Parsons Creek pulls right rein with acquisition of Chassis
The $230,000 mare lands valuable black type win first-up in De Stoops’ old gold silks
With a bit more luck, Al Maher (Danehill) mare Chassis would have already been a stakes winner and her value would have been significantly more than the $230,000 she cost her new owners at the Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale last month.
However, Parsons Creek Farm stud manager Ross Bone was certainly glad the three times stakes-placed rising seven-year-old had narrowly been denied an all-important black type win prior to Saturday’s Gai Waterhouse Classic (Listed, 1200m).
The stakes success on Ipswich Cup day came at start 33, her 11th for trainers Ciaron Maher and David Eustace, and her first wearing the white, old gold falcon symbol and sleeves of Parson’s Creek’s Marc and Lindy De Stoop.
Originally owned and trained by Cranbourne-based John Price, Chassis was twice runner-up at Group 3 level in 2021, her conquerors, Probabeel (Savabeel) and Bella Nipotina (Pride Of Dubai), both subsequently went on to secure wins at the highest level.
Bone was taken by Chassis’ form prior to Parsons Creek acquiring the mare, who was scratched by Maher and Eustace from the Eye Liner Stakes (Listed, 1350m), with the team opting to run her in the Gai Waterhouse instead.
“She didn’t have that black type [win], so that probably put a few people off, being an older mare and maybe they thought she’d found her mark,” Bone told ANZ Bloodstock News yesterday.
“Even though it was only a Listed race, it was the Gai Waterhouse, and there’s a bit of prestige in winning that race.”
Chassis was on a short-list of mares identified by Irish agent Dermot Farrington who may have been suitable for the De Stoops and Bone at the Magic Millions mares’ sale on the Gold Coast.
“I loved her when I saw her, she’s just a lovely mare. Dermot Farrington … picked the mares out for us and I went and had a look at them all and she was my pick by far,” Bone said.
“There were a few others but they were going to be million dollar jobs anyhow. For her value, we thought she was a lovely mare, she had a good race record and Dermot had actually tried to talk a guy into trying to buy her the year before when she was in the [Gold Coast sale] and they wanted $350,000 for her, so we got a bargain.”
Swettenham Stud’s Toronado (High Chaparral), the sire of southern hemisphere-bred Group 1 winners Mariamia, Masked Crusader and Shelby Sixtysix, is the likely first mating for Chassis, who was initially a $40,000 purchase by Price at the 2018 Inglis Melbourne Gold Yearling Sale.
Her breakthrough Listed win took her prize-money haul beyond $600,000 and Bone revealed it is likely Chassis will race on into the spring, even after she’s been covered by Toronado, who will stand for an unchanged fee of $88,000 (inc GST) in 2023.
Parsons Creek Farm also took a 25 per cent share in the Australian Bloodstock-purchased Zoe’s Princess (Swear), this season’s Moonee Valley Fillies Classic (Gr 2, 1600m) winner for then trainer Daryl Cannon prior to having four starts during the autumn for Maher and Eustace.
The rising four-year-old, a daughter of US Listed winner Kinz Funky Monkey (The Green Monkey) who sold for $350,000 at the Gold Coast last month, will be trained by Annabel Neasham for her new connections.
Zoe’s Princess is expected to race on through next season.
Farrington also combined with Parsons Creek Farm on juvenile winner Gypsy Isle (Better Than Ready), who was sold in foal to first season sire Stay Inside (Extreme Choice) for $200,000.
Gypsy Isle is sister to the stakes-placed Pardeo and a half-sister to Gilgai Farm-owned Snipzu (Snippetson) who is also a stakes-placed mare who is the dam of J J Atkins Plate (Gr 1, 1400m) placed The Drinks Cart (Unencumbered) and Newgate Farm-China Horse Club-owned Blue Diamond Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m) and ATC Sires’ Produce Stakes (Gr 1, 1400m) runner-up Don Corleone (Extreme Choice).
Bone has been stud manager at Parsons Creek for about five years and he is confident about the direction the Lower Hunter-based operation is heading under the ownership of the De Stoops.
“It’s only a small farm, which hasn’t been going for very long. We’re trying to build up better quality broodmares and we’ve got a few nice mares there now, so hopefully the stock will turn out well for us,” Bone said.
“We are doing the right thing, we’re not overstocking the place, we’ve only got 14 or 15 mares and the aim is to keep upgrading every year.
“They’re really keen racing people and they’re right into the breeding side of things, too, so it is going really well.”