Olmedo to stand at Aquis in 2020
French 2000 Guineas (Gr 1, 1600m) winner Olmedo (Declaration Of War), who is by the same sire as this season’s Melbourne Cup (Gr 1, 3200m) winner Vow And Declare and Victoria Derby (Gr 1, 2500m) victor Warning, will spearhead Aquis Farm’s Queensland stallion roster this year.
The champion two-year-old son of Declaration Of War (War Front) is the latest stallion to join the roster of the ever-expanding three-state breeding operation that shows no signs of slowing down.
Ormedo’s retirement follows on from the recent acquisition of Needs Further (Encosta De Lago) (Victoria) and the retirement of Pierata (Pierro) (NSW) and Dubious (Not A Single Doubt) (Queensland).
And chief executive Tony “Tubba” Williams believes Aquis Farm’s footprint on the Australian racing and breeding industry is only likely to grow.
“There’s no doubt that we’ve got, over the next couple of years, a dozen or so high-profile horses to go to stud in addition to what we’re doing now,” Williams told ANZ Bloodstock News yesterday.
“There’s been a building stage over the past three years with a certain number of horses, but I would say that the quality level will take mighty leaps and bounds in the next couple of years and we’re already starting to do that.”
Secured by Aquis Farm late last year, the dual Group-winning Olmedo will stand at an introductory fee of $16,500 (inc GST) alongside fellow newcomer Dubious at the Canungra property in the Gold Coast hinterland.
Williams believes Olmedo is a prime example of how far the Australian thoroughbred breeding industry had come in the past three decades.
“From a Queensland perspective, Dubious and now Olmedo are both seriously good prospects and Olmedo himself is the sort of horse that we used to get the half-brothers to years ago and I am talking in Australia,” he said.
“If we wind the clock back 30 years ago, we would stand half-brothers to these horses but now we’ve got him. Have a look at the French Guineas winners and have a look at the quality of horses who have won that race – it has an exceptional record.
“The Kingmambos, the Blushing Grooms, the Green Deserts won the race. I know they are a long time ago, but if you go right through it, it’s a race where consistently high-quality horses win it, such as Shamardal and Lope De Vega and they go on to be good stallions as well.”
Olmedo was imported to Australia earlier this year to be aimed at the Sydney autumn carnival, but he was hindered by a wet track when unplaced in the Ajax Stakes (Gr 2, 1500m) at Rosehill in mid-March at his only Australian start under the care of Kacy Fogden.
In a 13-start European career for French trainer Jean-Claude Rouget, Olmedo won his first start at two at Deauville in a maiden, before racing exclusively at Group level which included five stakes placings and a victory in the Prix Gontaut-Biron (Gr 3, 2000m) as well as the defining Guineas performance.
He defeated Group 1 winners U S Navy Flag (War Front), Robin Of Navan (American Poet) and Polydream (Oasis Dream), as well as fellow Group 1 winners Masar (New Approach) and Phoenix Of Spain (Lope De Vega) in his 14 starts.
Olmedo is out of the Pivotal (Polar Falcon) mare Super Pie who in turn is a half-sister to the Group 2-placed Art Contemporain (Smart Strike). His second dam is also the Group 3-placed, Group 1-performed Super Lina (Linamix).
“Olmedo had two-year-old speed and three-year-old mile form and he is a really, really high-profile horse for Queensland,” Williams said.
“I don’t know of any other imported horses who would have had the same sort of race records standing in Queensland and he is a total outcross as well.
“There are not many mares in the Australian Stud Book who couldn’t visit him. The Danehill line, Zabeel line, Last Tycoon line, the More Than Ready line mares – you can just go on and on.”
Olmedo’s sire Declaration Of War shuttled to Coolmore Australia in 2014 and 2015, siring seven stakes winners from just two southern hemisphere crops that also includes Queensland Oaks (Gr 1, 2200m) victor Winning Ways.
He stood at Ashford Stud in the US from 2015 to 2018 before being secured by the Japan Race Horse Association to stand at Shizunai Stallion Station from 2019.
Williams said Olmedo was the “highest-rated son of Declaration Of War”, himself a stallion whose statistics were “second to none”.
“Aquis has a very big book of mares and we support each stallion accordingly. Olmedo will get a number of top mares and that is going to help him long term,” he said.
“He has a lot of quality, a lot of presence and he’s a really good looking horse and if he throws what he is himself, he’ll throw a really good sales horse.”
While Olmedo and Dubious will lead the Canungra base, Group 1-winning sprinter Pierata is arguably the most commercial first season sire to stand at Aquis Farm so far and added to its Victorian ranks with the recruitment of Needs Further from Tasmania’s Armidale Stud.
Williams said the new stallions were receiving strong early bookings from breeders after Aquis Farm learnt from its experience with Siege Of Quebec (Fastnet Rock) who failed to find favour with the Victorian market last year.
“Obviously, no one likes to see that, and Siege Of Quebec is a good example, but that was what it was and decisions were made and you move on,” he said,
“The main thing is, adding Needs Further to our Victorian roster and by working with Armidale Stud, we have stabilised Victoria and we will be looking at other stallions for Victoria for the long-term as well.
“When you look this year with Pierata going to NSW – he’s probably the highest-profile stallion to stand at Aquis in the Hunter Valley – he’s certainly stabilising that roster and in Queensland this year we’ve retired Dubious to stud and now we have Olmedo who I think is an unbelievable acquisition for Queensland.”