Emerging Stratosphere could herald a new era for Tasmanian breeding

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Circumspect approach taken by Magic Millions ahead of its annual yearling sale on the Apple Isle

The emergence of young stallion Stratosphere (Snitzel) could be the shining light the Apple Isle’s breeding sector desperately needs and demand for his stock at the Magic Millions Tasmanian Yearling Sale could play a pivotal role in the overall success of the local industry’s annual auction. 

Today’s 140-lot sale, which has enjoyed year-on-year growth at its past five sales, is predicted to be “tougher than last year” as a contingent of Tassie regulars from the mainland have elected to bypass the one-day sale on the almost five-month Australasian yearling sales season. 

Agents John Foote, Merrick Staunton, first-timer Dave Mee, Jeremy Rogers and interstate trainers Calvin McEvoy, Gavin Bedggood, Reece Goodwin, Chris Bieg, John Hyam, Dale Short and Chantelle Jolly were on the grounds yesterday but, arguably in a sign of the times, regular visitors such as John McArdle, Robbie Griffiths, Mitch Freedman and Matt Cumani will not be in attendance this year.

Other Victorian-based trainers such as Charlotte Littlefield, Coral Feek and Ben Brisbourne would have made the trip to Tasmania, but owing to an industry-wide staffing crisis, they had little choice but to stay at home to run their respective stables at such a busy time of year.

A List Stud, who spent $540,000 on six yearlings at the 2022 Tasmanian sale, will also be a noticeable absence from the buyers’ sheet this year after principal Chris Lee decided to rein in his spending.

Last year’s sale, which grossed $4.344 million, achieved an average of $38,447 and a median of $30,000 but Magic Millions’ Victorian and Tasmanian manager Tim Brown urged vendors to be realistic about buyers’ risk appetite this year.

Brown’s position mirrors that of Inglis’ Sebastian Hutch prior to last week’s Classic sale in Sydney when he said it was unrealistic to use last year’s statistics as a reliable benchmark of how the market may unfold in 2023.

“It’ll certainly be tougher than last year. Our leading buyer, who bought 15 per cent of the gross, is not in attendance this year,” Brown said yesterday.

“We are certainly looking for a bit more local support. Tasmanian breeders are doing a great job with their bonus scheme and the stock they are producing and I do believe that the local trainers should make more use of the home-grown product.”

One stallion whose progeny are likely to capture the attention of local and interstate buyers is Grenville Stud’s Stratosphere who has 12 second crop yearlings set to be offered at the sale at Quercus Park, near Launceston.

“The early two-year-old ranks were a bit light on for a couple of years, but Stratosphere’s starting to fill that void. We are very excited so far from a relatively small foal crop just on 50 live foals,” Grenville Stud’s Bart McCulloch said.

“He’s had seven runners for three winners and a second, including two stakes horses, so that has him equal leading first season sire by individual winners and he is off to a great start.

“It’s no surprise with the way they are running the way they are with the types he is leaving.”

The Newgate-China Horse Club-raced Stratosphere, who was runner-up in the 2018 running of the Canonbury Stakes (Gr 3, 1100m) at his only competitive start, has nine yearlings in the 2023 Grenville draft.

“Certainly, mainland buyers were happy to jump into them last year. Twelve months ago, people were telling us we had a stallion on our hands with the types he was leaving,” McCulloch said. 

“We actually feel that we’ve got a better line-up of Stratospheres this year and I think they’re going to be very well received again this year.”

McCulloch implored mainland agents and trainers to consider Tasmanian-sired yearlings, with the state’s TasBred scheme matching Super Vobis winners’ bonuses if those horses win an eligible race in Victoria.

He also said his home state trainers were benefiting from the TasBred scheme, Tasmania’s version of Vobis, NSW’s BOBS and Queensland’s QTIS.

“Certainly, stakes money in Tasmania’s healthy, much healthier than it’s ever been, and the TasBred scheme makes a massive impact and that is something we’d like to grow,” the breeder said. 

“The TasBred races are so sought after now that trainers are targeting them, so now instead of having it on roughly half the maidens in Tassie, we need it on all the maidens, so we want to grow that scheme. 

“We are hopeful that trainers do come out, with the current state of racing here in Tassie, and look for something.

“The Stratospheres are in the mold of what trainers are looking for with something that’s going to get up and go and get a return.”

Trainer, stallion master and vendor Cameron Thompson of Brooklyn Park Stud has a mix of homebred and pinhooked yearlings in his draft of 14 by sires such as Manhattan Rain (Encosta De Lago), Foxwedge (Fastnet Rock), Vancouver (Medaglia D’Oro) and Grunt (O’Reilly).

“I think having a draft of 14, you have got to try and have quality because it’s lower numbers,” Thompson said. 

“When we went and bought a few for pinhooking, we didn’t buy the bottom few horses, we bought ones we thought could sell well in our local sale and that’s what we’ve done, but we’ve also got some locally sired horses by Stratosphere, Ambidexter and Alpine Eagle and I think they’re a good representation of the stallions.”

Grenville has also topped up its Tasmanian sale draft of 24 including by sires Headwater (Exceed And Excel), Capitalist (Written Tycoon) and Pride Of Dubai (Street Cry), the sire of Saturday’s Talindert Stakes (Listed, 1100m) winner Maharba, Avondale Guineas (Gr 2, 2100m) winner Desert Lightning and Black Caviar Lightning Stakes (Gr 1, 1000m) runner-up Bella Nipotina.

“It is a sale down here in Tassie that’s come a long way in a relatively short period of time and we want to continue to do that and continue to attract mainland buyers, not just have it dominated by local stallions, so we’ve invested heavily in buying mares and mares-in-foal,” McCulloch said. 

“We have also bought some weanlings to provide some variety to make it really attractive for mainland buyers to come down.”

The sale starts at 11am.