Red Caviar?
Spring is in the air and foaling is well underway at Grenville thoroughbred stud at Whitemore. Pictured is a 10 day-old foal by Lionhearted (a relative of Black Caviar) enjoying a gallop in the warm sunshine with his mum, Feisty Rose.
SEPTEMBER 2018 | Lorraine Clarke
THOROUGHBRED RACING projects a glamour image, and is a significant industry in Tasmania where our climate and rich pastures nurture many champions. Behind the scenes however, there is lots of hard graft, muck and mud, especially in a winter as wet as we have just endured.
Welcome spring days herald the newest generation of racehorses. Years of dreams of breeders and owners are condensed into elegant long-legged foals matching strides with their dams as they dance across the grass, warm sun on their backs and skylarks rejoicing above.
Grenville Stud’s Graeme McCulloch loves this time of year, although 24-hour foaling duty means many sleepless nights. Foals are carefully planned to arrive as soon after 1st August as possible, as this is the southern hemisphere’s official horses’ birthday. Early foals have the longest time to grow into strong two-year olds before their first racing season begins.
Several foals already grace the fields at Whitemore, and about 40 mares will foal there this season.
Two stallions stand at stud at Grenville. Group 1 winner Mawingo by Tertullian out of Montfleur collected over $1million in Germany, Singapore and Australia. His first progeny have impressed buyers at the Magic Millions Yearling Sale, with a top price of $47,500.
Zululand (Fastnet Rock, Dream Play[USA]) was a $1.5M Easter Yearling who showed brilliant 2YO speed and won the Group 2 VRC Sires Produce Stakes. Zululand replaces the stallion Lionhearted, also by Fastnet Rock and related to Black Caviar, sadly lost during his first season at stud last year, after having sired 16 foals.
Graeme trains racehorses at his property, and likes to break in a couple of yearlings at a time. He also grows crops of potatoes and poppies, as well as the hay to feed all Grenville’s future champions.
Visit www.grenville.com.au.
Photo | Mike Moores
