Feroce’s stunning Gr.1 Australian Guineas (1600m) victory was celebrated in several of New Zealand’s most prominent stud farms over the weekend.
Bred by Pencarrow Stud, Feroce was narrowly beaten by Private Life in the Gr.1 Caulfield Guineas (1600m) back in October, but there was no denying the gelding at Flemington on Saturday, outmuscling fellow Kiwi-bred colt Savaglee to take the three-year-old feature by three-quarters of a length.
Leon Casey, stud manager at Pencarrow, was thrilled to see the gelding earn his redemption after such a narrow miss at Caulfield.
“It was a massive thrill, he’d just been beaten in the Caulfield Guineas and you’re never sure whether you’re going to get into that position again, to win a Group One race,” he said.
“It was great to see him pull it off on Saturday, and in a marquee event.”
A mid-August foal, Feroce stood out among his peers but continued to grow and wasn’t offered for sale as a yearling, instead being presented at the 2023 New Zealand Bloodstock Ready To Run Sale. Offered by Eion Kemp’s Kilgravin Lodge, Feroce was purchased by bloodstock agent Johnny McKeever and Victorian trainer Dominic Sutton for $160,000.
“He was an outstanding foal, but he just kept growing and didn’t really look like he was going to be suited to the yearling sale,” Casey said.
“He matured a lot as a two-year-old and he found his place at the Ready To Runs, which we reserved him for.”
The sixth foal out of Corinthia, Feroce became the first Group One winner for Waikato Stud’s second season sire Super Seth, of whom Pencarrow are shareholders in and have supported in numbers in his short breeding career to date.
“We are shareholders in Super Seth and we’ve sent quite a few mares to him in his first little while at stud,” Casey said. “We are big believers in what he may be able to achieve and it was great to see him establish himself as a stallion at that level.
“He’s just been going so well everywhere and to put in a win like that, he’s just adding to his CV all the time.”
For Waikato Stud principal Mark Chittick, collecting the quinella (Super Seth and Savabeel) in a feature race was not only beneficial for the stud, but for the future of Super Seth, who has had an outstanding season.
A winner of the Caulfield Guineas himself, Super Seth has left six stakes winners, including Gr.2 Matamata Breeders’ Stakes (1200m) and Karaka Millions 2YO (1200m) winner La Dorada, and multiple stakes-winner Sethito, the latter taking her place in Saturday’s $3.5 million NZB Kiwi (1500m).
“We had plenty of interest in the race and were very, very proud of the way that Savaglee measured up in Australia,” Chittick said. “But for a young sire that won a Guineas himself to have left a Classic Guineas winner in his first crop is why we’ve identified and put so much work and investment into Super Seth.
“When you take the results of the last three weeks, he’s had a Group Two winner, a Listed winner and now a Group One winner, and seven winners in seven days. Now looking to this weekend, he’s got a runner in the Group One (Sistema Stakes, 1200m) and one in the Kiwi, you just couldn’t ask for anything more.
“We’ve all had to work pretty hard at the sales series this year, but Seth got some good results. I certainly think from now on, people will recognise the way that he’s going and I’m really looking forward to the coming years.
“We’re extremely proud of what he’s doing.”
A daughter of O’Reilly out of a Group Three performer, Corinthia was unraced but is a half-sister to Gr.1 Rosehill Guineas (2000m) winner De Beers, and her granddam, Tristalove, won the Gr.2 Matamata Breeders’ Stakes (1200m) before taking out the Gr.1 Sires’ Produce (1400m) at Randwick.
While not making it on to the racetrack, Corinthia immediately made an impression as a broodmare, with her first foal, Siracusa, winning the Listed Karaka Classic (1600m) and placing in the Gr.2 Tauranga Stakes and Gr.2 Japan Trophy (1600m).
She produced another winner the following season in Calliope, but after a couple of quieter years, Feroce has put her firmly back on the map, with Saturday’s result increasing his total earnings beyond A$1.3 million.
“She’s a great type of mare with a great pedigree, she didn’t make it to the races, but we had a lot of faith in her,” Casey said. “Her first foal was a stakes winner.
“She’s a large mare with big shoulders so we thought Super Seth would suit her on type, and of course the Eight Carat family crosses so well with so many families, but particularly the Sadler’s Wells and Redoute’s Choice in Super Seth.
“We thought that would spark the family back to life.”
After Feroce was born, Corinthia was served by U S Navy Flag, producing a colt that was purchased for $150,000 by Hong Kong bloodstock agent Willie Leung at the Ready To Run Sale last November. The following year she visited Almanzor, resulting in a filly that will be retained by Pencarrow.
She unfortunately lost her most recent foal by U S Navy Flag, with a plan to go back to Super Seth next year now firmly in mind.
“She was the last mare to foal this year and ran way over her time, so she wasn’t bred,” Casey said.
“It’ll have to be on the agenda to go back to him next year.”
Siracusa has also joined Pencarrow’s broodmare band, with progeny by Almanzor (juvenile colt) and a Dundeel filly at foot.
“Siracusa has got a Dundeel filly on the ground, and she’s in foal to Proisir,” Casey said. – LOVERACING.NZ News Desk
