Some stallions can take a little longer to hit their straps and for those breeders who stick with them, the rewards can be great.
Group I VRC Australian Guineas winner Wandjina, is a young stallion with the profile to suggest immediate success, but the reality shows results have been frustratingly slow to come for the good looking son of Snitzel until this year.
The John Thompson trained Wandjina colt Mamaragan scored a breathtakingly good debut win in the Group II ATC Skyline Stakes, immediately putting himself into the picture as a serious Golden Slipper contender.
“He just looked a goer early,” Thompson said in his post-race comments.
“I’m not one to try and get Slipper runners, he’s just been a natural from day one. It’s great to have one in it.
“I’m sure he will do well, he’s a good doing colt with a great attitude and it’s exciting.
“The sky’s the limit, you saw today he was very raw in front, he didn’t know what to do but he will improve a lot from the run.”
Improve he did, going on to finish third in the Group I ATC Golden Slipper to Farnan and third to King’s Legacy in the Group I ATC Sires Produce Stakes.
Given the reputation of his trainer John Thompson for nurturing horses to bring out their full potential in the due course of time and the race record of his sire Wandjina, who was top class as a three year-old, it will be no surprise to see Mamaragan turning the tables on the glamour colts next season.
Queensland conditioner David Vandyke is another trainer noted for using a patient approach to produce a star three year-old and the debut win last week at the Sunshine Coast of his two year-old Wandjina colt Wolf Moon has many good judges seeing a horse capable of following in the footsteps of stable star Alligator Blood.
Carrying the Alligator Blood colours of owner Allan Endresz and ridden by Ryan Maloney, Wolf Moon travelled sweetly on the pace and dashed away to win by more than three lengths as a hot favourite.
He was rated a Breednet ‘One to Watch’ and you can read the story here.
“I really think there are signs that Wolf Moon could be as special as Al (Alligator Blood), he has got that strength about him,” said Allan Endresz.
“Dave (Vandyke) has nurtured this horse and he is a beauty.
“It might be tight trying to get him into the JJ Atkins, I don’t think we are going to get enough prizemoney between now and then.
“But we are looking forward to seeing some really exciting stuff in the future.”
Wandjina might have enjoyed this level of success sooner had he not been dealt a bitter blow when the best horse from his first crop was killed in a trackwork accident at Flemington.
A half-brother to Group I winner Dreamforce, the David Payne trained colt Deep Chill was a good fifth to subsequent superstar Castelvecchio on debut, then finished third in the Group III ATC Canonbury Stakes before winning easily at Warwick Farm.
Those performances warranted a trip to Melbourne where he was seen as a leading contender for the Group II VRC Sires Produce Stakes before his tragic accident three days out from the race.
To lose a colt like that from your first crop leaves quite a void, but Wandjina has been able to fill it with something possibly even better in Mamaragan.
Since the start of this year Wandjina has also produced metropolitan winners Rock My Wand, Wandabaa and Blackboots to go with his previous stakes-placed runners Express Pass and Grand Scholar, not to mention speedy filly Hearty Lass, who has won nearly $140,000 and was fourth in the Listed SAJC Queen Adelaide Stakes.
Newgate Farm have given Wandjina a significant fee reduction this year pricing him at $11,000, representing great value for the budget conscious breeder looking to punt a young stallion that could be on the cusp of an upswing.
