Breeding News

It was a winning Listed double for Queensland with Oaklands Stud sire Ferocity and Glenlogan Park’s Falvelon both producing impressive winners.

Five year old mare, Divine City by Ferocity was given an uninterrupted run in transit by jockey Chris Munce and won the Fillies and Mares Quality Listed Just Now Hcp (1350m) easily by two and a quarter lengths from fellow Queenslander Annie Lizze, by Mearas.

Keeping the maroons at the top was Falvelon’s five year old gelding Someday (pictured Dan Costello Racing).

Like Divine City, Someday was given a glorious run by Chris Munce to win the $80,000 Quality Listed Pages Event Equipment 1600m. Munce had Someday no further back than fourth and was produced at the 300m for a soft win.

He has now had seven wins from his twenty starts and collected over $340,000 in prizemoney.

Someday and Divine City (pictured, Dan Costello Racing) weren’t the only two Magic Millions graduates to dominate on the weekend.

The sales company yearling’s starred around the country winning six of the eight stakes races on offer and have a three quarter relation to another headed for January’s Gold Coast Yearling Sale.

Quality Sydney sprinter Aeronautical won Saturday’s listed Razor Sharp Handicap at Kensington.

There was more than double the prizemoney available on all QTIS races across Queensland this week.

The earnings for Crystal Missle, Glorious George, Menacing and Red Ocean jumped from $6,500 to $15,000 while the second placegetters went from $2,000 to $4,300 and the third horses took home $2,200 instead of $1,000 thanks to the QTIS bonus.

QTIS is the only scheme in Australia that rewards all three placegetters, not just the winner and has recently been rated in a TBQA survey as the leading incentive scheme in the country.

With the Magic Millions Sale just a few weeks away, and the March QTIS sale not far behind, its worth investing in a Queensland bred, QTIS yearling to see the best return for your money in the years ahead.

The TBQA recently conducted a market research survey into the thoroughbred industry, with two QTIS pay-ups offered as a prize for those who participated.

The lucky winners have been drawn with Adam Wales and Peter Cranitch claiming the prize.

The TBQA committee would like to congratulate both gentlemen and wish them the best of luck with their QTIS runners.

Thank you to everyone who took part in the survey, we appreciate your time and your feedback will play a vitl role in reshaping Australia’s leading incentive scheme.

A further seven hundred and fifty bales of hay has been delivered to drought stricken horse owners in Western Queensland this weekend.

TBQA Committee member Stan Johnston and his daughter Crystal, along with Jo Heather from Patinack Farm travelled thousands of kilometres to drop off the hay.

The trek took them to Blackall, Longreach, Barcaldine, Winton and plenty of properties in between.

It’s all part of Stan’s plan to help drought-affected families feed their horses after he heard a touching radio interview on one his regular road trips to the races in Townsville.

“They interviewed a little girl on the radio and she said her family owned a property outside Prairie and it was getting very dry,” Stan said.

“Her dad was having to sell cattle and she had two or three little ponies that were struggling in the dry, so I thought we might be able to do something.”

Stan thought a concept, similar to his ‘flood relief’ efforts two years ago, may help these families.

He got the TBQA, Droughtmaster Stud Breeders Society and hay merchant Peter Doyle, Kynoona Pastoral, Grantham on board with the aim of delivering ten bales of hay to each affected pony or horse, free of charge where possible.

Stan has been inundated with please for help since the concept was first publicised along with plenty of financial donations to purchase the hay.

But the delivering is the trickiest aspect. This weekend the trip took three seperate goosenecks on the three day trek. They were on the road for over fifty hours.

There’s plenty of reasons for ‘Shouts All Round’ for one Queensland owner.

Kerry Griffiths lost his mare a day after foaling on 29th aug 2010 and he was left to rear an orphaned foal.

Initial attempts to find a nanny mare were unsuccessful so Kerry and his sons would bottle fed the filly nicknamed ‘Orphan Annie’ for three weeks until a surrogate mare was found.

After a bit of coaxing the pairing was successful and ‘Orphan Annie’ has never looked back. She not only survived, but has gone from strength to strength.

The foal was raised at Grandview Lodge by Michael Grieve with Kerry and his family visiting regularly.

Annie’s race name, ‘Shouts All Round’ was dervied from her ill-fated dam, ‘Shout with Pride’. Kerry, who has been breeding and raising for thirty six years, was driving to work one morning and looked at ‘Shout with Prides’ six progeny in his yard and thought ‘Gee, there’s Shouts All Round’, the name stuck for Orphan Annie.

Annie was initially given to Eric Ropiha in Toowoomba and was ready to barrier trail but then the Clifford Park track was closed for refurbishments so Kerry moved the filly to new trainer, Slim Perrin who has only one other horse in work.

Annie went on to win her two barrier trials at Gatton and had her first start in a QTIS race at Bundamaba over 1100m, but knocked up.

After a freshen up she had her second start at Warwick for a third and then hit the jackpot at Gatton on Tuesday 3rd December.

Not only did Annie have a win, but she scored the handy QTIS bonus on top.

It certainly shows that with persistence the dream can pay off and lead to ‘Shouts All Round’.