Foreign Breeders Keen For More On Their Plate

The Sunday Age

Sunday August 10, 2008

By Tom Reilly

WHEN the ruler of Dubai paid almost half a billion dollars for the Woodland's bloodstock business in March, the deal was described as a huge vote of confidence in Australian racing and breeding.

Another, albeit less obvious, fillip came this week in the form of 11 foreign entries for the Cox Plate.

Although the Moonee Valley showpiece has attracted nine foreign runners in the past decade, none of those horses has matched the quality of gallopers nominated for this year's event.

Most exciting is news that Aidan O'Brien - Europe's most successful current trainer - has pencilled in the race for seven of his stable stars, including three-year-old Henrythenavigator and Duke Of Marmalade, one year his senior. Both are unbeaten this season, having collected four group 1s, and both are rated the best of their age in Europe.

While the Cox Plate is worth $1.8 million to the winner, the real financial carrot for owners of top European colts is in the breeding shed. Thoroughbred horse sales in Australia are booming and many international players want a piece of the action. Of those players, perhaps the biggest is Irish-based Coolmore, which controls all the horses in O'Brien's yard.

"There's no doubt that if one of Aidan's colts were to . . . win the Cox Plate, it would make that horse a lot more valuable when it starts its stallion career," said Michael Kirwan, manager of Coolmore's Hunter Valley property in NSW.

The sums involved are massive. Coolmore Australia's top stallion, Encosta De Lago, will set breeders back $302,000 per mare when the season starts next month. And because the northern and southern hemisphere breeding seasons don't clash, stallions are often shuttled from one hemisphere to another to earn their owners extra income. This year, 45 stallions have been flown from Europe and America to stand in Australia.

John Messara, head of Arrowfield Stud and one of the pioneers of shuttling, believes the Cox Plate could be used as a vehicle to push future stallions.

"Some breeders are put off using shuttle stallions because their form was in a different country. Traditionally, some of these stallions just haven't worked because our style of racing and our conditions are quite different to Europe or the US," he said. "Any fears about whether the progeny of a shuttle stallion will do well here would definitely be allayed if the sire raced well in a race like the Cox Plate. Unlike the Melbourne or Caulfield cups . . . the Plate is contested by horses which are more likely to become top stallions."

Coolmore has already proved a master of managing horses' careers to further their value. Last year, it paid a reported $22.5 million for a half-share in top Australian galloper Haradasun and, almost immediately, he was flown to O'Brien's stable in Ireland to be prepared for a European campaign. When he won a group 1 at Royal Ascot, he was retired immediately.

"We knew that to make him really attractive to breeders in Europe he'd have to win something there," Kirwan said.

"And once he proved himself top-class there, we brought him back to start his stud career here."

But without the recent boom in Australian breeding, it's unlikely European owners would be considering races at the Spring Carnival for their stallion prospects.

One stud manager, who asked not to be named, told The Sunday Age: "Should a top European horse win the Cox Plate or a top race over a mile here, you would immediately add $20,000-30,000 per cover on their initial stud fee.

"It's conceivable that they could then cover anywhere up to 200 mares in a season, so that's anywhere between an extra $4-6 million a year. Add it up over three years and it's obvious why these races may soon be getting a fair few more entries from Europe."

Historically, stallion fees in Australia have been lower than in the northern hemisphere, though that has dramatically changed in recent years. The international racing manager for Racing Victoria, Leigh Jordon, who toured Europe's leading trainers last month to encourage entries at the Spring Carnival, acknowledges Australia's improved standing has made his job easier.

"There's no doubt that our breeding scene is going from strength to strength and that this has helped to promote our big races," he said. "With great prizemoney on the track and our bloodstock selling so well, it's a very attractive place to have runners."

© 2008 The Sunday Age

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