High-priced colt Bruckner retired, stud future up in the air
Injury curtails Group 1-placed son of Snitzel after long recuperation from surgery
Stakes-winning, Group 1-placed sprinter Bruckner, a sale-topping son of champion sire Snitzel (Redoute’s Choice), has been retired but where the four-year-old stands at stud remains undecided.
The Ciaron Maher and David Eustace-trained entire, runner-up to elite sprinter Home Affairs (I Am Invincible) in the 2021 Coolmore Stud Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m) and winner of the McNeil Stakes (Gr 3, 1200m) as an early season three-year-old, had his long-awaited comeback to racing aborted yesterday after just one start in over 12 months.
Owned by a syndicate which includes Tony Fung Investments, Halo Racing Services’ Colin McKenna, Widden Stud and Rifa Mustang, Bruckner was officially retired by Maher and Eustace after his below par return when ninth in last Saturday’s Doveton Stakes (Listed, 1000m) at Caulfield.
Having not raced since the Coolmore, in which he split Home Affairs and Blue Diamond Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m) winner Artorius (Flying Artie), Bruckner was sidelined for 13 months after undergoing knee surgery to remove bone chips.
“It’s [stud future] up in the air at the moment. We haven’t really had any other discussions other than he was to be retired, so I guess we’ll come together and catch up with the other shareholders and consider all options,” said Widden Stud’s Antony Thompson, who has stallion rosters in NSW and Victoria.
“He’s a very good looking, fast horse with a nice pedigree and a talented horse. He’d definitely have plenty of appeal [as a stallion].”
While Aquis Farm is owned and run by Tony Fung’s son Justin, TFI operates independently with the business model to race colts with the potential to be sold as stallion prospects in the most commercially viable deal possible. Therefore, Aquis Farm would have to make its own bid for Bruckner to stand at the Queensland stud.
Fellow co-owner Rifa Mustang already has a relationship with Widden Stud with interests in stallions including Zoustar (Northern Meteor), Anders (Not A Single Doubt), who incidentally was also raced by TFI, and the 2018 Blue Diamond Stakes winner Written By (Written Tycoon).
“It was certainly disappointing [that Bruckner had to be retired], but he’s a horse we’ve always had faith in. It is unfortunate what happened, but hopefully we can find a home for him and that he’ll prove himself in another way,” Rifa Mustang’s chief executive Carrie Hu said yesterday.
“Now is not really the time people look for stallion prospects, so maybe after Christmas we’ll be able to find him a home.”
Rifa Mustang, which has almost 20 broodmares under management, also has breeding rights in Newgate Farm’s Profiteer (Written Tycoon) and Dirty Work (Written Tycoon), a horse the organisation bred and sold to Spendthrift Australia as a yearling.
Group 2 winner Dirty Work relocated to Widden Victoria this year following the US-owned Spendthrift’s decision to close its Australian operation late last year after the death of founder B. Wayne Hughes.
Bred by prominent Western Australian-based breeders Neville and Susan Duncan of Oakland Park Stud, Bruckner was the top-priced yearling at the 2020 Inglis Melbourne Premier Sale, fetching $725,000 to the bid of then Aquis Farm employee Shane McGrath from the draft of Blue Gum Farm.
The entire is out of the two-time Perth winner Jestajingle (Lonhro), making him a three-quarter brother to Vain Stakes (Gr 3, 1100m) winner Jukebox (Snitzel), who is a young stallion at Aquis Farm.
In a statement confirming the retirement of Bruckner, a winner of two of his seven starts who was also placed third in the Danehill Stakes (Gr 2, 1100m) during his consistent spring preparation, Ciaron Maher Racing said: “He is an incredibly talented horse who we’ve invested a lot of time in getting him back to race fitness, but the reality is, despite these efforts, it is unlikely he will get back to the racehorse he was in his three-year-old season.
“It’s his performances in the spring of 2021 that will hold him in good stead as a serious stallion prospect.
“It is a shame that we never got to see his potential on the track as he always gave us the impression of a true autumn three-year-old, but his class was evident in the short time we saw him run.”
Snitzel is becoming a sire of sires through the deeds of Shamus Award as well as Russian Revolution, last season’s champion first season sire, and the exciting talent and Widden Stud resident Trapeze Artist, who had his first two-year-old winner at Rosehill last Saturday.
His Group 1-winning sprinting son Wild Ruler ($38,500) also retired to Newgate Farm this year and has proven popular with commercial breeders.