A group of mates enjoying having a punt and racing shares in horses here and there is not usually the sort of story that leads to an Inglis Easter Yearling sale colt.
But that is just the “dream journey” being undertaken by Jeremy and four friends who have bonded over their shared passion for the thoroughbred, one that sees them very excited as the group’s first venture into breeding makes his way through the ring on Monday.
Lot 380, an imposing chestnut son of the in-form Castelvecchio and the well related Lady Messene, was never meant for the sale ring; the group who regularly converse in a signal chat room seeking out a nice breed to race type mare having decided to “take the plunge” and be more involved.
“We were all part of a big group of friends which we called Puntsville with shares in lots of horses all over the country,” Jeremy explained.
“My mate Steve Sampson and I had a chat and thought that we’d like to be more hands-on and breed our own horse. A couple of others came aboard and we asked Kristen Manning to find us a mare.”
“We had a budget of $13,000 and we were not really fussed if she was commercial, we just wanted a mare who would suit a variety of stallions and who could produce a nice horse for us to race.”
“I remember getting the first phone call from Jeremy and being excited about finding just the right mare for such an enthusiastic group,” Kristen Manning said.
“I searched through hundreds of mares on the online sales, finding many who ticked some boxes but I really wanted the perfect horse for them. I love the breeding game and wanted to find the sort of mare who would ensure that these guys had such a good time that they would stay involved long term.”
When Lady Messene popped up in the Inglis Digital late April 2024 sale, the bells rang! Jeremy and Kristen had a number of chats, both being fans of the then unproven stallion Castelvecchio and excited to find a mare in foal to him.
“We were pretty confident that he was a stallion with plenty of upside,” Jeremy said, remembering that he was concerned that the budget would be too tight to secure Lady Messene.
But luck was on the group’s side and the half-sister to the stakes winners Messene and Cordero (and to the dam of the NZ Champion 2Y0 Tokyo Tycoon) was purchased for just $6,500.
Fast forward four months to the arrival of the group’s first baby, a colt who hit the ground a professional and who has done everything right since!
“I got a call one morning from Chris Kent (Twin Hills) asking if they could put the Castelvecchio colt in the group being inspected by the sales companies and I thought why not, it will be good to get an assessment on him,” Jeremy said.
“A couple of months later he rang again and said – ‘you will be getting some calls, Magic Millions and Inglis both really like your colt.'”
“I had to withhold my excitement during that phone call,” Jeremy laughed, the anticipation building as he discovered that the colt had been accepted into Book 1 of the Magic Millions and Easter.
“He wasn’t going to be ready for the January sale so we all saw Easter as the ideal option. It was never the intended outcome for him to go to a sale but really, in terms of breeding a horse – Easter is the pinnacle, it’s a bucket list type thing to have a horse get in.”
Heading towards the sale still in the mindset of having bred a racehorse, the group are keen to stay involved with whoever buys their much loved colt and whatever happens they are proud of him – and of Lady Messene who is currently in foal to Portland Sky having foaled a good-looking Daumier colt last spring.
“It has been a great experience for a group that love racing, love going to the races, love horses. And hopefully our boy will go on to win some nice races.”
With a rather special pedigree, the colt is bred on a 5 X 4 cross of his own fourth dam Lady Giselle – dam of Zabeel and Baryshnikov and ancestress of another 15 stakes winners including the Gr.1 gallopers Hallowed Crown and Mornington Glory. Â
There have been only a handful of horses line-bred to Lady Giselle – Mystic Journey leading the way whilst Kintyre and Messene (Lady Messene’s half-brother) are both Group winners.
Also boasting a cross of the great mare Special, he is one of only three Easter Castelvecchio colts and one of only 25 colts from that Rosehill Guineas and Champagne Stakes winner’s fourth crop.
Seven of those colts have been sold at major sales this year – finding new homes with a median of $200,000. And since then Castelvecchio has been in flying form with his high class daughter Aeliana winning the Gr.1 Ranvet Stakes last weekend – looking a big chance in Saturday’s Gr.1 Tancred Stakes.
Castelvecchio’s progeny have already won 24 races this year and with the talented duo Verona Rose and Modella both fancied in Gr.2 Emancipation Stakes on the weekend that impressive tally looks set to be enhanced. – editorial from Kristen Manning