Garry’s Corner – 5 December 2019

Bantam Rooster one week, Feather Duster the next.

That fairly well describes the mood at Waikato Stud in the past week. The loss of any horse will stir the emotions of someone, regardless of the importance or otherwise of the animal. The loss of a stallion touches a wider group than most. There are the hopes of his shareholders, the mare owners who were excited by his prospects, the breeder and the racing owner before his retirement. Well, we are all the above.

Sacred Falls we bred by our favourite son in O’Reilly. O’Reilly cemented our foothold at Waikato Stud and after the disappointment of not being able to present him for sale, he defied the veterinary experts to race on our behalf. What an exciting couple of seasons; culminating with the title of New Zealand Horse of The Year.

We were fortunate. O’Reilly covered mares until 21, won all the Stallion Awards his name could be engraved on, as well as culminating with a 60k service fee.

Sacred Falls will have the opportunity to live up to his father’s expectations for a short period with four and a half crops. He is special to us for all of the above reasons, but also as it is seldom a breeder gets the chance to stand a son of one’s favourite son.

It is well documented we purchased 25% of the horse after his six wins in a row and we were keen to have a son of O’Reilly. His Guineas win was enough for us, his subsequent two Doncasters are the stuff legends are made of, being a part-owner of a dual Doncaster winner is a privilege few will ever experience and capped off with a stunning win in the Group One George Main, why wouldn’t we be proud of him?

I said to you two a couple of weeks ago, plagiarising the late Colin Hayes; the future is there to plan for. Having Super Seth in the wings to fill Sacred’s box wasn’t the plan, but we are indeed fortunate to have yet another exciting prospect for the future.

Stallion owning is a long game; not an easy game, but as after any knock back; tomorrow’s another day. We will have plenty of future moments to remind us of Sacred Falls while he is resting alongside O’Reilly, both facing the rising sun as we do every day.

Finally, to all those knockers of our engagement with horses for many activities. Without the care and time that went into giving him the best chance possible, imagine his demise left if they would have it to their own devices.

The equine world can be proud of the love and attention those animals in their care receive.

Cheers, G