A dozen mares make up the Viva Racing broodmare portfolio, each of those mares owned by a variety of people with differing size shares. This is breeding syndication, a step on from racehorse ownership, taking people on another journey beyond the track.
Viva Racing’s Mitch Lowe loves everything about racing and having been successfully syndicating for a number of years he began to field questions from owners about what happened next.
Which led to the idea of also syndicating broodmares and the first of those, the lightly raced winner Shorthand (Written Tycoon) was purchased in foal to Spirit Of Boom for $105,000 at the 2022 Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale.
With Neil Jenkinson as advisor, Shorthand produced a filly who was sent to this year’s Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale where Jenkinson teamed with Matthew Dunn to purchase her for $100,000.
A good result
“That was a good result for Shorthand and her owners,” Lowe said, excited to have Shorthand in foal to Supido after she foaled an Anders colt last spring.
Due to head to Zousain this year, she is a half-sister to the R. Listed Inglis 2YO Classic winner Twist Tops (Beneteau) out of the multiple city winner Imtops (High Rolling) from the family of the G1 Australasian Oaks winner Irish Darling (Ivory’s Irish).
Also purchased in 2022 was Phantomix (Teofilo {Ire}), a placed half-sister to the Listed Queen Adelaide S. winner Indian Thunder (Manhattan Rain) out of the Listed Chairman’s S. winner Whisper Bay (Royal Academy {USA}).
Secured for $49,000 via an Inglis Digital sale, she produced a Trapeze Artist filly as her first foal last spring and only recently foaled a Jacquinot filly.
“On the strength of how nice that filly is she will had back to Jacquinot this spring,” Lowe said.
Also visiting Jacquinot will be Costa De Oro (Pierro) who is due soon to Zousain. She was a yearling purchase for the team, placing three times in her six starts.
Delighted by Too Darn Hot colt
At last year’s National, Viva found themselves a bargain in the shape of Mashrabiya (Teofilo {Ire}) who was in foal to Too Darn Hot (GB), producing “a really nice” colt who is bound for next year’s Magic Millions sale.
“Obviously the stallion is doing a really good job so we are delighted to have a colt by him.”
Due in October to Bivouac the half-sister to the Listed Spear Chief H. winner Inquiry (Exceed And Excel) has a date with Exceedance.
Having bought and syndicated the talented Oceans Of Energy (Dundeel {NZ}) as a yearling, Lowe had his eye on her dam and when that unraced mare Ocean Gate (Sebring) popped up at this year’s Inglis Great Southern Sale he was happy to put his hand up.
Purchased for $80,000 in foal to Shamus Award, she will head to Militarize in order to produce a three-quarter sibling to Oceans Of Energy who is a three-time (twice in city company) winner from her 13 starts to date.
Trained by Matthew Dunn, she raced without a great deal of luck in the feature fillies races over the Queensland carnival and Lowe is looking forward to her next campaign.
“Being a Dundeel we thought stretching her out over the Oaks distance would work but we now think that she is more of a 1400-metre to 1800-metre horse and we have high hopes for her.”
Also bought this year was Petite Choix (Redoute’s Choice) and making her owners happy last month was the appearance of her Capitalist colt.
Dam a speedster
“We are pretty excited,” Lowe said, noting that “Petite Choix’s dam was a speedster and she is a lovely mare.”
Petite Choix is out of the G3 Quezette S. winner Petits Filous (Street Boss {USA}) from the family of the G1 Mackinnon S. winner La Bella Dama (NZ) (Desert Sun {GB}). Her 2024 mate will be Written By.
Duly Elected (I Am Invincible) is another recent purchase, fetching $35,000 at this year’s National. A lightly raced Doomben maiden winner for the Tony Gollan stable the granddaughter of the South African star mare National Colour (SAF) (National Assembly (Can}) will visit Zousain.
The Viva Racing team also bought this year the G1 Queensland Oaks runner-up Reo (Rubick), a bit of inside knowledge of the Matthew Dunn stable helpful with that trainer having a high opinion of her yet-to-race half-sister Scripted (Written By).
Catching the eye winning each of her three trials, Scripted is the third foal for the imported Elliptical Orbit (USA) (Scat Daddy {USA}) whilst Reo, who was secured for $60,000, is her first.
A granddaughter of the Group 1-placed Listed winner Starbourne (Ire) (Sadler’s Wells {USA}), Reo will be served this spring by Home Affairs.
Tribeca Star Kosciuszko bound
Purchasing as a yearling and syndicating the talented Tribeca Star (Star Turn) who kicked off his latest campaign with an easy win at the Sunshine Coast recently, Lowe was happy to purchase his dam Classy Manhattan (Manhattan Rain) online for just $16,000 a couple of years ago.
“Tribeca Star is a really handy horse for us, he won a country championship heat and is heading towards the Kosciuszko.”
Missing last spring, Classy Manhattan, whose half-brother Property (Starcraft {NZ}) won the G3 Kindergarten S., a G3 Blue Diamond Prelude and a Listed Blue Diamond Preview, will visit Shamus Award.
Power O’Hata (NZ) (Power {GB}) is another nice Viva Racing mare, a $40,000 purchase at last year’s National, she is due soon to Harry Angel (Ire). The G3 Cambridge Breeders S. winner out of a half-sister to the Group 1 winner Winged Foot (NZ) (Maroof {USA}) has a booking to Maurice (Jpn).
The process of selecting stallions is streamlined by Lowe and Jenkinson with the latter providing his thoughts on pedigree and type. Each owner also forwards their ideas and a shortlist of three stallions is provided for voting.
“Sometimes it is clear cut in regards to how popular a stallion choice is,” Lowe said, “whilst other times opinions are more split.”
“As we focus on breeding to sell, realising that around 75 to 80 per cent of buying is done on type, we aim to get the right physical mix; we want to breed the best possible athlete.”
An eye-opening process
This process, he said, has been “an eye-opener” for many of the syndicate members who had not before realised the intricacies of planning matings.
Quite a few of the Viva Racing breeders are first timers though there are also the more experienced with Lowe welcoming people who had previously been breeding with their own mares on a hobby level.
“We have a few who have realised that having 100 per cent of the costs is challenging so they have moved their own mares on and taken smaller shares in better mares going to more commercial stallions,” he said.
“Some of our mares have three of four owners and we also have mares with up to 10, we encourage people to take a minimum of 10 per cent.”
Lowe likes to involve his owners in each step of the process and a trip to the Hunter Valley takes place each October.
“We visit all the major studs and spend a fair proportion of the time at Widden Stud (who are also partners in several of our mares), visiting the mares, their foals and the weanlings.”
Not only do the owners get the chance to admire their mares and their progeny but it is also a learning experience.
“It is a really good guide for them to have a look at the stallions in regards to thinking about next year’s matings.”
Enjoying the journey
Breeding with people who have already undertaken the racehorse ownership experience, Lowe said that they are “really enjoying the journey that a mare and foal takes them on.”
Duly Elected and Ocean Gate are the two mares currently being syndicated with plans made for three years of breeding; decisions made at the end of that period in regards to keeping the mares or moving on.
Lowe has always had a keen interest in horses, stemming back to childhood holidays split between two grandfathers, one of whom owned a large cattle property in northern New South Wales and the other who liked a punt.
“I’d ask my parents if I could visit the cattle property first so I could earn some money mustering cattle and then spend time with my other grandfather with money to spend on the punt!” he laughed.
Both were valuable experiences, Lowe learning to love the horse whilst spending hours on their backs whilst also getting a taste of how exciting racing could be, remembering as a child “picking up the form guide and studying the horses, the jockeys, the trainers and the breeding.”
“So it was all entrenched in me from a young age and when I turned 18, I got my first horse.”
As is so often the case when one’s first horse is a winner, the taste for more is strong and Lowe was soon syndicating horses with friends and family and “the winners flowed.”
Viva Racing’s owners cheered on 26 winners last season, 18 of those at metropolitan level with a highlight being the Magic Millions Syndicate victory recorded by Derry Grove (Star Turn), a $30,000 purchase who has given his owners a very nice return with his prize money tally of $827,050.
| Mare | Sire | 2024 Booking | 2024 Foal | 2023 Foal | 2022 Foal | 2021 Foal |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shorthand | Written Tycoon | Zousain | Supido | Anders | Spirit Of Boom | |
| Duly Elected | I Am Invincible | Zousain | ||||
| Phantomix | Teofilo | Jacquinot | Jacquinot | Trapeze Artist | ||
| Mashrabiya | Teofilo | Exceedance | Bivouac | Too Darn Hot | Brazen Beau | |
| Ocean Gate | Sebring | Militarize | Shamus Award | Shalaa | ||
| Petite Choix | Redoute’s Choice | Written By | Capitalist | Written Tycoon | ||
| Reo | Rubick | Home Affairs | ||||
| Classy Manhattan | Manhattan Rain | Shamus Award | Star Turn | Star Turn | Graff | |
| Costa De Oro | Pierro | Jacquinot | Zousain | |||
| Power O’Hata | Power | Maurice | Harry Angel | Portland Sky | Star Turn |
This article was written by Kristen Manning for TTRAusNZ.
