This week on Garry’s Corner

Hi Denise, I have added you to my list of followers! It is a big responsibility now having five confirmed readers, but I am privileged to have your support.

I can only continue to marvel at the achievements of Savabeel, his Sandown Guineas winner is his eleventh stakes winner for this season. Five Group 1 winners is more than most sires achieve, let alone in a season.

The great thing about this business is how much your knowledge is enhanced by the winners you breed. Many years ago, when Centaine was in his prime, I was interviewed by a journalist for the first time over lunch. When I was unaware she was recording, I made the point “How my intellect had advanced with the deeds of my horse.” You can imagine the shock when I opened the publication and in big bold print was, “Stud master’s IQ increased on the back of horse.”

But it is, ironically, a fact. Nobody interviews the losers. On the back of Centaine, I was invited to be part of a panel discussing the breed. It surprised and humbled me. Over time there have been multiple breeding programs available. The programs that based their advice on the evidence of historical results are useful for comparison, the programs predicting where a combination of the genes will take us nowhere. My policy over the years has been, when asked, is to consider type, temperament, then the empirical evidence. Any client who was making a booking on the basis of a breeding program they believe in I never disputed. I was approached at a Horse Show held at Ellerslie by a woman, “Do you have a breeding program?” “Why?” I asked. “Well,” she said, “I have one and my mare matches Pompeii Court perfectly.” “I agree,” I said. “You are not taking me seriously.” “Well,” I said, “If it means a booking, I am hardly likely to change your view.” The mare never arrived.

So what’s the point of this rambling? Well, did we know when purchasing Savabeel his mating with our O’Reilly mares would produce a remarkable 14% stakes winners to runners? To be fair, Savabeel has produced 100 stakes winners that are not out of O’Reilly mares. His success is broad based, but I can assure you five we loved O’Reilly. We loved his daughters, they are part of our family and you can see how the intellect of Mark and I has been elevated on the back of those 14% Savabeel/O’Rielly stakes winners. Mind you, it’s not me interviewed now.

Think about it .

Cheers

G