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Fontiton an Object Lesson for Premier Buyers

19th Feb 2015

Breednet - Brian Russell Media - Thursday, 19 February 2015

Fontiton's very impressive victory in the Blue Diamond Prelude for fillies at Caulfield last Saturday was an object lesson for buyers at one of Australia’s forthcoming most elite yearling markets, the Inglis Premier Sale to be conducted at Oaklands, Melbourne on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday March 1, 2, 3 and 4.

Herself a $110,000 buy out of the Blue Gum Farm, Euroa, Victoria’s consignment to last year’s sale, Fontiton showcases not only this long time consistent base for good sires and source of winners, but the high quality of Victorian breeding as a whole. It is achievement which suggests that buyers at the Premier Sale should have progeny of Victorian sires prominent in their order books.

There are nearly 300 lots by Victorian sires in the catalogue, including ten by Fontiton’s sire Turffontein, a former leading Australian sprinter by Johannesburg (USA) (grandson of Storm Cat) who appears on track to be a first class sire from use at Blue Gum.

His oldest are 3-year-olds and he rules, at this time, as Victoria’s leading two crop sire (second nationally to I Am Invincible) and also juvenile sire.

His only two runners at Caulfield on Saturday were Fontiton and Fontein Ruby (3yo, third Group 3 Kevin Hayes Stakes) and both are trained by Robert Smerdon for big syndicates. A $50,000 Premier Sale graduate bred by Blue Gum, Fontein Ruby had earlier won four races, all in Melbourne, including the Edward Manifold-Gr.2 and Caulfield Classic-Gr.3. Group1 level success could be on the horizon.

Both Fontein Ruby, a half-sister to a colt in this year’s catalogue in the first crop of Master Design, a Group1 winner by Redoute’s Choice, and Fontiton, unbeaten winner of three Melbourne races, the first, the Inglis at Moonee Valley by six lengths, are out of mares by Blue Gum stood Victorian bred champion racehorse and sire Rubiton.

Fontein Ruby’s dam Charming Ruby is nearly a three-quarter sister to Fields of Omagh, a Rubiton winner twice and minor placed twice in the Cox Plate, and Fontiton is from Personal Ensign, a Listed winner out Blue Gum Girl, a Melbourne winner by Rancho Ruler, another Victorian Group1 winner who did a good job as a sire at Blue Gum Farm. He was by the spectacularly brilliant Victorian bred Rancher.

There were two Blue Diamond Preludes at Caulfield.The other, a race for the male juveniles, was won by Of The Brave, a Mark Riley trained colt got at Coolmore in the Hunter Valley in his first season by Starspangledbanner for Victorian breeders Saconi Thoroughbreds using the Rory’s Jester mare Runaway Jesse.

Now a resident at Rosemont Stud, Gnarwarre, Victoria, Starspangledbanner hasn’t any current yearlings, but his Coolmore based sire Choisir has 21 lots in the Premier Catalogue. Choisir, also, is the sire of two three-quarter sisters to Of The Brave in Eloping (a leading 2-year-old, two Group 3 wins, second in a Blue Diamond Prelude) and Jesse’s Girl (at two won in Melbourne and second in four stakes, including the Sires’ Produce Stakes in Brisbane).

Jesse’s Girl has a filly, lot 285, in the Melbourne catalogue in the first crop of the Darley sire Sepoy (13 lots) being offered for Saconi Thoroughbreds by Rosemont Stud.

The very upmarket Rosemont Stud has 44 lots booked into the sale, six of them on behalf of Saconi, and Blue Gum 30. Both introduce first crop offspring of sires used in their stallion yards, Rosemont, a good selection by the eye-catching Show a Heart Group1 star Toorak Toff and Blue Gum four by their shuttling Canford Cliffs, an outstanding miler in Europe in 2010 and 20011.

All told each represented by 18 lots, Canford Cliffs and Toorak Toff are two of eight sires at stud in Victoria with first crop yearlings in the Premier catalogue.The others are Master of Design (19), Helmet (32), Anacheeva (4), Black Caviar’s brother Moshe (3), Skilled (5) and Ilovethiscity (1).

Master of Design, a Group1 winner by Redoute’s Choice out of a sister to the dam of Typhoon Tracy and Red Element, is a resident at Adam Sangster’s Nagambie powerhouse, Swettenham Stud.They have the biggest line up, 50 lots, for the sale, including ten by Master of Design and 13 in the second crop of their visiting champion English sprinter Equiano.

Other major Victorian located vendors – six or more - are Eliza Park International (41), Phoenix Farm (29), Yallambee (24), Three Bridges (21), Erinvale (19), Supreme (19), Hillside (18), Rushton (18), Glenelg Park (15), Woodside (14), Ampula Lodge (13), Lauriston (13), Maluka (12), Chatswood (12), Grange (12), Burnewang (11), Musk Creek (11), Bucklee (10), Flinders Park (10), Gilgai Farm (breeders of Black Caviar, 10), Millford (9), Devon Park (8), Tarcoola (7), Basinghall (6) and Little Plains (6).

Eliza Park is the home Bel Esprit (19 lots), the sire of World Champion Black Caviar, Gilgai Farm bred her and Swettenham sold her in Melbourne.

The best represented Victorian used sires in the catalogue, four or more lots, are Helmet (32), Reward For Effort (29), Wanted (24), Equiano (20), Bel Esprit (19), Master of Design (19), Toorak Toff (18), Canford Cliffs (Ire) (18), New Approach (Ire) (13), Turffontein (10), Hard Spun (USA) (10), Artie Schiller (USA) (14), Stryker (10), Magnus (8), Statue of Liberty (USA) (7), Written Tycoon (6), Skilled (5), Anacheeva (4) and Domesday (4).