Industry trailblazer and prominent owner-breeder Julia Ritchie sat down with The Thoroughbred Report to discuss where some of the broodmare band she owns and co-owns will head this season.
Ritchie bred and raced the dual Group 1 winner Fiveandhalfstar (Hotel Grand) and was also part of the ownership group with the G1 Golden Slipper victor Vancouver. Trading under her Bangaloe Stud banner, Ritchie added a highly coveted share in Widden Stud’s Zoustar. The share was presented by Qatar Bloodstock in the Inglis Digital June Online Auction and was secured for $1.3 million.
It was the first time a share in Zoustar had been offered publicly, and the knock down price put his value at a current estimate of $78 million.
Zoustar | Standing at Widden
Ritchie shared which of her lucky girls are set for a date with the Zoustar, “We’ve just retired Vienna Princess, and so she’s going to go to Zoustar. Her half-brother is heading to the Coolmore Stud S. so with any luck it will be a great tick for the mare.
“The second mare is Phantom Queen. I sold her Zoustar colt this year at Easter, James Harron Bloodstock bought him and I think he’s going to be something special.
“So we thought we’d go back to Zoustar because of it. I’ll also be supporting another Widden Stud stallion in Supido with a mare.”
“The second mare is Phantom Queen. I sold her Zoustar colt this year at Easter, James Harron Bloodstock bought him and I think he’s going to be something special.” - Julia Ritchie
The beautifully bred Vienna Princess (Snitzel) is from the Street Cry (Ire) mare Graciousness, a half-sister to the Group 1 winner and Group 1-producing sire Casino Prince, and to the dam of Best Of Bordeaux, who was a dual Group 2 winner and a placegetter in the G1 Golden Slipper.
Graciousness is the dam of the unbeaten First Settler (Written Tycoon), who is set to target the G1 Coolmore Stud S. for Mick Price and Michael Kent Jnr stable. Trained by Chris Waller, Vienna Princess was quite the talent. She retires as a four-time winner, counting the Listed Twilight Glow S. and the Silver Eagle on her record. Vienna Princess was a $400,000 purchase by Magic Bloodstock and Associates at the 2021 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale.
Ritchie’s second mare to visit Zoustar is the Charge Forward mare Phantom Queen. A dual winner, Phantom Queen is from the Group 3-placed Flidais (Timber Country {USA}), who is also the da of the G1 The Galaxy winner Sweet Idea (Snitzel) and Group 2-winning and Group 1-placed full brother Showtime.
Julia Ritchie with Gai Waterhouse | Image courtesy of Magic Millions
Phantom Queen produced a colt by Zoustar, who was sold for $650,000 to the James Harron Bloodstock Colt Partnership at this year’s Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale, and she was served by Newgate Farm’s G1 Golden Slipper victor Stay Inside.
Star trio North America bound
Ritchie was excited to share that the star trio of Champagne Cuddles (Not A Single Doubt), Invincibella (I Am Invincible), and Shout The Bar (Not A Single Doubt) are on an international date with the North American Triple Crown winner Justify (USA).
“I co-own mares with Coolmore and one or two other people. The key ones are Champagne Cuddles, Shout The Bar, and Invincibella. They’ve all gone to America to Justify because Coolmore didn’t bring him out.
Justify (USA) | Standing at Coolmore
“I was praying that they would bring him out for one more year before Storm Boy retires, but at the end of the day, I’m one of four in the ownership and commercially, it makes total sense to do it with that calibre of mare.”
The tenacious Champagne Cuddles retired as a Group 2 winner and multiple Group 1 placegetter, while Invincibella won 12 races, including the G1 Tatt’s Tattersalls Tiara. Both Invincibella and Champagne Cuddles visited Justify in their first seasons but missed to him last year, alongside the dual Group 1 winner Shout The Bar.
Newgate pair prove popular
Newgate Farm’s first-season sires, Ozzmosis and Militarize (NZ), will also be supported by Ritchie. The Fastnet Rock mare Lady Sharapova will visit Dundeel’s (NZ) triple Group 1-winning son, Militarize.
Lady Sharapova was placed in the G3 Ming Dynasty H., the Listed Talindert S., and the Listed Port Adelaide Guineas. She foaled a filly by Russian Revolution and was served by Justify in October.
Militarize (NZ) | Standing at Newgate
“It’s good because I’ve got quite a diverse portfolio of where my mares are going. I’m sending a few to Newgate Farm, and I’m also a shareholder in a few stallions at that stud. I’m sending a mare to Ozzmosis and we’ve got a couple going to Militarize.
“I have shares in Jacquinot at Widden, and a few others, but it just depends on where the mares fall whether I use them or not. Lady Sharapova is going to Militarize, which I think is a good match. She has been a nice broodmare.
“It’s interesting that there have been a lot of I Am Invincibles from here. Some of them are good, and then other times, they’re a bit off the boil, but at the moment, she’s got a lovely Russian Revolution filly.
“Lady Sharapova is going to Militarize, which I think is a good match. She has been a nice broodmare.” - Julia Ritchie
“She’s a beautiful filly, and with Russian Revolution and Lady Sharapova, she’ll be an easy one to name. We might call her Anastasia. But we’re sending her dam to Militarize, and I think that would be a good combination.”
Vittoriosa (NZ) (Vancouver) was served by Coolmore Stud’s well-related Acrobat and is set to head to Yarraman Park Stud’s Brave Smash (Jpn).
“She has been retired and went to Acrobat in her first season, but we’re sending Vittoriosa to Brave Smash this year. We feel it’s going to be a good combination, and the original owners who raced her have all stayed together to breed with her, which is a nice story.”
Dipping into the international market
Ritchie also ventured into the international market, purchasing the Fascinating Rock (Ire) mare Blue Peak (Ire). She is from the stakes performer Mood Indigo (Ire) (Indian Ridge {Ire}), who is the dam of the G3 Silver Flash S. winner Luminous Eyes (Ire) (Bachelor Duke {USA}). Luminous Eyes, in turn, produced the Fastnet Rock filly Lumosty, a winner of the G2 Moonee Valley Fillies Classic and the G2 Caulfield Sprint.
Fascinating Rock (Ire) | Standing at Burgage Stud
Blue Peak is also from the family of New Endeavour (Ire) (New Bay {GB}), who finished second in the G1 Doomben Cup and the G3 Chairman’s H. this year. The Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott-trained import was also placed in the G2 Hungerford S. and in the Britannia S.H. at Royal Ascot.
“One interesting acquisition is a race filly I bought in Europe last year called Blue Peak. I have to say, in the end, she nearly paid for her shipping out because she won another race and had some placings. I got her covered by New Bay to Southern Hemisphere time. She’s arriving today (Sunday) and will head to Militarize,” said Ritchie.
Classy mare to Bassett
Earlier in the year, Ritchie bought into the Savabeel mare Samovare (NZ) at the Inglis Chairman’s Sale. The mare was signed for $475,000 by Colm Santry Bloodstock. Samovare is from the More Than Ready (USA) mare Sambar, a dual winner who is also the dam of the young Newgate Farm-based stallion Tiger Of Malay, a victor of the G2 Sires’ Produce S. and the G3 Up and Coming S., as well as the Group 3 winner Samizdat (Not A Single Doubt).
Samovare (NZ) | Image courtesy of Inglis
Samovare won the G3 Champion Fillies S. and was placed in the G2 Sunline S. She has an unraced filly by Russian Revolution named Sanzione and another unraced filly named Exclusivity (Exceed And Excel), who was purchased for $700,000 at last year’s Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale.
The daughter of Savabeel foaled a colt by Snitzel last spring and returned to Russian Revolution. “She’s going to be served by Wootton Bassett this season, which will be exciting,” said Ritchie.
Foxy to Vinnie
Under her Bangaloe Stud banner, Ritchie signed $575,000 for the classy Foxy Frida (Foxwedge) at this year’s Inglis Chairman’s Sale. Foxy Frida is from the Excellent Art (GB) mare Family Portrait, who won four races and was placed in a Listed race and fourth in a Group 3.
Foxy Frida won 10 races, including the G3 RA Lee S., the Listed Centaure S., and the Inglis Bracelet twice, alongside the Magic Millions National Classic. She was also placed in the G2 Queen of the South S. twice.
Foxy Frida | Image courtesy of Inglis
“I bought Foxy Frida at the Inglis Chairman’s Sale this year. She’s going to I Am Invincible this year, and it was really funny because when I went to the sale, the ones I liked were just too pricey.
“I was about to leave, and I had liked Foxy Frida, but I was walking out the door when Helen (Taylor) came running up to me and said, ‘Are you going to bid on her? I’m taking the bid, so why don’t we do it?’ So, I literally stood at the counter at the back with Helen and was bidding.
“And then she got knocked down to me, which came as a surprise! But I’m trying to rebuild my broodmare band and had been moving some mares along because, as we’ve seen at the sales, the bottom end of the market is falling out a bit.
“I’m trying to rebuild my broodmare band and had been moving some mares along because, as we’ve seen at the sales, the bottom end of the market is falling out a bit.” - Julia Ritchie
“So, the range and plan is to be co-investing in higher-quality mares. It’s a three-year plan, but it’s worth it. We’ve retained a few homebreds, but otherwise, we’ve sold quite a few.
“Sometimes you get lucky buying a mare from a sale. It was a fun story when I purchased Itz Lily. Kris Lees had been training her, and he came up to me after the sale and said, ‘She doesn’t have to go to stud yet, do you want to keep racing her?’ I said, ‘Yeah, sure.’ So, I actually won back my purchase price and half of my service fee.
“Which was wonderful, but it doesn’t always work out like that.”
