News

Australian-Bred International Success Recognised

17th Aug 2009

Aushorse - Media Release - Thursday, 13 August 2009

FOR the first time, the 2009 Australian Racehorse of the Year awards at the end of this month will feature a category for the best performed Australian-bred thoroughbred trained outside of Australia.

The Aushorse Marketing Champion Australian-bred International of the Year award will be presented to the Australian based breeder (s) of the winning horse.

Australian-bred exports performed exceptionally last season, with Group 1 winners in New Zealand, South Africa, Hong Kong and Singapore.

“The exporting of horses is now of major importance to the ongoing success of the Australian breeding industry and local breeders have much to be proud of in regard to results from the past 12 months,” Aushorse Marketing Chairman Antony Thompson said.

“The number of international buyers at our sales continues to grow at a rapid rate and increasingly we are seeing Australian-bred horses enjoy success on the global stage.”

“Aushorse Marketing is proud to be associated with this new award and it adds an exciting new dimension to the Horse of the Year ceremony.”

“Many of the best horses reared in Australia are now based overseas and this new category provides an opportunity to recognise those achievements,” Thompson said.

There are six finalists for the inaugural Aushorse Marketing Australian-Bred International of the Year Award.

Tyreel Stud’s Dean Fleming has a two-pronged attack at the inaugural award, having bred Our Giant, a dual G1 winner in South Africa, and the star of Singapore racing, Rocket Man.

Both are from the McGinty mare Macrosa and were sold at the Gold Coast Magic Millions sales.

Our Giant (Giant’s Causeway) fetched $480,000 at the 2005 Millions and has since won 12 races, including a runaway victory in the G1 Mercury Sprint in July, while dual Kranji track-record-breaker Rocket Man (Viscount), who has won seven from eight career starts, was a $60,000 purchase at the 2007 sales series.

Rocket Man’s lone defeat came at the hands of Hong Kong based Sacred Kingdom (Encosta De Lago), who rediscovered his best form when beating the local idol in the G1 KrisFlyer Sprint at Kranji in May.

Also a nomination for the Aushorse Marketing Award, Sacred Kingdom, was rated the World’s best sprinter in 2007-08 and his win in Singapore enhanced his global reputation.

Fellow Hong Kong based gelding Inspiration maintained Australia’s unbeaten record in the G1 Hong Kong International Sprint (the past ten) when he caused an upset victory in the Sha Tin feature last December.

The $420,000 Easter graduate proved that win was no fluke by beating a star-studded field in the HK G1 Centenary Cup in February.

Le Drakkar added to Australia’s growing reputation in South Africa, where Group 1 success later included Our Giant and the Redoute’s Choice colt Musir, when he won the G1 Cape Guineas in December. The son of Anabaa is another successful Inglis Melbourne Premier Sale graduate, having cost $155,000 in 2007.

Rounding out the list of candidates for the Aushorse Marketing Award is Champion New Zealand mare Princess Coup after a racetrack career that netted $4million in earnings.

In a year where fellow Australian-breds Tell A Tale, The Heckler, Spin Around and Coniston Bluebird also won New Zealand Group 1 races, Princess Coup stood out with her back-to-back wins in the G1 Stoney Bridge and G1 Kelt Capital Stakes.

Aushorse Marketing Champion Australian-Bred International of the Year Finalists

*Inspiration (Flying Spur-La Bamba, by Last Tycoon) *Le Drakkar (Anabaa-My Mo Rally, by Mi Preferido) *Our Giant (Giant’s Causeway-Macrosa, by McGinty) *Princess Coup (Encosta De Lago, Stoneyfell Road, by Sovereign Red)

• Rocket Man (Viscount-Macrosa, by McGinty)
• Sacred Kingdom (Encosta De Lago-Courtroom Sweetie, by Zeditave)