May 17, 2013Newhaven Park is back in the Stud business
SPORTSMAN, www.thesportsman.com.au Friday, May 17, 2013—5
NEWHAVEN Park is about to become a Stud again as they prepare to welcome their first freshman sire since Zeditave retired in a blaze of glory way back in 1989.
Owned and operated by the Kelly family for almost a century, Newhaven has been home to some champion stallions led by French import Wilkes, who
helped end Star Kingdom’s dominance of the local landscape.
In the wake of Wilkes’ extraordinary success, the Kelly’s subsequently imported a succession of influential sires including Agricola, Boucher, Bold Minstrel and Imperial Prince.
They stood two champion locally-bred first season sires in Luskin Star and Marauding, while the great Zeditave was second in his freshman year.
When Zeditave died in
2010 aged 25, Newhaven Park were without a stallion for the first time in their history.
All that will change when the Australian-bred, South African Champion 2YO Delago Deluxe arrives.
“It took something special to wake us from our sleep and get us back into the stallion game,” present day general manager John Kelly Jnr says.
“Delago Deluxe is a magnificent individual who sold for $550,000 as a yearling. “He was a super-fast sprinter
who was unbeaten at two and resumed at three to win a Group 1 against older horses.
“He is by Champion sire Encosta de Lago and from an impeccable Australian pedigree, joining an elite class of stallions like Danehill and Northern Taste who have a close-up double of a great broodmare.
“Fast, good-looking, Group 1 winning colts is the recipe that works in Australia, both on the track and in the sales ring – this is also what has worked for Newhaven Park in the past with
Champion stallions like Marauding and Zeditave,” Kelly added.
Those two great stallions combined to produce one of Newhaven’s rising stars, the Heath Conners trained Register, who tackles the $100,000 Listed BRC Lancaster Stakes (1200m) at Doomben tomorrow.
“Her form was very good in the spring and her two runs this time in, she’s just had no luck whatsoever,” Kelly said.
“And her trial last Friday at Warwick Farm was terrific.”