For a townie like me those maps in the Stallion register are gold when you re trying to find the likes of Scott Eagleton's property in the hills west of Matamata. After a few roadside stops I managed to find the farm literally as new stallion Tiger Prawn was been led from his box. A medium sized athletic type with a generous barrel and girth he should be popular particularly with those looking to bred to race or trial.
Next stop was Ancroft where we viewed the un-raced full brother to El Segundo in El Hermando. If ever there was a case for seeing a stallion in the flesh rather than in a photo then it's this son of Pins; clearly a more athletic and strongly coloured bay than in his photos, it s not hard to see why he fetched $500,000 as a yearling. Steve Till from Windsor must be acknowledged for showing catching skills worthy of the Black Caps.
It hardly seemed worth moving the car for our next appointment but I'm glad I did; the driveway to the stallion facilities at the old Fieldhouse and Java property next door to Ancroft is a decent stretch. The farm and it's ample facilities are back in good shape and if they are any indication, Stoneybridge Waikato will be around for a while yet.
Ekraar surprised me with his quality - once again he s probably let down by average photography in his promotional material- although I gather not shuttling to the NH this year helped. Not as rangy or coarse as I expected, he s another fine physical example of the emerging Red Ransom sire-line. Mr Nancho is a bull of a horse with some quality in front of the saddle but a little limited behind. Of the rest of the Stoneybridge roster, father time has been kind to Ustinov; the son of Seeking The Gold reminding me why I once rated him one of the more attractive stallions I'd seen.
Waikato Stud around the corner was our next stop and as a farm it s quality never ceases to amaze me - and if it were possible, it just seems to get better. At 1200 acres and with some of the best pasture anywhere in the country, it s value must be enormous.
I was kind of hoping Rios may have suddenly shot up in the height stakes since I last saw him as a three-year-old. Sadly he hadn't, but it still shouldn't deter breeders with the right type of mare; his head and eye and a well developed crop feature in an otherwise excellent physical package.
Across to the other side of town to Rich Hill for the last stop on the day. I covered the Waharoa farms stallion line-up in some detail in a posting this time last year so won't repeat myself. In a nice touch to finish, we were shown half a dozen Any Suggestion yearlings; peas to a pod with nice walks and well developed hindquarters - the pick was a colt from a Pentire full sister to Railway winner Recurring.
In contrast to Saturdays balmy weather, Sunday dawned dark and threatening. Full of saturated fats and tannins from a Saturday night stopover with my mum in Tauranga, I managed to navigate my way down the Kaimai's and across the Matamata plains to Brighthill for the early start.
Eagle Mountain was a pleasant surprise. Taller, with more bone and quality than I had assumed from his racing photos, he s also a nice walking animal. There maybe slightly more Darshan about him than Rock of Gibraltar; something breeders will probably warm to, given that he's the dam sire of High Chaparral.
I hadn't seen Perfectly Ready in the flesh since his third-place finish in the Blue Diamond as a two-year-old. The muscular bodybuilder I saw then has morphed into a less defined individual with the girth and shoulder now of a retired All Black tight forward but he s still a very imposing individual and clearly a superior walker than the other Southern Halo stallion Mr Nancho.
Completing the line-up was Patapan and it wasn't hard to see why Brighthill have had little trouble attracting big books of mares so far to the speedy and durable son of Stravinsky. He s medium sized but stands over a bit of ground for a sprinter. Like his Brighthill barnmates he looks to have a wonderful temperament.
The hallowed manicured surrounds of Cambridge Stud were next. Tavistock paraded first - a very different type to Nom Du Jeu and Guillotine - one can see where he generated his sustained closing speed when you see the elasticity in his walk particularly through the hind legs. I ve seen Zabeel a couple of times in recent years and thought him almost ageless but on Sunday I thought he was looking his 24 years. Hopefully his heated stall and blankets can see him safely through his restricted book of 65 mares this spring.
Chequers was a trip down memory lane - I recall seeing Vice Regal there as a pimply teenager. He s well down on his hocks now and a bit tucked up but stalwart Deputy Governor still looked in pretty decent shape for 26. New boy Battle Paint would have wooed a few breeders. He s quite a big horse, generously barrelled but pretty athletic with an attractive head; built more in the mould of a Trusting than a Tell A Tale. He strikes you as more a three-year-old type than the Group 1 placed juvenile he was. If he leaves stock like himself they won't be hard to trade as youngsters.
It's hard not to share the enthusiasm The Oaks GM Rick Williams has for their latest arrival Roc De Cambes. Showing remarkable constitution for one fresh from the plane and quarantines in Japan and USA, on Sundays performance the son of Red Ransom deserved to have worked his way into the thoughts of breeders looking for a staying orientated sire. RDC looks every bit his listed 16.2 hands but he balances that nicely with good bone and width in his barrel. He s not overly rangy- I guess you could describe him as built like the modern fast stayer - with a very intelligent head and eye.
If there s pressure on Darci Brahma to be the future of our breeding industry it doesn't affect him. It s hard to reconcile but each time I see him there seems to be more quality about the son of Danehill. My pick of the weekend.
Mastercraftsman maybe fully booked for next season but Windsor will have taken bookings for next season based on his Sunday parade. Rarely do you see a big horse move as well as this guy. During his parade he spotted an opportunity to get his front leg over his lead after his handler momentary relaxed the slack and his leg moved quicker than a blink of your eye. Thewayyouare is also an impressive type, shorter coupled and lighter boned than his fellow shuttler, he s thrown quite a bit to his dam sire Sadlers Wells.
It s good for our industry to have three well credentialed sons of Montjeu at stud and all different types. Grey s can put some breeders looking to the sale-ring off but Guillotine has a lot going for him to overcome such a prejudice. He has good bone but retains plenty of athleticism. There s a fair bit of Defensive Play in his physical make-up which makes it all the more surprising he was so well backed for the Golden Slipper of his year.
Last stop for me before heading back up SH1 was Paxton Park. Shinko King was a smaller type than I d envisaged but nicely in proportion with the pronounced wither and arched neck so typical of the Fairy King line however the lasting impression as I drove off into the threatening northern sky was his honest eye.
The crowd which built to a peak of around 120 at The Oaks should have left with plenty of options for their mares. Some trends I thought the weekend may have highlighted: it s hardly new but a continuing move towards more outcross blood - a swing back towards the Mr Prospector sireline through his grandsons and the sourcing of stallions from racing and breeding markets we are not as familiar with, such as Hong Kong, South Africa and Italy.
Thanks to the Waikato branch of the NZTBA for putting on the weekend and a big bouquet for the timeliness of the schedule and the food options at The Oaks were an inventive touch. It doesn't reflect on the organisation but more farms would benefit from a solid surface to walk their stallions. With the inevitable rain around at this time it s odds on that a stallion won't walk for his handler on grass and seeing a stallion walk is important.
