Group 1 Winner Mare Australis Retired To Haras De La Hetraie

Mare Australis (Ire) (Australia {GB}–Miramare {Ger}, by Rainbow Quest), a winner at the highest level in France, has been sold to Pascal Noue of Haras de la Hetraie and will stand there next year, www.galopponline.de reported on Tuesday. The deal was brokered by Tina Rau and Richard Venn. A fee for the dual-purpose stallion will be announced later.

Bred by Stall Ullmann and raced by Gestut Schlenderhan and Andre Fabre, the 5-year-old won on debut at Munich in November of his juvenile year. In three starts at three, he scored in the Listed Prix de l'Avre second up and was then second in the G2 Prix du Conseil de Paris. Runner-up in the G2 Prix d'Harcourt when making his 4-year-old bow in 2020, he ran out a 1 3/4-length victor of the G1 Prix Ganay that May. From five starts this term, he was third in the Prix d'Harcourt and later added the G2 Grand Prix de Chantilly. Mare Australis retires with a mark of 11-4-2-1 and $408,989 in earnings.

He is out of multiple stakes placed Miramare and is her last living foal. His dam is a half-sister to group winners Montclaire (Ire) (Montjeu {Ire}) and Macleya (Ger) (Winged Love {Ire}), who was also second in the G1 Prix Royal-Oak. The family has also been effective Stateside, with GI Manhattan S. and GI United Nations S. hero Tribhuvan (Fr) (Toronado {Ire}) also under the second dam.

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A Wonderment of German Bloodlines the Draw for Thayer

Torquator Tasso, Danedream, Novellist, Star Appeal, Protectionist, Manduro, Shirocco, Lando, Almandin. All winners of some of the world's best races and with one thing in common: they were made in Germany. 

The strength and depth of German breeding will not have escaped the attention of those who pay close attention to the subject, and in fact, such is the regard in which German families are held that the country, with a diminishing pool of mares which is now well below 1,000, could be deemed to be at risk losing the goose that lays the golden eggs.

Hopefully, however, a younger wave of German breeders will be encouraged to continue this brand of excellence for which their forebears have become renowned, and ample encouragement for that can be drawn from the support which has been afforded the BBAG's main yearling sale in recent years.

A little less than a fortnight ago, the most recent edition was topped by a Gestut Fahrhof-bred son of Kingman (GB), bought by American agent Jason Litt for LNJ Foxwoods, the racing name of the Roth family who employ a transatlantic approach to their racing and breeding interests. Also among the list of buyers that day was Stella Thayer, president and owner of Tampa Bay Downs racecourse in Florida, who has enjoyed some notable success as an owner and breeder in France. 

“I'd lived in France as a student, so I always thought in the back of my mind that I'd come back and spend some time,” says Thayer during her visit to Baden-Baden, having spent some of the summer in Chantilly and Deauville. “And then I thought, well, having racehorses would be quite special, since Chantilly is, to me, the most extraordinary garden for horses and people to exist. And so I bought horses.”

With the help of German-born, French-based and multilingual bloodstock agent Tina Rau, Thayer set about assembling a small but select string in training with Nicolas Clement in Chantilly, and the project was rewarded with almost instantaneous success. 

“It was extraordinary really, because Tina found me my first Grade I winner,” says the 81-year-old. “It was kind of late in life, but better late than never.”

The filly in question, Wonderment (Ire) (Camelot {GB}), won the 2018 G1 Criterium de Saint-Cloud, and though she was bought in France, she owns a decidedly German pedigree. Her dam Wiwilia (GB) (Konigstiger {Ger}) is a half-sister to the dual German Group 3 winner Wake Forest (Ger) (Sir Percy {GB}), who later won the GI Man o' War S. for Chad Brown, and they hail from the same black-type-laden family as Waldgeist (GB) (Galileo {Ire}).

Thayer continues, “So when you have that kind of success, it tends to whet your appetite. It's certainly been a very wonderful friendship with Tina and Nicolas, and a great experience to be involved with that. To have a 2-year-old win over a mile and a quarter was pretty amazing. She came from dead last, so it was quite exciting.”

With Wonderment now ensconced at Claiborne Farm, where she has a War Front filly and is back in foal to the stallion, Thayer currently has the homebred Group 3 and Listed winner Control Tower (Fr) (Youmzain {Ire}) in training with Clement, among others. The winner of the Prix Belle de Nuit over 1m6f last October and subsequently fourth behind Alpinista (GB) in the G1 Grosser Preis von Bayern, Control Tower is out of the Monsun (Ger) mare La Tour Rouge (GB), another of Rau's shrewd purchases for Thayer, from Darley back in 2013 for just 5,000gns.

“I've really been interested in trying to secure that good, strong-bred stock,” Thayer says. “It seems to be appreciated in the European process. I just hope enough of the German breeders keep their own lines as well, because I think it's very important for horses everywhere, that you have that sturdiness.

“I'm interested in the fact that the stamina lines and the hardiness is still here, especially in German bloodlines, and I think we shouldn't forget about that. I'm certainly no expert in breeding, but from a personal perspective I think that we could all, at least in the US, try to move a percentage of our races more towards the middle or long-distance again, which they once were, but they've become speed-dominated. And not to take away from speed, I mean, it's exciting, and you don't want to race a slow horse, but I just think from a balance perspective, and for the horse, its safety and development, as well as from a spectator's or bettor's perspective, it's good to have that variety.”

Germany's celebrated late stallion Monsun has been of great appeal to Thayer as a broodmare sire influence, and with Arc winner Waldgeist (GB), Breeders' Cup winner Yibir (GB), and this season's star 3-year-old colt Vadeni (Fr) just some of the recent big names out of mares by Monsun, who could argue with this approach? The devotion to Monsun's line continued in the purchase of Wildwood (Fr), by his son Maxios (GB) and a winner at Chantilly earlier this year. Maxios pops up again as the broodmare sire of the latest BBAG yearling recruit, a daughter of Holy Roman Emperor (Ire), also selected by Rau.

As the offspring of Wonderment mature in the paddocks at Claiborne, their blend of dirt and turf bloodlines should afford them the potential to race on either side of the Atlantic: the perfect situation for a Francophile breeder with an American racecourse among her portfolio, as well as horses in training in her native country with Arnaud Delacour.

Tampa Bay Downs has been owned by Thayer in partnership with her brother Howell Ferguson since 1986. A lawyer by profession, her love of horses, and later racing, was kindled from a young age.

“I rode as a child, and as minors we weren't allowed to go to racetracks in Florida at the time,” she recalls. “A friend of my father owned a local racetrack and so at the age of nine or ten, we would go and get on the top of a car, and watch the races. Later my husband and I lived on a breeding farm in New Jersey when we were first married. I think that planted the seed of gravitating my equestrian interest into racing.”

Of her involvement with Tampa Bay Downs, she adds, “Just perchance, we had been investors, and then through a number of transactions, my brother and I ended up owning it from 1986 forward, so I was dedicating a big portion of my business life and my personal life to hearing about that track.”

Much has changed in racing in the intervening years, not least the intense focus on welfare issues surrounding the worldwide thoroughbred population. And in a move that should suit Thayer's avowed love of European bloodlines, the American turf racing programme has expanded notably.

“I think there are always the challenges,” she says of running a racecourse. “But the fortunate thing for us is that we're small, and we have a very dedicated staff that really loves racing. Because we're in Florida, we have the weather, and we put in a wonderful turf course, and we care for that. 

“I think that people who love racing really do appreciate turf racing when they see it. And the handicapping, I mean, just from a business perspective, the racetracks do about 30% more on a similar number, so if you have 10 horses in a similar race, you'll bet about 30% more on the turf race. And I do notice that there are more people trying to buy turf horses.”

Thayer continues, “Most tracks have a turf course, it's just a matter of having a balanced programme. And since we race frequently, it makes it more difficult, whereas in Europe, they move around from course to course.

“So that's the challenge of expanding; we have a kind of limitation from nature. You can't tear over [the turf] too many times. We're very careful about that; we pride ourselves in trying to maintain the course, and not overuse it, so that's it's a safe surface, as safe as one can make it for horses. I've always felt the first dollars should be spent on making your track surfaces as good as you can.”

With a summer European tour now under her belt, the indefatigable owner-breeder, whose various roles in American racing include being a vice president of the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, as well as a previous stint as president of the Thoroughbred Racing Associations of North America (TRA), has her sights set on returning before too long.

“I hope to maybe come back for Arc weekend,” says Thayer, who has Control Tower entered for the G1 Prix de Royallieu. “I think the international quality of racing is a wonderful attribute to those who love the sport. I'd like to go to almost every racetrack, but I never made that. I've been to quite a few, but I've missed a lot of them. It's a really shared passion, and I think you're immediately drawn positively to people who care about it in the same way.”

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Tattersalls Appoints New German, Scandinavian Representatives

Tattersalls has appointed Tina Rau as its representative in Germany, and Tina Henriksson as its representative in Scandinavia.

Rau, who operates Tina Rau Bloodstock, has purchased multiple Classic winners, including 2020 German 2000 Guineas winner Fearless King (GB) (Kingman {GB}) from Tattersalls.

“Tattersalls has always been held in the highest esteem by German breeders, owners and trainers and I am excited to be joining the Tattersalls team,” she said. “Tattersalls is recognised in Germany as the European market-leader and I am looking forward to promoting Tattersalls in Germany and to assisting German vendors and purchasers with their visits to Newmarket.”

Henriksson, who is based at Bro Park in Sweden, was an amateur jockey and now holds an amateur trainer's license as well as being a physiotherapist and equine therapist.

“I am thrilled to be joining Tattersalls as representative for Scandinavia,” said Henriksson. “The racing industry in Scandinavia continues to grow, with more horses competing on the global stage and more horses being imported each year, and I am relishing the opportunity to bring clients from Sweden, Norway and Denmark to Newmarket to buy at the numerous market-leading sales staged by Tattersalls.”

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I Want The Winner Online Platform Launched

I Want The Winner, a new digital platform for buying and selling racehorses online, was launched on Monday. The service is completely secure and transparent for both buyers and sellers. Geared toward the high-end of the bloodstock industry, I Want The Winner will offer horses-in-training, breeding stock, the syndication process, covering fees and stallion shares.

The 2017 concept is the brainchild of Christophe German, the founder of Le Centaure, a horse racing insurance brokerage which went on to become Markel France. German's partners in I Want The Winner are Michel Gasselin, Mehdi Mohammed and Dimitri Gallier. The trio were already involved in the setting up of Club Elevage-an online site which trades in the covering fees and shares of trotting stallions. German is also working with Valentin Adam, who has spent nearly three years at Arqana, and the company has representatives in France, Britain, Ireland (Billy Jackson-Stops), Germany (Tina Rau) and Australia (Louis Le Metayer).

“I witnessed the success of Club Elevage in a sphere, namely that of the trotting, where trading volume is far less than that of the world of flat racing,” said German. “I quickly became convinced that the Flat sector would benefit from a well thought out online sales platform, and one sharing the same values as those that govern Markel France, namely transparency, integrity and clarity. The design of such a platform required a lot of thought and, to bring it to fruition, I was able to draw on the expertise of my three established partners whose Club Elevage website is a proven success story. We are now proceeding towards the activation phase. I Want The Winner has already received the support of renowned professionals such as Francois Nicolle and Francis-Henri Graffard who, like us, believe in the project and which have understood why it's of interest. This type of sale is also a logical step from an animal welfare and also from an economic point of view as there is less travel. A number of developments are in the pipeline for the next few weeks, including online bidding for certain lots.”

Offerings already on I Want The Winner include: the broodmare Suama (Fr) (Monsun {Ger}) with her Goliath du Berlais (Fr) filly at foot, nominations to Le Havre (Ire), Almanzor (Fr), King Edward (Fr), Threat (Ire) and Born To Sea (Ire) and stallion shares in Threat and King Edward.

For more information on I Want The Winner, please view www.iwantthewinner.com or email Valentin Adam at va@iwantthewinner.com or Christophe German at cg@iwantthewinner.com.

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