Duncan strikes Darley deal to stand top-class juvenile Ingratiating
Diamond and Golden Slipper-placed colt retired to Western Australia’s Oakland Park Stud
High-class sprinter Ingratiating (Frosted), a horse who beat home his champion stablemate Anamoe (Street Boss) in a Blue Diamond (Gr 1, 1200m), before running third in a Golden Slipper (Gr 1, 1200m), will take up stud duties at Oakland Park Stud in Western Australia.
Studmaster Neville Duncan believes Ingratiating, by the same sire as brilliant homebred juvenile Bustling, is the best-performed Australian two-year-old racehorse to ever go to stud in the West.
The Oakland Park Stud principal has reached a deal to buy former Godolphin-owned and raced Ingratiating, a first crop son of Darley’s former shuttler Frosted (Tapit), to take up residence at his renowned farm where he will stand alongside Sessions (Lonhro) and Shooting To Win (Northern Meteor).
During his seven-start juvenile season, the James Cummings-trained Ingratiating won a Maribyrnong Trial Stakes (Listed, 1000m) on debut, the Talindert Stakes (Listed, 1100m) at Flemington before backing up a week later to split Artorius (Flying Artie) and Anamoe in the Blue Diamond at Caulfield.
His placing in the Slipper came behind Newgate Farm’s Stay Inside (Extreme Choice) and Anamoe before being spelled for a tilt at the spring, which resulted in the colt winning the Vain Stakes (Gr 3, 1100m) first-up. He also finished third behind Jonker (Spirit Of Boom) and Bella Nipotina (Pride Of Dubai) in the Manikato Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m) later that preparation against older horses.
Ingratiating also has a Bletchingly Stakes (Gr 3, 1200m) on his CV in a 25-start career in which he earned $1.905 million in prize-money.
Duncan said Ingratiating was an ideal stallion for the Western Australian broodmare population to target the valuable Westspeed bonuses on offer in the state.
“He’s the best Australian-bred two-year-old to ever retire to Western Australia and that’s a pretty big coup, I think, and he’s a good looking animal as well,” Duncan told ANZ Bloodstock News.
“I often look at horses on the east coast and I look at what they’ve won on track and then I compare some of our horses, and they’re good horses but not anywhere near as maybe some that have come over, yet the stake money they’ve earned is pretty similar, so you’ve got to say our Westspeed scheme is pretty good.”
Out of the juvenile scorer and Light Fingers (Gr 2, 1200m) and San Domenico Stakes (Gr 3, 1100m) winning mare Obsequious (Lonhro), the 16hh Ingratiating will stand for an introductory fee of $9,000 (all fees inc GST). Lifetime breeding rights are also being offered in the stallion by Oakland Park Stud.
Darley’s head of sales Andy Makiv described Ingratiating as a very sound and good style of horse who deserved his chance at stud even if it wasn’t on Sheikh Mohammed’s dual-state stallion roster.
“There’s plenty of colts out there that have the credentials to be given an opportunity,” Makiv said.
“We’ve got Golden Mile and Cylinder retiring to Victoria and Native Trail and Triple Time retiring in NSW, who are all Group 1 stars in their own right, so there’s only so many horses that you can launch.
“Therefore, it is nice that horses [such as Ingratiating] can get an opportunity in another jurisdiction.”
The Western Australian market already has exposure to America’s highly successful Tapit (Pulpit) sireline with his son A Lot making a solid start to his stud career from limited opportunities with his oldest crop rising five-year-olds.
Now standing at Phil Ibbotson’s Westbury Park, A Lot is the sire of the Trevor Andrews-trained Western Australian Derby (Gr 2, 2400m) winner A Lot Of Good Men and this season’s Listed-winning juvenile Sir Dream Lot as well as three other stakes horses from 40 runners.
Duncan said: “Not to be disparaging, but A Lot’s opportunities in those first few years were somewhat limited, so in my view, he’s out-performed his opportunities, and that’s kudos to the stallion.”
Sessions, the sire of dual Group 2 winner Massimo, Belmont Oaks (Listed, 2200m) winner Ihts Closing Inn and Black Heart Bart Stakes (Listed, 1200m) winner Comes A Time, and former Darley sire Shooting To Win will both stand for a reduced $8,800 in 2024.
Meanwhile, the Dan Morton-trained Bustling is enjoying a six-week spell after winning four of his five starts at two, including completing the Perth Stakes (Listed, 1100m), Karrakatta Plate (Gr 2, 1200m) and WA Sires’ (Gr 3, 1400m) treble during the autumn.
Despite some reports last week, Duncan confirmed that at this stage the gelding had not been sold to interstate interests.