Fairway Returns to Scene of Success

This year's G1 Golden Slipper and G1 Cox Plate winners Vancouver (Aus) (Medaglia d'Oro) and Winx (Aus) (Street Cry {Ire}) have provided plenty of advertising copy for Magic Millions, both being graduates of the Gold Coast Yearling Sale. It is noteworthy that both horses were raised and sold by Coolmore, albeit a year apart; however, what is even more remarkable is that both were bred by John Camilleri's Fairway Thoroughbreds from his broodmare band of fewer than 30.

Winx, the winner of this year's

G1 Queensland Oaks and G1 Epsom H. before scoring by a hugely impressive five lengths in the G1 Cox Plate, was bought by Magic Bloodstock for A$230,000 on the Gold Coast in 2013, while the Slipper winner Vancouver cost trainer Gai Waterhouse A$185,000 last year.

Peter O'Brien, who has been working with Camilleri for around 20 years first at Coolmore Australia and now in his role as general manager of Segenhoe Stud, shed some light on the matings and circumstances that produced Vancouver and Winx.

“Vancouver's mother, Skates, was a smallish, short-coupled Danehill mare, so essentially she needed a stallion with size and scope–a proven stallion, and on pedigree the Sadler's Wells-Danehill cross is unbelievable,” he said. “Medaglia d'Oro ticked every box for her.”

O'Brien explained that at the time of his sale, Vancouver was a well-made horse but a bit immature, prompting the decision to sell him on the Gold Coast.

“He was a late foal and at the time I just thought he might get lost at Easter, so we put him into Magic Millions, and he was just too immature at that sale,” O'Brien noted. “When I saw him at Gai's stables at Easter he was just a completely different horse. He always had the quality and the frame, he just needed to develop substance.”

With Winx, O'Brien said the decision to sell on the Gold Coast was more a matter of pedigree.

“Similar to Vancouver, even though the mare was a stakes winner, she lacked that depth on pedigree and we thought that year she might get lost at Easter among the Street Crys that had stronger pedigrees,” he said. “So we put her into the Magic Millions for her to stand out a bit. At the time we were very pleased with what she made. Now we just wish we kept her.”

O'Brien explained that with Winx's dam, Vegas Showgirl (NZ) (Al Akbar {Aus}), there were plenty of options when it came to matings.

“Vegas Showgirl, because she's so good-looking, she's a mare you could send to any stallion physically,” he said. “There was always a worry Street Cry had a limited exposure here in the Southern Hemisphere because he was so successful in America,

so we tried to breed as many to him as possible while he was here. On pedigree and conformationally they were just a perfect mix.”

Camilleri's program dictates that all colts are sold and fillies out of his mares may be kept once their dams are proven. As such, the next filly out of Vegas Showgirl would possibly be retained. Vegas Showgirl's 2-year-old colt by Snitzel was an exception to that rule after failing to make it to the sales, and, now named El Divino (Aus), he is in training with Gai Waterhouse.

“He won a trial brilliantly a couple months ago and Gai has a massive opinion of him,” O'Brien said. Vegas Showgirl did not produce a foal this year, but is back in foal to Snitzel.

Skates has a yearling colt by Pierro (Aus) to sell on the Gold Coast but died this year after foaling. O'Brien said Camilleri has retained winning 4-year-old filly Pattini (Aus) (High Chaparral {Ire}), one of just two fillies produced by Skates since he purchased her for A$400,000 at Inglis in 2002. Pattini is in foal to Pierro.

While nothing ensures success when breeding Thoroughbreds, careful planning and attention to detail are good places to start, and Camilleri and O'Brien are both always looking for ways to keep the program at the highest level.

“John has 28 mares at the moment, and we're constantly selling and buying mares and also more importantly, keeping some fillies that he's bred,” O'Brien said, adding that conformation and physical matches are the most important aspects of Camilleri's program.

“Nearly all of his mares are very good types with pedigree. Some of the young ones might not necessarily have race performance, but we'd be keeping fillies from good-producing mares to continue the lines,” he said. “In saying that if you look at Winx's mother, Vegas Showgirl, she didn't tick every box where she didn't have that deep pedigree, but she just made up for it in looks. For me she was the best-looking mare I'd ever seen. We don't have blinkers on when we're trying to buy mares or yearling fillies. Black cats have black kittens and with Vegas Showgirl, every foal she's produced has been just as

good-looking or better than her.”

Camilleri prefers to use proven stallions, something that has become more difficult over the last year, O'Brien explained.

“When John does his matings, we're always looking for proven stallions,” he said. “The difficulty this year in Australia was that we lost Commands, High Chaparral, Encosta de Lago [who was pensioned] and Street Cry, and all those aside from Commands were outcross stallions. So it made it quite difficult this year and last year to mate the Danehill-line mares. There's a distinct lack of proven sires you can outcross to.”

“But in saying that, we would spend more time on physical compatibility than anything,” he reiterated. “At the end of the day the whole aim is to breed an athlete, so physical compatibility is essential.”

Segenhoe will consign three colts for Fairway on the Gold Coast, the eye-catcher on paper no doubt being the Pierro half-brother to Vancouver (lot 612) slated to sell on day three. O'Brien said the bay has the looks to match his page.

“He's as good a looking horse as you'd ever see,” he said. “He's very mature, all quality, great limbs and a particularly good hip. If you're looking for attributes in a yearling you'd think would be a 2-year-old, it's him.”

“Obviously he's by a Slipper winner and a half-brother to a Slipper winner,” O'Brien added. “For me his most important attribute is his walk. He's got one of those beautiful

daisy- cutting actions and a terrific temperament. I genuinely think he'd be one of the stars of the sale.”

Fairway will offer another son of Pierro, a colt out of the winning Alessandra (Aus) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}) (lot 11). Alessandra is a half-sister to G1 Queensland Derby winner Dariana (Aus) (Redoute's Choice {Aus}), who Camilleri also bred out of Beldarian (Ire) (Last Tycoon {GB}), a stakes-placed Irish import from the family of Oasis Dream (GB).

“This Pierro colt reminds me a lot of Vancouver in that he's got beautiful quality and great size and scope but probably just needs a bit more substance, but he's a horse that's developed in the prep and he looks more like a Guineas horse later on,” O'Brien said. “I don't think he'll be a precocious 2-year-old. But he's full of quality and light on his feet and looks athletic.”

Also selling on day one is lot 128, a Redoute' Choice colt out of Costa Serena (Aus) (Encosta de Lago {Aus}). Camilleri bought the colt's second dam Merlene, a dual Group 1 winner who is also the second dam of Group 1 winner Dear Demi (Aus) (Dehere) and last year's promising but ill-fated 2-year-old Burnstone (Aus) (Redoute's Choice {Aus}). Lot 128 is inbred 3×4 to Danehill and replicates Burnstone's cross.

“Some people say it's inbred a bit close to Danehill, but it's actually worked with Burnstone. He won the Blue Diamond Preview and unfortunately died. This horse is a three-parts in blood to him, and funnily enough looks very much like him. He's very mature, and being inbred to Danehill he has a lot of substance, a great walk, and looks like an ideal Magic Millions, precocious 2-year-old type.”

O'Brien pointed out two others from the 15-horse Segenhoe draft he thinks will stand out on the Gold Coast. The first is a colt from the first crop of All Too Hard (Aus) out of the

stakes-winning Custard (Aus) (Lonhro {Aus}) (lot 136), who has already produced the Group 3 winner Serene Majesty (Aus) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}).

“This colt just ticks every box and has the action and pedigree to match,” he said. He also pointed to lot 304, a Sebring filly who is the second foal out of the stakes-winning Hooness (Aus) (Exceed and Excel {Aus}).

“She won't be a hugely expensive filly but for me she's a racehorse,” O'Brien said. “She's a beautiful filly out of a

stakes-winning Exceed and Excel mare and the match with Sebring has highlighted the attributes of both broodmare sire and stallion. She's just a stunning filly who looks a racehorse.”

Camilleri, O'Brien, and Segenhoe Stud will certainly have lots to look forward to in January. O'Brien put Camilleri's success down to hard work and passion.

“He's bred seven stakes winners over the last three years, including Vancouver and Winx, from what was then a broodmare band of 24,” O'Brien noted. “He puts a lot of time into it. I'd speak to him three or four times a day, everyday. He is unbelievably passionate about his horses. He comes to the farm every three to four weeks and spends time with them. He adores his animals. It's not just a business; it's the love of the animal which is paramount to him.”