In any other year, Darley would be throwing up the doors to its farms at Kelvinside in the Hunter Valley and Northwood Park in Victoria to allow close-up inspection of its 18-strong Australian stallion roster for 2020.
But the COVID-19 era has necessitated a different approach, with the digital presentation of Darley's best and brightest taking on extra importance.
With a particular focus on the new arrivals, Darley released its Virtual Stallion Parade on Sunday, with Head of Sales, Alastair Pulford, very much pleased with how the roster, the farms and the staff have been represented.
Darley released its Virtual Stallion Parade on Sunday
"Everyone is very keen to see our new superstar stallions, particularly Blue Point and Too Darn Hot, who people wouldn't have had the opportunity to see yet," Pulford told TDN AusNZ.
"Quite a few people over the past three or four months have been up and seen Microphone, but it is an opportunity to showcase all the stallions and showcase the staff as well. We all take turns at presenting.
"One thing that COVID has prevented is all of us having that face-to-face contact with our clients and friends and we want to remind people of what we look like.
"Everyone is very keen to see our new superstar stallions, particularly Blue Point and Too Darn Hot." - Alastair Pulford
"It is a production that does the marketing team very proud. They have done a tremendous job with it. The farm looks fantastic, we are having a beautiful start to the spring, it’s just a bit of a shame that nobody from far and wide can come and visit."
While small groups of breeders have been able to inspect the stallions, Pulford said the virtual experience was a great way of broadening the marketing reach and would be something Darley would look to repeat in the future, regardless of whether COVID restrictions are lifted.
Gallery: Interest has been particularly high for two of Darley's newest international recruits, Too Darn Hot (GB) and Blue Point (Ire)
"We have had quite a number of local Hunter Valley people pop in and visit the stallions over the last 10 days, just in small groups. That has been great but the Virtual Stallion Parade gives the opportunity far and wide to see the stallions," he said.
"As Bruce Slade at Newgate recently said, it will probably become a thing of the future. It’s a very good way to get the vision of your stallions out there. People want to know what they look like. This is a good way to do it. With high definition footage and the quality these days, it’s no real impost and I think it will become a valuable tool into the future."
Hot to trot
Too Darn Hot, the triple Group 1-winning son of Dubawi (Ire), arrived for his first season at Kelvinside earlier this month and has already made an impression among the select few to have seen in him the flesh in Australia.
"Too Darn Hot is a beautiful horse. He's very much in the mould of his sire Dubawi," Pulford said. "He's a high-quality horse and being out of a Singspiel mare from Darshaan's family, who were also lovely high-quality animals. He just oozes quality.
Too Darn Hot (GB)
"He's a beautiful mover, that's the thing that gets me about Too Darn Hot. He just floats over the ground and notable judges have commented upon that. He's got a tremendous lively action, but a smooth action as well. You can see when he moves, why he was so quick.
"He's a tremendous looking horse. He will suit a lot of mares here and he will definitely put quality into those bigger, rougher Aussie-bred mares and hopefully, we will get a great result out of that."
Blue on point
Like everyone else watching the Virtual Stallion Parade, Pulford got his first decent look at Blue Point since his arrival in Australia. With border restrictions preventing the movement of staff, Pulford hadn't recently seen the four-time Group 1 sprinting son of Shamardal (USA), who is under the eye of General Manager of the Victorian operation, Andy Makiv.
"The team down there are absolutely delighted with the way he looks." - Alastair Pulford
"The team down there are absolutely delighted with the way he looks. Again, he's a strong, sprinting horse, very much in the mould of his father Shamardal. He has let down into a powerful animal. Again, he moves really well," Pulford said.
"He's probably not as pretty as Too Darn Hot but he is a tremendous animal to look at."
Blue Point (Ire)
Australian breeders should have no problems relating to the form lines of Blue Point, who won the G1 King's Stand S. twice and the G1 Diamond Jubilee S. once, plus the G1 Al Quoz Sprint in Dubai. Those races have all been targeted and won by Australian horses in the past 15 years.
Pulford also believes the fact that both Blue Point and Too Darn Hot are by stallions which stood in Australia will help them resonate in the competitive Australian market.
"Both horses shuttled here for periods of time and people have already noted that. In many ways, they are familiar faces and familiar types. Both Dubawi and Shamardal were very successful in their stints here, so there is no reason to think that these two won't be," he said.
'Letting down beautifully'
Microphone is very familiar to the Australian marketplace thanks to his brilliant racing career, which saw him win five of his 11 starts including the G1 Inglis Sires'. But Pulford said those accustomed to what they saw from the son of Exceed And Excel on the racetrack will note the physical development he has made ahead of his first season at stud.
"Microphone has let down beautifully. He's a tremendous, deep girthed horse. When he retired off the track, that was very apparent, he was all front," he said.
"But he's balanced up beautifully over the past couple of months. Everyone who has seen him seems to like him more and more every time they see him.
"He does remind me of his father the more he develops. He moves like his father. Obviously, he's a bit different in the head, but he's got that same deep girth and his hindquarter is strengthening up, so I think he will end up looking quite a lot like Exceed And Excel."
Microphone
Exceed And Excel, entering his 17th year at stud in Australia, is coming off statistically the best season for his progeny since he was crowned Australia champion stallion in 2012/13. He had 14 stakes winners in Australia in 2019/20, and four Group 1 winners across the world in Bivouac, Exceedance, Queen Supreme and Mr Stunning. He stands at his highest ever fee of $132,000 (inc GST) in 2020.
He heads the roster of 11 stallions based at Kelvinside, while the seven-strong Victorian Darley contingent at Northwood is led by Brazen Beau, who stands for $49,500 (inc GST).
