Heirs to Iffraaj make juvenile statements that sire line is here to stay

The New Zealand breeding landscape has undergone a seismic change in recent years as the industry reels from the losses of several prominent stallions across the country.

While the final yearlings by the late Tavistock were sold earlier this year, the last crops of Windsor Park Stud’s ill-fated sire Rip Van Winkle and former Haunui Farm shuttler Iffraaj will be offered at this year’s delayed Karaka sale.

However, after a weekend that saw a son and a grandson of the latter deliver a possible Golden Slipper contender in Sydney and a winner of the lucrative Karaka Million 2YO on home soil, the continued influence in the bloodline of Iffraaj would appear to be gratefully secured for New Zealand breeders.

Darley’s Iffraaj shuttled to Mark Chitty’s Haunui Farm in New Zealand for 12 consecutive seasons before a decision was made to halt the annual sojourn south after his 2019 coveringduties owing to the stallion’s best interests.

To date the sire has left 29 southern hemisphere-bred stakes winners, including Group 1 Classic winners Turn Me Loose, Gingernuts and Jon Snow, while Western Empire and Wyndspelle are both elite-level victors. A son of Zafonic, Iffraaj has twice finished second to the imperious Savabeel in the New Zealand general sires premiership.

And fans of the sire were given two reasons to celebrate on Saturday as the James Cummings-trained Plymstock wrestled three-wide with Tim Clark before flashing home down the centre of the Randwick track to claim victory in the two-year-old handicap, becoming the first winner for Iffraaj’s highest-rated son, Ribchester.

A little over three hours later, that joy was enhanced by the $1 million maiden win for another son Almanzor’s Dynastic in the Karaka Million 2YO at Ellerslie’s twilight meeting.

The stallion duo are joined in New Zealand by Iffraaj’s sire sons Turn Me Loose and Wyndspelle, who stand at Windsor Park Stud and Grangewilliam Stud respectively.

The bloodline is set to proliferate further through Telemon Stud’s Australian Group 1 winner Jungle Cat, who saw his first yearlings sell at Magic Millions last week, and Coolmore’s high-profile shuttler Wootton Bassett, who covered a book of 187 mares in his debut southern hemisphere season last year.

“It was great to see [Iffraaj’s] influence here on Saturday,” said Chitty to ANZ Bloodstock News. “He had a daughter leave a stakes winner here as well [Gore Guineas winner Mackenzie Lad].

“Ourselves and the people associated with Iffraaj, I think we were justified in bringing him to the southern hemisphere. Arguably, if he had won the July [Cup], we wouldn’t have been able to stand him because he retired as just a Group 2 winner.

“It’s been a great ride with him. And he was just such a lovely horse. He’s going to have a significant impact [in the years to come].”

When announcing the end of shuttling duties for Iffraaj in April 2020, Chitty and Darley also revealed an agreement had been made for Haunui Farm to stand Ribchester, his four-time Group 1-winning miler son, to fill the void that would inevitably have been felt by New Zealand breeders.

Plymstock, who claimed a cosy one-length victory over the Peter Robl-trained Deep Expectation, is from the first of two crops of Ribchester, who initially took up his southern hemisphere covering duties at Darley’s Kelvinside property prior to Iffraaj’s retirement as a shuttler.

Out of Outdoor, Plymstock is a half-sister to dual Group 1 winner Trekking. One of three progeny of the stallion to have raced in the southern hemisphere so far, Chitty is buoyed by the early talent the Ribchesters have shown.

“Sitting here in New Zealand, we know how competitive the two-year-old scene is in Australia and especially in Sydney, so to win on debut in town, in Sydney, on a Saturday, you couldn’t ask for more,” Chitty said.

“Having stood Iffraaj and now having the opportunity to stand Ribchester, it’s pretty exciting. He’s had a few runners, and I always think that when you have runners going around in Sydney at the moment, they’re showing enough ability which is probably way earlier than you’d expect.”

Those first two Australian-bred crops yielded just 70 foals in total, with Ribchester’s numbers having fallen to 53 covers in 2019 from an opening-season of 63. However, with the return to New Zealand breeders supported the stallion by sending 78 mares in 2020 and, aided by a promising European first season which saw a maiden stakes winner at Doncaster among 17 individual winners, his numbers increased again for his fourth season, where he stood at a NZ$15,000 (plus GST) fee.

While in New Zealand, Ribchester has received a different profile of mare to what he covered in Australia and Chitty has been impressed with his first foals born last year from thoseinitial Haunui Farm matings.

“We were absolutely rapt with the types. Colts, fillies, he left a bit of physicality, a bit of style and some strength and that was from a variety of mare types. It was just generally a good crop of foals which gave people some confidence,” he said.

“He hasn’t served 100 mares in a season yet but we got to 94 last year in his fourth season.

“Iffraaj did very well here with a New Zealand-based pool of mares and people have also invested in international and Australian bloodlines here in the past five to ten years.

“[Darley] hasn’t sent mares [to Ribchester] as yet, but they did with Iffraaj. And I’d say, depending on where things go, they will do so here as well. The team in Australia rated their foals quite highly and that was the biggest thing in allowing him to come to New Zealand.”

In breaking with the normality of previous years, Chitty could celebrate his stallion’s success without the need of having to prepare a consignment of yearlings to present at Karaka the following week, with the sale delayed until March 7 due to the prevailing restrictions in place to combat Covid-19.

Among Haunui Farm’s 27-strong draft on offer in Book 1 at Karaka, five are final-crop yearlings by Iffraaj, with trainers and breeders afforded 21 last opportunities to race his southern hemisphere-bred progeny at the sale.

“They’ll all benefit from another five weeks in the paddock before being prepared for a March sale,” Chitty said.

“It will suit the New Zealand horses because we are slightly later maturing. I think that could mean the buying bench could be a bit more ruthless with some horses. They’ll be less forgiving. Some stallions when you sell at the end of January, you’ve only had the spring and are halfway through the summer, so there’s opportunities for success and potentially some disappointment.

“We’ll be fourth cab off the rank when it comes to sales this year, which again will present its challenges. But nice horses, no matter where you tend to go, will sell well, and for most breeders it will be how that middle market holds up.”

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