Queensland’s breeding industry has lost one of its most respected members with the death of Rob Atkinson.   He was 76.

Atkinson and his son Jim operated Furlong Stud at Greenmount south of Toowoomba.  Rob’s brother Alan was also a partner in their breeding ventures.

The Atkinsons bred and raced top-class filly Brief Embrace who was by their USA shuttler Irgun.  She won three stakes races in Melbourne and was a Group 1 runner-up to Bel Esprit in the 2002 Blue Diamond Stakes.

Gold Trail was Furlong Stud’s first Group 1 winner in the 2009 Galaxy at Randwick.  “Rob’s interest in pedigree analysis played a key role,” Alan recalled soon after that ground-breaking victory.  “We owned a Danewin mare named Trail of Gold who had won a stakes race at Randwick.

“Rob said she had the best pedigree he had ever done.  He told me to send her to Hussonet and Gold Trail was the result.

“He wasn’t very big but he was always good-natured and was one of the picks of the draft.  Then, six weeks out, he looked sick and began to lose weight.  The vets discovered two holes in his lip where a snake had bitten him.

“Our selling options were limited so we took him to the sale, and he recovered, but he wasn’t blooming.  Obviously, the snake venom didn’t do him any harm!”

Gold Trail changed hands for $75,000 at the 2006 Gold Coast Magic Millions and ended up winning over $600,000.

Furlong Stud was a regular vendor at the Magic Millions selling yearlings up to $330,000.  Other Furlong bred stakes winners in recent years include Mitanni (G2 Sir Byrne Hart Stakes) and Paprika (LR Tommy Smith Slipper).

Rob Atkinson’s funeral will be held in Toowoomba on Thursday.

ROB ATKINSON
Photo courtesy of Phil Purser / www.justracing.com.au