler); Zabeel and Encosta De Lago are also antipodean-bred and Australian-raced sons of imported stallions (Sir Tristram and Fairy King).
While there is no denying the quality of the imported sires available to Australian mare-owners, Australian racing and breeding is nowadays so good that it is unlikely that they will ever dominate again. The current season has suggested this, with Zabeel siring the winners of the VRC and AJC Derbys, Flying Spur the winners of the Blue Diamond and Golden Slipper, (the late) Rubiton and Pins the quinella in the Cox Plate, and Encounter the winner of the BMW. Arguably the finest two-year-old has been Strategic’s son Meurice, while the ill-fated He’s No Pie Eater acted as a fine advertisement for his father Canny Lad.
Between them, the imports and the locally-bred sires give Australian mare-owners a superb choice – but it would not be surprising if many breeders decide that being proven under Australian racing conditions could be the deciding factor in selecting who, for their mares, will be first among equals.
(www.thoroughbredinternet.com.au)
No comments:
Post a Comment