Edinburgh Park Stud

This article is one of 34 vendors exclusively in our MMGC 2023 souvenir edition ! This edition is not for retail sale and you can only get one by subscribing to BLUEBLOODS

To stay relevant farms have to evolve and grow as the industry changes, and there is no better example of a vendor embracing that fact than the outstanding draft Ian Smith’s Edinburgh Park Stud will send to the Gold Coast in January.

When talking to Ian one gets a sense of personal satisfaction with the work done to present this draft for sale. “This is the best draft we have assembled on page, types and by sires. We’ve got the sires right, the types right and they are going to the right sale. The majority look to be fast, early types that would be ideal for the 2024 Magic Millions 2YO Classic and there is no reason there aren’t some diamonds amongst the draft.”

The sire power in the draft is most impressive, the now well and truly established Zoustar being an example. It’s fair to say his stock are on fire and Ian has a trio of yearlings by the son of Northern Meteor. The first is Lot 7, a filly out of the twice winning Fastnet Rock mare Jazette, a half-sister to the Gr2 winner Cluster. “She’s a typical Zoustar, good looking with a nice head and oozing quality.”

Ian particularly likes the Zoustar colt out of Our Crown Mistress that will sell as Lot 208 and comes from the same family as recent Gr2 Tristarc Stakes winner Chain Of Lightning. “The mare’s first foal made $800,000 and this colt is probably a better type than that model. The mare was tough (she did win four races on the trot and twice at Listed level) and this guy looks tough and ready to run early. The mare looks like she is throwing diamonds.”

The remaining Zoustar hails from the Darling Alice family that Smith has successfully nurtured for so long now. Selling as Lot 590, he is out of Alice’s Smart, dam of the Stakes placed Miss Wonderland and Spencer, and a half-sister to the dams of Gr2 Bill Stutt Stakes winner Glenfiddich and Magic Millions’ pinup boy Eleven Eleven. “Alice’s Smart always produces quality types and this colt has a lot of similarities with the Zoustar – Quiet Kitten colt we sold last year. Now with John McArdle and named Regal Zeus, his trainer is on record as saying he is the best colt in his barn.”

Anyone who might have missed out on that colt last year will be pleased to know Quiet Kitten will be represented here by a smashing filly by Written Tycoon to sell as Lot 273. Runner-up at Grade 3 level in the States, this daughter of Kitten’s Joy is a half-sister to four Stakes winners. “Again it is on the way up and we are excited about what this mare is producing.”

The Written Tycoon filly to go through as Lot 354 will surely prove popular. Her dam Serena Bay won the Golden Gift, was third in the Gr2 Percy Sykes Stakes that season and her first two foals have shown promise. Her daughter Summer Loving started favourite in the Golden Gift on debut where many thought she was unlucky when running third. “The mare has been bred up to the hilt having a Snitzel filly on her, was bred back to Exceed And Excel and looks like she could be the real deal.”

The last Written Tycoon off the farm is a stunning colt out of the five-time winning Commands mare Awasita whose first foal, Boomsita, was city placed recently. “When Magic Millions turned up and saw him they thought he was a replica of Capitalist he’s such a ripping type! If you go into his paddock he demands attention and he’ll do the same thing every time he walks out of his sales box.”

Sun Valley, another Commands mare, is the dam of Lot 443, a So You Think colt from the outstanding Skating family. Sun Valley is a half-sister to the Gr2 winning juvenile Tenley and to Biscayne Bay who was a Gr3 winner at two before a third in the Gr1 VRC Oaks. “He’s from a great family that keeps on throwing Stakes winners and he’s as nice a So You Think colt as I have brought to a sale.”

And if you are on the lookout for a So You Think filly with black type to burn then Lot 882 out of General Nediym’s daughter Fortune Of War is worthy of consideration. Stakes placed at two, and a half sister to the Group winners Sertorius, Pretty Brazen, Dollar For Dollar, Pretty Amazing and Clifton Red, Fortune Of War is already the dam of the multiple Stakes placed Spoils. In Ian’s opinion this filly is “A quality, leggy, beautifully bodied So You Think and if you like the family you will love the filly.”

No quality draft would be complete without at least one Exceed And Excel and Edinburgh Park have a belter in Lot 190. Another likely to add to the rich success of the Darling Alice family, the colt is a three-quarter brother to Glenfiddich, who, besides his Stutt Stakes win was Gr1 placed at two in the Champagne Stakes and third at weight-for-age in the Gr1 Memsie Stakes. The page tells the story so Ian was concise when describing this athlete as; “All quality, exactly what you want to see, and will be a standout lot.”

According to Ian “You would not want to see a better first foal” when asked about Lot 530, the colt by Pierro out of the Exceed And Excel mare Vivi Valentina. City placed Vivi Valentina is a half-sister to the dam of the five time Group race winner in New Zealand Need I Say More. “We have a very good strike rate with first foals and we are excited to present this colt.”

Lot 78 is another from the Darling Alice family, but this filly is by Dundeel out of Glenfiddich’s half-sister Ludicrous Mode by Snitzel. A first foal, Ian described her as “A nice, neat foal, typical of Dundeel and she’s a three year-old type which is what you would expect. This is a family that keeps on growing and I think she would be an ideal filly for someone looking for pedigree and type.”

Fans of Toronado should inspect the farm’s filly out of Quiet Show by Al Maher. Selling as Lot 615 the filly is a half-sister to the four time winner and Listed placed Score while her dam is a half-sister to the dual Gr1 winning sprinter-miler Scales Of Justice.

As Lot 954 the Deep Field colt out of Iceland Turf Belle will be the final horse of the draft, but it will pay to keep a few dollars back for this grandson of the good mare Viking Turf Belle. Of course the Asian market have a penchant for the Deep Fields and Ian feels they won’t be disappointed when he walks out of the box. “He’s a big, strong physical type that looks like he will run early, there’s no reason not to like this colt.”

Sprinkled amongst the draft are a quartet of yearlings by first and second season sires that will not disappoint.

Leading off will be Lot 359 by former Champion Colt The Autumn Sun out of the city winner Seventhchic. As the ink on the catalogues was drying Seventhchic’s first foal Royal Merchant was hacking up at a Canterbury night meeting and looks to have a very bright future. “The mare throws exceptional types and has produced a quality individual in this fellow.”

The Gold Coast offers buyers the first opportunity to secure the produce of Champion European Sprinter Blue Point and Edinburgh Park have a terrific filly out of the five time winner, Listed placed Turnstiles, who is a daughter of another European speedster in Anabaa. Turnstiles has done the job at stud producing the Stakes performers Revolving Door and Golden Spin and as Ian explained, “This mare continually throws nice types but this is the nicest we have brought to a sale. She’s the only Blue Point we bred but definitely amongst the nicest we had in the paddocks this year. The page is nice, she is a type and I think she will be very well received.”

The Edinburgh Park van will arrive at the Gold Coast with a brace of yearlings by the Gr1 Coolmore Stud Stakes winner Exceedance and Ian is very happy with what he has. “Everyone who has seen our two Exceedence yearlings have been rapt in them.”

The first through will be a filly out of Tzu Hsi, dam of the Gr2 Shannon Stakes winner and Gr1 placed Rock Sturdy. This is a strong Gooree family with Tzu Hsi a half-sister to the speedy multiple Gr3 winners Swift Alliance and Sultry Feeling. It is a happening family as Sultry Feeling is the dam of impressive Listed Debutant Stakes winner King’s Gambit.

The remaining Exceedance is a colt out of the classy mare Dublin Lass. With a pair of Listed wins amongst a career tally of seven in total the daughter of the outstanding broodmare sire O’Reilly certainly had a turn of foot. Ian thinks “It wouldn’t surprise me if he isn’t the nicest Exceedance at the sale. If you like Exceedance then you will love this guy, he is the real deal.”

So, packed with quality yearlings by the country’s most talented sires, there genuinely is something for everyone down in Stable J.