He enjoys dabbling in the breeding side of the game on a small scale and is enjoying the returns with Halvorsen, a 3-year-old he also trains and shares in the ownership of.
“He’s been very satisfying because we bred the mare and she raced successfully as a Flemington straight track winner,” Griffiths said.
Halvorsen is the first foal of Flourishing (Not A Single Doubt), who won four races, and is a half-sister to the stakes winner Beltrois (Bel Esprit).
Flourishing with Halvorsen as a foal
Further back in her pedigree is the G1 Golden Slipper S. winner Tontonan (Showdown {GB}) and the G2 Zipping Classic winner and G1 Futurity S. winner Sertorius (Galileo {Ire}).
“We thought the mating with Magnus was a really good genetic mix and to see the result come to fruition has been terrific,” Griffiths said.
“We thought the mating with Magnus was a really good genetic mix and to see the result come to fruition has been terrific.” - Robbie Griffiths.
“He’s been a great prize money earner on top of it so it’s been a very successful venture all round and very enjoyable.”
“I breed from half a dozen mares, some in partnership. This mare Flourishing was quite a talent and some of those speed mares that could succeed at a metro level or black type so it seems to be working.
“We’ve got a full relation to Halvorsen that hasn’t done much at the moment, he’s been a bit slow to learn.
Magnus, sire of Halvorsen
“He’s called Languishing so we might have to change his name, we jinxed him a bit. We’ve got an Unencumbered filly and the mare’s going to drop a Magnus this year so we think she’s going to do a good job for us.”
“He’s called Languishing so we might have to change his name, we jinxed him a bit.” – Robbie Griffiths.
The winner of four of his 13 starts and more than $350,000 in the bank, Halvorsen was successful at Caulfield three runs back before a runner-up finish and a last-start fifth in the Listed Creswick S.
“He’s very genuine, he’s been consistent in his whole career,” Griffiths said. “He’s got a challenge at the weight scale when you see horses like Holy Blade on a Rating 90 on 54kg and we’re 78 on 54kg.
“Our real handicap is somewhere around the 50kg mark. He’s the only 3-year-old in the race, but I think he’s got the right ability to rise to the occasion.”
Halvorsen winning at Caulfield
Keen on Collectable
Griffiths is also bullish about the chances of stablemate Collectable (Sebring) in the Rivette Series Final.
“There’s a lot of plusses to her, she’s quite a good filly. She bolted in at Seymour and we thought she was a winning chance at Sandown, but unknown in the wet,” he said.
“We knew she’d handle it with the sting out, but the heavy 9 was just too much. She was very one-paced and dropping five kilos will help and on a drier track things will turn around in her favour.
"Dropping five kilos will help and on a drier track things will turn around in her favour. " - Robbie Griffiths
“When she had 54kg on a reasonable track she ran third to Princess Jenni, now a Group 1 winner and Sure Knee was in that race and we meet her a kilo better I think so she could certainly be very competitive, that’s for sure.”
A$300,000 Inglis Melbourne Premier Sale purchase, Collectable is a daughter of the G1 Queensland Oaks winner Miss Keepsake (NZ) (Keeper) and the family of the multiple Group 1 winners and former Australian Horses of the Year Lonhro (Octagonal {NZ}) and Lankan Rupee (Redoute’s Choice).
Collectable as a yearling
