Bowness Stud manager James Daly with prized young stallion D’Argento, when on parade at the Young district property.
Statuario – a first-crop son of D’Argento, is set to race with distinction in Brisbane this Saturday when taking his place against the season’s top three-year-olds in the Group 1 Queensland Derby over 2400 metres.
Resident sire D’Argento established himself as an elite-level performer thanks to a series of highly-rated performances that featured victory in the Group 1 Rosehill Guineas (2000m) during his Classic season, where he defeated four individual Group 1 winners. When the curtain came down on his distinguished racing career, the Chris Waller-trained grey had recorded four wins and four placings from just 14 starts for $1,103,525 in earnings — but that only tells half the story.
His most notable Pattern Race performances included second to Hartnell in the Epsom Handicap (G1) over 1600m, and third behind the legendary Winx in the Winx Stakes (G1) over 1400m. He also placed fourth in the Doncaster Handicap (G1) as a 3-year-old after dropping back in trip from his Rosehill Guineas win the start prior. Having defeated the likes of Group 1 winners Trapeze Artist, Pierata, Prized Icon, Tosen Stardom, Foxplay, Kementari, Ace High, Humidor, Unforgotten, Shillelagh, Single Gaze, Savvy Coup and more during his career, D’Argento is one of 11 individual Group 1 winners for his sire So You Think.
Out of the Listed-winning Redoute’s Choice mare Fullazz, a winner of the Debutante Stakes at her first start, D’Argento is one of three stakes performers out of the mare. Fullazz is a three-quarter-sister to the dual stakes winner Diamonds and comes from an exciting black-type pedigree, most recently the family of Group 1 Toorak Handicap winner Attrition. D’Argento makes great appeal as one of the very finest sons of So You Think, a hugely successful sire-son of High Chaparral from the peerless Sadler’s Wells sire line. Throw into the mix the prodigious influence of his maternal great-grandsire Kenmare, and D’Argento provides breeders with a blend of bloodlines that have met with profound success over numerous decades.
Some of the gelding’s staying ability should be accredited to his sire D’Argento – who won four races including the Group 1 ATC Rosehill Guineas (2000m) – and his champion grandsire, So You Think, twice winner of Australia and prestigious weight-for-age Group 1 MVRC W S Cox Plate (2040m). Trained at Pakenham, Victoria, by the husband-and-wife team of Emma-Lee and David Browne, Statuario became the first stakes winner sired by D’Argento when taking the listed MRC Galilee Series Final (2400m) in Melbourne.
Taking the same grey colour as his sire, Statuario showed his liking for middle distances when finishing a close second in the Group 1 South Australian Derby over 2500m last month.
Previously having great success with the retired stallion Bon Hoffa, D’Argento now takes centre stage at the James and Joselyn Daly-managed Bowness Stud, Young.
Bred and sold by connections of Bowness Stud for $18,000 at the Inglis Gold Yearling Sale, Statuario has won $434,000 in prize money.
The original Bowness Stud, a 3500-acre property located approximately 35 km northeast of Young in Murringo, primarily runs cattle today. In 2005 Watershed Farm was acquired, a similar-sized property located 20 km east of Young, where the horse stud is now situated. This farm also includes a self-sufficient fodder-growing program.
In 2010, they added a further 200-acre property known as Alsam Park Stud, now known as Bowness Stud, conveniently located 10 km east of Young, serving as their stallion station, breeding, and foaling-down facility. The significant enterprise now spans around 7000 acres.
Founders John and Helen North have been professional race-horse breeders and bloodstock sale consignors on Bowness Stud for over 30 years. Their expertise and knowledge of the Thoroughbred industry, and highly successful record, make them a valuable source of advice for the heirs to the horse racing empire daughter Jocelyn and her husband James.
James and Jocelyn Daly live on Watershed Farm and own and manage its operations, including grain and fodder production.
Statuario is among six stakes horses sired by D’Argento to date, with the Gerald Ryan and Sterling Alexiou-trained filly at Rosehill, Sequista, included in the sire’s promising second crop two-year-olds. While another first-crop three-year-old gelding, Figlio D’Argento, recently won in Melbourne, three-year-old filly All Kinds Of Folk finished second in the listed SAJC Auraria Stakes at Morphettville. She was a $40,000 Inglis Premier Yearling Sale graduate, also bred and sold via Bowness Stud.
In total, D’Argento has sired 21 winners, of 34 wins, from only 52 runners that have raced from 900m to middle distance of 2500m.
James believes the three-year-old has plenty of improvement left in him. “He’s run well in his previous races before that and stepping up into that race, he’s been improving and stepped up again to win that race,” he said.
“The stud has produced several good horses over the years and in recent times we’ve had horses like Trapeze Artist, he won five group ones. He was born and raised on the farm, and the fillies Funstar and Youngstar were born and sold from Bowness.
“It’s been very encouraging to see the stock of D’Argento performing at group level and Statuario running second in the South Australian Derby and hopefully going one better in the Queensland Derby this weekend.
“He was sold at Inglis Gold sale. He wasn’t an expensive yearling, but he was a very nice yearling, and we didn’t retain anything in him. We aimed to sell all our yearlings, all our progeny. He’s been syndicated and he’s just performing outstandingly.
“We still have his dam Miss Entice, hopefully, she keeps producing a nice foal each year and even just for D’Argento, that’s the main thing to get them into good homes and give them an opportunity, and he (Statuario) certainly had that.
“There’s several of his (D’Argento’s) next crop of two-year-olds, the first one of his first runners from his second crop of two-year-olds was Sequista and she’s already performed at stakes level and he’s got a lot more to come out that have just started running in trials and starting to move through the ranks so you’ll see them in the next probably a few months, I’d say.
“I think that was her first foal from memory and she’ll go back to D’Argento again this year.
“It’s the dream picking one up cheap and winning a group one, and we’re happy to see that happen, and with a bit of luck, the next one might be a bit more expensive.
“We breed to sell and that’s our model. We sell every yearling, we don’t retain any; we’re not selecting the best ones to retain. We just stick to the same model each year and that gives the buyers the best opportunity to buy some quality yearlings from us.
“It’s sort of all part of it, but you know, we just like to get them into good homes and give them the best opportunity and give them a good grounding at home so that if they don’t make it on the racetrack, they also go to good homes and perform doing other things like show jumping or whatnot, but hopefully that’s after they’ve won several races ideally.
“I’m sure he’ll be very competitive. It’s going to be a tough race, like all groups. There’s always an element of luck involved in getting the right runs and how the race pans out. But if he’s in the right position, I think he’ll give the win a nudge.”
Eagle Farm will host a 10-card Super Saturday of racing next weekend, with a bumper three Group 1s to be staged following the abandonment of four races on Queensland Derby Day on Saturday.
Jockeys complained of poor visibility at Eagle Farm after persistent heavy rain during the day, forcing officials to abandon the Derby meeting after five races on Saturday on another wet day in Brisbane. The jockeys met after the running of the Group 2 BRC Sires’ Produce (1400m), won by Cool Archieon a Heavy 10 track, before voicing their concerns about visibility in the awful conditions at Eagle Farm. It means Group 1 races the Kingsford Smith Cup (1300m) and the Queensland Derby (2400m) will be rescheduled to this Saturday at Eagle Farm, with the Queensland Oaks (2200m) for 3YO fillies to be run as per normal on that day.
The Fred Best Classic, which offers the winning three-year-old a golden ticket into the Stradbroke Handicap in two weeks, will now be staged on Wednesday on Doomben. However, the Group 3 Fred Best will now be run over the shorter distance of 1350m instead of 1400m. The winning trainer of the Fred Best will need as much time as possible to prepare their horse for the Group 1 Stradbroke (1400m) on June 14.
Just five of the nine races on Saturday were contested before RQ officials decided to abandon the key winter carnival meeting after the jockeys voiced their concerns about the poor visibility on the track.
“We work with the riding group and the rider and horse welfare is the No.1 priority when it comes to these issues,” Racing Queensland chief steward Josh Adams said.
“We felt the track was safe but it was the visibility and the kickback which ultimately resulted in the remainder of the card being cancelled.
“Hopefully the rain goes away and we can run the rescheduled races under fine conditions next week.”
To accommodate the three rescheduled races from Derby Day, a Benchmark 90 Handicap and Class 6 Handicap due to be contested at Eagle Farm next Saturday will be shifted to the Sunshine Coast next Sunday. All scratchings will be reinstated for the rescheduled races.
-Tully Potts
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