This week we chatted to George Simon, breeder-owner of promising galloper Denby Road (Shamexpress / Dwandaofu). Denby Road won his first race at Tauranga on the weekend in emphatic style, George chats below about Denby Road, his mares and how he and his wife Maryanne started out.
George says for a big horse Denby Road is an anomaly, he stands over 17hh at just 3 years old. The horse has had just two trials to date and one race start. He won the trials easily, in much the same fashion as his race on the weekend. “Looking at him (Denby Road) we thought he’d take longer to mature – he’s such a big horse, but he’s done everything so far on raw natural ability, without any pressure at this stage. We have never pushed him in his gallops at the track, he’s done some fabulous times without pressure, and we’re really looking forward to what comes next with him.
How many mares do you breed from? Six broodmares at present, three are half-sisters to Turn Me Loose. Sweet Inspiration by Power, Dormez Vous by Rip Van Winkle who has gone to Ribchester this year, Dwandaofu (Align/Indomitable), and Indomitable (who is Turn Me Loose’s dam) is still with us. We also have Elizabeth Kay (by Pentire) who is in foal to Almanzor, she will then go to Satono Aladdin. She is from the family of Lauren Tate who was a good mare too. We added her to our band to allow us to send her to Turn Me Loose should we want to. Finally, we have Queen of Soul by Tavistock out of Miranda Miss. Miranda Miss was a good mare for us, she provided us with stakes winner The SoulTaker who won four races for us and then we sold him to Hong Kong. Queen of Soul has been covered by Sword of State – as we thought Snitzel/Tavistock would be a good mix to hopefully have a foal who would have some early speed. I am extremely grateful to the generosity of Sir Peter Vela allowing us to keep the mares that were related to Turn Me Loose and continue breeding from them, this allowed us to establish our band, and now we are breeding from daughters of our foundation mares.
What else do you have in your bloodstock portfolio (youngstock, racehorses etc)? Denby Road is still in work. We also have a three-year-old by Highly Recommended who had two starts last year as a two-year-old, and is due to race this season. We also have a Tarzino two-year-old colt, out of Dormez Vous who looks very promising. Then finally we have a Turn Me Loose three-year-old colt, out of All the World who is ready to trial and we’re keen to see how he goes. So we have just four in work with Shelley at present.
Do you make your own mating decisions or seek advice from others – if others who? I consult with a higher authority, my wife Maryanne, and we typically work out things between us. Normally I make suggestions and then Maryanne will let me know what’s happening. In all fairness it was Maryanne who decided to send Indomitable to Iffraaj, and Turn Me Loose was the resulting foal so I have a huge amount of respect for Maryanne’s knowledge as breeding was not my thing initially. As these things often turn out though, Denby Road was the of a result of a few drinks on a Friday afternoon at my Man Cave Iggy’s (which was Turn Me Loose’s nickname) with Steve Till and Mike Moran from Windsor Park Stud, the plan was to look at our mares to see what might suit their stallions, as often happens though, one thing lead to another and the gents had a pretty big night… I woke on Saturday morning and felt that warranted sending a mare to Shamexpress – so effectively Denby Road is the result of a few drinks on a Friday night.
Do you have a favourite cross? To be honest I’d have to say the cross that produced Turn Me Loose worked very well for us – the Iffraaj x Danehill cross. I am so grateful to the generosity of Sir Peter Vela – he could have recalled Turn Me Loose's dam Indomitable, but he didn’t and we have been able to go on and breed more from her. We were able to sell a full sister to Turn Me Loose for $300,000 this effectively set us up, it’s exciting what the future holds. We currently have a lovely Almanzor colt who will go to sales, he is probably the best type we’ve taken to sales and we are looking forward to seeing how he goes through the ring. Proven stallion or new season sire? Maryanne and I are keen to send our mares to at least one first season sire each year. We were strong supporters of Almanzor in his first season. We also like Satono Aladdin and we obviously love Turn Me Loose but can’t send the mares to him who are closely related.
Best breeding advice you have received? Not really advice as such but after a few years of breeding Maryanne and I were walking down the farm one day and we noticed how quickly things can get out of hand. We started with one broodmare Indomitable and got our second broodmare about five years later. Then before we knew it we realized we had 19 horses that we owned 100% in. I never thought I’d breed horses – but Turn Me Loose changed all that for me. I have learnt a lot about breeding, however it's Maryanne who has a great wealth of knowledge. It’s a very expensive hobby, but we also run things as a business, we are really happy if the good horses can pay for themselves or even better if they can help pay for the slower ones too. Those two original mares, their foals have set us up and we’re really enjoying the journey we’re on.
Who do you admire in the thoroughbred breeding industry? Without causing any disrespect to anyone currently in the industry I have to say Sir Patrick Hogan. He obviously led the way for many years during my earlier years when I was starting out he took everything to a new level in New Zealand. I also have to say Pencarrow Stud – Sir Peter Vela as he’s been so generous and supportive of Maryanne and I with the mare’s he’s leased to us have meant so much.
If you could own any broodmare (past or present), who would it be. There are the obvious ones that have left champions of course. But there are others may not be fashionable in terms of their breeding – but they have left fantastic foals, and I have to say one that stands out would be Opulence – dam of Verry Elleegant and Verry Flash. She may not have necessarily the best breeding lines but she’s such a loss to the industry, she would be my pick.
If you could spend a day learning the tricks of the trade on any farm in the world which would it be? Cambridge Stud when Sir Tristram and Zabeel where there, to see how things were done with Sir Patrick at the height of his career, it would have been a fantastic time to see how the industry was shaped by him. And then would go to Pencarrow to celebrate the successes we’ve had and spend the afternoon with Sir Peter Vela.
Proudest moment as a breeder? Turn Me Loose wining the Emirates Stakes at Flemington, he led all the way and broke their hearts. It was such a fantastic day. We went with his owners who bought him off us to watch him race. Then the other highlight has to be when I called (She’s) Lickety Split (Turn Me Loose / She’s Slinky) winning the Gr.1 Sistema – she was Turn Me Loose’s first Group One winner.
Finish this sentence: The best part of being a thoroughbred breeder is … When you fluke breeding a nice horse everyone thinks you’re an expert! Which is closely followed by … I know it annoys Maryanne that I take all the credit for her work. Seriously though we love the horses, and spending time on our farm, we’ve just got 30 acres, it’s our hobby/passion.
