Iconic Queensland farm Eureka Stud always has a great Magic Millions presence and 2020 looks to be another big year for the McAlpine family. We had a chat with the stud’s Harry McAlpine…
What appeals to you most about the MM sales and race series?
It is an exciting start to the calendar year where people are fresh and excited about buying or selling their yearlings. And for many of the farms it is a great opportunity to enjoy a holiday location after the long breeding season has wound up!
How would you sum up your farm and the service you offer?
Eureka is situated in tremendous horse country being located on the rich black soils of the Darling Downs, with our service definitely being horsemanship and experience. Some of our practices are very traditional such as educating all yearlings off a lead pony and we are sure that these practices have been a great contributor
of the farm’s racetrack success.
How many mares did you breed with in 2019, who is the best known?
The Eureka broodmare band would be around sixty mares. The best known of them would probably be Mum’s high class mare Tinto, winner of seven races including the Queensland Oaks-Gr.1, 2400m, the Bernborough Handicap-Listed, 1625m and the Gold Coast Bracelet-Listed, 1800m.
How would you summarise your draft this year?
The draft is large but has great variety. We have the first yearlings to be sold by resident sire Defcon (a well related dual Group Three winning son of Choisir) including half relations to last year’s Magic Millions Guineas winner Boomsara and this spring’s Cockram Stakes-Gr.3, 1200m winner Pippie.
We have eight Spirit Of Booms and the rest of the draft is made up of a solid representation including such proven sires as Zoustar, Written Tycoon, Rubick, Brazen Beau, Choisir, Sebring, Vancouver, Better Than Ready and Epaulette. We are excited to see where they end up with our January draft from last year already producing four two-year-old runners this season including the city winner Strike (by Spirit Of Boom), the stakes placed winner Boom Daddy (Spirit Of Boom) and the Randwick placed Endorse (Brazen Beau).
Amongst Eureka’s yearlings by star resident stallion Spirit Of Boom (sire of eight stakes winners and counting) is a half-sister to the Group One galloper Southern Lord, a brother to the Listed winner Perudo, a sister to the Inglis Premier winner Kinky Boom, a son of the durable stakes winner Little Brown Horse (winner of 14 races) and a son of the Listed winning Flying Spur mare Sparks Fly.
A couple of yearlings by Yes Yes Yes’s hot young sire Rubick, including a filly out of stakes winner City Of Song, will also be of interest as will be two by the reliably classy Written Tycoon including a daughter of the Group placed Diva Dee. Another proven stallion represented is the evergreen Choisir, sire of a colt from the prolific Klairessa family.
The New Zealand based Group Three winning Street Cry stallion Rageese has three in the draft including a colt out of a half-sister to the classy race and broodmare Galroof and a filly out of the imported stakes winner D J Lighting, dam of the stakes placed Coachella. Also represented from New Zealand is Encosta de Lago’s Spring Champion Stakes-Gr.1, 2000m winner Vanbrugh whose colt is out of a half-sister to the South African Group One winner Gold Onyx.
Other highlights of the exciting draft include a Vancouver filly out of the Listed winning More Than Ready mare Defiant Dame, a Your Song half-sister to the Hong Kong based dual Group One winner Beat The Clock, an Exosphere half-brother to the Listed winner Peacock, a Hinchinbrook half-sister to the dual Listed winner Outback Barbie, a Zoustar brother to the Group Three winner Charge, Tinto’s filly by the late Sebring, a Better Than Ready 3/4 sister to the dual city winner Aghamore out of a daughter of the four times Group One winner Mannerism, an Extreme Choice filly out of the multiple city winner Rubinacci and a Brazen Beau colt out of the speedy dual city winner Epsilon.
What product would you stockpile if you found out they weren’t going to make anymore?
Moccona.
What is your favourite saying?
Don’t judge a book by its cover.
If you could add a single option to your car, what would you add?
A dust catcher at the moment!
If your job gave you a surprise three day paid break to rest and recuperate, what would you do with those three days?
I would head straight to Noosa.
