Under The Radar: Brutal's hot start

Cover image courtesy of Newgate

In Part 1 of this series, ‘Under The Radar,’ TTR AusNZ highlights a stallion who is performing exceptionally well, despite not yet receiving the same recognition as his peers.

One such stallion is Brutal (NZ) from Newgate Farm. The Thoroughbred Report spoke with Newgate Farm’s Director of Bloodstock, Bruce Slade, about this son of O’Reilly (NZ).

Despite not debuting until July of his 2-year-old season, Brutal has made a terrific start with his runners, proving more precocious than their sire and hinting at what may come. Trained by Michael, Wayne, and John Hawkes, Brutal captured the G1 Doncaster H. as an autumn 3-year-old.

As of the latest update, the Newgate Farm-based stallion has produced 20 runners, nine of whom have already won. Most recently, Four Ace triumphed last Sunday at Cranbourne. Other notable winners include Lead Me On, winner of the Magic Millions 2YO Debut (Colts and Geldings), Heinous at Sandown-Hillside, and Jenni’s Meadow at Moonee Valley.

Slade, commented on Brutal's early success to TTR AusNZ, stating, “Brutal is doing a terrific job. Wayne Hawkes put it best on the radio yesterday, mentioning that the horse didn’t start until July 14 of his juvenile year. To see him with nine winners on the board already is very promising.”

Slade continued, “It's also worth noting that Brutal’s standout victory came in the G1 Doncaster H. over a mile, and his progeny haven’t had many opportunities to compete over that distance yet. Given their physical attributes, we anticipate they will excel when they get a chance to stretch out to a mile next season.”

Best yet to come

In addition to Brutal’s nine winners, there have been promising efforts from his raced stock, such as Harlem Queen, who has been placed, as well as Brutal Love and The Eyes Have It, to mention a few. These are complemented by a host of unraced stock who have shown promise to their connections.

“There’s a lot we haven’t seen yet that we know the trainers have good opinions of. They’re just looking after them, and we’ll be seeing them running at the back end of winter and into the first part of their 3-year-old season before Christmas.”

Slade has also been pleased with the reception to Brutal by breeders. Serving 177 mares in his debut season, and followed by very solid books in his second and third seasons.

“He covered a good book of mares in his first year, and he was well-supported in his second season as well. So, Brutal covered 331 mares in his first two seasons, and with his runners doing so well, we should see a nice follow-up in support.

“The market is really taking notice of Brutal. We kept his fee the same as last year ($16,500 inc GST) just so we can bank a good book of mares for him and maintain the momentum around him. But he’s on track to cover around 150 mares.”

The beast

Brutal is a stunning near-black son of the late Waikato star O’Reilly. He is from the Group 3-placed Golan (Ire) mare Alberton Princess (NZ), who is a half-sister to the Group 2 winner Te Akau Rose (NZ) (Thorn Park).

Brutal showed he was one to watch with a 5l romp on debut at Caulfield, an effort he followed up with a close but maiden stakes success in the Listed McKenzie S. and the Listed Exford Plate at Flemington.

Returning as a 3-year-old, he was thrown into elite company, taking on older horses first-up and second-up before finishing second to Winx (Street Cry {Ire}) in the G1 George Ryder S. and beating the Group 1 winner Dreamforce (Fastnet Rock).

He then enjoyed his crowning moment in the prestigious G1 Doncaster H. over the tough Randwick mile, beating a field that included multiple Group 1 winners Hartnell (GB) (Authorized {Ire}), Le Romain (Hard Spun {USA}), Shillelagh (NZ) (Savabeel), Alizee (Sepoy), and Unforgotten (Fastnet Rock), to name a few.

Highlighting his versatility, Brutal won the G2 Premiere S. over 1200 metres, beating the future The Everest victor Classique Legend (Not A Single Doubt) and Godolphin’s classy sprinters Osborne Bulls (Street Cry {Ire}) and Home Of The Brave (Ire) (Starspangledbanner).

Slade recommends anyone who hasn’t seen Brutal in the flesh to do so, describing him as ‘a typical John Hawkes type,’ high praise indeed.

“He’s a typical John Hawkes type. John purchased Deep Field as a yearling, All Too Hard, Star Turn, North Pacific and many others. They are top-class physicals. He was a NZ$220,000 yearling purchase by Hawkes Racing in New Zealand by O’Reilly, and he’s 16hh, super powerful with great width.

“As many have said in our marketing, the Hawkes boys call him ‘the beast,’ and that’s what you see in the flesh. He’s that dark brown colour and just an absolute masculine beast of a horse with a big wide jowl and just a very imposing physical presence, but then he has a terrific temperament.

“He’s the easiest horse around the farm to do anything with, and he’s passing his temperament onto his foals.”

Regarding mares that suit Brutal, Slade said, “He’s the sort of horse that you can breed a sprinter from. If you send that big, powerful type of mare or if you want to send a middle-distance mare, he’ll throw more of that rangy, scopey middle-distance type.

“I think he’s going to be pretty versatile as O’Reilly was. One of his best types, Barbarbic Lad, who was one of his most expensive yearlings ($210,000) and in turn one of his best performers to date, was a very typey horse, just medium-sized, nice and square, and a very good mover.

“A couple of other horses like Brutal Bowler and Big Brute are all very nice and just big, rangy horses that will just keep continuing to improve with time but are already winning on ability. Genetically, he’s Danehill-free, and each of his winners and the majority of his placegetters are from Danehill-lined mares.

“So, he’s proven to click well with those mares and, of course, offers him a great opportunity with our genetic make-up in Australia but also gives breeders a nice option to outcross.”

One to watch

From Brutal’s unraced stock, Slade indicated the Lloyd Kennewell and Lucy Yeomans-trained The Grumpy Bear is one to watch over the coming months. Retained to race by Newgate and SF Bloodstock, The Grumpy Bear is from the Hat Trick (Jpn) mare Triple Chelsea (USA), a winner of nine races, including the Listed Giant’s Causeway S. and the Listed Lightning City S.

“There’s a horse that we have retained, who we will race with Lloyd Kennewell and Lucy Yeomans, called The Grumpy Bear, and he is very well-named after a certain member of the Newgate team.

“He’s a very, very talented horse and has had two very impressive jump-outs. There was a huge amount of interest to purchase him but we’ve got a big opinion of him and we’ll be racing him. He’s one to watch going forward.

“The Grumpy Bear has just gone to the paddock for a break and he’ll make into a really, really exciting 3-year-old.”