Riverdene Stud stallions have long since proven to be consistent sires of winners and 2010 has begun as promising as any recent year. MARWINA has an enviable reputation in this respect, while ZARIZ has been enhancing his profile by the season. The ill-fated HALF HENNESSY, too, has been gaining momentum and deserves some well-earned recognition…

The winning sequence of the HALF HENNESSY breed since the beginning of the year is worth coverage as it illustrates the requirements of the progeny of the brilliant Group 1 Derby winner.

When Field Commotion won over 2000 metres at Pinjarra on the final day of February, he became the 8th individual winner in two months for HALF HENNESSY at distances of 1400 metres or beyond.

Indeed, four wins for the breed during that period have come at 1850m, 2000m (twice) and 2112m, with plenty of the stallion’s runners finding their best form when trained to run a reasonable distance of ground.

Considering that the oldest offspring of HALF HENNESSY are still only 4-year-olds of the current racing season, it seems safe to suggest that the best is yet to come.

For the record, HALF HENNESSY has been represented by no fewer than 22 individual winners in season 2009/10, more than fellow Group 1 Derby winners Nothin’ Leica Dane, Universal Prince and Clangalang.

Resident sire ZARIZ is another to have been a little under-rated and now appears to have found his mark on the stud’s roster and in the industry as a whole.

One of the more prolific sires of winners in our region, a recent meeting at Wagga Wagga was relatively typical of what has been taking place for quite a while. ZARIZ supplied not one, but two of the card’s winners.

The stock of ZARIZ is also a sellable item, with demand for the breed witnessed from a number of quarters. Notably, his offspring sold for upto $32,000 at the 2010 Sydney Inglis Classic.

A half-brother to Riverdene Stud resident stallion BON HOFFA is set to go under the hammer at the 2010 Australian Easter Yearling Sale in April. A bay colt foaled on October 17, 2008, the youngster is to be presented by Kitchwin Hills (As Agent).

As a measure of how well regarded the pedigree of BON HOFFA has become, the individual in question is by Redoute’s Choice and was bred at a service fee of $330,000 when the Arrowfield Stud stallion was at his most expensive.

Asian Reef (GB), dam of BON HOFFA, had by this stage been responsible for three stakes winners. Both Before Too Long (by Belong To Me*) and Okanui (by Barathea*) earned their black-type in 2002, while BON HOFFA won both the MRC Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes (G1) and VRC Bobbie Lewis Quality (G3) in 2007.

BON HOFFA’s 2010 Easter Sale half-brother is only the second foal successfully produced by Asian Reef since she gave birth to the Group 1 winner back in 2002. Her only live foal in the interim was a full-sister to BON HOFFA named Marston Moor.

Unfortunately, since the Redoute’s Choice was born, Asian Reef has either missed or slipped following coverings by Holy Roman Emperor (Ire) and Dane Shadow.

Pedigree of the Month: TALAPEGA

Anyone who witnessed the Warwick Farm success of Talapega during the final week of February will confirm that the victory was full of merit and likely to lead to bigger and better things.

This lightly-raced 4-year-old mare has genuine relevance to Riverdene Stud clients, not least due to the fact that she is a maternal grand-daughter of MARWINA.

As a son of Marscay and maternal grandson of Vain, MARWINA always had the potential to develop into a significant broodmare sire. Besides both winning the Golden Slipper of their generation and each developing into Champion Sires of Australia, Marscay and Vain have also taken the Champion Broodmare Sire title a handful of times between them.

Talapega is also very interesting from a Riverdene Stud perspective as a daughter of Fusaichi Pegasus (USA). The Mr Prospector-line stallion has long since shown a predilection for mares by Star Kingdom-line stallions — including the dams of stakes winners Haradasun, Tipungwuti, and Yuro — and the Warwick Farm winner is just another example.

Of course, Fusaichi Pegasus is also the sire of resident stallion ENEMY OF AVERAGE and his sire-son seems a very logical partner for a great many MARWINA mares owned by stud clients.