Written by Trent Masenhelder
Obviously, he could be accused of being biased, but Glenthorne Park's Breeding Manager Craig Ruttley firmly believes Sebring Sun’s service fee is a bargain.
By Widden Stud's ill-fated champion sire Sebring out of Soleil Royale (French Deputy {USA}), Sebring Sun was purchased for $100,000 at the 2014 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale.
Sebring Sun won three races, including the 2017 Listed The Rosebud, before finishing third behind Exosphere in the G1 Golden Rose a month later.
Now nine, Sebring Sun has had two winners from just five runners; Sammiballerina and Coriander, which have both tasted success at Rockhampton.
Sebring Sun stood the 2021 season at Glenthorne, which is situated on the Mid-North Coast of New South Wales, just south of Taree, for $3300 (inc GST).
Sebring Sun | Standing at Glenthorne Park
“To be honest, he’s the best-value sire at stud, in my opinion,” Ruttley told TDN AusNZ.
“We’ve been rapt with him… he hasn’t exceeded our expectations.
“From what I could see he’d done on the racetrack… he ran a faster 600-metre sectional than Winx, when he ran in the (2017) Golden Rose, and that was over 1400; Winx won (the G1 Theo Marks S.) over 1300 metres on the same day.
“He’s the only son of Sebring that’s got the white dot on his rump in the same spot as Sebring. He’s just a tank, he’s 15.3 hands, he’s just a bull.”
Lovely nature
Ruttley said one of Sebring Sun’s attributes is his temperament.
"I can serve him with a head collar; he’s unbelievable. I can lay down with him in the paddock when he’s laying down and everything,” he explained.
Sebring Sun enjoying a pamper at Glenthorne Park | Image courtesy of Glenthorne Park
Sebring Sun only served a small number of mares in 2021, with Glenthorne taking the philosophy of quality over quantity.
“You’ve got to get numbers, but I probably knocked back a few mares; I wanted to serve good mares,” Ruttley said.
“The guy that bred Sebring Sun, Steve Kirkham, he supported the stallion well with some nice mares. I think the Sebring Sun Group, the syndicate that had Sebring Sun, they’re all together again with one or two mares supporting him, as well, so it’s good.”
Sammiballerina, a homebred filly for David and Craig Ruttley's Glenthorne Park, is from the Lawyer mare Her Lyin’ Eyes, and has done a good job in her 2-year-old season.
Sebring Sun when racing
Progeny starting to fire
She ran third on debut in a Rockhampton maiden on March 22, before taking on Saturday’s $125,000 Capricornia Plate at the same venue.
“It’s fantastic, the horse got sent up to (trainer) Jamie McConachy with nine weeks until the race; in that time, she had to trial, she had a start to get some prizemoney to get into the race, then second start she wins the race, all in nine weeks,” Ruttley said.
Glenthorne Park owns 90 per cent of Sammiballerina, which has already netted $75,000 in earnings, while the remaining 10 per cent is owned by Dave Furney - a friend of the Ruttleys.
Sammiballerina | Image courtesy of Glenthorne Park
"Dave's daughter, Sammi, is 16 and she's been accepted into the London Ballet, so we named the filly after her," Ruttley said.
The filly will head to the paddock for a spell.
Ruttley has high hopes for Sebring Sun, confident his star will rise.
“I’m always looking for better mares to send to him to give him a chance,” Ruttley added.
“Once he gets some more runners on the track and they win, people will start to take notice. He’s a beautiful horse with a bright future.”
