Conformation key to breeding success

Surreal. Unbelievable. They are just two of the adjectives breeder Stephanie Hole used to describe the feeling following Manzoice’s (Almanzor x Choice) win in the G.1 Victoria Derby.

“He was gorgeous from day one and richly deserved to win the Derby,” enthused Hole, a former Sport Horse judge whose philosophy on breeding is all about conformation.

“When I first went to see him at Wentwood Grange as a foal I just said wow, and then wow again and again. The boys at Wentwood all had big smiles on their faces. He just had that real presence and he was jaw droppingly gorgeous.

“I felt that way about Almanzor when I first saw him as well. For me Almanzor was so successful on the track and his conformation, which is so important to me, was excellent he was the perfect choice for Choice.”

Choice (Mastercraftsman x Femme Britannia), dam of Manzoice, holds a special place in Hole’s heart. She was the first stakes winner bred by Hole after she made a decision back in 2008 to buy three commercial broodmares.

“It’s pretty amazing,” Hole said. “I thought it was a dream come true when Choice won the Eulogy but to go on and leave a Derby winner is pretty special.

“People who aren’t in the industry think the Melbourne Cup is the epitome and the race we all want to win and I have been trying to explain to them it’s the Derby. For a small breeder it’s pretty unbelievable and quite surreal.

“I can see both Almanzor and Choice in Manzoice. Choice was a late bloomer, that’s why she was passed in and I got to race her. She just kept developing and is a very imposing mare, a lot like her sire Mastercraftsman who was a lovely horse. I did have her in my mind when I went to see Almanzor and when the foal arrived it was vindicated.”

To add to the excitement of the day, about an hour before the Derby Choice foaled a full-sister to Manzoice.

Manzoice became the first Group One winner for the Cambridge Stud shuttle sire Almanzour and is a representative of his first Southern Hemisphere crop. The French Derby winning son of Wootton Bassett is also the sire of the Group One place Karaka 2YO Million winner Dynastic and in the Northern Hemisphere, the Listed winners Around Midnight, Unanimous Consent, Rajapour and Lassaut.

Manzoice was the first Almanzor to be sold in the Southern Hemisphere, after Hole sent him to the Magic Millions Sale in the Gold Coast on the advice of the Hawkins family at Wentwood Grange due to restrictions from the COVID pandemic. He was purchased by Guy Mulcaster for Chris Waller Racing for $A340,000.

“The Hawkins boys felt it was a good place for him and I trust their judgement on most things,” Hole explained. “They are like family to me. Steve Davis had to fight to get him in the sale and to get a result for me, it was a gamble and it had to be a huge result as it was the first sale in the Southern Hemisphere so he needed to sell well to set the market for Karaka and the subsequent sales.”

The story behind Choice started when Hole went to the Sydney Broodmare sale with Bruce Perry to upgrade her mares and came across her dam Femme Britannia in the parade ring.

“She wasn't on our list,” she recalled, “she was a striking mare, and I really liked her conformation, so I bought her.”

A mare by Encosta de Lago, Femme Britannia is from the same family that has produced the stakes winners Latin Quarter (21 wins) and Elected, as well as the stakes placed Macau Gold Cup winner So Happy.

Choice is her third foal and was the winner of three races including the Gr.3 Eulogy Stakes in 2014. Manzoice is Choice’s third foal, and second winner. Her first foal by Night of Thunder (IRE) Regal Ruby is also a winner.

Her fourth foal is a filly by Shooting To Win and is Lot 57 in the upcoming New Zealand Bloodstock Ready To Run sale later this month in the draft of KB Bloodstock.

Choice’s fifth foal, a filly by Too Darn Hot (GB) is being retained by Hole to race. Choice has a date with Tarzino later this season.

“I am only going to bred stayers from now on,” said Hole who only has a select few mares including two in partnership with Wentwood Grange.

“I don’t want to compete with the Aussies in trying to breed sprinters, Australia does that so well and we get to bred good stayers here.

“While I’m not in a position to do a lot racing of my stock, I need to be smart and commercial with my selection of stallions. When you are paying agistment and someone else to do all the work, you have to make good decisions, and you have got to try and work out what the buyer will want in two- or three-years’ time.

“Being commercial you have to judge the market, obviously you want pedigree as well as conformation, but I carefully watch the conformation. I use a mix of proven stallions and follow young stallions, I pretty much stick to a formula and if it clicks it clicks.” -Michelle Saba, NZTM