Image courtesy: Burnewang North
When selecting stallions for the upcoming season for her Burnewang North broodmare band, Cathy Hains has leaned back on the words of her good friend and long-time advisor, the late Steve Brem.
"Our good mate Steve Brem always said, 'you could be right, you could be wrong, but you can never be certain'," Hains told TDN AusNZ when reflecting on her process for choosing the right match for the 35 or so mares resident on the farm in Northern Victoria.
The usual criteria are always front of mind for Hains when working through her options for the upcoming season, pedigree, performance, type match and of course price.
Hains' criteria for the upcoming season are pedigree, performance, type, match and price.
She certainly doesn't want for options, with Arion currently listing 376 stallions active in Australia for the upcoming season, many of whom carry impeccable credentials.
"These are incredible horses the farms bring in and they bring incredible race records, it can become overwhelming, you can send mares to any of them," she said.
"We are very excited about some of the stallions, be they new ones or older ones and after that, you have to hope for a whole lot of luck."
"We are very excited about some of the stallions, be they new ones or older ones. and after that, you have to hope for a whole lot of luck." - Cathy Hains
"You make a whole raft of decisions that won’t be qualified one way or another for a few years."
While there is considerable strength at the top end of the Australian market, headed by current champion Snitzel and his title challenger I Am Invincible, it is in that middle band of stallions which Hains says she finds the sweet spot.
"What we've gone with is some proven horses within the realm of what we consider to be affordable, in terms of the calibre of our group of mares. They would be the likes of Lonhro, Exceed And Excel and Dundeel (NZ)," she said.
Proven performers, such as Darley's Street Boss (USA), Widden's Nicconi and Coolmore's So You Think (NZ) are also on the list for Burnewang North's mares, as are emerging stallions such as Epaulette, Shooting To Win, Rubick, Dissident and Deep Field.
Burnewang North holds stallions shares in Nicconi as well as second-season stallion Invader, who stands at Aquis Farm, and Widden's freshman Written By, while Hains is also a big fan of Coolmore's Merchant Navy, whose first foals are arriving this spring.
It's certainly a broad range, but more specifically, Hains, who prefers to sell her entire crop as weanlings, outlined specific plans for a few of her better performed broodmares of recent years.
Top of that list is Feeling Positive (Not A Single Doubt), the half-sister to stakes-winners Mitraad (Northern Meteor) and Combat Kitty (General Nediym), whose Pierro colt produced an excellent result for Burnewong North at the 2018 Magic Millions National Weanling Sale on the Gold Coast, fetching $225,000.
Hains will be looking to produce a three-quarter sibling to that colt when she sends Feeling Positive to Lonhro this year.
Lonhro, will serve Feeling Positive this year
Vintage Rock (Thunder Gulch {USA}) is an older broodmare who has already produced a stakes-winner in Ayres Rock (Nicconi). Her progeny have proven popular at the weanling sales in recent years, including her colt by Sebring that went for $205,000 at the 2018 Magic Millions National Weanling Sale.
Now in foal to Russian Revolution, she will visit Written By at Widden this season.
Burnewang's best sales result of 2019 came via a weanling colt by So You Think out of the stakes-placed Lonhro mare Babel, where he fetched $200,000 as the opening lot of the Magic Millions National Weanling Sale.
Hains will look to revisit that success when she sends Babel back to dual Cox Plate hero So You Think this season.
Written By, is to be visited by Vintage Rock this season
Albaicin's (Redoute's Choice) progeny have been consistently popular at the sales for Hains since she was purchased by Brem on the farm's behalf from Darley back in 2014.
She has already produced a three-time stakes winner in Generalife (Lonhro) for her original owners, while his three quarter sister, by Pierro, sold for $125,000 to Yulong Investments for Burnewang North at this year's Magic Millions National Weanling Sale.
She is destined for Brazen Beau at Darley's Northwood Park.
While Hains said the broodmare band for 2019 has been bolstered by the addition of a couple of recently retired race fillies and mares, she will be looking further afield in the coming months.
Brazen Beau | Standing at Darley's Northwood Park
"I do intend to look at some overseas blood in the near future, maybe some new racemares from the end-of-year European sales. They are always hard to find, with the quality you want for what you are prepared to spend. We are always looking to upgrade our broodmares," she said.
"We've got such speed in Australia in the stallion lines, we just have to work out what we mix that with to ensure we get the results we want on the track."
As much as no success is guaranteed, Hains is a firm believer that a broad-minded approach is key to the future prosperity of Burnewang North.
