Steve and Eliza Grant established their Silverdale Farm just a few short years ago at Avoca in the fertile NSW Southern Highlands. Their plan was to become one of the nation’s leading commercial breeders and they have taken one of the biggest steps in the journey to making that dream a reality with the first yearling draft under the farm’s own banner being offered at the 2021 Gold Coast Magic Millions Yearling Sale.
It’s a small but select draft of five yearlings, four colts and a filly, all by Australia’s leading current commercial sires.
Steve Grant has enjoyed a long, successful career in business starting with macadamia farming before becoming one of Australia’s leading business park property developers. Along the way, his passion for thoroughbreds was a constant, his involvement growing as finances allowed. Silverdale Farm has been developed with the same careful planning, attention to detail, and skill in execution that made Steve Grant’s property business such a success. The farm is run by the highly skilled and dedicated team of Rob Petith and Jenny Sassier, who are no less excited than Steve about Silverdale’s initial major sale yearling offering.
General manager Rob Petith described the MM draft to Bluebloods in the following terms “Steve and Eliza chose well when they decided to establish their farm here at Avoca. Several of Australia’s leading breeders are located here in the Southern Highlands, it’s ideal horse county as the results on the track by horses bred here have shown. Steve has implemented the best ideas gained from years in the industry and we have been able to ensure that we have all the necessary facilities to produce high class athletes in a safe, practical environment. It’s a beautiful property and a great place to work.”
“This initial draft of ours has been carefully selected to showcase the farm. We are proud to be able to present to the market five yearlings from young mares, all with early foaling dates, and all by proven sires. Not A Single Doubt, Written Tycoon and Pierro are three of Australia’s best sires, all currently top five actually, while Deep Field and Shalaa are among the hottest first and third season sires in the country. I can’t wait to get to the Gold Coast to present these five youngsters to potential buyers.”
The Silverdale draft leads off with lot 27, a chestnut colt by current sire sensation, the magnificent chestnut Written Tycoon out of the Fastnet Rock mare Alcatraz who is already the dam of Gr.1 placed Kubrick, winner of $852K. This is the family of Hong Kong HOTY and champion sprinter Fairy King Prawn.
The second offering from the farm is lot 142, a bay colt by current impressive first season sire Shalaa out of the winning Fastnet Rock mare Cashla Bay. He is the third foal of a daughter of the Gr.3 winner of nine races Bush Honey, from the family of current rising star Power Scheme and Gr.1 winner Strada. Third into the ring from Silverdale will be lot 191, a bay colt by crack third season sire Deep Field out of another mare by exciting broodmare sire Fastnet Rock in Courageous Kitty. Significantly the mare’s only previous named foal is the talented Intrepidacious, already winner of four races and $183K. Grandam Rostova was a Gr.1 winner and is a Gr.1 producer, while the dam Courageous Kitty is a full sister to Gr.1 placed multiple group winner Anaheed (5 wins, $1.5million).
Next to be offered, and last of the four colts, lot 391 is the bay colt by Golden Slipper winner and leading fifth crop sire, the sensational Pierro, whose colts include Gr.1 winners and superstars such as Pierata, Levendi, Shadow Hero and Regal Power, with his daughter Arcadia Queen having legimitate claims to being the best horse in the country, if not a dead heat with Verry Elleegant. This colt is the first foal of the Gr.3 winner of five races and $357K Imposing Lass who is by Makfi, a successful son of the great sire Dubawi. Imposing Lass is a full sister to NZ HOTY, Multiple Gr.1 winner Bonneval, familiar to Aussies as the heroine of the ATC Australian Oaks and MRC Underwood S, two of our elite Gr.1s. To put the icing on the cake, this colt features a return of Zabeel in the mare and two of Pierro’s six Gr.1 winners, namely the colt Pierata and the filly Pinot feature a return of Zabeel. This colt displays the same pattern as Pierata.
It will be well worth the wait for Silverdale’s final baby into the ring, lot 705. This filly is sure to be one of the most sought after lots in the sale, she is a bay full sister to the brilliant 2YO Legend of Condor, 3rd in the ATC Skyline Stakes Gr.2 and runner up in the ATC Kindergarten Stakes Gr.3 two of Sydney’s top juvenile contests. This filly is by Not A Single Doubt out of the Success Express mare Rhodamine. Not A Single Doubt is currently Australia’s leading sire, his son Classique Legend won the Everest and is rated better than Sir Dapper by his legendary trainer Les Bridge. But wait, there’s more, the stallion’s fillies are as good as his colts, with current star multiple Gr.1 winner Shout The Bar, Kenedna, Miracles Of Life and Magic Millions 2YO winner Karuta Queen among his daughters. It’s an underappreciated fact that Not A Single Doubt has sired 14 individual Gr.1 winners, same as Snitzel, and of course that is not even counting his superstar Classique Legend. The Written Tycoon colt is a Super VOBIS and VOBIS Sires yearling, while the other four are all BOBS youngsters.
Steve Grant summed up the initial Silverdale draft as follows, “It’s an exciting time for our farm after a challenging year in 2020. I would like to thank our neighbours Greg and Jo Griffin, John Muir and Scott Holcombe who have consigned yearlings for us previously, and also Rob Petith, Jenny Sassier and everyone on the farm who has done the hard work in preparing these five youngsters. I’m also looking forward to meeting all our clients and friends at the Gold Coast early in the new year.”
