Flying Spur has succeeded in every sphere for a sire since retiring to Arrowfield Stud in 1996.
A Golden Slipper winning son of Danehill, he has been represented by 75 stakes winners to date and reached a career milestone in 2006-07 with a well-deserved win in the Australian sires’ premiership.
Champion juvenile Forensics gave him an edge with a rich result in the 2007 Golden Slipper. His three year-olds also weighed in with feature wins by Mentality (Randwick Guineas), Casino Prince (Alister Clark Stakes) and Alverta (Hawkesbury Guineas) who has trained on to give her sire an international profile this year.
Flying Spur’s four year-olds gave valuable support and among his stakes winners that season were Primus, Magnus, Rosa’s Spur, Flying Alpha, Gawne and Soleil.
Chatswood Stud sire Primus will help establish Flying Spur as a sire of sires in 2010-11 when his first crop begin racing. The sireline is already up and running with Glenlogan Park freshman Jet Spur siring 12 first-crop winners this season. Yarradale Stud stallion Heritage has also been among the winners with his first crop in Western Australia.
Primus (Flying Spur – Copa De Oro by Hector Protector) completes a full circle for Chatswood. Flying Spur stood his first season at the Seymour stud by arrangement with Arrowfield owner John Messara before returning to the Hunter Valley.
His Victorian bred stakes winners included Blab (MVRC Silver Jubilee Stakes), French Braids (STC Silver Slipper Stakes), Ponton Flyer (VRC Kewney Stakes) and She’s Purring (QTC Sir Douglas Wadley Hcp).
“We kicked off Flying Spur’s stud career, so the sireline is very close to our hearts,” Chatswood Stud’s Greg Willis explained. “Primus was top class and offers speed and durability in his pedigree.”
Primus was trained by John O’Shea at Randwick and won by two lengths on debut at Canterbury. Two starts later, he skipped several grades to score a Listed win in the Ming Dynasty Stakes at Randwick.
Still a rookie in his first preparation, Primus went to Melbourne for one of the more memorable editions of the G1 Caulfield Guineas. The 2005 Guineas was a slugfest on a slippery, sliding surface. God’s Own was flattened twice then recovered to collar Paratroopers right on the line.
Take nothing away from the winner, however, Primus was also on the wrong of severe interference. It was a miracle Greg Childs stayed aboard but the Sydney colt motored home to get within 1.5 lengths of the winner in third place.
O’Shea brought him back for a classic campaign the following autumn and, although he was unlucky when beaten less than a length in both the G1 Randwick Guineas and Rosehill Guineas, staying wasn’t his forte.
Primus returned at four to score consecutive wins in the Listed Show County Stakes (1200m) and G3 Tramway Hcp (1400m) at Randwick. He was all set to finish the season with a G1 victory in the Stradbroke Hcp until an injury halted his career after just 17 starts.
“I reckon Primus would have been very hard to beat in that year’s Stradbroke,” O’Shea recalled. “He was peaking and was working as good as ever. It’s a shame he didn’t get the chance to sign off with a with a Group 1 win.”
The Randwick trainer kept a share in Primus and has several of his rising two year-olds on the books. “They’re precocious and in-your-face types,” O’Shea said last week. “They’ve broken-in nicely and should get along early on.”
O’Shea points out Primus meets all the criteria to make a stallion. “He had a great turn of foot and was also a very sound horse. And, most importantly, he’s got an imposing pedigree.”
Primus is out of a half-sister to Caulfield stakes winner Miss Minden (Bellotto). She has foaled G1 Queensland Oaks winner Miss Danehill (Danehill) and G1 stayer Pentastic (Pentire).
It’s another successful branch of the Denise’s Joy family that includes her G1 winners Joie Denise, Tuesday Joy, Sunday Joy and More Joyous.
Primus has averaged 130 mares in his first three seasons at stud and he will stand for a $6,600 (inc gst) fee at Chatswood in 2010.