Hinchinbrook’s fast son Unite And Conquer to stand at Kingstar
Conor Phelan also set to return to Hunter Valley in role at Sandblom-owned farm
Brilliant early season two-year-old Unite And Conquer (Hinchinbrook), a dual stakes-winning colt whose racetrack career was cut short by injury, will stand at Kingstar Farm in the Hunter Valley this year.
The former Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott-trained sprinter, who comprehensively won the Maribyrnong Trial (Listed, 1000m) in October 2018 and the Wyong Magic Millions 2YO Classic (RL, 1100m) soon after, has been secured by Matthew Sandblom to join his stallion roster at Kingstar Farm.
The acquisition of Unite And Conquer also coincides with well-known industry professional Conor Phelan re-entering the stud game after being recruited to the Sandblom-owned operation, based near Denman.
Phelan, who spent almost a decade at Vinery Stud before a two-year stint with software company ThoroughWorks, is excited by the new role and the prospects of Unite And Conquer whose first season fee has been set at $6,600 (inc GST).
“Matthew is a heavy hitter and Kingstar is becoming more of a major player, so the time’s right to join them as they expand and we’re going to take on a new stallion this year in Unite And Conquer,” Phelan told ANZ Bloodstock News yesterday.
“I think there’s a lot of upside to sons of Hinchinbrook and if you go back through Unite And Conquer’s pedigree, there is a lot of two-year-old speed influence there in Danzero, Flying Spur and Snippets – it almost reads like a who’s who of Australian two-year-old sires
“The attraction is there to stand a good value son of Hinchinbrook who does have two-year-old speed in his pedigree and proven two-year-old speed on the track.”
Unite And Conquer is out of Melbourne city-winning mare Maglissa (Magnus), herself a daughter of Group 1 winner Danglissa (Danzero) whose offspring have also produced stakes winners Euryale (Lonhro) and Sweet Redemption (Snitzel).
“Even though he only really had two starts – the third was when he hurt himself – he beat some very good horses and he did it in very good times,” he said.
“He showed that he was a very good, early two-year-old, which I think is important for Australian breeders being able to get a horse into the yearling sales because we have a fair idea that they are going to be forward and strong.
“They are going to be able to present well and the guys buying them are going to have hopefully a quick return on their purchase because they know it is going to be by a sire in Unite And Conquer who was an early two-year-old himself.”
Unite And Conquer is already on Kingstar Farm and available for inspections.
“He will be heavily supported by Kingstar, but at the same time we don’t want to get in the way of a lot of the breeders who, through word of mouth, have already come and seen him and will probably send a few mares,” he said.
“I think you will find that he will cover a book of mares that are of a better quality than you would normally see for a $6,000 stallion. Most stallions in that bracket might end up taking whatever mare you can get but that won’t be the case with Unite And Conquer who will be getting mares who would otherwise have been going to some more high-profile stallions.
“We have a lot of faith with him.”
Meanwhile, Phelan will move from Melbourne to Kingstar Farm in the coming weeks and cannot wait to be back being “hands on” with the horses and working alongside Adam Cook and the entrepreneurial enterprise of Sandblom.
He has worked at studs in Victoria, NSW and Europe before experiencing a different side of the industry at ThoroughWorks, a horse sales management software company.
“Kingstar is no longer a new farm – they’ve been around for a few years and had really good sales results,” he said.
“Matthew Sandblom is obviously a big investor in the industry with his own farm Kingstar and interests in other stallions at farms like Newgate and Kingstar’s grown dramatically in the past two years.
“From one property, they have since bought another property on the other side of the road, so it’s growing into a very, very large operation and the time has come, after a couple of years of discussion with Adam Cook, that once they got big enough for a role to develop in bloodstock, nominations and office management that I’d take it on and they’re at that stage now.”
Phelan believes his recent experience has been important in his development.
“With ThoroughWorks I had more of an insight into all of the sales around Australia and New Zealand and internationally: South Africa, America and Europe,” he said.
“I’d speak to a lot of these sales companies and stud owners, particularly through America, Europe and South Africa, which is the other southern hemisphere hub. That was great just to get an idea about how Tattersalls. Goffs, Keeneland and Fasig-Tipton work compared to the Australian market, which I obviously know quite well.
“I did miss getting my hands on a horse and through an opportunity with a rapidly growing and expanding farm like Kingstar, l get the best of both worlds.”