‘It’s a hugely exciting time to get back into the game with a horse of Farnan’s calibre’
Kia Ora to return to standing stallions with acquisition of Golden Slipper winner
One of Australia’s foundation thoroughbred farms, the Hunter Valley’s Kia Ora Stud, will return to standing stallions after a long absence with a big-ticket item, the reigning Golden Slipper Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m) winner Farnan (Not A Single Doubt).
Recently appointed Kia Ora bloodstock and breeding manager Shane Wright said yesterday that “the farm is very excited to be joining Aquis and Phoenix in the ownership” of three-year-old Farnan while also confirming that standing rights was part of the agreement.
“Kia Ora has a long, long tradition of standing some of the best stallions in Australia. It was a foundation stud along with Widden and Segenhoe, so standing stallions is something that (the farm) has always done,” Wright said yesterday.
“It is something that we are continuing to do … but we only want to stand the best of the best. We’re not looking to get into the market of having a huge roster of stallions; we prefer a small, select group of elite calibre basically.”
Kia Ora owner Ananda Krishnan also has shares in Vinery Stud stallions Headwater (Exceed And Excel), All Too Hard (Casino Prince) and Press Statement (Hinchinbrook) as well as Newgate Farm resident Deep Field (Northern Meteor).
ANZ Bloodstock News last week broke the story that Kia Ora had purchased a significant share in the Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott-trained Farnan from Aquis Farm and Phoenix Thoroughbreds, which also bred the valuable colt.
The deal for Farnan, whose only blemish in a six-start two-year-old season came in the Magic Millions 2YO Classic (RL, 1200m), was finalised and the paperwork signed on Wednesday that will eventually see the colt stand at the property which previously stood champion stallions such as Midstream (Blandford) and Delville Wood (Bois Roussel).
“Mr Krishnan has a huge passion for the thoroughbred industry, particularly in Australia, so it is something that he has always been wanting to do but, as I said, he’s been waiting for the right horse at the right time,” Wright said.
“At this stage, when you are in the stallion business, you are always looking for the right horse, so as I mentioned earlier, we’re not going to stand ten stallions, we have no interest in that, but we could stand one or two more, that could be a possibility. We want to stand the right horse and not stand something for the sake of it.
“It’s a hugely exciting time and to get back into the game with a horse of Farnan’s calibre is a magnificent way to start and underlines what we are trying to do.”
Aquis Farm relinquishing standing rights in Farnan, who also won the Silver Slipper Stakes (Gr 2, 1100m) and the Todman Stakes (Gr 2, 1200m) last season, may seem unusual for a three-state stallion operation but there is a recent precedent with prominent American operation WinStar Farm selling unbeaten US Triple Crown winner Justify (Scat Daddy) to Coolmore.
Aquis Farm managing director Shane McGrath, who selected $670,000 Magic Millions Yearling Sale graduate Farnan as a young horse, said yesterday that the proposal put forward by Kia Ora was compelling.
“We are still heavily involved in the horse but from a business point of view, and Tony Fung’s a businessman, when we presented the business case to sell or not to sell, the head led the heart,” McGrath said,
“The exciting part from the industry’s perspective is that there was no bigger way for Kia Ora to announce themselves on the stallion stage than through the acquisition of Farnan.
“I would say for every colt investor going forward, it shows that there’s another serious player in the game.”
Out of Group 3 winner Tallow (Street Cry) and a three-quarter brother to Listed-winning sprinter Sandbar (Snitzel), Farnan is due to trial for the first time this campaign in heat one over 850 metres at Randwick tomorrow against Group class horses including Kolding (Ocean Park), Probabeel (Savabeel) and Rathlin (Fastnet Rock).
“A big positive for us buying into him was the way he was looked after as a two-year-old. Instead of continuing on (to the Sires and Champagne) after the Slipper when he was in good form with a three-year-old campaign in mind, they gave him a very good spell,” Wright said.
“There’s a lot of rain coming through Sydney at the minute and that is something we have to keep an eye on but he couldn’t be in better form. They did a very good job with him as a two-year-old and his race record reflects that and we’re hoping for a very good three-year-old campaign.”
When Farnan does retire to Kia Ora Stud, Wright believes the collective broodmare power at the partnership’s disposal will give the first season stallion an incredible start at stud.
“I Am Invincible arrived in my second year at Yarraman, so I have seen his rise from the very beginning from when he was a $10,000 stallion up to what he is now: in my eyes the most magnificent stallion and an absolute breedshaper,” he said.
“At Yarraman, we never dodged the fact that in Vinnie’s first couple of books, the mares were of an OK to average quality, but he did it himself and proved how elite he is just by doing it himself.
“But with Farnan starting off, being a Slipper winner and being by Not A Single Doubt with a nice pedigree and such a good-looking horse, he will get a very good calibre of mare. With the broodmare band of our own, Aquis and Phoenix, he will get the best chance of any stallion who has retired in Australia in years.”
Wright was recently on the Gold Coast at the Magic Millions National Sale attempting to add to the depth of Kia Ora’s broodmare band, but came away empty handed.
“Mr Krishnan has one of the best broodmare bands in Australia. His love for the game is just so high and now bringing stallions back to Kia Ora is so exciting,” he said.
“We were up at the Magic Millions and it was very tough buying at that top level. There were a lot of people there supporting the market, but we will definitely have our eyes open and ensure, at our end, that Farnan gets good-class mares in his first season.”