Yulong announce ‘elite horse’ Growing Empire at introductory fee of $22,000
Yulong Investments have announced the addition of Growing Empire (Zoustar) to their roster for 2025, revealing the four-time stakes winner will stand at an opening fee of $22,000 (inc GST).
The classy son of Zoustar (Northern Meteor) was last seen running fifth in The Galaxy (Gr 1, 1100m), where he was beaten 1.8 lengths by Private Harry (Harry Angel) – a horse that Yulong purchased a 50 per cent stake in just last month in a deal understood to be worth more than $8 million.
That latest Group 1 effort is one of a number of close-up runs at the top level for Growing Empire, having finished second in the Manikato Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m) – where he was beaten on the nod by Southport Tycoon (Written Tycoon) – and third in both The Everest (Gr 1, 1200m) and Coolmore Stud Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m).
The Ciaron Maher-trained colt’s stakes wins came in the Valley Pearl Stakes (Listed, 1200m) and Breeders’ Stakes (Gr 3, 1200m) as a juvenile, and in the McNeil Stakes (Gr 3, 1200m) and Poseidon Stakes (Listed, 1100m) as a spring three-year-old. He also finished fourth in the Newmarket Handicap (Gr 1, 1200m) in March.
“We are incredibly excited about the announcement of Growing Empire who will stand at Yulong in 2025,” Harry King, sales and nominations at Yulong, told ANZ Bloodstock News.
“He is an incredibly athletic son of Zoustar with a great mind. A $700,000 [Inglis] Easter purchase, you would think that you get high quality and that’s what he is, he oozes it.
“He’s a horse who Ciaron [Maher] always had a huge opinion of. He was a two-year-old that was simply electric – incredibly fast with a high-cruising speed that raced on pace. He won the St Albans Stakes [Valley Pearl] at Moonee Valley, before going on to win the Group 3 Breeders’ Stakes at Morphettville, travelling, which is a big deal for a two-year-old. This shows he’s got a great mind and is the ultimate professional.
“Mark Zahra rode this colt as a two-year-old and clearly saw the ability he possessed, taking the opportunity to ride him wherever he could into his three-year-old preparation.
“He kicked off his prep winning two stakes races [McNeil Stakes and Poseidon Stakes], before running in both the Manikato and Everest where he took on weight-for-age opposition.
“He missed by a pimple in the Manikato, but still beat champion sprinter I Wish I Win, before going on to The Everest where he took it to some of the best sprinters in the land. To push the likes of Bella Nipotina and Giga Kick, and to be the first colt home in the race is something to really hang your hat on.”
King revealed Yulong has no concerns about the fact Growing Empire does not have a Group 1 win on his CV, and pointed to some of Australia’s top stallions as evidence that it is not necessarily needed.
“To be honest, we know, and the Australian public and breeders know the elite horse that he is. I Am Invincible didn’t win a Group 1, Not A Single Doubt didn’t win a Group 1 and Written Tycoon didn’t win a Group 1 – so we aren’t bothered by that at all,” King said.
“The placings he ran in these big weight for age Group 1s, and the travelling he had to cope with while doing it – you won’t find many tougher horses running around. To run in a Manikato, an Everest and then a Coolmore as a three-year-old colt, which can be tricky at times, it just adds further to his mental capacity and elite professionalism.”
Of the decision to stand Growing Empire at an introductory fee of $22,000, King said: “We have elected to announce him at $22,000. This is an accessible fee for breeders to opportune to. He’s a horse we have been really excited to have on our roster being a true-blue Aussie-bred horse who was raced in this country. Not winning a Group 1, all it does is really change the service fee, it doesn’t change the animal that you have in your stable or your colours.”
Bred by Pat Hodgens, Neil Werrett and Steve McCann, Growing Empire was purchased by Yulong for $700,000 out of Vinery Stud at the 2023 Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale.
A half-brother to the Group 3-placed winner Dancing Alone (I Am Invincible), he is out of the Group 2-placed Snitzel (Redoute’s Choice) mare Miles Of Krishan, who herself is a half-sister to Group 1 winner Il Quello Veloce (Captain Rio), stakes scorer Donna Cattiva (Captain Rio) and to the dam of Group 3 winner Holmes A Court (Capitalist).
Further down the line the family has also produced elite-level-winning sprinters Terravista (Captain Rio) and Tiger Tees (Dubawi).
“His mother is a Group 2-placed Snitzel mare, and we all know how good Snitzel is as a broodmare sire. His sire-line, Zoustar, we are going to continue seeing this a lot more in time to come,” King said.
“This is just at the top of his page, but you look further down and his family has already produced champion two-year-olds and champion sprinters including Terravista and Tiger Tees. This is a family that both Australian and New Zealand breeders are very familiar with. They know the traits that this family has, and they are champion traits.”
Given his pedigree and record on the track – which stands at four wins and four placings from just 11 starts – King expects the phones to be ringing hot for the son of Zoustar.
“For us to now have a colonial bred and raced sprinter on the roster, we are expecting the phones to be very busy” King added.
“From the sons of Zoustar now at stud, what separates Growing Empire is that not only does he have the stallion’s pedigree, not only was he a multiple stakes-winning sprinter, but he was a star juvenile, and arguably the best-performed three-year-old sprinter in his crop. That two-year-old speed and backing it up at three, that’s certainly what stands out when looking at the career of Growing Empire.
“Our track record with these stallions is a proven track record. We support our stallions with some of the best mares in the country, and breeders now have the luxury of using these stallions with these incredible mares behind them.
“Every stallion on the roster that has had a runner, has had a stakes-winning two-year-old in their first crop. That’s something that we very much pride ourselves on at Yulong.”