‘He could be that next life changing stallion for us’ – Armidale Stud welcomes Bodyguard to 2025 roster
In an exciting coup for the Tasmanian breeding industry, Armidale Stud have secured the dual juvenile Group-winning colt Bodyguard (I Am Invincible) and he will stand for an introductory fee of $8,800 (inc GST) in 2025.
A $1.6 million yearling purchase for James Harron, Bodyguard, under the care of Peter and Paul Snowden, was an impressive two-length winner in the Maribyrnong Trial Stakes (Listed, 1000m) on debut at Flemington in October, and went on to win the Blue Diamond Prelude (Gr 3, 1100m) at his next start.
Managing Director David Whishaw, whose grandfather, the late David Whishaw, began the thoroughbred breeding operation in the 1960s, said they had searched for the right fit for the farm and the Tasmanian breeding industry, and he is confident Bodyguard has the correct profile.
“We’re tickled pink to be able to get him as part of our Armidale family.” Whishaw told ANZ Bloodstock News.
“We’ve been on the lookout for a new stallion for several years now and just haven’t felt we’ve found a horse that would do the job that we wanted, and that we could believe in, until we were able to secure him. And I guess when you’ve sat and waited for a few years, you get bloody excited when you can get a horse like him as part of your farm.”
When asked what stood out about Bodyguard, Whishaw cites the colt’s precocity, looks and physique, pedigree and racing ability.
Described by Peter Snowden as ‘the best-looking horse I have ever been associated with’, Bodyguard also has the pedigree to match. Bred by the elite nursery of Emirates Park, he is by Yarraman Park’s champion sire I Am Invincible out of Tumooh (Fastnet Rock), whose dam is Golden Slipper (Gr 1, 1200m) winner Mossfun (Mossman).
“[He is] the whole package. We have been looking for a stallion that’s got some precocity and early speed. We know the market is so focussed on that at the moment. We’ve got two, more Classic, middle distance stallions on our roster in Needs Further and Alpine Eagle, so we needed a stallion that would complement them, and we were looking for an early speed horse. But we were also looking for an outstanding physical.
“We breed to sell as a family, and we know the yearling sale market is so focussed on speed and type, and he was just such an outstanding individual when we saw him. He’s a gorgeous looking horse, so strong, got a great shoulder, awesome hind quarter and a great head. So his type certainly caught us as well.
“We wanted a pedigree that would suit our mares down here, but then also our pedigree people could relate to. Being by I Am Invincible, who is a multiple champion, out of a Fastnet Rock mare who was out of a Golden Slipper winner, his pedigree is just so relatable. Anyone in Australia can get attracted to his pedigree.
“It was a combination of those three things and then enough racetrack performance that we knew he had genuine ability. He was a precocious two-year-old, he won the first Listed [juvenile] race in Victoria, went on to win the Blue Diamond Prelude. He had enough racing ability to know he was a serious racehorse and had a genuine excuse for finishing racing.”
With all that in mind, Whishaw believes Bodyguard is ‘outstanding value’ at $8,800.
“We’ve tried to price him where breeders can afford to breed to him and get a return. If he leaves types like himself, with the racetrack performance that he showed, hopefully he’ll only grow from there. I really do believe he could be that next life changing stallion for us.”
With the Tasmanian breeding industry facing a number of challenges in recent years, Whishaw, a third generation Tasmanian breeder, is hopeful that Armidale’s investment in a new stallion can inject some confidence into the industry and give breeders a much needed boost.
“The mare spread in Tasmania has declined significantly over the last few years. I think the mare spread in Tassie last year was down 40 per cent. I think that’s a reflection of a whole lot of things,” Whishaw said.
“Sadly, there’s been some major confidence hits in our local racing industry, we had issues with our integrity department, the state’s been needing a new stallion, our sales have been tough. So I think there’s a whole lot of factors that have led to the decline in broodmare numbers, but I hope this will be a real vote of confidence for our local breeders.
“We hope that we see some of our local breeders go and invest in new mares to send to him, he is an exciting young stallion with a heap of upside. We hope it will stimulate some economic activity in our local breeding industry and hopefully that’ll flow through to our local Magic Millions sale, and in time, our local two-year-old and three-year-old fields.”
Bodyguard will join Armidale residents Needs Further (Encosta de Lago) and Alpine Eagle (High Chaparral), who stand at unchanged fees of $5,500 and $4,400 respectively.
“I think he goes from strength to strength,” Whishaw said of Needs Further.
“He’s an outstanding stallion. He’s been our leading sire down here on numerous occasions and nearly year in year out, he is our leading juvenile sire. He’s had two impressive stakes winners this year in Durazzo and Zany Girl. I think he offers outstanding value. He’s obviously from a beautiful family, from Zabeel’s family. He’s easy to breed too. We’ve been blessed. I think he’s been wonderful for our business and for the Tassie breeding industry.”
Of Alpine Eagle, Whishaw said: “I think he’s arguably our most versatile stallion in Tassie. He’s had two two-year-old stakes horses, and he’s recently had a Melbourne Cup runner, so he can get everything from a two-year-old sprinter to a 3200-metre horse. He’s a great breed to race stallion and he’s been our leading sire down here the last three seasons, and I think that’ll continue again this year.”