It was Simms Davison's persistence that convinced Darley to stand Group 1 winner Contributer (Ire) at Mapperley Stud back in 2016 and he is hoping to reap the rewards when the stallion's first crop hit the market at the upcoming NZ Bloodstock National Yearling Sale at Karaka.
When Contributer was retired after an 18-start career which included two Group 1 wins in Australia after stakes success in the UK, Davison, the Owner and General Manager of Mapperley Stud, got into the ear of then Darley Australia Managing Director Henry Plumptre.
"I'd been in contact with Henry Plumptre for a while about the possibility of standing stallions or buying into stallions," Davison told TDN AusNZ.
"It came down to over dinner, we had a couple of glasses of wine and talked about how we could get it over the line. Contributer, I always had my eye on and I thought he'd be fantastic for New Zealand, especially since High Chaparral (Ire) had such good results here."
Contributer
Mapperley had produced two of High Chaparral's best sons in Australasia in Dundeel (NZ) and So You Think (NZ), so Davison made finding one of his sons to stand at his stud a priority.
Contributer fitted the bill and Davison and Darley agreed that the New Zealand market represented a great opportunity for the stallion, who was voted as Australia's champion middle distance horse in 2015.
In a first for Darley, they offered, with the assistance of Davison, to syndicate half of the horse to prominent New Zealand breeders.
"With the support of the syndicate, he's covered some lovely mares." - Alastair Pulford
"Simms put up his hand and we came to an agreement fairly quickly," Darley's Head of Sales Alastair Pulford said.
Mapperley had success producing a son of High Chaparral in So You Think
"He invested in the horse and together we went around and a lot of New Zealand breeders took shares in the horse and have supported the horse strongly throughout his three years at stud to date."
"With the support of the syndicate, he's covered some lovely mares. Kevin Hickman (Valachi Downs) amongst others was very strong in support of the horse and has been all the way through. Trelawney are shareholders and Wentwood Grange, so there are some really good breeders in the syndicate."
A Contributer filly bred by Mapperley Stud
The right market
Davison praised Darley's vision at the time for trying something new in a market which was more willing to receive stamina-oriented stallions.
It was a similar approach which netted Mapperley the right to stand another Darley stallion in the G1 Spring Champion S. winner Complacent, who also presents his first crop at Karaka.
"It's a good idea for them to be a little bit diverse in standing stallions all over the world. Especially in New Zealand which has a strong hold on that global staying market," Davison said.
Complacent
The first crop
There are 20 of Contributer's first crop catalogued in Book 1 at Karaka, plus 15 in Books 2 and 3.
Mapperley presents six in Book 1 and Davison said the market will be very pleased with what is on offer.
"This will be by far the best draft that I have ever presented at Karaka, just by the quality of horses he has given us." - Simms Davison
"One thing that Contributer has done is really stamp his progeny. He's a big, physical, strong horse. When you see him in the flesh, he is a beast. He's got great movement, he's got so much strength about him and he's really stamped that in his stock," Davison said,
"This will be by far the best draft that I have ever presented at Karaka, just by the quality of horses he has given us."
"The six horses, you’d roll out one after the other and they are all the same line, they have the same attributes. There is so much quality about them."
The best of the draft
Picking out a couple to highlight, Davison points to Lot 663, the colt out of stakes-placed mare Dame Mapperley (NZ) (Volksraad {GB}), making him a half brother to G2 Great Northern Guineas winner Le Baron (Golan {Ire}) and from the same family as four-time Group 1 winner Volkstok'n'barrell (NZ) (Tavistock {NZ}).
"She's an older mare, and that can be a factor, but this colt has got a heap of presence about him. There's something special about him and he knows it when he prances around. We think a lot of him and we are hoping the family will stack up with the top lots up there," he said.
Watch: Lot 663 Contributer (Ire) x Dame Mapperley (NZ)
"But as far as type goes and a horse that has a heap of quality and knows he has, he's pretty special. He's a nice horse."
Lot 190 the filly out of Maidjeu (NZ) (Montjeu {Ire}), making her a half to multiple Group winner Mime (NZ) (Mastercraftsman {Ire}), is another one Davison is looking forward to presenting to the market.
"She's a half to a very good horse of mine and she's the type of horse that Australians will come out and buy, A beautiful Oaks horse. She's a lovely mover, big strong horse from a good family," Davison said.
Watch: Lot 190 Contributer x Maidjeu (NZ)
Aussie market support crucial
Among those in the Australian market who have already been inspecting Contributer's first crop have been his former trainer John O'Shea, who Davison said was most impressed with what he has seen.
Davison expects the response of the Australian market, who are so familiar with Contributer as a racehorse, to be crucial to his success at Karaka.
"I really do think that the Australian market will be key to him." - Simms Davison
"I really do think that the Australian market will be key to him. They all know the horse Contributer, a lot of people over the past year have been asking about how he is coming along," he said.
John O'Shea trained Contributer
Getting Complacent
The Australian market will also be well versed on the racetrack deeds of Complacent, who won the Spring Champion S. at just his fifth start and second in a G1 Victoria Derby at his sixth before spending almost two years off the scene. He returned to win the G2 Chelmsford S and the G3 Craven Plate as a 5-year-old.
Wary of the inevitable comparisons between the two horses, Davison pitched Complacent at a much lower price-point than Contributer, but has been pleasantly surprised by what he has been able to produce.
"We are pretty excited about him." - Simms Davison
"Complacent as far as pedigree and race performance goes and with the stock he has left, he is sort of the smokey. We are pretty excited about him. He didn't have the high-quality mares that Contributer did, but we all know that if the stallion's good enough, he can upgrade those mares," Davison said.
Complacent at the 2018 Mapperley Stallion Parade
"I thought he was going to get middle market to lower market mares, and it was quite surprising the quality of mares he did get from breeders that recognised real value."
"He's got some nice yearlings. He is a different mould from Contributer. They are a bit more refined and more athletic, like himself."
Mapperley offers one of the two Complacent yearlings in Book 1, the filly out of Show Dame (NZ) (Savabeel). The dam is a half-sister to Lot 663, the aforementioned Contributer colt, so is from a strong family.
Watch: Lot 408 Complacent x Show Dame (NZ)
"That one filly in Book 1, we really like her. It’s a really nice family. When you look at the cross, it’s already worked with Volkstok'n'barrell. We know the Montjeu cross works really good with that family," he said.
Complacent has 10 yearlings in Book 2 and a further six in Book 3.
Hopes that Magic momentum will flow
Included among the four yearlings in Book 1 that Mapperley are offering that aren't by its two first season sires is Lot 281, a colt by Savabeel out of the mare Panna Cotta (NZ) (Pins). She is the full sister to black-type winner Raid (NZ) as well as Purely Spectacular (NZ), the dam of Group 1 winner Stratum Star (Stratum).
Purely Spectacular's colt by Redoute's Choice sold for $1.6m at last week's Magic Millions Sale.
"He's straight forward. He's by the right sire out of the right family There is no real secret with him." - Simms Davison
"That was huge for the family," Davison said. "With this colt, Savabeel is the flavour of the month and there will be a heap of them up there. We are just hoping he can compete and be one of the better lots. He's straight forward. He's by the right sire out of the right family There is no real secret with him."
Watch: Lot 281 Savabeel x Panna Cotta (NZ)
Asked about the anticipated strength of the market, Davison said that the quality of stock appeared to be there, it was now down to the depth of the buying bench.
"They are telling us that the book of horses at Karaka are the best they have had for a long time. If you looked at the results from Magics, they were really positive, but we are just hoping the Australians feel there is enough worthy of getting them on a plane and over here," he said.
