Genzano
Like an absorbing novel, or a long-running TV drama, the dynastic plotlines woven through the story of Saturday’s Spring Stakes (Gr 3, 1600m) winner Genzano (Maurice) are as numerous as they are exquisite.
She’s the first stakes-winner bred by brother and sister Alastair and Annie Fraser, of the Hunter Valley’s renowned St Aubins Stud line, a name associated with the likes of Shannon (Midstream), Ajax (Heroic) and many more. More recently, indeed only five months ago, the family’s current patriarch and matriarch – Nairn Fraser of Scone Equine Hospital fame and wife Kate – celebrated breeding their first Group 1 winner when Amokura (Kermadec) took the Queensland Oaks (Gr 1, 2200m).
The next generation of Frasers have now made some ground on their folks, and may be eyeing their own Group 1 breakthrough when the next Queensland Oaks rolls around.
Genzano was bred in partnership with Arrowfield Stud, and became the ninth Australian stakes-winner for the farm’s Japanese shuttler Maurice (Screen Hero), from 145 runners which includes 100 winners.
She’s co-trained by Paul Messara, son of Arrowfield boss John, and is the first stakes-winner under the training partnership, formed this season, of Messara and Leah Gavranich.
Formerly a stable employee and assistant trainer, Gavranich was strapper and constant companion to the Fraser siblings’ outstanding sprinter Ortensia (Testa Rossa), taking the mare on her globetrotting odyssey of 2011-12 which incorporated elite-level triumphs in Perth’s Winterbottom Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m), Dubai’s Al Quoz Sprint (Gr 1, 1000m), and York’s Nunthorpe Stakes (Gr 1, 5f).
And while Ortensia died at aged only ten, taken in 2016 by a lung tumour, and left only two foals, she’s the grandam of Gavranich’s first stakes-winner as a trainer, and the Fraser siblings’ first as breeders: Genzano.
“It’s nice how it sometimes works in horse racing,” Alastair Fraser told It’s In The Blood. “Leah was just there by herself with Ortensia, from Perth to Dubai and England, looking after her every day of the week without a day off for about six months. It’s sad that we lost Ortensia, but it’s great that the first stakes-winner Leah’s had as co-trainer is Ortensia’s granddaughter.”
Aside from hobby breeding, Alastair and Annie Fraser are also involved in property. Alastair is based a few furlongs from his old childhood friend Paul Messara and Arrowfield. Annie is a bit further away – in Los Angeles – but was back in Australia for the first time in four Covid-strained years to be at Newcastle witnessing Genzano’s romp last weekend.
The siblings may have lost Group 1 bragging rights to their parents, who sold the original St Aubins – where Ortensia is buried – some five years ago, but they have at least one ace up their sleeve.
Nairn and Kate’s racing stock including Amokura – who gained more black–type when third in the VRC Matriarch Stakes (Gr 2, 2000m) a week before Genzano’s triumph – race in St Aubins’ second silks, of yellow and red stripes.
Like Ortensia, Genzano bears St Aubins’ original main set – orange and white stripes with a black cap – which were first registered in 1913, and have been carried by many exceptional talents, not least Shannon in the 1940s, before he enhanced his greatness in the US.
“Genzano’s got a lot to live up to but she’s started out on the right rack at least,” Alastair said.
“Mum and Dad use the second set of colours and Annie and I got the first set. I’m not sure how that happened, but in any case, the family’s had a very good year. It’d be nice if Genzano could win a Queensland Oaks as well. I didn’t think she’d be an Oaks filly, but she won well over the mile last weekend, and the Queensland Oaks is only 2200 metres. But in any event, I’ll leave that up to Paul and Leah.”
While Ortensia died young, and only had two foals, at least they were fillies, the first being Artefiori (Choisir). Like Ortensia, she was trained by Messara and raced by Alastair and Annie Fraser in partnership with Emma Ridley and won once, a maiden at Muswellbrook maiden.
The second, Genzano’s dam Infiorata (Dream Ahead), had soundness issues that kept her from racing. Ortensia was put in foal to Redoute’s Choice (Danehill), but as her illness worsened she slipped it, and then died a few months later.
“We all know good racemares often find it hard to reproduce themselves in their offspring,” Alastair said. “But you do see a lot of very good grandmas. So for one reason or another, perhaps they don’t make great mums, but the genes are still there to be carried on.”
Much like the velvet-clad filly herself, Genzano’s pedigree overall could be described as a thing of beauty.
First catching the eye is a gender-balanced 4×3 duplication of the great Sadler’s Wells (Northern Dancer), as sire of Maurice’s damsire Carnegie, and of Arvola, dam of Dream Ahead’s sire Diktat (Warning). It’s a rare-enough sireline, extending through the British-bred Warning’s first five (American) sires and back to his sixth, the far more recognisable Man O’ War (Fair Play).
Ironically Warning, winner of the Sussex Stakes (Gr 1, 1m) and Queen Elizabeth Stakes (Gr 1, 1m) in the 1980s, ended up in Japan, but since he served only four seasons it’s unlikely Maurice will have mixed with his descendants much. Even less so his grandson Dream Ahead, the Champion European Sprinter, who shuttled eight seasons to Australia, and is the damsire of just one of Maurice’s offspring, with Genzano thus bringing the nick a 100 per cent strike rate for stakes-winners.
If Sadler’s Wells is there twice, it of course means his influential dam Fairy Bridge (Bold Reason) is, too. Even better, she has a third spot, through another son in Perugino (Danzig), sire of Ortensia’s dad Testa Rossa.
A 5m x 6f, 5f triplication of a Reine-de-Course mare such as Fairy Bridge sparks a good deal of excitement, but it’s backed by several other potent repetitions.
Danzig (Northern Dancer) is there three times, through two sons and a more rare female strain, at 5f x 6m, 5m. He’s the damsire of Maurice’s grandsire Grass Wonder (Silver Hawk), comes into Dream Ahead’s maternal side through Green Desert (Danzig), and is the sire of Perugino.
The great Roberto (Hail To Reason) runs into Maurice through his sireline, and comes into Infiorata as Warning’s damsire.
And there’s a double-up in the sixth remove of Never Bend (Nasrullah, 1960), who runs strongly into Maurice’s damsire Carnegie, and along Infiorata’s female line via his son Loosen Up, sire of Infiorata’s third dam.
And where there is Sadler’s Wells and Never Bend, it means much repetition of the great American Reine-de-Course mare, Lalun (Djeddah, 1952). She’s the dam of Never Bend and her other great son Bold Reason (Hail To Reason), Sadler’s Wells’s damsire. Thus Carnegie has Lalun twice.
“The key factor about Genzano’s pedigree is the sex-balanced duplication of Sadler’s Wells,” said Arrowfield’s mating maven Peter Jenkins. “Sex-balanced is the way to go for Sadler’s Wells duplications, as it is for most stallions.
“And in addition to that, there’s Sadler’s Wells’s half-brother Perugino, which brings three strains of Fairy Bridge, which is pretty effective female line-breeding.
“Infiorata’s got two male strains of Danzig – Green Desert and Peregino – and Maurice has that rare female Danzig strain, through Grass Wonder’s dam, which is why Maurice works so well with Redoute’s Choice mares, like in Hitotsu.
“And when you’ve got Sadler’s Wells you’ve got Lalun. And the best thing to add to that is Never Bend, and that was Carnigie’s driving force.”
Ortensia’s other daughter, Artefiori, has thrown for the Fraser siblings Gentileschi (Dundeel), a filly who has shown ability in two starts for Messara and Gavranich: a last start unplaced effort at stakes level in the Reginald Allen Stakes (Listed, 1400m), and a second in a Muswellbrook Super Maiden.
Genzano was only sixth in the latter, first-up from a spell, but has subsequently won a Scone maiden, a Class 1 at Newcastle, and now her Group 3 highlight.
“They’re well above average fillies,” said Paul Messara. “I think Gentileschi is going to be another high quality filly, and Genzano has always shown us a fair bit of ability.
“We’ve barely scratched the surface with her. Five starts and she’s a Group 3 winner. Those horses who are lightly raced, there’s lots of upside. Plus she can handle a wet track, having won a trial on a soft 7. Autumn can often be wet, so that’s got to be in our favour.
“If all the stars can align, we’ll be targeting some of the better races in the autumn,” said Messara, who was big fan of the physicals in the mating of the slender Infiorata and Maurice, aka The Beast From the East.
Higher autumn success for Genzano would be a fitting tribute to Ortensia. While not in the Black Caviar (Bel Esprit) category – though they did stable together during that memorable 2012 English summer – her sprinting deeds look only more glowing with time.
“I look back and think it was some achievement at the time – Group 1s in three continents in less than a year,” Messara said. “She was able to travel, and do it everywhere. That’s a hard thing to make happen, so it was a pretty big achievement.
“Unfortunately, her stud career wasn’t to be. There’s just the two broodmares out of her, but hopefully they’ll be two broodmares who can produce more down the line.”
The Frasers have three more Infiorata offspring by stallions standing for their partners Arrowfield: a Pariah (Redoute’s Choice) two-year-old colt, an Admire Mars (Daiwa Major) yearling filly, and a Shalaa (Invincible Spirit) colt foal. Trying the Maurice cross again, she’s now in foal to his Arrowfield Stud-based son, Hitotsu.
And Artefiori has a Shalaa yearling colt, an Admire Mars filly foal, and was covered by Castelvecchio (Dundeel) in September.