Ahead of the breeding season, Sam Fairgray spoke with Keely McKitterick for The Thoroughbred Report AusNZ’s ‘Matings Mix’ feature, offering insights into Yulong’s breeding plans for the upcoming season.
“We want to support our stallions with some nice mares, and we’re fortunate to be able to see the foals once they’re born before making a final decision on which stallions the mares go to,” Fairgray told TTR AusNZ.
“It’s important to consider the pedigree makeup and what has been successful within the broodmare’s family, as well as what stallions have worked well with similar lines. The physical attributes of both the mare and stallion also play a crucial role in the process of trying to create an athlete.”
At Yulong’s stallion parade last week, it was announced that the superstar Imperatriz (I Am Invincible) will visit the promising Pierata in her first season at stud this spring. Commenting on the decision, Fairgray said, “Imperatriz and Pierata’s compatibility in terms of both pedigree and physical make-up is a great match. Pierata has made a strong start with his first crop, and this gives her a good opportunity to produce a first foal that’s a talented runner on the racetrack.”
Pierata will also serve Greysful Glamour (Stratum), a six-time winner, including victories in the G2 Villiers S. and the G3 Mannerism S. She was also placed in the G1 VRC Oaks. Fairgray noted, “Pierro has worked very well with mares from the Redoute’s Choice line, so we’ve chosen a few mares along those sirelines for Pierata.
“Mares like Greysful Glamour and the Group 2 winner Mokulua will visit Pierata. We’ve also got Erato, the dam of the G1 Blue Diamond S. winner Lyre, along with Foxplay and Viddora. So, there are some really nice mares heading to Pierata.”
Viddora (I Am Invincible) claimed the G1 Moir S. and the G1 Winterbottom S., while Foxplay (Foxwedge) secured the G1 Queen of the Turf S. along with three other Group 2 victories.
Panthalassa arrives at Yulong
This spring, Yulong welcomed Panthalassa (Jpn) to its roster. The son of Lord Kanaloa (Jpn) is standing his debut season in the Southern Hemisphere for $16,500 (inc GST). Panthalassa boasts an impressive record, with seven wins, including the G1 Al-Janadriah Saudi Cup, G1 Dubai Turf, and G2 Nakayama Kinen.
Among Panthalassa’s first book of mares is the classy Steinem (GB) (Frankel {GB}), who won the G2 Peter Young S. and the G3 Summoned S., and was placed in the G1 Northerly S. “Steinem was purchased at this year’s Inglis Chairman’s Sale and will visit Panthalassa. We believe she’ll be a perfect match for him in terms of pedigree, physical attributes, and performance.
“Both were high-class racehorses, and we’re excited to see what this mating can produce. Steinem is a big, strong mare, and Panthalassa is a very attractive horse. It’s a very exciting mating, and we’re eager to see where it leads. We will also send Beach Belle, who is already the dam of a stakes winner, Surf Dancer, Group placed as a 2-year-old Her Empire and Group 1-placed Gan Teorainn will also be visiting Panthalassa.”
“Panthalassa is going to get strong support from us. We’ve selected mares that we think will suit him both physically and in terms of pedigree, with bloodlines that have worked well with his sire, Lord Kanaloa.”
Her Empire (Deep Field) was placed in the G3 Thoroughbred Breeders S. and is from the family of the Group 2 winner and Group 1-placed pair Love Conquers All and Lean Mean Machine, while the triple Group 1 victor Hitotsu is also closely related.
Gan Teorainn (Ire), a daughter of Saxon Warrior (Jpn) was a top-class performer, placing in the G1 Prix Marcel Boussac and the G3 Archer S. She was also fourth in the G1 Critérium de Saint-Cloud.
Stars heading Alabama’s way
Alabama Express has also made an encouraging start to his stallion career, with the success of his debut crop leading to an increase in his fee to $55,000 (inc GST). The stallion will once again serve an exciting book of mares.
“Alabama Express is leaving very nice yearlings, and they’re performing on the track. So, he’s got a nice group of mares heading his way,” noted Fairgray. “Mother and daughter duo Harlech and Hungry Heart will be served by him.
“We think it’ll be a good mating. Baggy Green, who’s a fantastic broodmare, will also visit him, along with the Written Tycoon mare Literary Magnate, who’s a stakes winner, and the Champion mare More Joyous, who actually had a very nice Tagaloa foal earlier this morning (Tuesday).”
Hungry Heart was an outstanding runner, winning the G1 Australian Oaks and the G1 Vinery Stud S., along with the G2 Phar Lap S. The daughter of Frankel (GB) also won the G2 Sweet Embrace S. as a 2-year-old.
Baggy Green (NZ), a daughter of Galileo (Ire), has produced the fellow Yulong broodmare Tofane (NZ) (Ocean Park {NZ}), a four-time Group 1 winner. She is also the dam of G1 Metropolitan H. victor No Compromise (NZ) (Pins). In total, Baggy Green is the dam of four individual stakes winners.
Prowess and Espiona to Written Tycoon
Yulong’s Champion Sire Written Tycoon is serving a private book this season, and, as expected for a stallion of his quality, it is packed with star performers. The dual G1 Golden Slipper-producing sire will cover new additions to the Yulong broodmare band: Espiona (Extreme Choice) and Prowess (NZ) (Proisir), alongside Parmalove (Snitzel), who has already combined with Written Tycoon to produce Velocious, a victor of the G1 Sistema S.
Espiona won seven races, including the G1 Coolmore Classic and the G2 Golden Pendant. She was also placed in the G1 Lightning S., the G1 Canterbury S., the G1 Surround S., and the G1 Doomben 10,000.
Star Kiwi mare Prowess was crowned Champion Middle Distance Horse in New Zealand, winning the G1 Vinery Stud S. and the G1 New Zealand S., along with the G2 Crystal Mile.
“Written Tycoon will cover Espiona and Prowess. He’ll also serve Parmalove, a mare we brought from New Zealand who is the dam of Velocious. There are a couple of other mares that will definitely head to Written Tycoon, including Hungry Heart’s sister Beautiful Heart, a daughter of Snitzel.
“She had a nice Written Tycoon foal two nights ago and will return to him based on her first foal. We will look after Written Tycoon, but he’ll still get plenty of our mares.”
First runners for Lucky Vega
Lucky Vega (Ire), a Group 1-winning son of Lope De Vega (Ire), will be represented by his first runners this spring. Fairgray, who is quite a fan of the young stallion, expressed his excitement: “From the first time I saw Lucky Vega, he very much looked like an Australian type of horse.
“Physically, he’s a strong, medium-sized but very robust horse. We’ve been very happy with the foals he’s produced to date, and they were well-received in the sale ring. All reports so far are positive.
“It’s exciting now to look forward to the next couple of months when his first 2-year-old runners will be coming out. He’s an Australian type of horse that I personally really like, and I am excited to see what they can do.
“We are going to support him with some nice mares. Because he’s in the mould of an Australian sprinter, we want to send mares with a bit of leg to him to get the right physical. Yulong will send Magical Mist, who is the dam of three stakes winners already, and we feel she’ll be a good match.
“Another fast mare heading to Lucky Vega is She’s A Thief. She was trained by Mike Moroney and was stakes-placed. Oriental Ruby is another mare who’s left a stakes winner and a stakes-placed horse.
He’s an Australian type of horse that I personally really like, and I am excited to see what they (2-year-old runners) can do.” – Sam Fairgray
“Pageantry, who has been stakes-placed herself, has a 2-year-old by Lucky Vega. She was purchased by Joe (O’Neill) of Prime Thoroughbreds, who has been very positive about her.
“So, Pageantry will return to Lucky Vega, and hopefully, her sister can get out there and achieve something in the meantime.”
Pageantry (I Am Invincible) won twice, and was placed in the Listed Cinderella S. Her Lucky Vega filly has been named Miss Lyra.
Yulong backs Grunt
Yulong is fully backing its foundation sire Grunt (NZ), the sire of the G1 George Ryder S. winner Veight. Bred by Yulong, Veight’s dam, Neena Rock (Fastnet Rock), will return to Grunt this season, alongside Gypsy Tucker (Zabeel {NZ}), the dam of Grunt’s stakes-winning daughter Miraval Rose.
Grunt will also serve Miss Barley (Fastnet Rock), the dam of the Group 1-winning sprinter Gytrash (Lope De Vega), as well as Mississippi Burning, a Group 1 winner in South Africa.
“Grunt has done a great job with his first two crops, and we’ll keep on supporting him and give him every opportunity,” said a Yulong representative.”
Yulong welcome first Diatonic foals
Yulong is also excited by the arrival of the first foals by Diatonic (Jpn), another son of Lord Kanaloa (Jpn) who won the G2 Mainichi Broadcasting System Sho Swan S. and the G3 Hankyu Hai.
“We’ve got a couple of really nice foals on the ground by Diatonic. Recently, In Her Time, had a very, very nice filly by him. It’s her third foal, and I’d have to say it’s probably the best.
“He’s really complemented her well, giving the foal plenty of strength and presence. Diatonic looks like he’s going to be a quality stallion for us, judging by the type of foals he’s producing. They’ve got the muscle mass, strength, and quality, which is very promising.”
In Her Time (Time Thief) was an outstanding sprinter, winning nine races, including the G1 Lightning S., the G1 The Galaxy, and the G2 Premiere S. She was also placed in the G1 VRC Sprint Classic twice, the G1 Stradbroke H., the G1 TJ Smith S., and the G1 Manikato S.
Diamond winner an interesting prospect
Rounding out the Yulong roster is Tagaloa, another son of Lord Kanaloa (Jpn). Tagaloa won the G1 Blue Diamond S. as a 2-year-old and is set to have his first runners this season. In line with Yulong’s policy, he will receive strong support from the operation.
“Tagaloa is an interesting horse. He was a Blue Diamond winner and had a lot of speed; he could maintain strong sectionals when he was running. He’s been really well supported in his first years, and we’ve sent some very nice mares to him.
“So now it’s just a matter of waiting and seeing them on the racetrack. We’ll be supporting him with some nice mares again this year.”
Among those mares set to visit Tagaloa is the Irish-bred Drawn To Run (Ire) (Hurricane Run {Ire}), whose daughter Dalika (Ger) (Pastorius {Ger}), won the G1 Beverly D. S., and Urban Ball (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), the dam of two stakes performers.
Fairgray added, “Ana d’Or, who’s a half-sister to Estelle Collection, dam of Lankan Rupee, will visit Tagaloa. Alongside her is the Galileo mare Footprints, a full sister to Armory, a Group 2 winner who raced a few times in Australia for Lloyd Williams.
“There will be nice support again from us this year because we believe he’s a stallion that will produce good horses on the track.”
| Mare | Damsire | Booked to | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Imperatriz | I Am Invincible | Pierata | – | – | – | – |
| Greysful Glamour | Stratum | Pierata | Pierata | Written Tycoon | Written Tycoon | |
| Mokulua | Redoute’s Choice | Pierata | Justify | Frankel | – | – |
| Erato | Street Cry | Pierata | Alabama Express | Written Tycoon | – | Phibber (Written Tycoon) |
| Viddora | I Am Invincible | Pierata | Diatonic | – | Written Tycoon | O’Invincible (Snitzel) |
| Foxplay | Foxwedge | Pierata | – | Written Tycoon | – | Alabama Fox (Alabama Express) |
| Steinem | Frankel | Panthalassa | – | – | – | – |
| Her Empire | Deep Field | Panthalassa | Tagaloa | Stay Inside | ||
| Gan Teorainn | Saxon Warrior | Panthalassa | – | – | – | – |
| Beach Belle | Invincible Spirit | Panthalassa | Lucky Vega | – | Zoustar | – |
| Neena Rock | Fastnet Rock | Grunt | – | – | – | Rock Pop (Grunt) |
| Gypsy Tucker | Zabeel | Grunt | – | Lucky Vega | – | Hi Ho Gypsy (Grunt) |
| Miss Barley | Fastnet Rock | Grunt | – | – | Lucky Vega | Strong Hit (Nicconi) |
| Harlech | Pivotal | Alabama Express | – | Written Tycoon | Written Tycoon | Alabama Express |
| Hungry Heart | Frankel | Alabama Express | Written Tycoon | Written Tycoon | – | – |
| Literary Magnate | Written Tycoon | Alabama Express | Pierata | – | – | – |
| Baggy Green | Galileo | Alabama Express | Written Tycoon | Ocean Park | – | – |
| Prowess | Proisir | Written Tycoon | – | – | – | – |
| Espiona | Extreme Choice | Written Tycoon | – | – | – | – |
| Parmalove | Snitzel | Written Tycoon | – | Per Incanto | Alacritous (Dundeel) | Velocious (Written Tycoon) |
| Beautiful Heart | Snitzel | Written Tycoon | Written Tycoon | – | – | – |
| Magical Mist | High Chaparral | Lucky Vega | Alabama Express | Maurice | Smart Missile | – |
| She’s A Thief | Showcasing | Lucky Vega | Alabama Express | Tagaloa | Written Tycoon | – |
| Oriental Ruby | Street Cry | Lucky Vega | Alabama Express | – | Written Tycoon | Rubama (Alabama Express) |
| Pageantry | I Am Invincible | Lucky Vega | Pierata | Written Tycoon | Miss Lyra (Lucky Vega) | Paro (Alabama Expres) |
| Drawn To Run | Hurricane Run | Tagaloa | – | Lope De Vega | – | Duke of Meridian (Waldgeist) |
| Urban Ball | Galileo | Tagaloa | – | Make Believe | – | – |
| Ana d’Or | Power | Tagaloa | Alabama Express | Per Incanto | – | – |
| Footprints | Galileo | Tagaloa | Tagaloa | – | Wootton Bassett | – |
This article was written by Keely Mckitterick for TTR AusNZ.
