Winning a Group One race is the ultimate aim of any owner or breeder.
Last weekend's Group One Mudgeway Partsworld Stakes winner Fritzy Boy is no exception. It is the dream result especially for his "hobby breeder" and part-owner John Jury.
"Winning the Mudgeway is the highlight of my racing and breeding career - a Group One win is something special," he said.
And the way Fritzy Boy dealt to the Mudgeway field there should be a few more Group Ones in store.
A sixth generation Wairarapa sheep and cattle farmer, Jury has been around horses all his life. At the moment he is riding that unbelievable high that is associated with racing and breeding a Group One horse.
Jury describes himself as a hobby breeder and currently has three mares. His son has recently taken over the family farm at Ponatahi (between Greytown and Martinborough) and he has retired to a smaller block south of Greytown where he keeps his horses.
His association with breeding, and his trainer Alby MacGregor, goes back about sixteen years. In that time he has had a bit of success especially with a couple of horses, Supatrac(Prince Salieri) a winner of six races and Supaquad(Norman Pentaquad) a winner of seven which he bred and Macgregor trained. However, nothing has even been as exciting as Fritzy Boy, who is raced by the pair.
He has now had 13 starts for eight wins. As a three year old he had six wins including the listed Wanganui, Gore, Southland and Dunedin Guineas before running third in the Group One Mercedes Derby.
The lightly raced four-year-old gelding is by Brilliance out Fritzy Girl, a Cache of Gold mare out of Janty. She is a half sister to the well performed Hidden Keel (Yachtie), a winner of 11 races.
"I bought Fritzy Girl as a weanling and raced her, she won a couple, then I sent her to stud – Fritzy Boy is her first winner. I sent her to Brilliance because I wanted to get two strains of Mr Prospector. He is a Mr Prospector line horse through Gulch and Fritzy Girl has Mr Prospector through her sire Cache of Gold. I think it's worked!"
"Fritzy Girl is back in foal to Brilliance and will go to Grangewilliam to foal and be mated with Brilliance again. I also have a half sister to Fritzy Boy, Miss Sarah (by
Towkay) in foal to Brilliance and she will return there as well.
"I have had a wonderful association with Grangewilliam over the years, Fritzy Girl went to Stark South when he was standing there and produced Hoover Boy who had his first start last week at Foxton and ran a creditable sixth, he can gallop as well," said Jury.
MacGregor also trains him.
"I am indebted to Alby and the way he has looked after Fritzy Boy he is very dedicated and he has a great attention to detail, his horses are always beautifully turned out. We have a good relationship - I don't tell him how to train horses and he doesn't tell me how to raise sheep and cattle.
"It's good to see him getting the recognition he deserves. I reckon he would even sleep with Fitzy Boy if he had too!" Jury concluded.
- Michelle Saba
Last weekend's Group One Mudgeway Partsworld Stakes winner Fritzy Boy is no exception. It is the dream result especially for his "hobby breeder" and part-owner John Jury.
"Winning the Mudgeway is the highlight of my racing and breeding career - a Group One win is something special," he said.
And the way Fritzy Boy dealt to the Mudgeway field there should be a few more Group Ones in store.
A sixth generation Wairarapa sheep and cattle farmer, Jury has been around horses all his life. At the moment he is riding that unbelievable high that is associated with racing and breeding a Group One horse.
Jury describes himself as a hobby breeder and currently has three mares. His son has recently taken over the family farm at Ponatahi (between Greytown and Martinborough) and he has retired to a smaller block south of Greytown where he keeps his horses.
His association with breeding, and his trainer Alby MacGregor, goes back about sixteen years. In that time he has had a bit of success especially with a couple of horses, Supatrac(Prince Salieri) a winner of six races and Supaquad(Norman Pentaquad) a winner of seven which he bred and Macgregor trained. However, nothing has even been as exciting as Fritzy Boy, who is raced by the pair.
He has now had 13 starts for eight wins. As a three year old he had six wins including the listed Wanganui, Gore, Southland and Dunedin Guineas before running third in the Group One Mercedes Derby.
The lightly raced four-year-old gelding is by Brilliance out Fritzy Girl, a Cache of Gold mare out of Janty. She is a half sister to the well performed Hidden Keel (Yachtie), a winner of 11 races.
"I bought Fritzy Girl as a weanling and raced her, she won a couple, then I sent her to stud – Fritzy Boy is her first winner. I sent her to Brilliance because I wanted to get two strains of Mr Prospector. He is a Mr Prospector line horse through Gulch and Fritzy Girl has Mr Prospector through her sire Cache of Gold. I think it's worked!"
"Fritzy Girl is back in foal to Brilliance and will go to Grangewilliam to foal and be mated with Brilliance again. I also have a half sister to Fritzy Boy, Miss Sarah (by
Towkay) in foal to Brilliance and she will return there as well.
"I have had a wonderful association with Grangewilliam over the years, Fritzy Girl went to Stark South when he was standing there and produced Hoover Boy who had his first start last week at Foxton and ran a creditable sixth, he can gallop as well," said Jury.
MacGregor also trains him.
"I am indebted to Alby and the way he has looked after Fritzy Boy he is very dedicated and he has a great attention to detail, his horses are always beautifully turned out. We have a good relationship - I don't tell him how to train horses and he doesn't tell me how to raise sheep and cattle.
"It's good to see him getting the recognition he deserves. I reckon he would even sleep with Fitzy Boy if he had too!" Jury concluded.
- Michelle Saba
