Slipper Winner’s Sibling at Stud in Victoria

When Richard Anderson of Quilly Park in Victoria decided to purchase a young well-bred stallion and stand it in conjunction with John Pratt at Brooker Park last year, he could never have predicted he would be standing the half-brother to a Golden Slipper winner.

Mr Anderson purchased an unraced two year-old colt last year by Exceed and Excel from dual Group I winner Response.

Named De Gaulle, he had been retained to race by his breeders SF Bloodstock and Newgate Farm and had shown good ability in three barrier trials, but a tendon injury curtailed his racing career before it even started.

"Peter and Paul Snowden had a very high opinion of this horse and were very upset when he did his tendon," Brooker Park Stud Manager John Pratt revealed.

"De Gaulle beat Diamond Tathagata in his first trial, he went on to win a Group II race afterwards. In his last trial he ran second, with Pariah third and he has gone on to win two Group III events since then.

"Johnnie Walker, the vet said he'd never seen Peter Snowden so close to tears about a horse breaking down."

De Gaulle made a pleasing start to his stud career at Brooker Park covering 22 mares last spring at a fee of $2,200 and looked set for a modest career as an affordable well-bred stallion for breed to race owners.

Earlier this year, the two year-old half-sister to De Gaulle, a Snitzel filly named Estijaab made her debut with a slashing win at Randwick prompting talk of a Golden Slipper campaign.

Already a media darling having fetched $1.7 million at the 2017 Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale, Estijaab stayed on her upward trajectory and last Saturday won the $3.5 million Group I ATC Golden Slipper adding value to all of her immediate family including De Gaulle.

"At Quilly Park, we've always been a bit more interested in producing classic style horses like Avienus," said Richard Anderson, who raced the former very good Reset mare Avienus, a Group II winner of nearly $600,000 in prizemoney.

"But when this horse came up, he changed my mind.

"He was by a champion sire in Exceed and Excel, who now has successful sire sons and the natural speed this colt showed in those trials was incredible.

"His mother Response was bought for $1.5 million and her first foal made $1,050,000, so I thought to myself 'the big boys are seeing what I'm seeing' … and I have an opportunity to be a part of that."

The original plan was for De Gaulle to be a private sire used to cover the mares owned by Quilly Park and Brooker Park, but that Golden Slipper win has changed everything.

"I was down at the local pub to watch the race with some mates," Anderson reflected.

"I always believed she would win. They were all saying she can't do it from barrier 14, but I said she'll go straight to the front and they won't beat her and that is how it happened.

"All of a sudden we have the same horse, but he's a half-brother by a champion sire to a Golden Slipper winner and that's a commercial sire.

"We're talking to a few farms about the possibility of standing him this spring for outside mares as we aren't set up to deal with that scenario, so we'll see what happens."

De Gaulle has a very similar profile to another young Exceed and Excel stallion in Outreach, who is a full brother to Golden Slipper winner Overreach.

Outreach had one start and was third to Vancouver in the Group III ATC Canonbury Stakes before retiring injured out of the Peter and Paul Snowden stable. He has since covered 278 mares in his first two seasons at Widden Stud in the Hunter Valley at a fee of $7,700.

There is clearly a demand for these types of horses that have an A grade pedigree and showed talent, but are priced within the realms of being affordable for smaller breeders.

"Pedigree expert Diane Neylon has been assisting us with our matings for De Gaulle and is available to give advice for anyone interested in sending a mare," Anderson added.

For more information on De Gaulle contact Richard Anderson on 0412 560 051