Flood of winners driving Love's Queensland revival

6 min read
With Queensland breeders continuing to get behind Clear Mountain Fairview's Love Conquers All and winners flowing regularly on the track, including six across Australia on Saturday, momentum has turned firmly in the son of Mossman's favour ahead of his second season back on 'home' soil.

Cover image courtesy of Clear Mountain Fairview

Five years ago this week, Love Conquers All, then standing at Sun Stud in Queensland, was crowned the leading first season sire in Australia by winners, with eight, and went within $30 (yes $30) of claiming Champion First Season Sire honours, pipped at the post by Smart Missile.

Since that point, he has continued to produce consistent winners, 26 in his second season, 45 in his third, then 70 and 90 in subsequent campaigns. On Saturday, his total for the 2020/21 season rose by four, to 77, with maiden winners at the Gold Coast, Toowoomba, Bundaberg and Julia Creek.

Add in winners at Doomben, with the Kelly Schweida-trained Magic Conqueror, and at Ingham it made for a hugely successful Saturday in the Sunshine State for Love Conquers All.

It's further positive news for Clear Mountain Fairview Principal Bob Frappell, as he continues to plot Love Conquers All's revival at the Greenmount-based farm on the Darling Downs.

"He goes really well, he really does. He throws nice horses and everyone who has one of his horses seems to like them," Frappell told TDN AusNZ.

"Every season, he just keeps getting those winners. Last season was good because he was able to get two stakes winners."

Frappell had always been a fan of the stallion and when Sun Stud announced it was consolidating its operations in Victoria in 2018, he made several enquiries to see if he could keep Love Conquers All in Queensland.

"When Sun Stud were up here, I rang them and begged them not to take him to Victoria and they made a different decision," he said.

"They got him down there and they got something like 60 mares the first year, but then the next year, they got 17. I was talking to them again early last year and I said 'you'd be crazy if you don’t send him up here.'

But even Frappell was surprised by the response Love Conquers All got on his return to Queensland in 2020, helped by Love You Lucy and Wapiti winning late-season stakes races this time last year.

"I thought we’d get 50 for him, and we got 91 mares, which was a great effort. I was genuinely shocked and I know Sun Stud were too," he said.

"I thought we’d get 50 for him (Love Conquers All), and we got 91 mares, which was a great effort. I was genuinely shocked and I know Sun Stud were too." - Bob Frappell

Frappell feels the constant flow of winners from the stallion is an ongoing reminder to breeders of what opportunity they are accessing when sending a mare to Love Conquers All.

"If they get that momentum early, and get those winners on the board, then when they have a good run later on, people tend to remember that. That's what they look at and it’s what I look at as well," he said.

Saturday's flood of winners is certainly good timing, with the Frappell family taking nominations for Love Conquers All at his 2021 fee of $5500 (inc GST).

Bob Frappell | Image courtesy of Bob Frappell

"There's a lot of interest in him. The bookings have been strong and he's going good, I’d be happy with similar numbers to last year and it’s looking about that level," he said.

A Cause worth celebrating

Love Conquers All is by no means the only Clear Mountain Fairview stallion with results going his way.

Worthy Cause has made a significant impression with his first crop, and on Saturday, his flagbearer Hinged, trained by Michael Nolan, notched her fifth win from seven starts with an authoritative 3.75l success over 1615 metres at Doomben.

With just seven runners, four of which have been winners, Worthy Cause, a son of Choisir, sits 14th on the Australian First Season Sires' list, a terrific achievement considering he had a first crop of 27 foals.

Worthy Cause | Standing at Clear Mountain Fairview

"People are shocked by what he has done, but we aren't, we have always been very aware of what he is capable of," Frappell said.

"He's flying at the moment, for a horse that got no mares. He's the leading Queensland first-season sire on prizemoney and winners and he has a 57 per cent winners-to-runners percentage. I just reckon that's fantastic."

Having an early flagbearer is a huge fillip for a young stallion and Hinged looks to be that and more, having won over $268,000 for owner-breeder and Toowoomba dentist, Dr Kim McCasker.

"With a touch of luck, she'd be undefeated, but we certainly aren't turning our nose up at her results. His prizemoney is mainly off the back of her, but he's still had another city winner, another Ipswich midweek winner and he's had that Fire King win up at Rockhampton," Frappell said.

Worthy Cause's early success is particularly satisfying for Frappell, who took a leap of faith when offering to rehabilitate the dual stakes winner after the end of his racing career.

"I was going to buy him the year before and he'd been retired because of a tendon injury, but it was so bad, he was three-legged lame," he said.

"I was going to buy him (Worthy Cause) the year before and he'd been retired because of a tendon injury, but it was so bad, he was three-legged lame." - Bob Frappell

"We went and had a look at him and he couldn't walk properly on four legs. At that stage, there was no way I could have got him on a mare. People wouldn't want to send their mare to a stallion they could only see in a box.

"In the end, I said to the owner, send him up here, I’ll rehabilitate him and if he comes good, I’ll buy him. It took him another year and from a bad start in that regard, he's doing very well."

Worthy Cause has served books of 40, 30, 30 and 28 in his first four seasons, and while the early signs are positive, Frappell is not expecting a huge jump in numbers in 2021 at a fee of $5500 (inc GST).

"The interest is about the same level. I thought they'd be knocking the door down to get to him, but they haven’t quite been doing that yet," he said.

Clear Mountain Fairview also stands Jabali at $4950 (inc GST) and Wanted at $5500 (inc GST).

Love Conquers All
Clear Mountain Fairview
Hinged
Magic Conqueror
Bob Frappell
Worthy Cause
Jabali
Wanted