Photo: Kenton Wright, Race Images
Bay of Plenty based farmer Warwick Jeffries, admits to getting a massive kick out of Dark Destroyer (Proisir [AUS] - All Can Party [AUS]) winning the Gr.3 Mitchell Family Bonecrusher Stakes (1400m).
“It was great, the kids got a big thrill,” recalled Jeffries who bred the three-year-old gelding now owned by David Archer under his Archer Investments Limited banner.
“He’s a lovely horse with a good owner and good trainers.”
Trained at Matamata by Lance O’Sullivan and Andrew Scott, Dark Destroyer has now had five starts for two wins and two placings. He debuted in September with a third placing at Taupo and backed that up three weeks later with a solid win on that course over 1300 metres.
In another three weeks he then ran third in the Gr.2 James and Annie Sarten Memorial Stakes (1400m) at Te Rapa before being sent south to compete in the Gr.1 CJC New Zealand 2000 Guineas (1600m) where he finished fifth.
A month later he lined up at Matamata in the Bonecrusher Stakes, was slow away but wound up and trucked home to win by a long neck over Whiskey with a further length and a quarter back to La Bella Beals in third.
Dark Destroyer is the second foal of the All American (AUS) mare All Can Party, who was herself unplaced. Her third foal also by Proisir (AUS) is a two-year-old and sold for $180,000 through Highline Thoroughbreds at Karaka last summer.
She is now in foal once again to Proisir, a stallion which Jeffries thinks has a bright future in front of him and he now has two shares.
All Can Party is a half-sister to the Group One winners Masked Party (AUS) (by Marscay [AUS]) and Festal (AUS) (by Vain[AUS]). Masked Party won 12 races including the AJC Gr.1 Galaxy Stakes, while Festal won eight races including the WRC Gr.1 Telegraph Handicap and was a relative success at stud here in New Zealand.
Another half-sister to All Can Party in La Bamba is the dam of the successful stallions Wandjina (AUS) and Lucky Unicorn (AUS) as well as the stakes winners Inspiration and Provence. Provence is in turn the dam of the stakes winners My Admiration and Banaadeer.
Yet another daughter of Party, the third dam of Dark Destroyer, is Awards Ceremony the dam of seven winners including the Champion two-year-old in Australia in 1997-98 in Dracula, as well as the stakes winners Sash and The Oscars. Party is also the grandam of the Mapperley Stud based stallion Complacent (AUS), Ataraxia, and the Gr.1 New Zealand Oaks winner Sentimental Miss.
Jeffries, who admits being a farmer first and a breeder second, has had horses all his life and just loves them. He ventured into breeding a few years ago to give himself an interest off the farm.
“I love it because the kids can do all the work,” he jested.
“You put a lot of thought into breeding a horse and when it works it’s a great thrill to breed a stakes winner.”
Buying a share in Proisir when he was syndicated a few years ago was a catalyst to finding some mares and Jefferies now has six. One of his first purchases was Midnight Revels (Don Eduardo - Midnight Rock [AUS]) who produced Seabrook (by Hinchinbrook [AUS]) who won the Gr.1 ATC Moet and Chandon Champagne Stakes in 2018, before visiting Proisir.
Since then he has bred a handful of winners including Antarctic Ocean a half-brother to Seabrook, and Hyspec (by Proisir) a winner of one from four for the Tyler Stable in Riverton. The latter being out of Attalla, a stakes placed Volksraad (IRE) mare closely related to Vinaka and Vaalu. She is also the dam of Alabama Gold (by Turn Me Loose) who ran second in a trial to the highly rated Bright Blue Sky, and finished fifth at his only race to date after blowing the start.
“Dark Destroyer was a real nice horse as a yearling, but a bit small, ” Jefferies recalled.
“I passed him in and was going to take him through to the Ready to Run sale with Jamie Beatson at Ohukia Lodge. After Jamie had broken him in out of the blue, he was approached by David Archer to buy him.
“David is an ideal owner. He obviously loves the horse, he is patient and keeps in touch. I was happy to see him sold to good owners and go to good trainers.”
For those wanting to get on the Jeffries bandwagon and buy that next stakes winner, he has two yearlings to sell next March. A Merchant Navy (AUS) filly out of Tennessee Icestorm, a Zizou (AUS) half-sister to Seabrook, through Carlaw Park, and a Derryn (AUS) filly out of Mifflin (AUS), a three-quarter to sister to The Dark who has won three in Queensland to be sold by Highline Thoroughbreds. – Michelle Saba, NZTBA
