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Adam Sangster's Swettenham Stud at Nagambie in Victoria has a connection with two recent winners of the prestigious Royal Ascot sprint, the Golden Jubilee.
They are the Victorian bred Bel Esprit World Champion Sprinter Black Caviar, the mare who retained her unbeaten record when she won this year's renewal of the race, and Soldier's Tale, the American who triumphed in a 21-runner field in 2007, one including Australian visitors Takeover Target, Magnus and Miss Andretti.
Swettenham's connection with Black Caviar lies in the fact that they prepared and sold her for $210,000 at the Melbourne sales for near neighbouring breeder, Rick Jamieson's Gilgai Farm.
Soldier's Tale, a son
of Nureyev's record scorching Cambridge Stud, New Zealand shuttling sprinter
Stravinsky, on the other hand, is a resident in their stallion yards tipped to
be one of a number of sires that will make the Adam Sangster reinvigorated
Swettenham stud one of the most formidable in Australia.
Raced eight times for four wins, including the Jubilee, a second, two thirds and a closing fourth as equal favourite in the Newmarket July Cup, Soldier's Tale was Timeform's second top European trained sprinter in 2005 and their best for 2007. He did not race in 2006.
Although Soldier's Tale, a good type of a16.1 hands chestnut, has had his first crop 2-year-olds in the year now coming to an end, he has only had eight runners, the busiest of which has been the Perth trained Fine Copper. Her six starts have included four successive appearances at Perth's Ascot which resulted in a win, neck second, third and fifth of 16 in the Group 2 Karrakatta Plate.
A sign that Soldier's Tale is heading for a good year with his first 3-year-olds was wins by two of his unraced offspring in trials at Cranbourne on June 25.They were Heroic Tale, a colt who spreadeagled the field in scoring by margins of 4.0 lengths and 2.5 lengths, and Fishtale, a filly who beat her nearest rival by 2.0 lengths.
On the day following the trial winners by Soldier's Tale, there was an encouraging sign for the future of another young sire who Sangster has imported in his bid to boost Swettenham as a Victorian stud of national consequence. It was the win in a strongly competitive race at Moruya on the NSW south coast of Zuccherina, a juvenile filly in the first crop of Host, a Group1 performer in three countries, Chile (Champion at 2 and 3), The United States (won Shadwell Turf Mile, Knickerbocker Handicap) and Dubai (fourth in the Duty Free).
Produced on the same cross that resulted in Patinack Farm's boom sire Husson, the leading first season sire by winners and second on earnings, Host is a Chilean bred son of Hussonet (USA) (by Mr. Prospector) and Colonna Traiana, a mare by the great South American sire Roy (grandson of Mr. Prospector).
Also represented by first crop 2-year-olds in 2011-12, Host has shown good promise as a sire with two winners, Zuccherina and Flying Hostess (two starts, third Sandown, won Ballarat), and also Host With The Most (three starts, second Port Lincoln, third Morphettville) and Genghis (three outings include a second at Wodonga and a third last week at Werribee).
Expected bigger exposure in the new racing year is tipped to see both Soldier's Tale and Host, remarkable value for young sires with their qualifications at their early bird fees of $5,000 each, including GST, make a good impact.
In fact Swettenham looks set have its most successful year with its sires as sources of winners since the stud came into Adam Sangster's ownership. Also contributing is certain to be the established sires Dash for Cash (fee $6,600) and Bianconi (USA) ($6,600), both among the top twenty leading sires by winners for 2011-12.
It is also likely that there will be some smart performers in the first crop of 2-year-olds by their Danzero sprinter Kaphero, another Swettenham sire on $5,000.
All told Swettenham have seven sires for the 2012 season, the other two being the second season shuttler Equiano (FR) (fee $13,000), a Champion English sprinter who won the Royal Ascot King's Stand Stakes twice, and newcomer Master of Design ($12,500), a 2012 Group1 Randwick sprint winner by Redoute's Choice.
All the fees mentioned are in Swettenham's Early Bird facility, one available for the first fifty bookings for each sire.
Brian Russell Bloodstock Media
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