Leading Perth breeder Ron Sayers created a buzz of excitement when he announced Musket would stand at Yarradale Stud in 2010.
Musket is by emerging sire of sires Redoute’s Choice and is a three-quarter brother to Makybe Diva. He defeated Black Piranha in the G2 STC Shannon Quality and will stand for a $10,000 fee this season.
Sayers has added another regally-bred newcomer to the Yarradale roster after stitching up a deal with Keith Biggs to stand Discorsi at the Gidgegannup nursery.
Discorsi (6h Galileo – Express A Smile by Success Express) is a half-brother to Oratorio (Stravinsky) who has taken the Sunspeed scene by storm.
Oratorio sired 26 winners of 54 races for earnings of $2.73 million. That put him in the top bracket of sires in the 2009-10 Australia second season premiership behind High Chaparral, Fastnet Rock, Shamardal, Al Maher and Not A Single Doubt.
Biggs raced Oratorio and he was managing part-owner of the syndicate that paid $1 million for Discorsi at the 2005 Inglis Easter yearling sale.
He entered Lee Freedman’s Rye stables shortly after Oratorio retired to Mungrup Stud and looked every inch a classic colt after winning the Listed VRC Gibson – Carmichael Stakes at Flemington in May 2006.
“He’s a Group horse in the making and will be set for the Victoria Derby,” Freedman predicted. “There aren’t many horse back home capable of beating this bloke on the training track.”
Discorsi came back for the spring but pulled up sore after trialling at Cranbourne in August. It was the beginning of a frustrating couple of years for Biggs and Freedman.
Discorsi resumed the following February and was in the wars again at Moonee Valley. He lost a plate in running and stewards reported he was blocked for run and struck interference on the home turn.
A trip to Sydney for the G1 Randwick Guineas also came a cropper. He was sidelined for 18 months and connections finally bowed to the inevitable when he pulled up sore at Sandown last year.
Biggs fields several offers for Discorsi but, after selling Oratorio, he wasn’t going to make the same mistake twice. “Discorsi is a magnificent looking horse,” Biggs said. “He’s a Galileo with the speed to win a stakes race as a two year-old and I think he will do very well in WA.”
Besides Oratorio, he is also a half-brother to New Zealand G2 winner Lady Dehere (Dehere), South African G2 winner Oracy (Zabeel) and NZ Listed winner The Lady (Stravinsky).
Their second dam Hold That Smile (Haulpak) won the G1 Karrakatta Plate and her older brother Carry A Smile was a G2 winner who stood for 16 years at Heytesbury Stud.
Discorsi will stand for a $5,500 fee at Yarradale in 2010.