Rey Magnerio
South Australia’s Andrew Nitschke wishes he had a dollar for every time someone asked if he was a Nitschke of Nitschke Stakes fame.
He’s not. He’s no relation to that famed SA turf family, and it’s a bit like asking the same question of Pete Melbourne. Or Gary Cup.
But at his farm near Millicent in the state’s south-east, the accountant and hobby breeder has been busy hopefully making famous families of his own.
And he’s celebrating this week having bred his first stakes winner, after the black type breakthrough of Rey Magnerio (Magnus) in Flemington’s Always Welcome Stakes (Listed, 1200m).
The gelding ended something of a frustrating run with the victory. Stakes success looked in his future when his career began explosively with six wins in his first nine runs. But leading into Saturday he’d had three narrow black type placings in five, the last two seconds at Group 2 and Group 3 level, by 0.06 lengths.
Nitschke, and wife and co-breeder Jody, yelled the five-year-old home at their 1000–acre mixed farm – which apart from horses runs a good number of sheep. They celebrated afterwards, and they weren’t alone.
“We’d just finished the shearing, and all the shearers got on,” said the 51-year-old Nitchske, who shared the tip while helping with the wool. “The shearers all got the $4.40, so they were pretty happy. So was I.
“We all had a few beers afterwards. You’ve got to celebrate these things when they come along.”
This Nitschke is from one racing family, if not that other one. Grandfather Doug Whitford was a dairy farmer who trained “two or three horses, mostly jumpers, and a couple of nice ones”.
Nitschke turned his lifelong love of the track into a breeding pursuit some 17 years ago. He has four mares and some interesting philosophies on breeding.
You won’t see his young horses at any yearling sale. He tried that path a few years ago and found it wasn’t for him.
“I found syndicators wanted a lot if they were going to buy your horse, and there was a lot going on behind the scenes I wasn’t a fan of,” said Nitschke, “so I mainly sell privately now, or syndicate them.”
And, perhaps with the privilege of being a small time hobby breeder, you won’t see his horses running at two.
“It’s not natural,” he said. “A lot of them have been fed up and pushed before their bones are mature. There’s not many two-year-olds who race early who normally race on for too long afterwards.
“If you give them time, their bones develop properly, and they’ll race longer. You’ll get 60 or 70 starts out of them, more wins under their belt and more prize–money for their owners.”
Nitschke mentions Bold Bastille (Brazen Beau). The filly won four of her five two-year-old starts, but after a second spring campaign of fourth, second, seventh and eighth, she’s this week been put up for sale on Inglis Digital.
Then there are horses like Bella Nipotina (Pride Of Dubai), who debuted as an October two-year-old and is still at the peak of her powers as a seven-year-old with 57 starts under her belt.
“If you look at the foal crop that year (13,823), you do get the odd exception that proves the rule,” he said.
And so, when Rey Magnerio was a late two-year-old, Nitschke sold him privately, via bloodstock agent John Ford, to trainers Robbie Griffiths and Matt de Kock. He’s now five and has had just 16 starts for seven wins and six placings, having debuted a week shy of turning four.
“He was a nice colt, a very strong, sprinting type who was good to look after,” said Nitschke, who’s of course followed his career closely as he’s gone on to eclipse his Group 3 and Listed placegetter Whisper Downs (Churchill Downs) as the star of his breeding CV.
Nitschke has made the odd major outlay for a hobby breeder of his size, such as the $20,000 he paid for the unraced Nautical Dream (Lean Mean Machine), a half-sister to Thousand Guineas (Gr 1, 1600m) winner Amphitrite (Sebring) who’s just delivered her first foal, a colt by Harry Angel (Dark Angel).
But the mare who bore Rey Magnerio – Luchardo (Testa Rossa) – was definitely more from the bargain basement bin when Nitschke bought her in 2016, commensurate with her highlights of a country and a provincial placing amid 14 starts.
“I bought her online for a thousand bucks,” he said. “The bloke wanted three grand, I offered one and he took it. I don’t know if I thought it was a bargain at the time, but I do now.”
Despite her moderate form, Nitschke was keen on Testa Rossa as a broodmare sire, and liked Luchardo’s family. Her sister Red For Lou (Testa Rossa) had thrown 2015 Magic Millions 2YO Classic (RL, 1200m) winner Le Chef (Exceed And Excel), while half-brother Magnapal (Magnus), was a dual stakes victor.
Nitschke sent Lunchardo to Star Witness and bred Vitruvius, who’s won four – including twice at Sandown – and placed in eight so far for Quinny Scott.
For his second trick, he sent her to Magnus (Flying Spur), and the result was Rey Magnerio.
“The idea was to get a three-quarter sibling to Magnapal,” he said. “I thought he was a very good horse, and if you can breed one close-up, hopefully it works.”
It appears it’s worked wonders, with Rey Magnerio now among the fancied runners for Cranbourne’s new $1 million slot race, The Meteorite (1200m) on November 23, where victory would take his earnings into seven figures.
There are only two duplications in Rey Magnerio’s first five generations. There’s Danzig (Danehill) at 4m x 4m through Magnus’s grandsire Danehill (Northern Dancer) and Luchardo’s grandsire Perugino.
But more interesting is the 4f x 5m of Vain (Wilkes). In the bottom half, he’s the sire of Testa Rossa’s damsire, Sir Dapper. And in the top, he sired Song Of Norway, the dam of Scandinavia – not just Magnus’s mum but the linchpin of one of Australia’s most powerful families.
Twinning Vain with a member of the Scandinavia family has borne results elsewhere in the past, especially in the case of one quite handy sprinter – Black Caviar (Bel Esprit) – who had Vain at 3f x 4f.
We won’t see another one like her, of course, but from a thousand-dollar mare, Rey Magnerio is performing a fine job of keeping the flag flying for Magnus, who left us last year aged 21.
Rey Magnerio becomes the 30th stakes winner, from 774 runners, for Magnus, who sired four Group 1 winners in Streets Of Avalon, Malaguerra, Magnifisio and Great Shot.
And Testa Rossa – who peaked at No.6 on the Australian broodmare table in 2020 thanks to Melbourne Cup winner Vow And Declare (Declaration Of War) – ranks as Magnus’s fifth-best nick, with 13 winners from 18 starters and Rey Magnerio its sole stakes victor. Bel Esprit, also effecting a Vain duplication, is his fourth-best.
Meanwhile, Nitschke now has a stake in Luchardo’s three-year-old colt by Star Turn (Star Turn), who’s in work with young Murray Bridge trainer Justin Pickering, and has a yearling filly after sending the mare back to Star Witness.