It was a busy but rewarding spring for Larneuk Stud's Neville Murdoch, a real highlight of his year being the arrival of the first foals by exciting young stallion Cluster.
A well credentialled Group Two
winning son of champion sire Fastnet Rock, Cluster served a strong book of 68
mares in his debut season and Murdoch could not be happier with the results.
"I have never seen foals like these," he enthused. "They all have a real mark of Cluster, inheriting his strength and scope, even his personality!"
A lovably cheeky horse who has great fun poking his tongue out when the mood takes him, Cluster is now not the only horse at the Euroa farm with that habit - his sons and daughters also bringing a smile to everyone's face with the same trait!
Shaping as a bay dominant, Cluster has the power of his sire Fastnet Rock and the class of his dam sire Last Tycoon and his foals are an exciting mixture of both.
"There is just something about them," Murdoch said. "They are lovely movers with great temperaments."
Click here to see some of his foals.
Serving mares by the likes of Street Cry, Dehere, Spinning World, Cape Cross, Jeune, Archway, Grand Lodge, Thunder Gulch, Reset, Bellotto, Secret Savings, Catbird, Zabeel, Elusive Quality, Zeditave, Northern Meteor, Quiet American, Night Shift, Canny Lad, Woodman, Royal Academy, Commands, Oratorio, Marauding, Red Ransom, Irish River, Stratum, Redoute's Choice, Shamardal and Galileo, Cluster proved just as popular this spring.
And Murdoch is confident that the best is still to come.
"We had plenty of return bookings on the strength of the quality of his foals and I'm sure he will prove just as popular next year," he said, adding that Larneuk will continue to support the classy bay.
A dual Group One winning sprinter, Fastnet Rock has not only made his mark as a superior stallion siring 103 individual stakes winners inclusive of 26 Group One winners, but he is now making his name as a sire of sires.
Already four of his sons - Hinchinbrook, Stryker, Smart Missile and Wanted - have been represented by stakes winners. And it is worth noting that, like Cluster, the former two were Group Three winners.
And what a race the Group Three Cluster won - the Theo Marks - has been, won by the likes of More Joyous, Racing To Win, Shogun Lodge and this year Winx.
It was some win by Cluster that day. Despite being not long out of maiden class, he was favourite in the $200,000 contest but looked to have the job ahead after settling last.
But, after hooking out into the straight he was strong to the line, gathering in his rivals in impressive fashion, nailing the talented Bull Point close to home.
Unlucky not to have gone close in the Group One Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes at his next outing - drawing wide but catching the eye weaving through the field late to finish on the heels of the placegetters - Cluster retired to stud as a three times winner of just short of $300,000 in stakes.
Cluster is bred to be reliable, his sire Fastnet Rock boasting a high 66.7% winners-to-runners strike rate with excellent black type figures (8.1% stakes winners to runners) whilst his family is a consistently classy one.
Between them Cluster's first four dams have produced 19 winners from 24 starters with his dam, the Listed winning sprinter Tarcoola Diamond, also dam of the stakes placed Inkling and the multiple city winners Diamond Jim and Novikov.
She is one of two stakes winners, the durable Chickaloo the other, for the metropolitan winning Bletchingly mare Potent, daughter of the Group One Champagne Stakes winning Baguette mare I Like Diamonds.
Grandam of the Group winners Tiger King and Coup Align, she is in turn daughter of the Group Three Magic Night Quality winner As You Like It, grandam of the Group One Storm Queen Stakes winner Hill Of Grace.
Whilst excited about the prospects of Cluster, Murdoch is also delighted with the progress of fellow Larneuk stallions Ilovethiscity and O'Lonhro.
Group One winner of the Randwick Guineas (a race whose winners - such as Hallowed Crown, Dissident, Dundeel - are keenly sought after at stud), Ilovethiscity has made a terrific start to his stud career.
Looking particularly exciting
is Vivaldi's Quest, the Lloyd Kennewell trained three-year-old who has been so
impressive winning his first two starts in South Australia.
A soft maiden winner at his Murray Bridge debut, the chestnut stepped straight up to metropolitan company at his second outing, showing such a good turn of foot that the Magic Millions Guineas is his target.
Also displaying plenty of promise in Adelaide is the Gordon Richards trained Chapel City who finished strongly to win at debut over 1000m at Morphettville in mid-June.
Also successful at her first start was Moonlover who was not far away in black type company over the spring . After breaking her maiden in early September Plenty To Like also stepped up to stakes level and was an especially gallant fifth in the Group Two Tea Rose having been galloped on during the running.
Meanwhile O'Lonhro is enjoying an excellent season, his sons and daughters since the start of August winning 23 races with a further 39 placings to their credit.
"If they don't win they
are never far away," Murdoch said, noting that typical of the Lonhro line
the breed are "so very tough and genuine."
Recent winners for O'Lonhro include the talented Big Reel who charged to the line from the rear at Moonee Valley in mid-November and the promising King Of The Ark who has really looked the goods winning two of his first three by wide margins.
Meanwhile Larneuk's own No Tan Tat was impressive racing away to a 2 1/2 length maiden victory at Geelong in mid-December whilst a couple of days previously Scotopia at just her second start broke his maiden by five lengths at Bairnsdale.
The sales ring has been good to Larneuk this year also, Murdoch under the Yarran Thoroughbreds banner selling a $220,000 Teofilo colt at the Inglis Melbourne Premier. That was quite the achievement with his dam, the unraced Husson mare Alynya (daughter of the Group Three mare A Country Girl) a bargain buy. And reports from the breaker is that the colt is doing everything right.
And in late August Alynya produced a lovely filly by Cluster.
Also selling well for Larneuk was a Teofilo - Sea Song colt which fetched $175,000 and a $160,000 Teofilo - Reine colt. Murdoch was delighted by the results, noting that "the way our yearlings are pleasing buyers at the sales is testament to the way we raise our horses and select our broodmares.
Murdoch is always strengthening his broodmare band whist constantly upgrading the picturesque property that is Larneuk Stud. A farm boasting a long thoroughbred history, it is ideally placed in the heart of Victoria's prime thoroughbred breeding country.
For further information on the Larneuk Stud contact Neville Murdoch on 0418 105 706 or visit www.larneuk.com and www.facebook.com/pages/Larneuk-Stud/455896497806590
