News

Too Good to Be True

31st Jul 2013

Breednet - Tara Madgwick - Wednesday, 31 July 2013

In 2009, Widden Stud took a gamble that few studs would attempt in launching two of Australia's brightest sire prospects in the same year and until last night, it had been a fairytale ride for all involved.

Sebring and Northern Meteor were the cream of the crop, Group I winning blue-bloods with everything to offer a broodmare owner.

You cross your fingers and hope they will both be good sires, but as we know in this business, far more stallions fail than succeed and ticking every box does not guarantee success.

Their first yearlings went to the sales in 2012, were an immediate hit and not long after they came out running…. And how they ran!

Sebring and Northern Meteor have battled neck and neck as the months have passed going tit for tat in a battle royale to be crowned Australia's Champion First Season Sire.

It's been a compelling contest that has attracted interest right throughout the world of racing and breeding and it will conclude at the end of today with both sires having runners this afternoon.

It's been the dream result for everyone connected with Widden and Gooree Stud, who bred, raced and still owned Northern Meteor.

I'm a believer in karma and sometimes things are just too perfect, which always makes me nervous.

The perfection was shattered on Tuesday night when Northern Meteor died suddenly of colic and the Australian breeding industry has lost a stallion that could well have been a breed shaper.

Yes, Widden still have Sebring, but they've been dealt a cruel hand here and there would be few in the industry not feeling sad for them this morning.

This is a tragedy you never see coming and don't wish on anyone.

All horses die some day, we accept that, but to lose a sire of his calibre at this stage of his career is not something I can recall in my time in this industry.

Northern Meteor was fully booked for this spring at a fee of $27,500, so there will be a mad scramble for many mare owners to secure placements with comparable sires, but in reality he's almost impossible to replace.

As the sire of Group I winner Romantic Touch, Group II winner Zoustar, Group III winner The Voice and five other stakes horses among his 18 winners, Northern Meteor was a sire on a sharp upward trajectory.

He had only to follow in the footsteps of past Champion First Season Sires such as Redoute's Choice, More Than Ready (USA) and Exceed and Excel to establish himself in the very upper echelon of sires and for a broodmare owner, this was the year you went to him at a low fee and had the chance to make a killing in the sale ring in three years time.

Ask anyone who sent a mare to Redoute's Choice or More Than Ready (USA) in their fifth season - it's often the last chance a smaller breeder gets to go to a future champion sire before their service fee goes through the roof.

So while you might be able to re-book to another sire and probably a very good sire, it's going to be very hard to find a sire priced in the way Northern Meteor was that can offer such huge potential for upside.

Fans of Northern Meteor will still have three crops to look forward to with 115 new season two year-olds, 73 yearlings as of tomorrow, some of which will be offered at sales next year, and some 160 mares that were covered last year and will be foaling this spring.

Somewhere in this group of horses one can only hope there will be a special colt that can carry on what Northern Meteor has started and whoever finds him will be a very lucky person indeed.

Given that Romantic Touch and The Voice are geldings, the Chris Waller trained Zoustar will have now zoomed on to the radar as a red hot sire prospect for the future.