THE "BACKSLAPPING" in the backwaters of the Barossa on Saturday afternoon, paled into insignificance when compared to the celebrations of the connections of SHIKI that won on debut!
SHIKI's win in the Group 3 Gimcrack Stakes confirming the Waterhouse pre-race belief that this was her Slipper filly; with comparisons drawn to her former Slipper winner in LADY OF CAMELOT.
That said, the congratulatory text from “Stud Principle to Stud Manager” of a single emoji underpinned a story that has been quite some years in the making .....
Prior to taking over Cornerstone Stud in its entirety in 2023, John Frankhuisen had quietly admired the perpetual successes of SA’s leading breeders Mill Park & Harry Perks from afar.
Aspiring to mimic a modicum of their success, John made it quite clear that the refining of the old Cornerstone Broodmare band was as critical, as the expansion of the new. However, his acknowledgement that “quality simply has to outweigh quantity" was the driving force behind a very quiet, but thoughtful investment period in bloodstock from 2020 onwards, as the farm migrated away from standing stallions.
In 2021, the Cornerstone Team worked the Magic Millions Broodmare sales hard. The eventual spend of $415,000 across four mares and spent in conjunction with support of some very loyal SA clients, focused heavily on “type” over “mating and pedigree”.
Lot 1334 was knocked down to Cornerstone Stud for $120,000 and was offered by the respected draft of Dean Harvey’s Baystone Farm. JEST EXCEL, was one of 623 mares offered that year and the price was on a par with the median of the '21 MM mare sale.
However, she was the epitome of what gave South Australian Breeders credence in the 50’s, 60’s & 70’s; Precocity, strength and an incredibly robust physique. Furthermore, the drawcard of an EXCEED & EXCEL mare that was in turn out of a RORY’S JESTER mare, held strong resonance to our eventual partner Steve Millar and the halcyon days of the aforementioned sire and his trainer Colin Hayes. A poignant moment to thank Steve for his ongoing support of the farm.
“There was no genetic drawcard or devine calling to the mare” reflects Sam Pritchard-Gordon (Stud Manager) “We simply had to focus on type-mares that were not going to be in the zone for the flash money! … A mare that already had a foal on the ground and was carrying a commercial-query of a mating.... essentially meant it was us versus the vendor”.
It was the sales season of 2024 that allowed the investment to blossom. Through the Cannon Hayes draft at the January Magic Millions, a SPIRIT OF BOOM yearling colt from the mare realised $160,000 to Tony Gollan and then only three months later the farm generated a further $150,000 for a TOO DARN HOT weanling filly.
It would appear that SHIKI might just be a horse that gives joy to just about everyone she meets along the way (except those that raced against her on Saturday!). Her bold buyers at the Inglis Weanling Sale, were the fledgling operation of Nick Taylor's Riverstone Lodge, aided by the crystal-balling eye of Suman Hedge.
Spinning $150k into $420k is no mean feat and contrary to what you might expect, John Frankhuisen and Sam Pritchard-Gordon took genuine pride in seeing Nick reap the rewards of the Cornerstone bred filly at this years Magic Millions.
"There is little doubt the story might have been different were it not for Nick selling the filly into Gai and Adrian's stable" mused John Frankhuisen.
"To be honest, I don't think I would change a thing. That said, I hope that we get a spot on their table for the Golden Slipper!"
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