STALLION SPOTLIGHT #6 - SUCCESS FOR ALL

Welcome back to another instalment of my Stallion Spotlight series and after a wonderful flight back from Australia, (Business Class is the only way to fly!) I am now closer to home and visiting the recently established Pumpkin Pastures, which is on the boundary line between Worcestershire and Herefordshire at the foot of the Malvern Hills,

Here comes Luke Griffiths, the owner of this stud. Morning Luke and thanks for letting me visit. Good morning to you too Nancy, and thank you for coming.

Luke, can you tell me a little bit about the stud and what the grounds consist of? Of course, whilst we may not be up there with the likes of Whisperwood etc we like it! The farm consists of a mixture of open hills and woodland, and there is a section of the gallops runs alongside a well maintained pumpkin patch that regularly throws up award winning produce (not to mention the contents of a very fine pie).

Mmm I can agree with the pie statement! Lets get down to the serious business of my visit – Success For All, your foundation stallion. Can you tell us all a little bit about him? Well he is by Affirmed Success out of All Along by Targowice and his race record was $1,706,000 from 39 races, with 8 wins and 13 places. Not the greatest of records but a solid performer on his day and he was a fantastic all rounder. His AR claimed he could run on any type of surface at any distance between 5 and 12 furlongs and this was proven to be the case during his career. There hasn’t been much quicker out of the gates than him in the game and he was remarkably consistent in his efforts on the track. I’m glad to see that that consistency has passed over into his breeding career (he has produced some very attractive AR’s). I’m not sure how much of his achievements are down to his tendency to nibble on the pumpkins that grow alongside our stables gallops (hmm magic pumpkins?). He is a steady horse to breed with, no flashy histrionics in the shed and just a good guy generally (again the pumpkins probably help!).

I cant blame his obsession for pumpkins, having tasted your home grown stuff! What is his fee this year. Success is standing for a fairly reasonable $5000 until his foals hit the track and start cleaning up and then I will feel obliged to up the price (greed, it’s a terrible thing.

How many mares did he cover last season? Just 4, with two homebreds and one each for Sunset Ranch and Whisperwood. He also got 3 colts from that and we managed to get the only filly so hopefully the line will continue.

If you had to recommend a type of mare for your stallion, what would it be, considering he seemed to not have a preference in his racing days. Ah ha! Here lies his greatest strength. His AR states that he “prefers” all surfaces except mud which is “ok”. He proved this during his career with equally strong performances on dirt and turf. His AR also states that he can run anywhere between 5 and 12 furlongs and he was very successful between 5 and 9 furlongs. Unfortunately I never tried him over 9 furlongs as he was producing results below that and at the time I was a stable in its first year and was mostly interested in gaining some wealth, rather than seeing the extent of my best horse’s ability. Anyhow, I believe that this versatility makes him a great prospect for a large number of mares. So pretty much any type of mare for any surface or distance! He isnt fussy!

As he seems to be a very versatile type of stallion and mares of all types will be flocking to him, what kind of offspring do you think will be running? Again, I believe he will produce a wide variety of distances and surfaces and if you’re lucky an all rounder like their Dad. I expect that his foals will be able to compete at the highest level as did Success For All.

If you had to compare your stallion to a real life stallion, who would it be and why? Hmm, that’s tough! I think I’m going to pass on that question for now!

What do you see the future of your stallion to be – staying with you and establishing your stud as a good supplier of horses, or maybe just standing him for a few seasons to see what type he throws. He is very much my flagship and foundation stallion. He got the results when I first started playing and established me financially in the game. He was the very first horse I picked from Endless Vista Stables and therefore the first into my stable. He will never be sold and I intend to fill my stalls with his progeny, and anyone else’s that are interested.

What more can I say than its been a pleasure and an honour Luke, to be your guest and I hope that Success For All has plenty of “success” with his progeny. My pleasure Nancy, and please let everyone know that I have plenty of spots left for him this season.

Well that’s the end of another wonderful visit to a valued member of the game. Next up it’s a triple header with the renowned stable of Port Pirie! Catch you all later!

Stallion Spotlight #5 - MISSY'S BRIDLE

G’day readers, can you guess where I am today?! Well for those of you who don’t like playing guessing games I can tell you I have crossed the international date line and am currently resident in the town of Sydney , in the wonderful country of Australia. My series takes me to Golden Acres, established about 5 years ago and now one of the leading breeding operations in the game. The stud farm is on the outskirts of town but also close to the beaches which we have heard is where Steve Wilman, the stud owner, brings a lot of the horses on the farm down to splash!

Here he is – Hi Steve! Nancy, g’day and welcome to the home of Missy’s Bridle. Let me just snap his shank lead on for a moment and put him out in his pasture. Right where shall we start?

No time to waste hey Steve, I like it! Lets start at the beginning. Can you tell me the pedigree of Missy’s Bridle? I sure can Nancy. He is sired by the fabulous stallion Unbridled and is out of the unbeaten Missy’s Mirage (14-14-0-0) and, as you can see is a stunning chestnut with the biggest white face on the farm! His white nostrils won a few races I can tell you *wink*

Wow you are right – much more white on him that I first saw, with his two socks and coronets on each leg he would fit the old saying “four white legs keep him to the end”! So true Nancy so true, he is my star and there isn’t enough money around to make him leave this place. He is a great horse to be around, he has his quirks like all the best and is never far from his stable companion, a goat called Finbar. Whilst I wouldn’t say he is a total gentlemen in his stall, I can forgive him the odd nip and kick here and there, but in the breeding shed he is all focus and his handler reckons “MB” has to be one of the most professional stallions he has ever been around.

I am sure you could forgive him anything! What is his current fee? $20,000 at the moment which we think is a bargain considering that he has sired one of the hottest 2yr old colts around at the moment in RunMissyRun, who also runs for our stable.

Sounds extremely reasonable Steve and a good price to get a quick return on. How many mares did he cover last season? 12 and he consistently has an almost full book in each of the 3 seasons he has stood. Most of the mares were from outside stables and I am pleased to say most return each year.

Steve, if you had to recommend a type of mare for your stallion, what would it be considering that he gets such a large book. I would say probably a mare who was effective at or about 8f up but as for track types there doesn’t seem to be any preference but I would hesitate to send a mare who had a preference for the very shortest of trips.

As he now has three crops on the ground and more importantly representative on the track, what are the results so far? He has had one crop race and they are still only 2yr olds so I can’t really tell but from his 2 winners to date, my own foal (RunMissyRun) has won over $1million but I will have a better idea when all the foals from his first crop have hit the track and probably know even more after they run as 3yr olds. I personally like to breed a horse that will mature after its 2yr old days, so anything they do as 2yr olds I consider a bonus and then focus on their “derby” year.

If you had to compare your stallion to a real life stallion, who would it be and why? Not sure physically who he reminds me off but as for his performance as a sire I would have to say REDOUTE’S CHOICE who also sired a Golden Slipper winner in his first crop. If MB can copy this great stallion then I will be a very happy Aussie!

Where do you see Missy’s Bridle in the future of Golden Acres? Moving on or being the start of the revolution? I will be keeping him for quite awhile Nancy. He has thrown me a lot of good looking foals and from his 1st crop has sired a few winners and placegetters that have so far earned just over $2,000,000 and without him there may well not have been a Golden Acres to come to talk to. We owe him a lot.

I can see that you love him to bits and no wonder. And on that note Steve I am going to have to leave you and find my next “victim” sorry, interviewee but I have to express my gratitude to you for taking the time out to talk to me and our readers and look forward with interest to the offspring of your horse.

Thanks Nancy for letting me share this with you and the Rag readers. If anyone wants to breed to MB this season tell them to drop me a line and I will book them a place, but if they are a new stable I am sure that something can be arranged if they are a little short on cash.

I hope you all enjoyed that visit to “Down Under” and my next article will be from the “home” country – and focusing on Success For All, who stands at Pumpkin Pastures.