Skilled: Surprisingly Good Value

Looking for value in Australia's saturated stallion market can sometimes feel like searching for a needle in a haystack. One farm with a better reputation than most for delivering breeders value is Darley and their second season sire Skilled (Commands - Dextrous by Quest For Fame) looks well priced this year at a service fee of AUS $6,600.

For a stallion with the record of Commands it's surprising to realise that Skilled is his first group 1 winning son to retire to stud. The winner of the Group 1 AJC Champagne Stakes defeating four group 1 winners; only a nose and a half head seperated Skilled from further group 1 success in the AJC Sires Produce and the Randwick Guineas respectively.

Skilled was retired at the end of his three-year-old season with a record of three wins and seven minor placings from 18 starts for career earnings of AUS $581,000.

Dextrous, the dam of Skilled is a group 2 winning daughter of Quest For Fame. From just five foals of racing age, Dextrous has already left Ambidexter, a full brother to Skilled, who won the Group 2 Theo Marks Stakes and finished runner-up to Fat Al in last year's Group 1 Epsom Handicap. And her two-year-old Exceed And Excell colt Sidestep won this season's Group 2 Pago Pago Stakes and was runner-up in the Group 1 Golden Slipper to Overreach.

Skilled's third dam is a half sister to the great racemare Emancipation. Other prominent members of the family include group one winners Virage De Fortune, Rumya and Railings, as well as recent Group 2 Travis Stakes winner Pimms Time.

Skilled's performances in the proven stallion making cauldron of Australia's two-year-old Triple Crown, combined with a pedigree containing the male line power of Danehill and a quality stakes producing distaff tracing to Emancipation, make him one of the better value for money options in the Australian stallion market this season.

To put it into perspective: what would a winner of a leg of Australia's two-year-old Triple Crown with a commercial pedigree such as Skilled's stand for in N.Z.?

A good friend has acquired a service to Skilled and is interested in doing a foal share for the new season. If anyone would like more information they can email me on john.duncan@ihug.co.nz

More to Come

With the clouds rapidly closing in on another racing season it's timely to reflect on some untapped talent set for brighter lights.

This selection tends to steer away from the obvious exposed horses. Whether it can identify a Mosse, Fix or a Nashville like a similar article last year is a steep challenge, but hopefully one it is up to. 

Ringo (Fastnet Rock - Akris by Zabeel): Considerably more backward than his full sister Planet Rock as a yearling, the three-year-old gelding has sensibly been given plenty of time to mature. That patience looks set to reap real reward next season going by his four start autumn campaign which produced a second on debut to a talented type, followed by three comfortable victories, the second and third wins coming on slow going that he did not look entirely suited by. Should get a strong 2000m.

Sacred Park (Thorn Park - Dosh by Danske): Lovely type not seen since winning impressively on debut at Te Rapa in May on a Heavy 10. Highly regarded by the stable who know a thing or two about preparing young talent. Despite not looking completely at home in the conditions there was a lot to like about the way he applied himself to the task, especially the way he attacked the line late. Could be a genuine guineas candidate.

Remise (Reset - Arlanda by Straight Strike): Franked her second placing to Mosse at her only start last season by beating Diademe when resuming at Tauranga in October. Struck interference at her next two starts, before bolting away with a 1400m contest at Ellerslie in early December. Not seen since. Has a real turn of foot and a pedigree to suggest she can make the transition to stakes company next season.

Thunderbird One (Storm Creek-Lowan Behold by Umatilla): Gifted but headstrong four-year-old gelding who clearly has the ability to win a nice race if he can mature mentally. Unbeaten in four starts for the season despite racing greenly on each occasion. He injured himself when having a brief let-up after winning his last start in November at Te Rapa over 1600m, but is back in training for a new preparation.

Waterford (Darci Brahma - Crystal Hailey by Greinton): Half sister to the talented Veronica Franco, the three-year-old filly may have failed to win this season but placings in the Gold Trail Stakes and 1000 Guineas are testimony to her class and as a tall, leggy individual she gives the impression she maybe subject to greater physical improvement next season than many of her contemporaries. Although she looks and races like a middle distance type, her breeding tends to suggest that she is more comfortable at around 1600m.

Ambitious Champion (Zed - Simply Sally by Sackford): Responsible for two of the better performances on northern tracks during the season, the three-year-old has serious untapped potential. He races like a real stayer and, when ridden accordingly he has shown he can generate a sustained finishing burst which he rolls into rather than noticably changing stride. Exciting staying prospect at 2000m and further who maybe up to a decent Australian handicap in time.

Dillinger (Pins - Raining by Centaine): South Island trained three-year-old who campaigned extensively up north over the summer months. Didn't have the maturity to settle sufficiently when tried over ground, presumably with the Derby in mind, but excelled when reverted to 1400-1600m. Victorious at Ellerslie on Cup day despite sitting three wide for a greater part of the 1600m event, then rounded off season with a strong finishing second at Trentham on Oaks day. Game, athletic son of Pins with the physical scope to improve further at four.

Albany Reunion (Fastnet Rock - Secret Silence by Fusiachi Pegasus): A comfortable winner on debut over 1200m against the older horses despite losing a plate during the running, the three-year-old then defied his 18-1 price with a staggering performance at his second and final start for the season. After racing three wide throughout the entire set weight group 3 1200m event, he only failed by a half a length to run down the pacemaker So Wotif who ended the season our highest rated three-year-old sprinter. Up to winning a Railway or Telegraph in time.

Salamanca (Alamosa - Anca by Howbaddowantit): First season sire Alamosa has made a promising start with five of his eight N.Z starters winning including this colt who is the first foal the former leading sprinting mare Anca. Debuted in early April  and showed good speed to lead from a wide draw and after momentarily looking under pressure on the turn, he came away over the final 200m to record a comfortable win in good time. Taken to Riccarton for the Listed Champagne Stakes at Riccarton, a race which often produces a quality three-year-old, he again showed a lot of courage to win on a very heavy track, defeating amongst others the well regarded Franzac.  From the same family as Ambitious Dragon he adds further depth to an intriguing mix of guineas talent.

Orion (O'Reilly - Alzira by Bertolini): Whether it was the Opie Bosson factor that made the two-year-old colt favourite, but the stable actually favoured their other first starter Genus when both youngsters debuted at Te Rapa in late April. Despite a slow start and interference in the home straight, Orion quickened like a good horse over the final stages to record a comfortable win. Not seen since the current plan is to take the colt to Melbourne this spring with stablemate It's A Dundeel.

Beauty Perception (Zabeel by Sadlers Home by Sadlers Wells):  Full brother to Kelt runner-up Zarius who debuted this season as a four-year-old finishing his first campaign with an encouraging two wins and two placings from seven starts. Not the big type of Zabeel but still looks to have plenty of scope for maturing, so with natural improvement and our older staying ranks low on quality it would be no surprise to see him take a nice handicap from a low position in the weights next season.

Close to making the cut were Fantastic Honour, Esquina, Neena Rock, Dubai Shuffle and Inishmaan.

Reliable Man: Ticks All The Boxes

Kiwi breeders with aspirations to breed classic middle distance type thoroughbreds should be buoyed by news that leviathan Australian breeder Gerry Harvey is close to sealing a deal to stand the Group 1 Prix Du Jockey Club (French Derby) and 2013 Group 1 AJC Queen Elizabeth Stakes winner Reliable Man at his New Zealand base, Westbury Stud at Karaka just south of Auckland.

The son of Dalakhani (Darshaan) also won the Group 2 Prix Niel at 2400m to be the leading French three-year-old stayer of his year. Placed at group 1 and 3 level in France last year as a four-year-old, his best effort came in the Group 1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes over 2400m at Ascot when nosed out of third and less than two lengths from the winner, champion mare Danedream.

Defeated only once in nine starts and Champion Racehorse of Europe as a three-year-old in 2003 when his wins included the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe and the Prix Du Jockey Club, Dalakhani has already built an enviable reputation as a sire, particularly of classic stamina and middle distance types. His five group winners to date include Breeders Cup Turf and King George VI and Queen Elizabeth victor Conduit..

Dalakhani is completely free of Northern Dancer blood. He is a great grandson of Mill Reef through his son Shirley Heights, while his dam is a daughter of Mr Prospectors son Miswaki, also the damsire of Galileo.

Reliable Man's pedigree is a great recipe for classic stamina. His first four male line sires were Derby winners and his granddam Fair Salina, a daughter of Petingo, while winning three Oaks also had the precocity to be Group One-placed at two.

Local breeders may remember Petingo as the sire of the fine stallion Three Legs who did such sterling service, albeit too briefly, at Okawa Stud in the Hawkes Bay during the 1980's. 

A couple of interesting points may help allay any breeders concerned that Reliable Man could fail to impart the essential ingredient of tactical speed in his progeny. His winning Queen Elizabeth time of 2.01.87 was the fastest since 1997 and more significantly, Chris Waller, who clearly is not a graduate of the Coolmore School of Marketing, is apparently on record as saying that with hindsight he feels he could have trained him differently and won his only other Australian start - his lead-in to the Queen Elizabeth - in the Group One George Ryder Stakes over 1500m, instead of running sixth, 1.5 lengths from the winner Pierro.

While Reliable Man may have broken local hearts when he defeated our superstar It's A Dundeel at the recent Sydney Autumn Carnival, the sight of the grey stallion hard held at the top of the Randwick rise before unleashing his relentless driving finish should still be fresh in the minds of local breeders searching for the kind of stallion capable of correcting our increasingly vulnerable reputation for breeding Derby, Oaks and Cup winners.

Footnote: Reliable Man paraded at Karaka on 2 August prior to the Winter Sale. It was difficult to get too much of a feel for him as he paraded rather light having arrived from Australia only a couple of days earlier. He is taller than I imagined him to be, athletic with a prominent wither and intelligent head. Mares with good bone, particularly beneath the knee should suit him well on type.

With just one line of Northern Dancer and one line of Mr Prospector, he is a natural pedigree fit for mares carrying Danehill/Danzig.