This week we speak Brian Anderton from White Robe Lodge who bred Smokin’ Romans (Ghibellines – Inferno) who won the Gr.3 Foundation Cup (2000m) at Caulfield on Saturday.
How many mares do you breed from? 60 mares currently, we own 60 across the whole family my daughter and her husband run the stud now, and I’m more of an observer these days
What else do you have in your bloodstock portfolio (youngstock, racehorses etc)? Just put 19 youngters through their 2 and 3 year old training programs, we tend to race mostly fillies, lease a lot out as well and then get them back to breed from. We have a filly looks good, full sister to Burgie (Ghiblellines – Norah).
Do you make your own mating decisions or seek advice from others – if others who? I certainly put my pennies worth in, and tend to make final decisions alongside my daughter Karen who is right into breeding as well, she and her husband run stud now.
Do you have a favourite cross? Smokin Romans dam Inferno (Yamanin Vital – Emerald Fire) was a good racemare herself, she won Canterbury gold cup twice. Her sire Yamanin Vital is son of Sir Tristram. Smokin Romans grand dam was Emerald Fire out of Gem Fire by Honour Grades – we liked how this cross looked on paper and the result of all this was Smokin Romans. We bred and leased Gem Fire for racing and she was then returned to us for breeding. We like this cross as they go back through with Sir Tristram as well as Noble Bijou.
Proven stallion or new season sire? We stand own horses, so like to give them a good opportunity by covering our own mares and our process is we try to ensure they are a good blend with mares we have selected over the years, we like to see Noble Bijou in our dam lines as they tend to go well with our stallions.
Best breeding advice you have received? Ever since I was lad I was a great reader, I loved to read about Agau Khan. I have spent a lot of time researching and watching how the crosses have gone over the years and noticed these lines that do well, Nobile Bijou, Sovereign Edition, over Sir Tristram Mares. Those crosses seem to go well, and blend well, always try to put mares to put to something that suits, we might try to improve conformation, for example might have a mare that is a smaller so will put her to a stallion that might lengthen leg on the resulting foal, or if the mare is light/fine in frame we might put her to something that will improve the robustness of the foal.
Who do you admire in the thoroughbred breeding industry – It’s a hard game, and I think sadly it’s dwindling a bit, I have a huge amount of respect for those sheep/beef farmers who also bred a few mares we don’t seem to have as many of the smaller breeders any longer, who just had a couple of mares that they’d dabble with breeding and do well, they were people I admired as they often did very well and would research and bring value to the industry.
If you could own any broodmare (past or present), who would it be – Pretty happy with ones I’ve got, they go back 5 generations right from some of the foundation mares from my mother’s time.
If you could spend a day learning the tricks of the trade on any farm in the world which would it be? Always wanted to go to Ireland or Kentucky, would have loved to spend time there.
Proudest moment as a breeder? Lots of thrills, probably biggest thrill – Tawrrific won 1989 Melbourne Cup, had his mother Joyarty in our broodmare band. We didn’t own him of course, but we bred and prepared him at the stud, it was a great thrill to see him do so well.
Finish this sentence: The best part of being a thoroughbred breeder is … it’s a tough industry and you obviously get high’s and lows, the lows can be very hard for if you lose a good mare but then the highs are breeding winners, they don’t have to be Group 1’s, just any of our foals doing well gives us great satisfaction.
