Innehållsförteckning för May 2022 från Turf Monthly

Grunt stands at Yulong Stud and is another stallion who is aimed at taking that establishment to the forefront of Australian breeding. They have made a major impact on Australian racing, but that does not ensure success in the breeding barn. Grunt represents that racetrack success, winning two Group 1 races, but his pedigree is not one that would immediately attract the interest of every breeder. The colt was bred and raised in NZ but was trained by Mick Price in Victoria. He had his first race start on 20 May 2017 in a 2yo race at Flemington over 1400m. He was to run third behind two other Kiwis in Aloisia and Salsamor who were to both go on and earn black type. Aloisia in particular was to run second…

Spearhead is one of the great sons of Spearmint, but his place in history has always underestimated his importance. For some reason, his stud career was overshadowed by his best son Spearfelt who dominated headlines, while his illustrious sire was underappreciated, even being sold at what should have been the pinnacle of his career. He was a reasonably well credentialled racehorse in the UK winning the Chippenham Stakes and running second in the April Stakes at Newmarket. Spearhead was a son of Baroness La Fleche, by Ladas, who was a good 2yo winning the Acorn Stakes. At stud not only did she produce Spearhead but also the One Thousand Guineas and Coronation Stakes winner, Cinna. Cinna was to go on to produce the stallion Beau Pere who won the Chesterfield…

In the space of a couple of minutes in March, Fireburn became one of the most expensive fillies in the world. Her Golden Slipper win now puts her alongside champions like Miss Finland, Merlene, Burst, Bounding Away and others. While she may not go on to match the feats of these greats on the track, she will be given similar opportunity at stud. Stallion owners will be lining up to attract her to their charges, unless of course she is sold to one of the major breeders. Unlike many of the runners in the Golden Slipper, she did not go through the sales ring. She was bred by Laurel Oak Bloodstock and partners who owned her sire, Rebel Dane, and purchased her dam, Mull Over with the intention of sending…

Chicle was bred by Harry Payne Whitney and foaled in France in 1913. Whitney was a prominent sportsman and capitalist making his fortune in banking and mining. The colt was sent to the US just prior to the outbreak of WW1. He was something of a slow developer, hitting his best form late in his 2yo season winning the Champagne Stakes over 7 furlongs (1400m) for trainer James Rowe.As a 3yo, Chicle won the Brooklyn Derby which was later to be known as the Dwyer Stakes. Chicle’s career was curtailed by a nasty temperament, and he had a reputation for viciousness. Nonetheless he stood at Whitney’s stud where he covered the best mares that Whitney had collected, propelling him to the top of the US Sires List in 1929. Among…

Many mare owners will probably discard Prized Icon from their list of potential suitors by the simple fact that he is a Derby winner. Certainly in recent times, Derby winners have not had a great record at stud, but this is a broad generalisation that hardly does justice to the longevity of the breed. We often hear of races that are stallion making races but what happens in reality is that success in these races determines opportunity which is after all, probably the key to any chances of success. The Derby win of Prized Icon seems to have overshadowed his success in the Champagne Stakes, a race that would normally have seen him among the most popular stallion prospects. The honour roll of that race includes horses like Pierro, Baguette,…

Cyklon is a largely forgotten son of Spearmint but one with an intriguing history. He was born in England in 1910 and, as we have seen regularly, this was a period of turmoil in that country which saw thoroughbred prices heavily impacted. As a result, many good British horses found their way to Australia, and Cyklon was to become one of these. But it was not only Australians that took advantage of British breeding, and Count Lehndorff purchased some mares that year for the Imperial Graditz Stud in Germany. Among those he obtained was a mare called Cyanean who had a Spearmint colt at foot that was later to be known as Cyklon. He did not race until he was a 3yo, but Cyklon was put into training by R…

The Trump and Rivette are rated among the weakest of the horses that have won the famed Cups double. Both did little outside of their Cups winning season, although Rivette was the salvation of her owner Harry Bamber who had suffered badly through the Depression to see Rivette restore his fortunes. The first horse to ever win the double was Poseidon in 1906, making it a long wait until The Trump repeated the dose. As it was only two years later that Rivette took the double, it is unsurprising that the two have been linked in history. Their records pale against that of Posiedon who had won the AJC and VRC Derbies and was to win the Caulfield Cup the following year. In all he was to win 16 stakes…