By Brian Sheerin
What you want to hear from a major owner-breeder like Trevor Stewart, the man who has set up a mini-empire off the back of buying wondermare Cassandra Go back in 1997, is that there is a nuanced approach to breeding and, with the right blend of skill and hard work, you too can make this game pay.
The trouble is, Stewart does not believe that is the case. Not only does he put buying top-class racemare-turned-blue hen Cassandra Go down to good luck, but he also points to fortune favouring him once again in producing her grandson Victoria Road (Ire), a leading fancy for Friday's Grade I Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf.
To paraphrase Stewart, he threw the kitchen sink at Tickled Pink (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}), a daughter of Cassandra Go (Ire) (Indian Ridge {Ire}), with matings to Dark Angel (Ire), Frankel (GB) and Shamardal failing to produce a single black-type runner.
Just when Stewart had started to view Tickled Pink as a disappointing broodmare, along came Victoria Road, by first-season sire Saxon Warrior (Jpn), who bids to put the pedigree in lights at Keeneland on Friday.
Stewart said, “Tickled Pink has been a bit disappointing up until now. I have thrown everything at her–Dark Angel, Frankel and Shamardal. A few of them were a little bit on the small side and, while they had good ratings, were limited by size. To think now that a first-season sire seems to have hit it. It's amazing really.”
He added, “It was all about Deep Impact (Jpn) when it came to choosing Saxon Warrior for the mare. I loved Saxon Warrior as an individual as well. He was a very good racehorse and had size and scope. I felt that I had sent Tickled Pink to a few very good sires and decided to risk something different to see if it worked.”
Victoria Road has taken his form to a new level in the autumn for Aidan O'Brien and boasts rock-solid credentials for Friday's contest at odds of 5-1.
Convinced that the colt would emerge to be one of the better 2-year-olds at Ballydoyle this season, O'Brien advised Stewart to return to Saxon Warrior this breeding season with Tickled Pink, who is happily in foal to the Coolmore-based stallion.
Stewart explained, “Interestingly, I was going to cover Tickled Pink with No Nay Never this year and sent a message to Christy Grassick asking him to ask Aidan [O'Brien] about what his view would be. Aidan came back and told me that it was an absolute no-brainer and that I had to go to Saxon Warrior.
“That was a very easy decision in that there was a big difference in price between Saxon Warrior and No Nay Never's stud fee. Aidan was also talking up Victoria Road at the time, for all that it was only March.
“I was down with Aidan in May and, of course, the No Nay Nevers had come out and were winning everything. I said to Aidan, 'I think you might not have given me the best advice.' Aidan just said, 'wait and see, you'll be fine.'”
And what an understatement that has turned out to be. Victoria Road followed up his listed success at Deauville with a hard-fought Group 3 victory at Chantilly last month and suddenly Stewart is viewing Tickled Pink in a different light.
“She has an outstanding colt foal by Ghaiyyath (GB) on the ground. I went to Ghaiyyath because he's the most beautiful horse. He's big and strong and has good limbs. I felt that he would put some size into her because the Invincible Spirit seems to be coming out in her. They are just a little on the neat side. Hopefully I have found the secret to this mare because you need size and scope to make up into a good 3-year-old.”
He added, “I don't know if she's carrying a colt or a filly but obviously I am praying it's a filly. I would love to keep a filly out of her. I try to keep all the fillies and it's an exception if I bring a filly to the sales.
“I have four daughters and three granddaughters out of Casandra Go and we have a few fillies on the ground. I will keep those and race them.”
And while Stewart, along with James Hanly of Ballyhimikin Stud, who boards all of his mares, clearly adopt a professional approach and are following a proven strategy to success in the ring and on the racetrack, nothing will dissuade the renowned owner-breeder from believing that anything other than luck can be attributed to the success.
He said, “It's really all down to luck. Even the way I have covered Tickled Pink has been lucky. You would think that going to Frankel, Dark Angel and Shamardal would do the trick for her. Now, Saxon Warrior is looking like he will be an above-average stallion, but it's funny that a first-season sire is the one to get the mare off the ground.”
For all of his good fortune, Stewart admits that he was a little miffed at the price tag that Victoria Road made at Book 1 at Tattersalls last year. He says the fact that the mare could have been viewed as disappointing may have contributed to the colt making just 115,000gns to MV Magnier, not that he's complaining.
“He was a lovely yearling, very correct and moved like a dream. It was a disappointing price but I had a few other yearlings that I was keeping last year and decided to sell him. As my wife has told me since, Aidan has well made up for that disappointing price by what he has done with the horse on the track, so that's much more important.
“Maybe people felt that Tickled Pink was beginning to look a bit marginal and that didn't help her. But everyone at Coolmore were all over Victoria Road at the sales and they all loved him. I'm very lucky he went where he did.”
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