VANCOUVER – winner of the world’s richest juvenile race the Golden Slipper Stakes-G1 in 2015, began his serving season on September 1 2016, and by the end of June 2017 he had covered an amazing 360 mares in two hemispheres.
According to statistics supplied by the Australian Stud Book, Vancouver, an Australian bred son of Medaglia d’Oro, was the busiest of the shuttle sires to the northern hemisphere in 2017. The northern hemisphere stud season runs from January to June, with stallions’ covering duties beginning from early to mid February.
Standing at Coolmore Stud at Jerrys Plains in Australia, before shuttling to Coolmore’s Kentucky base at Ashford Stud in America, Vancouver served 166 mares in Kentucky at a fee of $US15,000 in the first half of 2017.
His Australian stable companion Pride Of Dubai served the second highest of these type of stallions covering 158 mares, but that was at Coolmore Stud’s Irish breeding base at Fethard in Ireland. A total of 19 shuttle stallions to the northern hemisphere last year, which included nine Australian-bred horses, covered 100 or more mares underlying the increasing acceptance and popularity of breeders in that region using our top class sires.
Darley stallion duo Epaulette and Helmet (standing at Godolphin at Kelvinside in the Hunter Valley, and Northwood in Victoria, respectively) were popular with northern hemisphere breeders with Commands horse Epaulette serving 154 at Godolphin’s Kildangan Stud in Ireland, while Helmet covered 150 mares at Dalham Hall, England.
Helmet commands 12,000 pounds a service fee, while Epaulette 7000 Euros, and both are scheduled to return for the 2018 northern hemisphere stud season. Well-travelled regular Australian-bred shuttler Fastnet Rock, served 133 mares at his northern hemisphere base of Coolmore Stud, Ireland, last year. The champion Australian sire by Danehill is fast approaching a crowning achievement of siring 100 stakes winners.
According to statistics supplied by the Australian Stud Book, Vancouver, an Australian bred son of Medaglia d’Oro, was the busiest of the shuttle sires to the northern hemisphere in 2017.
Spirit Of Boom the leader
BRING on the Magic Millions million-dollar juvenile race at the Gold Coast next week with first crop progeny by Spirit Of Boom rocketing into calculations with two successful doubles at the Gold Coast followed by a stakes winning double at Doomben.
Ef Troop and Outback Barbie won their respective gender division races the $100,000 Cascade Phelan Ready Stakes-LR and Canadian Club Calaway Gal Stakes-LR. Gelding, Ef Troop bounced to the front and never looked like being headed when winning by over five lengths.
Both two-year-olds are prepared at Eagle Farm by Tony Gollan, with both Magic Millions graduates and both coming from the draft of the McAlpine family’s Eureka Stud. Filly, Holdin’ My Own (a $20,000 Magic Millions March Yearling Sale graduate) and debut starter Bold Auroa were the Spirit Of Boom Gold Coast winning double.
The Cambooya located Eureka Stud is also home of Spirit Of Boom, a son of deceased champion Queensland sire Sequalo (a son of the imported Thatch linesire Rustic Amber). The 2018 Magic Millions Yearling Sale contains a full-brother to Ef Troop, a Pierro half-sister to Outback Barbie, and a Spirit Of Boom three-quarter-brother to placed Brinkmanship (all from Eureka Stud) among the 11 entries at the auction which is scheduled to begin next Wednesday.
Following in early February there are another seven Spirit Of Boom lots listed for Inglis’ Classic Yearling Sale at their new Riverside Stables complex at Warwick Farm.
Australia prominent in Hong Kong
AUSTRALIA took centre stage in some of the results among the Group one majors at the mega-millions international Hong Kong races at Sha Tin last month.
Making it three in a row, Mr Stunning fought off his opposition to win the Longines Hong Kong Sprint 1200 metres (worth about $AUS3.7m) to make it success for an Australian-bred galloper.
While a $NZ250,000 purchase from the Karaka Yearling Sales in New Zealand, the gelding who is by the Godolphin owned champion sire Exceed and Excel, had sold the previous year for $110,000 from Inglis’ Great Southern Weanling Sale.
Champion international Irish trained galloper Highland Reel took the Hong Kong International Vase 2400 metres after winning the same race two years ago.
His final career race the son of Galileo now bows out a winner boosting his earnings to about $13.2m, to become the highest earning European trained horse in history. Retiring to his owners’ Coolmore Stud in Ireland, Highland Reel can be recalled to finishing third to Winx at her first of three W S Cox Plate-G1 victories.
A six-year-old stallion, Highland Reel was produced from Australian bred Danehill mare Hveger, a full-sister to Group 1 winning gallopers Elvstroem and Haradasun all being produced from AJC Australian Oaks-G1 winner Circles Of Gold (by champion Marscay). While a half-brother to VRC Oaks runner-up Valdemoro (Encosta de Lago), Highland Reel also has a year-younger brother, Idaho, who is an English Group two and three winner, and who was also placed in the Irish and English Derbies.
