Desperate times call for desperate measures and the past few months have not been easy for anyone involved in the thoroughbred industry. We would like to begin this issue of the Riverdene Review with a very big thank you to all our clients who have responded so well to our recent ‘call to arms’…

The zoning strategy introduced by the NSW Government to counter the spread of Equine Influenza met with a terrific response from broodmare owners.

Following provisional contact by the stud and/or our representative David Keegan, breeders wasted little time in making transport arrangements for their mares set to visit a Riverdene Stud stallion in 2007.

As a direct consequence, the stud is rapidly picking up the time it lost during the chaos caused by the initial EI outbreak and is confident that the minimum disruption will have been caused by season’s end.

Please accept our genuine thanks for making a trying time in our lives easier than first expected.

However, if you are reading this newsletter and you are still to have made a decision about the 2007 mating of your mare, the opportunity provided by the Government zoning should not be missed. It might not remain for the duration of the season!

While the full repercussions of the EI outbreak will not be determined for many months to come, the biggest setback Riverdene Stud will suffer is the postponement of INDESATCHEL (Ire)’s first southern hemisphere breeding season

Secured for the current season at some considerable cost to ourselves, INDESATCHEL (Ire) is now set to return home to England without leaving the Eastern Creek quarantine station since his arrival in Australia.

Due to the fact that the quarantine station is located in the RED Restricted Zone and the stud is situated in the GREEN Protected Area, INDESATCHEL (Ire) is not allowed to fulfil his southern hemisphere commitment originally negotiated between the stud and the stallion’s owners overseas.

The development is a major blow for all concerned, including those broodmare owners who had identified the outstanding value the son of Danehill Dancer offered.

However, the No. 1 priority is now for INDESATCHEL (Ire) to be returned to Bearstone Stud in the best possible shape for his second season at his home base.

Once again, we very much offer our sincere thanks to all parties concerned for the goodwill which was clearly extended before the exercise was forced to be aborted.

The first 2-year-olds by HALF HENNESSY have been named and are one step closer to making their debut for the breed.

While HALF HENNESSY’s Group One performance came in the Queensland Derby, clients should not forget that the stallion was a very precocious racehorse himself, from one of the most celebrated ‘juvenile’ families in the Australian Stud Book.

Put over mares with similarly precocious bloodlines, the stock of the stallion could well come as early as any of their contemporaries.

A youngster like Albury Flyer, for instance, could well make an immediate impression given the opportunity. The HALF HENNESSY 2-year-old hails from a family synonymous with prominent breeder Les Young (Doncaster Bloodstock) and features the likes of Magic Millions 2Y0 Classic winner Zephyrz and Cloudlet, successful in the Listed Gosford Slipper.

Also, like Albury Flyer whose damsire is Sir Dapper, Halfcast (Marscay), Glen Brigton (Rory’s Jester) and Cheelar (Marauding-NZ) are all maternal grand-progeny of Golden Slipper winners.

Providing there is progeny of HALF HENNESSY in racing centres open for action, a performance of merit might come sooner than some think.