Rosemont Stud pulls off major Hanseatic coup
Deal sees Godolphin’s brilliant juvenile Street Boss colt to make Victoria home
High-class juvenile Hanseatic (Street Boss), the short-priced favourite in last year’s Blue Diamond Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m) on the back of an unbeaten start to his career, will stand at Rosemont Stud in Victoria later this year.
Anthony Mithen has negotiated the purchase of the Godolphin-bred and raced son of Street Boss (Street Cry) to continue Rosemont’s aggressive approach to building the profile and commercial appeal of its stallion roster.
The Rosemont principal says Hanseatic, the first horse since Rancher (Brave Lad) in 1981-82 to win the Merson Cooper (Listed, 1000m) as a spring two-year-old and the Blue Diamond Preview (C&G) (Listed, 1000m) and Blue Diamond Prelude (Gr 3, 1100m), meets the almost insatiable market demand for early speed and precocity.
“We can’t believe our luck that we’ve got the opportunity to stand a horse with Godolphin’s support and backing. He looks fast, he was fast, and to have what was rated by many as the second-best two-year-old of last season coming to stand at our farm is pinch-yourself-stuff really,” Mithen told ANZ Bloodstock News yesterday.
“This time last year there were probably two colts you wanted to own and it was Farnan and Hanseatic. One was owned by the Blue Army who certainly weren’t going to let him out of their clutches and we saw the other one the subject of a massive transaction and price.
“He has found a good home as well (at Kia Ora Stud) but, 12 months later we’re the proud owner of Hanseatic and, barring bad luck in the Blue Diamond, we wouldn’t have had that opportunity.
“It is a coup for Rosemont, it’s a coup for Victoria and it is a great chance to tap into the Street Boss blood that’s looking like it’s going from strength to strength at the moment.”
Hanseatic, who was trained by Anthony and Sam Freedman, has been retired with a record of nine starts for three wins and two seconds, the first of those runner-up placings when held up in the Blue Diamond Stakes which was won by Tagaloa (Lord Kanaloa).
Fellow stud Yulong pounced on Tagaloa soon after his Group 1 victory and he, too, will stand in Victoria this year.
Hanseatic raced four times as a three-year-old, the latest when unplaced in last month’s Oakleigh Plate (Gr 1, 1100m) at Caulfield, which then hastened stud negotiations for the colt.
Anthony Freedman places Hanseatic among the stable’s best two-year-olds this century.
“He’s the most talented two-year-old we have had since Alinghi. He had incredible power and a burst of acceleration when asked,” the trainer said.
“I’d expect he will be an influential source of early speed”.
Mithen revealed respected Victorian form analyst Deane Lester was the catalyst for Rosemont Stud pursuing Hanseatic.
“I got chatting to Deane about potential colts to stand at stud and what he liked and where he assessed things,” he said.
“I was in the ‘this is in the fanciful basket’ but he kept at me and said, ‘you don’t know until you ask. Hanseatic is such a fast horse, an impressive two-year-old and such a magnificent type … He is out of an Exceed And Excel mare, but he’s by Street Boss, so you can send Danehill-line mares to him. He might just suit’.
“I was only negative on the idea because I thought I was going to waste my time even considering it but I made a subtle inquiry through an agent and learned that they were assessing his suitability to stand or whether they would trade him.”
From there, negotiations heated up and a deal was reached between Rosemont Stud and Godolphin Australia’s managing director Vin Cox and Darley’s head of sales Andy Makiv.
“They have been great supporters of ours and us of them, so it was an opportunity to come together and give everyone what they wanted,” Mithen said.
“It gives us a nice horse, they have still got breeding rights in the horse, and we can go and breed that two-year-old type for the Aussie market which, as we’ve seen over the past few months, is so popular.”
Hanseatic is by the same sire as last-start Todman Stakes (Gr 2, 1200m) winner and Blue Diamond third-placed Anamoe, a leading contender in the Golden Slipper Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m), while the Darley shuttler is also responsible for Newmarket Handicap (Gr 1, 1200m) winner The Quarterback and Hong Kong star Rapper Dragon.
Overall, he is the sire of 46 stakes winners worldwide while Hanseatic’s dam Itameri (Exceed And Excel) has had four foals to race, all winners, including this season’s Blue Diamond Preview (F) (Gr 3, 1000m) placegetter Frost Flowers (Frosted).
His third dam is Scandinavia (Snippets), herself a Group 2-winning, Group 1-placed mare, whose deeds in the breeding barn surpass her racetrack CV being the mother of The Galaxy (Gr 1, 1100m) winner and successful sire Magnus (Flying Spur) as well as Wilander (Exceed And Excel), Scandiva (Fastnet Rock) and Arctic Flight (Flying Spur).
Another daughter is the unraced Helsinge (Desert Sun) who is, of course, the dam of champion mare Black Caviar (Bel Esprit) and All Too Hard (Casino Prince), while another sister Naturale (Bel Esprit) is the dam of this season’s Golden Rose Stakes (Gr 1, 1400m) and Caulfield Guineas (Gr 1, 1600m) winner Ole Kirk (Written Tycoon).
“He is a close descendent of Black Caviar, Ole Kirk and All Too Hard. It’s a stallion-making family and it’s probably the best family in the Australian Stud Book,” Mithen said.
“We had a good little dash at Ole Kirk and we unfortunately missed out there and he heads to stud in NSW, but I think we’ve struck gold here with that gene pool and a son of Street Boss, no less, so it gives us enormous confidence to send him a bunch of quality mares of our own.
“I think the Victorian market will see it similarly and be pretty keen to be involved here.”
A small number of lifetime breeding rights will be offered in Hanseatic, although Mithen said Rosemont’s existing clients were already jumping on board.
“It’s staring us in the face that Victoria is a great place to breed a horse, to stand a horse, to breed a mare and to race with prize-money at record levels,” he said.
“There’s no time like the present, so we’ve got involved and I am really pleased (to have bought the horse).
“I will defy anyone to present a better first season stallion option in Victoria. There will be a few farms there who will have their candidate but I am pretty pleased with ours and I can’t wait to get some nice mares and get a good book going.”
A service fee for Hanseatic as well as barnmates Shamus Award (Snitzel), Starspangledbanner (Choisir), Strasbourg (I Am Invincible), Nostradamus (Medaglia D’Oro) and Starcraft (Soviet Star) will be announced in the near future.