The impact of the mighty Blue Hen mare Eight Carat in the Southern Hemisphere, is well documented and her achievements way to extensive to list here, however her influence did have some bearing on two brothers and two recent stakes winners Humidor(Teofilo[IRE]- Zalika) and Cyber Attack (Shamexpress-Marechal).
John and Mark Carter bred Humidor who won the Gr.1 Memsie Stakes at Caulfield, along with his half-sister Marechal who is the dam of the Listed El Roca –Colin Meads Trophy winner Cyber Attack and sold that mare in foal to Shamexpress.
The Carter brothers have a passion for thoroughbreds and a love affair with the Eight Carat family which started when they purchased their first racehorse Emerald Dream (Danehill[USA]-Theme Song) a member of that illustrious family.
“She was our first horse,” recalled John Carter, “and it was like a dream come true when she won a group one race for us. We have had a lot of good luck in the racing game, and it couldn’t have started off any better.
“If we see a mare from that family we try and buy it, we have a couple now and a few descendants from Emerald Dream in our broodmare band.”
But more on that later.
The brothers who trade under the Jomara Bloodstock banner still own 50% of Humidor who has now won eight races and in excess of A$3.2million, including three Group One races. He began his career in New Zealand with Johnno Benner and Hollie Wynyard and won four races here.
His second win as a three-year-old, at his fifth start was in the Gr. Manawatu Classic – the same day the Jomara colours were carried to victory by another of their breed, in the Gr.1 Manawatu Sires’ Produce Stakes by Luna Rossa. He returned in the spring to win two races at Hawkes Bay before being bombed on the line by Willie Cazals in the 2016 Gr.1 Livamol Classic.
He was then sent to Melbourne where he had one start before a half share was sold to clients of master trainer Darren Weir, and he was transferred to that stable.
In the autumn of 2017 he returned and had four starts resulting in a win in the Gr.1 Australian Cup and seconds in the Gr.1 BMW at Rosehill, the Gr.2 Peter Young Stakes and the Gr.3 T S Carlyon Cup. In the following spring he won the Gr.1 Makybe Diva Stakes, ran third in the Gr.1 Turnbull Stakes, fifth in the Gr.1 Caulfield Cup before setting up the pace for Winx in the Gr.1 W.S Cox Plate.
He failed to stay in the Melbourne Cup and was put out for a spell, returning in the summer to take out the Gr.2 Blamey Stakes and run fourth twice at Group One level in the Futurity Stakes and the Queen Elizabeth Stakes.
Humidor returned to the track a couple of weeks ago, and ran eighth before his victory in the Memsie Stakes.
“It was quite unexpected,” Carter said when discussing the win in the Memsie.
“He showed a good turn of foot when he saw the gap, and he will improve on that run, he wasn’t wound up for these early races.”
Humidor holds nominations for the Group One events the Epsom Handicap W.S Cox Plate, Caulfield Cup and Melbourne Cup this spring.
Humidor is the fourth foal from Zalika a three race winning Zabeel mare, and her fourth winner. Her fifth foal is a two-year-old colt by Makfi which they have retained to race, and she has a Shooting To Win(AUS) yearling filly which they plan to keep. Being by Shooting To Win she is bred back to Klairessa(IRE), as the sixth dam of Shooting to Win and the third dam of Zalika.
“She is the only one we have out of the mare,” said Carter, “we sold Marechal (the dam of Cyber Attack) which was a bit silly, we have even tried to buy her back, but she has changed hands twice since we let her go and I don’t think we will have any show now that her first foal is a stakes winner.
“At least we did the right thing sending her to Shamexpress in his first year he is such an impressive individual.”
Unfortunately Zalika slipped a Tavistock foal a couple of months ago, but the upside to that is that she was able to travel to Coolmore Stud nice and early and will visit Fastnet Rock(AUS) this season.
Zalika was the second racehorse that Jomara Bloodstock purchased, and showed a lot of potential until she tore a tendon. Like Emerald Dream(AUS) she is by Zabeel and a member of the same branch of the Eight Carat family.
Emerald Dream(AUS) is out Theme Song a daughter of Sackford (USA) and Cotehele House(GB) who is by My Swanee(GB) out of Eight Carat (GB) who is by Pieces of Eight(IRE) out of Klairessa(IRE). Zalika is out of Desert Darling(GB) a daughter of Green Desert(USA) out of Habibti(IRE) by Habitat (USA) out of Klairessa(IRE).
Emerald Dream won seven races including the Gr.1 Waikato International Sprint, the Gr.3 Thames Valley Stakes, and the Listed Lindauer Handicap. She is a three-quarter sister to the successful stallions Danewin (AUS) and Commands(AUS) and a half-sister to Announce (AUS) the dam of Listen Here(AUS) and dam of Shooting To Win (AUS).
She is also the dam of the listed winners Zabene and Knight’s Command, along with the successful sire Zed.
Jomara Bloodstock still have a fair slice of Zed and according to Carter he has been really good to them, and they have some cracking Zed’s including Bobby Dazzler whom they race in a syndicate and is going around in the Wanganui Guineas this weekend.
It was through standing Zed at stud that the Carter’s acquired another Group One winner, the Written Tycoon(AUS) filly Luna Rossa. She too is a descendant of Klairessa (IRE). When Zed was going to stud they enlisted the help of Bruce Perry to buy some mares and they found Wild Promises(AUS) a More Than Ready (AUS) mare in foal to Written Tycoon(AUS) at the Gold Coast sale.
Wild Promises’ dam Otravez (AUS) is by Redoute’s Choice(AUS) and is a half-sister to the Cinderella Stakes winner Listen Here. Unfortunately she only produced the one foal in Luna Rossa, who as mentioned before won the Gr.1 Manawatu Sires’ Produce Stakes.
Unfortunately she had a mishap on the float, and needed surgery. She got over the injury but as a consequence floating became an issue so it was decided that was already a group one winner and it was hard to improve on that, so she is visiting Fastnet Rock(AUS) as well.
Carter is the first to admit that their racing and breeding portfolio has grown and got a bit out of hand, and they now have 15 broodmares on their books, and at least that many racehorses.
“We have shares in about 10-15 race horses racing them with a few mates, and a couple of syndicates with Bruce Perry,” he said.
“Thankfully with a couple of good ones in Australia they tend to pay for everything, racehorses, broodmares etc. There is definitely room for improvement here in New Zealand when it comes to stake money.”
Their broodmare band includes more of that wonderful Eight Carat family with some descendants of Emerald Dream. Flawless an unraced full sister to Zed and Zabene has had four winners from her first four foals including Sandtop (by Henrythenavigator[USA]) a stakes winner in Macau.
At least half of their mares will be mated in Australia this spring, besides the two going to Fastnet Rock(AUS) they have mares visiting Deep Field(AUS), Merchant Navy and Shooting to Win(AUS).
Former All Black Mark Carter invests a lot of time studying pedigrees, looking at nicks that work and historical data and is a bit of a fan of line breeding, according to his brother John. And looking at their results so far their record of breeding winners isn’t too bad.
They also have invested in stallion shares and their remaining mares in New Zealand will be supporting those stallions.
“We have shares in Tivaci (AUS), Super Easy, Sham Express and Vespa, Chris Rutten was so good to us with regard to Humidor in the early days, and Time Test, those bloodlines are great, and of course Zed started out his career at Little Avondale,” he added.
“It would be way more beneficial if we could have all our mares down here in New Zealand, especially with the drought in the Hunter Valley, but we have to go there for the stallion power.
“Our mares are all kept at Sonia Waddell’s Riverdale Farm in Tamahere, she does a great job and takes them through for us. She has a great set up and knows all our horse well. Even the mares in Australia once they have foaled and are in foal again they return to New Zealand to Sonia.” - Michelle Saba
