Greta West bred mare Two Hills scored a gutsy victory in the VRC Secondbite Plate at Flemington last weekend and the stud can keep the momentum going at headquarters this Saturday.
Two Hills (4m Hillman – Firhill by Marauding) is a typical Greta West bred galloper. She was a $9,000 buy for Alan Browell at the 2007 Inglis Melbourne Autumn yearling sale and has now banked over $203,000 for the Bendigo based trainer.
Greta West owners Laurie and John McCarthy prefer to let their winners do the talking instead of imitating the hype and hard-sell of the Hunter Valley. The McCarthy family has been breeding winners since the 1960s and their North-East Victorian nursery was home to legendary grey sire Toy Pindarri for 20 years.
Toy Pindarri (Brigand) has sired 318 winners to date at an incredible 67% strike – rate. He was pensioned in 2005 but the winners are still coming. His final commercial crop are now four year-olds and the latest is Neil Dyer’s last-start Swan Hill winner Avro Avenue.
Greta West has four sires on the roster for 2010 including newcomer Coubertin (Redoute’s Choice) along with Dangerous, (Danehill), Man of Illusion (Encosta de Lago) and King Of Prussia (Anabaa).
Coubertin is by Redoute’s Choice and his AJC Oaks winning dam Circles Of Gold has also foaled the Group 1 winning stallions Haradasun (Fusaichi Pegasus) and Elvstroem (Danehill).
Redoute’s Choice is growing in stature as a sire of sires. At latest count, he has a First X1 of sire sons credited with winners starting in 2008-09 with his Arrowfield based son Not A Single Doubt along with Legion (Larneuk) and Stromberg Carlson (Raheen).
Another 8 are off the mark so far in 2009-10: Stratum (Widden), Snitzel (Arrowfield), Bradbury’s Luck (Glenlogan Park), God’s Own (Eliza Park), Marmottan (Walnaring), Keffelstein (Spring Valley) and Break The Vault (Oaklands).
Caulfield trainer Tony Vasil prepared Elvstroem and Haradasun and he believed Coubertin would have been the next feature winner from the family. “Coubertin was a huge foal and looks more of a stayer,” Vasil explained after the colt won at Seymour and Sale last year. “He was slow to mature and didn’t show the turn of foot of Elvstroem and Haradasun. But he is a better mover than the other two.
Unfortunately, a suspensory ligament injury curtailed his career after just seven starts.
Coubertin is a striking 16.1hh stallion and his family received another important update when Starspangledbanner won the G1 Oakleigh Plate in February. Now based with Aiden O’Brien at Ballydoyle, his second dam National Song (Vain) is a half-sister to Circles Of Gold.
The McCarthys will stand Coubertin in conjunction with his breeders Frank Tagg, Garry Moffitt and Frank Meduri. His service fee has been set at $4,400 (inc gst).
Dangerous is the longest-serving stallion at Greta West and he’s consistently good for a 50% winning strike rate. A Danehill half-brother to Viscount, he was placed behind Redoute’s Choice and Testa Rossa in the 1999 Blue Diamond before going down less than a length in Catbird’s Golden Slipper.
His progeny are noted for their longevity and that appeals to owner-breeders. Conquering, who is a rising 8yo, has claimed 21 races from 66 starts and was last seen leading all the way at Sandown on April 24. He’s a Runnymede homebred for leading trainer Charlie Goggin and has been restricted to weight-for-age racing in Tasmania since shouldering 65.5kg to victory at Elwick in October 2008.
Dangerous gelding Orbit Express is a year younger than Conquering and he looked as good as ever when a G3 winner of the Victoria Hcp at Caulfield on Easter Saturday. Owner-breeders Nardoo Valley Stud passed him in at the 2005 Inglis Melbourne Autumn yearling sale when bidding failed to reach a $20,000 reserve.
He has banked more than $440,000 for connections and there’s more where that came from at Flemington this Saturday. Trainer Steve McKinnon will run him in either the Straight Six (1200m) or Murray Cox Hcp (1400m).
Going Spending is another Dangerous homebred and he has been a marvellous money-spinner for the Wilding family with earnings of $328,000. Like trainer Kel Chapman, he’s getting on in years and is well overdue after being placed at Moonee Valley and Caulfield last month.
Going Spending has also been nominated for the Murray Cox Hcp and it might be dangerous to discount the Greta West duo this Saturday.