$500,000 bonus attached to first crop of Russian Revolution
Newgate Farm and Russian Revolution syndicate to pay windfall if Magic Millions or Inglis-bought youngsters land 2YO Classic or Millennium in 2022
Buyers of yearlings by exciting first crop stallion Russian Revolution (Snitzel) will have the opportunity to land a $500,000 windfall when his stock hits the track after Newgate Farm yesterday announced their first season sire bonus will be double the size of previous incentives in 2021.
Funded by the Russian Revolution syndicate, spearheaded by majority shareholder the China Horse Club, Newgate announced that the listed buyer of any Russian Revolution youngster purchased at Magic Millions or Inglis auctions in 2021 will be eligible for the lucrative payday should their horse subsequently land either either the Magic Millions 2YO Classic (RL, 1200m) or Inglis Millennium (RL, 1100m) as a two-year-old.
The $500,000 bonus is a significant increase on the $250,000 carrot dangled in the first two inceptions of Newgate’s initiative, which ran along the same lines for the stock of Super One (I Am Invincible) at the 2019 yearling sales and the progeny of Capitalist (Written Tycoon), Flying Artie (Artie Schiller), Extreme Choice (Not A Single Doubt) and Winning Rupert (Written Tycoon) this year.
Henry Field, managing director of Newgate, said the expansion of the first season bonus scheme, which does not apply for horses bought out of online auctions or ready to run sales, is a clear statement of support to those who back their stallions and stock at public auction.
“There are plenty of people who go to the Magic Millions or Inglis sales and they buy yearlings, they put their neck on the line, spec them and they take the risk,” Field told ANZ Bloodstock News yesterday.
“If the horse wins the Magic Millions Classic or the Inglis Millennium, the owners get a huge windfall, but we thought we would build this scheme around the person who is signing the docket and taking the risk. This is an incentive for them.”
Russian Revolution, who was unbeaten in two starts as a juvenile for Peter and Paul Snowden, landed The Galaxy (Gr 1, 1100m) and Roman Consul Stakes (Gr 2, 1200m) at three before adding the Oakleigh Plate (Gr 1, 1100m) at four, taking his overall record to seven wins from 11 outings for prize-money of just shy of $1.3 million.
The son of Snitzel (Redoute’s Choice) stood for a fee of $55,000 (inc. GST) in his first two years at Newgate, covering 226 mares in 2018 and 224 mares last year, while he is expected to serve 170 mares having been advertised at $44,000 (inc. GST) this time around.
Field said the ramped-up bonus scheme was also a key way of backing those breeders who have thrown their weight behind Russian Revolution, as well as the Newgate stallions more generally.
“Russian Revolution has been one of the most heavily-supported young stallions in Australia in the last decade and we’ve supported this horse aggressively with a lot of high-class mares ourselves,” he said.
“We’ve as much confidence in him as any first season sire we’ve ever taken yearlings to the market by and we feel he is the number one draft pick of the current first crop stallions.
“This is just one of the ways we can show breeders that we are right behind them, not just when they ring up for a booking to the stallion, but all the way through the weanling market, the yearling market and to the racetrack. When you breed to a Newgate stallion, we’re behind you the whole way through.
“This year the bonus is $250,000, but we thought we would swing the bat harder at $500,000 next year. Hopefully we’ll be paying it out.”
Russian Revolution has 35 yearlings catalogued for the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale and 22 youngsters for the Inglis Classic Sale. While Field acknowledged that Newgate’s first season sire bonus is unlikely to inflate the market value of Russian Revolution’s yearlings, he is confident the stallion’s racecourse attributes and pedigree will see him produce the type of horse needed to land either of the bonus races.
“People don’t buy the horses just for the scheme, and it’s not necessarily going to change the value of the stock on the market, but it certainly is a clear message to the marketplace that we will reward those who share the same belief in our product,” Field said.
“Russian Revolution was probably the fastest horse in training in Sydney at the time, he’s by a champion sire and he comes from the best female line in the book being from the family of Encosta De Lago and Flying Spur. He’s been supported by most of the best breeders in the country and he ticks all of the boxes to be a success story.
“He’s covering a huge book in year three, which is testimony to the high quality of the stock he is producing. They look like very sharp, fast, athletic horses and he himself was an unbeaten two-year-old.
“As a spring juvenile, he was being touted by the Snowdens as something very special, but he had a setback and didn’t get to the races until the winter. I’d be very confident he will throw a plethora of talented two-year-olds.”
Russian Revolution will be hoping to follow in the footsteps of fellow Newgate residents Capitalist, Flying Artie and Extreme Choice, all of whom have sired winners from their first crop of runners to provide eligible yearling buyers with cause for optimism heading into the bonus races in 2021.
Indeed, today’s Magic Millions Wyong 2YO Classic (RL, 1100m) contains three juveniles by Capitalist, who won this race in 2015 prior to his success in the Magic Millions 2YO Classic on the Gold Coast, as well as the Gary and John Moore-trained Ruby Kisses, a daughter of Flying Artie.
Newcastle runner-up Snowdrop will join newcomer Silver Thorn and potentially Gleneagles, who is first emergency, as the representatives of Capitalist, who has sired two winners from 14 starters this season as well as the stakes-placed trio of Forbes, Marine One and Mission Value.
“Capitalist is on fire. Snitzel and I Am Invincible are two elite stallions on a global scale and at this stage of the season Capitalist has them both covered, which is an endorsement to how well he is going,” Field said.
“Flying Artist is doing it the hard way. His progeny are really running well and everyone you talk to has a good word to say about them. From a tiny book of foals, the start made by Extreme Choice has been off the charts. They are three horses who couldn’t have started any better.”
Success for any of the quartet representing the Newgate bonus scheme in today’s $200,000 contest, which has attracted a maximum field of 14 plus five emergencies, would springboard their credentials for the Magic Millions 2YO Classic, much to the delight of Field.
“With the way they are running and the feedback we are receiving on those stallions’ progeny, we think there is a real probability we will end up paying out the $250,000 in 2021,” he said.
“If we are paying it out, it means we’ve had great success. Nobody would benefit more from paying out than we would, so we are hopeful to do that.”