BEACH work and swimming has been on the agenda for the welcome return to racing for last season’s promising three-year-old Hellbent, who is back on the campaign trail with leading trainer Darren Weir at his Warrnambool base east of Melbourne.
Winning as a late two-year-old in Sydney, Hellbent began his three-year-old season by winning at Rosehill before finishing third in the Brian Crowley Stakes-LR at Randwick in the spring last year. Hellbent then highlighted again in Sydney when he finished second in Randwick’s Inglis Sprint last December, before taking the Inglis Dash down the straight at Flemington early this year.
The four-year-old stallion is now advancing to stakes success in Melbourne this spring, and in good news for Yarraman Park, he is marked for future stud duties at the Scone breeding property. Produced from the dual-winning New Zealand-bred Volksraad mare Volkaspray, Hellbent is by Yarraman Park’s leading young sire I Am Invincible, already sire of 12 stakes winners including Group 1 winning globe-trotter Brazen Beau, now commanding a $44,000 service fee at stud in Victoria.
I Am Invincible isn’t Yarraman Park’s only sire forging ahead. His stable companion is Australian-bred Fastnet Rock son Hinchinbrook, whose fee has risen to $38,500 due to his early stud success.
Hinchinbrook is also now represented with sons at stud, including his dual group 1 winner Press Statement at nearby Vinery Stud. Bred and raced by Queensland enthusiast, Francois Naude, Hinchinbrook has sired six stakes winners.
A highly promising three-year-old gelding by Hinchinbrook is The Virginian, trained by Toby Edmonds at the Gold Coast. Bred and raced by Stuart Ramsey, owner and operator of Turangga Stud, Scone, The Virginian has had four starts for two wins and a third in one of Australia’s most prestigious sprints, the recent $1.5 million Stradbroke Handicap-G1 at Eagle Farm.
Proven sires bookend stallion tender scheme
PROVEN sires of winners Ad Valorem, based at Cangon, Dungog, and Zariz, based at Kooringal Stud, Wagga Wagga, alphabetically bookend the list of 20 sires involved in the Australian Thoroughbred Breeders Club’s (ATBC) annual stallion tender scheme.
Headquartered on the Hawkesbury racecourse grounds, the ATBC has been conducting its stallion tender scheme now for 32 years.
A major inclusion to this year’s list includes Emirates Park’s outstanding Danehill horse Al Maher, a sire of more than 32 stakes winners including recent champion three-year-old filly Delicacy and juvenile colt Almalad.
