Cover image courtesy of Black Soil Bloodstock
Black Soil's colours have been regular visitors to the winner's circle in the past two years particularly in Queensland where trainer Tony Gollan has been able to secure valuable black-type successes for the fillies and mares which form the backbone of the operation's commercial model.
Triple stakes winner Isotope (Deep Field) has been the flagbearer for Black Soil and has been backed up by the likes of Listed winners Niedorp (Not A Single Doubt) and The Actuary (Sebring), and now Miami Fleiss.
What makes Miami Fleiss' success on Saturday so special is that she was bred by Siemsen, who is also a shareholder in her sire, Eureka Stud-based Spirit Of Boom, who was, of course, also trained by Gollan.
"There are so many good stories out of her winning yesterday, whether it is Mr and Mrs McAlpine, winning the race that they sponsored, and a whole bunch of other things. It was a solid win all round for a lot of people," Siemsen told TDN AusNZ.
There were a couple of reasons for added poignancy, the first of which is the recent death of Miami Fleiss' dam, Madame Fly (Excites), after foaling a sister to the rising star in October, while the second is the remarkable journey Miami Fleiss herself has taken to the racetrack.
Spirit Of Boom | Standing at Eureka Stud
"She's had some challenges and the reason we couldn't get her through the sales is that she had some x-ray issues. That ended up with us taking her home and looking after her for 12 months," he said.
"She then decided to play gymnastics through some fences on the racetrack at her first barrier trial. She threw the jockey and flipped over a few metal fences and cut herself up worse than Freddy Kreuger, and we thought we might lose her that day.
"She (Miami Fleiss) threw the jockey and flipped over a few metal fences and cut herself up worse than Freddy Kreuger, and we thought we might lose her that day." - Brian Siemsen
"We gave her another six months and that's why she is as tough as teak. She has been through everything a horse can go through in that early part of her career and we are just enjoying what she is doing at the moment."
Miami Fleiss' dam Madame Fly, who won two of her 12 starts, including a city-success as a 2-year-old, was one of the first broodmares Siemsen purchased to go to Spirit Of Boom when he began his career at Eureka Stud in 2014.
It was Harry McAlpine, now the principal agent for Black Soil, but then working for Inglis, who picked her out as an ideal prospect to support the new arrival to his family farm.
Brian Siemsen
While she missed at her first attempt and then lost her second foal to the stallion, the third time saw her produce Miami Fleiss. Her fourth visit to Spirit Of Boom resulted in Cochrane, who realised $190,000 as a yearling and was Listed-placed as a 2-year-old.
Making up quickly for lost time
He beat his older sister to the racetrack, and she didn't debut until January this year, albeit with big expectations after a couple of very good trial wins.
"It’s funny how it works out," Siemsen said. "Because we couldn't sell her at the sales, we’ve got 10 of the 22 folks who are in her, they have never owned a racehorse before, so this is a dream experience for all those people."
Miami Fleiss won by 7l on debut at the Sunshine Coast and was then a similarly comfortable winner at Doomben her next start.
"We’ve got 10 of the 22 folks who are in her (Miami Fleiss), they have never owned a racehorse before, so this is a dream experience for all those people." - Brian Siemsen
Having won two of her three starts and being placed in the other in her subsequent end of winter/early spring campaign, the decision was made by Gollan to freshen her up for the feature races of the summer.
Her win on Saturday was her fifth in seven starts with her only failure back in March on a Heavy track at the Gold Coast.
Harry McAlpine
"As Tony would love to tell anyone, I was the one that blemished her record, when I went with the captain's call in the wet one day at the Gold Coast," Siemsen admits.
"He was down in Sydney on the day he won the Group 1 with Krone and said to me, 'if you want to run her, you get one call in our 15-year relationship', and that's the reason, he keeps reminding me, that she has a blemish on her record."
A Magic plan
That will be long forgotten if she can win the $1 million Magic Millions Fillies and Mares' race next month.
"The way she settled yesterday, as Tony said in the post-race interview, she is not that speedy squib anymore. She has got that mature nature, where she can settle and she has a great finishing burst. If she can do that over the 1300 at the Gold Coast, then she will be hard to beat," Siemsen said.
It's a race meeting which has been good to horses from that family. Madame Fly's half-brother Chapter And Verse (Rothesay), won the $1 million QTIS race in 2019, on the same day Boomsara (Spirit Of Boom), who also features on the page, won the R. Listed Magic Millions 3YO Guineas.
"She (Miami Fleiss) has got that mature nature, where she can settle and she has a great finishing burst. If she can do that over the 1300 at the Gold Coast, then she will be hard to beat." - Brian Siemsen
That week will also see Miami Fleiss' half-brother by Encryption go through the ring at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale, as part of the Eureka Stud draft.
He is one of three Black Soil-bred yearlings to be offered at the Sale and Siemsen expects him to be well-received, while there is also one more foal to come through, the orphaned Spirit Of Boom filly, who is doing well, according to her breeder.
The black type achieved by Miami Fleiss on Saturday means that Black Soil is well-poised to continue the legacy of Madame Fly.
The next stage
What that represents is the next stage of the plan for Black Soil, which was formed from Boom Time Racing, and has been busy sourcing quality fillies from the sales for the past four years, looking to build a commercial breeding operation.
Bleu Zebra as a yearling | Image courtesy of Magic Millions
Next year's trio of yearlings are just the tip of the iceberg with an increase in both quality and quantity expected to come through in the 2023 and 2024 yearling crops.
"We are coming up to the fourth year of our business plan. The first ones we bought, Bleu Zebra and those high-quality fillies, some of them are in the broodmare barn now," he said.
"We went to stallions like Deep Field and Zoustar and a whole bunch of quality commercial stallions. The next two years will be big quality selling years with five of six yearlings going through.
"The next two years will be big quality selling years with five of six yearlings going through." - Brian Siemsen
"That will be a pivotal part of the five-year part of our business plan. The cycle goes on, and we are really enjoying both the breeding and racing side."
The racing side won't take a backseat during this period and many of the established and rising stars in the Black Soil colours will resume in the coming weeks.
"We've got an incredible team coming into summer, headlined by the likes of Garibaldi and Isotope. Isotope is due back on Boxing Day or New Year's Day. She heads a list of good fillies and mares that we have coming through," he said.
"Palladas is back as well, while Glitter Strip ran yesterday. That was always going to be a bit slick for her, but she trucked on well late, and so when she finds a race, she should jump out of the ground. We are pretty excited about the team we have."
Tony Gollan | Image courtesy of Bronwen Healy
Siemsen, Gollan, McAlpine and bloodstock agent John Foote also expect to be bidding on the Gold Coast as well next month, albeit not with the same fervour which saw them spend close to $3 million last year.
"This is generally our off-year in terms of our purchasing frequency and the number we buy. Everyone saw that we were busy last year but this year we will have an eye on two really nice fillies. We might just keep our powder dry in terms of numbers," he said.
