SWETTENHAM STUD STALLION ROSTER LOOKING FOR SOME TWEAKING

Adam Sangster has for a long time been on the lookout for the right miler (middle distance) horse to compliment his diverse stallion line up at Swettenham Stud.

Not so long ago he mooted High Chaparral to a host of Victorian breeding identities and their comments were recorded for posterity. Interestingly, there was some very positive feedback, however the minority proved the majority and Adam now looks back and wonders what may have been, given the arrival of such great 3YO’s from this stallion; who literally dominated the Spring races in Melbourne in 2009.

Adam’s marketing, sales and bloodstock manager Ian Rimington was adamant “if the right horse with extra stamina can be sourced that offers breeders the pedigree and type required in our sales rings; then that horse can be a wonderful addition to the breeding ranks at Swettenham Stud and will herald a new chapter in the already fast developing Victorian Breeding industry”.

In the meantime we can only wonder who might have said on High Chaparral:
     » How good a steeplechase sire would he be? A high class 1.5 mile horse on heavy ground. Very hard to
        fill at $30k

      » Sensational horse would struggle. His type is a concern – plain and angular. Limited market in Victoria for this
         type of horse. Even at $25k would be unsure of support for him.

Editor:

     » How much weight will be attached to industry pundits comments next time when assessing a stamina horse.

      » A pundit is described as somebody who expresses an opinion (a critic or authority on a subject); somebody
        wise (with knowledge and wisdom). Surely we all know plenty of them.

SWETTENHAM STAFF SET HIGH STANDARDS

Management is one of the key factors in any stud achieving high fertility rates. Swettenham Stud with an experienced team led by Alan Morton (who has been with Swettenham for over 16 years) and with the services of full time on farm veterinarian Dr. John Hurley (who has a similar time at the Nagambie property) have just the right people to spearhead this important aspect of the breeding cycle.

It therefore comes as little surprise that the on farm fertility rate for the mares covered stands at 95% for the just completed 2009 breeding season. 240 mares visited Swettenham as residents to be served by our stallions during the season. It is pleasing that there are now many happy breeders with their mare sent home early and in foal.
Note: Breeders need to be sure that they are utilizing their broodmare (asset) effectively each season by getting the maximum number of foals from that mare and having her time away from home reduced to a minimum. In this way they will increase the profitability of their personal breeding venture.

Editor: I recently attended the AI seminar in Sydney and one of the glaring points made by the speakers was that AI was only successful when the right management procedures were in place. The success or otherwise of the Federal Court challenge brought by Bruce McHugh is yet to be determined, but Swettenham Stud is certainly well placed if it becomes a part of the breeding landscape. Anyone wanting to see a report on this can go to: http://formguide.cyberhorse.com.au/index.php/2010020241178/Industry/the-great-ai-debate.html

MELBOURNE PREMIER SALES – Excellent Draft and New Marquee Arrangements

The Swettenham Stud Melbourne Premier
Yearling draft is another quality lineup for
the 2010 yearling sale on March 1st to 4th.
Yearlings will arrive at the Oakland’s
Junction sales complex on Thursday 25th
and be able available for inspection on that
day after lunch.

The Swettenham Stud draft always
deserves inspection and this year is no
exception with the following yearlings for
sale (see advert). With the very recent
gem we sold being Black Caviar we can expect to see all and sundry over the
lead up days.

In 2010 we are stabled next to Lindsay Park Stud and Fulmen Park, so together with these two farms we have decided to band together and run the marquee jointly. We trust this will add to your experience
at the sales and allow you to inspect our
three drafts with a minimum of fuss. We
look forward to introducing you to Sam
Hayes, Boo Harvey, Brian Gurry and
Lee Powell from these two quality farms.

HORSES TO FOLLOW

Swettenham Stud stallion’s horses to follow has focused on many winners in previous editions and horses from the Christmas edition were no exception. Only three horses were featured and they have won 4 races since the newsletter. So this time we will go with 8 horses:

      » The Dash For Cash 3YO Our Baby Bonus should remain in the stable to watch as he is a very exciting          thoroughbred although he has just gone for a spell. Hide N’Dash after two wins in a row at Saturday
         Provincials came to Sydney town last week and put the writing on the wall with a big effort for second. Follow.

      » The Bianconi 4YO Light Tan can head to town now. Nicconi who resumed in the Lightning on Saturday should          be even better suited at Flemington down the straight 1200m track. In my opinion he would run an exceptional          mile, but why try when he sprints so well fresh. Be wary at MV over 1200m.

      » The Court of Jewels filly Adaline looks likely to mount a very serious challenge for the NZ 3YO Filly of the Year          as shown with her run on Saturday. Freshened up after winning the Group 2 2000m Royal Stakes at Ellerslie          Adaline came back to the mile in a Group 3 event. She was out sprinted but her target is the NZ Oaks so
         stick with her.

      » The Keep The Faith 2YO In Faith was very impressive
         and it will be interesting to see if he can make it into
         stakes company. Certainly on the acceleration from the
         barriers on debut he is worth following at his
         next couple of starts.

      » The Hold That Tiger pair of Apprehend and Play The Fool
         are two to watch. The Vasil trained Apprehend is racing in
         rare form and has been up a long while (19 starts this
         preparation). He looks a treat and is worth following in the
         Launceston Cup if he continues to that race while the filly
         Play The Fool has her foot right on the till for her maiden win.

ROBERT SANGSTER SPONSORED SCHOLARSHIP WINNER IN IRELAND

The Robert Sangster Scholarship winner Courtney Horwood (daughter of former Collingrove Stud master Ian Horwood) leaves on February 6th for a six month work placement at the Irish National Stud.

Courtney is a very accomplished horse person and will be sorely missed at the yearling sales. However, she is very deserving of the award which was available to all Wangaratta TAFE Horse Studies students. We are very confident she will enjoy the experience immensely and look forward to having her back in time for the 2010 stud season.

ALSO TRAVELLING

Hold That Tiger has been snapped up for Northern Hemisphere duties in 2010. He is again off to France after being there in 2008. The quality of his foals saw the French Stud – Haras De La Haie Neuve keen to get him back for this season.

In the just completed Northern Hemisphere season Hold That Tiger ran third on the US Third Seasons Sire’s Premiership by earnings and was a runaway winner by Individual winners in the 2009 season.

Interestingly he has 60% winners to runners; 7% stakes horses to runners; A$10m earnings and his biggest crop as yearlings (84) so HTT still has plenty to offer in this hemisphere. His latest stakes winner came on Jan 30th 2010 when HOLD THAT PROSPECT careered away at Aqueduct to win the Correction Stakes by an ever increasing margin of 7.5 lengths over the 1200m on the inner track. She has now won 12 races and over A$340k.

STALLION UPDATES

Bianconi was fast out of the gates this season and had 39 individual Australian winners by the end of October (ie the first 3 months) to Dash For Cash with 25 in Australia only.

Now at the end of January (after 6 months) Bianconi has 70 Individual Australian winners and Dash For Cash has moved on to 45 winners. To put some perspective on these figures it is interesting that Encosta De Lago has 72 winners from 243 starters (29.6% W/R this season) and Dash for Cash has 45 winners from 130 starters (34.6%).

Obviously In Faith’s metropolitan 2YO win in Adelaide was outstanding. However, it will be long remembered as the first winner for Keep The Faith the exciting son of Sunday Silence. The win inspired a host of positive comments on other good 2YO’s in a variety of trainers stables at various stages of training. The future looks bright for them.

The best updates are to be seen on our web page www.swettenham.com.au under latest winners or check the excel spreadsheet that can be downloaded from the site with all stallions latest winners. See the following as an example:

      23-01-2010 Bertonic
      By Bianconi from Lady Madeleine(by Hector Protector (USA))
      Betfair Park A$70k Rtng 0-72 1400m
      Just got up at 2nd run this time in. Has won 3 from 10 but always looks liked making into a good horse. Watch       next assignment with interest can win a good country Cup or similar.

      23-01-2010 Dreaming Cash
      By Dash For Cash from Land of Dreams(by Kenvain)
      Gold Coast A$12k Cl4 1400m
      Big drop in class and went around odds on for a confidence boosting win. Now won 4 and tough sort as
      graduated through Ready To Run Sale. Next time in town with a barrier.

      23-01-2010 Dances With Tigers
      By Hold That Tiger from Odori (USA)(by The Minstrel (CAN))
      Sunland Park US$20k Clm 1600m Dirt
      Settled 5th about 5L adrift until the half mile when took off after leaders. Led into straight and kicked clear for a       convincing 5L victory. Owners caught out as was claimed. Bye Bye.

      22-01-2010 Our Baby Bonus
      By Dash For Cash from Mother To Be (NZ)(by Dance Floor (USA))
      Moonee Valley A$80k 3YO Hcp 1000m
      Drew the outside and forced to work hard across field and outside leader. Showed he is a good horse to
      drive clear in the straight and complete 3 wins from 3 starts. Very good.

      22-01-2010 Feigning
      By Bianconi from Hellespont(by Snippets)
      Mornington A$12k F&M Mdn 1223m
      2nd Bianconi winner for Mr Martini trainer Leon Corstens in two days. Needless to say he likes the breed, he is       down as an owner, so family affair. Hopefully, many more in store.

      20-01-2010 Sunset Cafe
      By Bianconi from Café Del Mar(by Encosta de Lago)
      Geelong A$15k Mdn 1418m
      2nd start, off debut 3rd and jumped in distance; so pleasing win all considered. Will continue to improve
      with racing and age like most of sire's stock. Raced by good stud supporters.

      20-01-2010 Hold That Conquest
      By Hold That Tiger from Chiffon Lady(by Ifrad (USA))
      Morphettville A$8k Mdn 2044m
      Followed up good Saturday second placing in 3YO hcp (no 180/1 this time on Betfair). On last run should have       been odds on but started $3.50. Strong win will make a stayer.

      19-01-2010 Light Tan
      By Bianconi from Voodalou(by Voodoo Rhythm (USA))
      Warrnambool A$12k Rtng 0-68 1400m
      Third win from six starts and will graduate to city via Adelaide one suspects. Very good win with 58.5kgs
      by over 3L and eased down. Nice horse, good trainer, follow.