The Thoroughbred Report has its ‘Matings Mix’ series into full swing and in this article they chatted with bloodstock agent Sheamus Mills about spring plans for the large portfolio of mares he manages.
There is a rule of thumb that successful bloodstock agent Sheamus Mills sticks to when planning the year’s matings for the 150 or so mares owned by “a spread of clients.”
That rule pertains to 75%, Mills keen to ensure that either three out of every four of an individual client’s mares visit a proven stallion or that three out of the first four matings for an individual mare are with such stallions.
Mills has a good record employing this strategy, admitting that when he was younger and less experienced he was more inclined to use stallions who were yet to have progeny on the track.
“I have morphed into less of a risk taker,” he said.
“Traditionally first season sires have had a large percentage of each year’s foal crop and the statistics show that most fail.”
“You really don’t want to look back at a mare’s career a few years down the track and think that by sending her only to first season stallions that you have not given her every chance to succeed,” he said.
When kicking off the analysis of broodmares, Sheamus starts with the page.
First and foremost – the pedigree
“First and foremost I look at pedigree, hoping that there will be a few different matches that look good on paper and then I can look at type, commercial appeal and location.”
“My aim is always to breed a good racehorse as I want the mares to have long and successful careers and the best way to kick that off is with a stakes winner over a big result in the sales ring.”
“With some mares I hit on the perfect stallion early, whilst with some others I am revisiting a number of times,” he said, noting that “the whole process takes a few months.”
Sheamus has always enjoyed talking with successful breeders, taking note of their ideas and he is yet to be disappointed by his conversations.
“Not once have I had a talk with someone who I admire in this space and felt let down. They tend to be all very much pedigree enthusiasts and none of them have ever been about just wanting to make big money in the sales ring.”
Spending an average of around an hour on each mare’s pedigree, though the more complicated ones take longer, Mills also brings to the table his knowledge of how the progeny of stallions look at the sales; spending so much time on inspections.
Taking a punt
This is particularly in regard to the 25 per cent of the time where he is happy “to take a punt” with the unproven stallions, such as Farnan, Stay Inside and Home Affairs; each of whom he has booked mares into this season.
“I like what I have seen of their progeny,” he said, also happy to send mares to such up-and-coming stallions as Pierata and Tassort.
The G1 1000 Guineas winner Odeum (Written Tycoon) is a mare Sheamus is excited about, the seven-year-old booked in for her third visit (in as many seasons at stud) to I Am Invincible.
Due to that three times Australian Champion Sire in early October, she foaled a colt by him last spring, Odeum, whose stakes placed dam Movie (Red Ransom {USA}) has also produced the Listed Brian Crowley S. winner Goodfella, was purchased by Sheamus for $420,000 as a yearling at Magic Millions.
Sheamus likes what he is seeing in the early days of the I Am Invincible/Written Tycoon combination with two of last season’s two-year-old stakes winners; Straight Charge (Written By) and Mishani Lily (Kobayashi) bred that way.
Two Champion stallions combined
“I like the two of them together,” he said, adding that one of his favourite yearlings sold this year was the $3 million I Am Invincible Easter colt out of another Group 1 winning Written Tycoon mare in Booker.
Another Written Tycoon mare heading to I Am Invincible is the lightly raced winner Queen Of The Green, a $1.5 million Magic Millions yearling out of the RL Magic Millions 2YO Classic winner Karuta Queen (Not A Single Doubt).
Mills is also a fan of bringing I Am Invincible and Zoustar together, recalling that “it was Antony Thompson who first suggested the cross and it is lining up well’” he said.
With this in mind he has the lightly raced, well related Humming (I Am Invincible) visiting Zoustar in her first season.
A city placed winning $1.95 million Easter graduate, she is a daughter of the G2 Reisling S. winner Hips Don’t Lie (NZ) (Stravinsky {USA}) who has also produced the stakes winners Acrobat, Lake Geneva (Fastnet Rock) and Ennis Hill (Fastnet Rock) with the latter being dam of the dual Group winning, Group 1 placed Learning To Fly (Justify {USA}).
This is a family which has already enjoyed success with Zoustar; Newgate Farm’s G1 Coolmore Stud S. winner Ozzmosis.
Good support for Zoustar
Also on the Zoustar list is Segenhoe Valley (Dane Shadow) who has done a great job already producing the stakes winners Shelby Cobra (Toronado {Ire}) and Shesallshenanigans (Toronado) as well as the promising three-year-old Blackberry Bomb (Brazen Beau) who is due to contest G3 Quezette S. at Caulfield on August 17.
Purchased at the 2021 Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale for $1.6 million, the G1 Levin Classic winner Bonham (Per Incanto {USA}) is another star member of the Sheamus Mills Bloodstock team and she makes a third visit to I Am Invincible this spring.
“She is in foal to him and her filly by him is very nice.”
Bonham is a half-sister to the Listed Oaklands Plate winner Eagle Island (Fastnet Rock) out of the Group 1 placed Listed winner Banc de Fortune (Galileo {Ire}) whose dam Danendri (Danehill {USA}) won twice at Group 1 level.
Purchased by Mills as a yearling at the Gold Coast for $360,000, Persuader (Zoustar) won the Listed Twilight Glow S. and has had her value nicely increased by the deeds of her triple Group 1 winning sister Zougotcha.
“She is in foal to Justify, a mating I am pretty keen on,” Mills said, noting that Persuader is one of the mares he finds “a little tricky.”
A beautiful family
“She is from a beautiful family and has everything you want in a mare but she is one for whom it is hard to find the perfect match on paper. It was a process of elimination with her and I have settled on Home Affairs.”
Whilst Wayborn (I Am Invincible) did not live up to her $900,000 price tag on the track, the daughter of the Listed winner Harlem River (Fastnet Rock) has plenty of broodmare potential and Mills has her as part of a first venture into New Zealand breeding.
“I think that Proisir is very, very good value in a year that there is not a massive amount of value to be found,” he said.
Also purchased by Mills as a yearling was See Me Exceed (Sebring), a $105,000 Easter buy whose first foal Balastier (Brazen Beau) is showing good potential for the Tony Gollan stable.
A Group 3 placed Sandown winner, See Me Exceed is out of the Listed winner Mrs Kipling (Exceed And Excel) and after missing last year she pays a return visit to Extreme Choice.
“She had got into foal first serve every season so I thought she was perfect for Extreme Choice but she didn’t take last year and was then swapped over to Russian Revolution but got colic and didn’t get into foal to him either.”
“But hopefully with the year off and in early she will have better luck this year, I really think that she can produce a good racehorse by him.”
A Lonhro cross
The two time winning, amusingly named Cannoli (I Am Invincible) out of the Listed Oaklands Plate winner Custard (Lonhro) is another heading to a proven stallion; in her first year visiting Pierro.
The foal, who will carry a 2 X 3 cross of Lonhro, can claim a number of stakes winners amongst its relations including this year’s G2 Brisbane Cup winner Alegron (Teofilo {Ire}).
“The Lonhro cross could be considered controversial but I did something similar sending and Exceed And Excel mare to Tassort and we got a beautiful colt who John Foote bought for very good money before anyone liked the stallion!”
One of the mares being chanced with a young stallion is Game To Love (I Am Invincible), a $450,000 Easter yearling from the family of Alinghi (Encosta de Lago). Currently in foal to Stay Inside, she will pay a return visit to that G1 Golden Slipper S. winner this spring.
Meanwhile Zorro Rapido (Foxwedge), a sister to the G1 Railway S. winner Volpe Veloce will be served by Pierata whilst Wayborn (NZ) (Tavistock {NZ}), a half-sister to three stakes winners including the Group 2 mare Pussy Willow (NZ) (O’Reilly {NZ}) is booked in to fellow second season sire Tassort.
And another three nice mares are visiting proven stallions; Rakkaus (Not A Single Doubt) out of the dual Group 3 winner Nayeli (More Than Ready {USA}) going to Better Than Ready, Falconry (I Am Invincible) out of the Group 3 mare Flying Jess (Hinchinbrook) to Toronado and Selfless (Redoute’s Choice), a 3/4 sister to this year’s G1 ATC Oaks winner Autumn Angel (The Autumn Sun) to Capitalist.
A tough year re proven stallions
Mills noted that it is a tough year in regards to using proven stallions with some high profile retirements (such as Exceed And Excel) joined by a couple; Justify (USA) and Too Darn Hot (GB), who are not shuttling.
But he retains his confidence in the Australian industry, noting that “one of the best things about Australian racing is the number of people who are involved. We have amazing numbers of owners, staggering figures compared to overseas.”
He hopes that level of involvement will continue through difficult financial times, always respectful of even the smallest players.
“We cannot ever afford to be elitist,” he explained. “You may think that a 1% owner is a small cog but you times that by the 1000s of those owners and it is a much bigger cog.”
Mills also wants to see smaller breeders do well, noting the importance of keeping breeding numbers up.
“We do not need a significant reduction in the foal crop, that is a slippery slope. It leads to smaller fields, smaller turnover and less prize money.”
This article was written by Kristen Manning for TTRAusNZ.
