I purchased this colt’s ½ sister at the Adelaide Magic Millions in 2023. Patrick Payne trains her and she has done everything he has asked of her. When I called Patrick to inform him that I was considering purchasing him this colt by the outstanding sire Shamus Award he was very positive to the move. His ½ sister’s name is Shezasmokey with her being by Puissance De Lune.

This colt is a terrific type and I observed him from a distance being inspected quite a few times during the sale. He didn’t turn a hair while being inspected in what were quite oppressive conditions. He is a very good type of horse and my impression of him is that he will run as a late 2yo and then train on to be a very useful 3yo. He walks well and has nice presence about himself. He vetted out without any issues. I think he may be a Derby horse and goes to the right trainer to get the best from him.

Shamus Award

The colt is by Shamus Award who was a terrific racehorse winning the MVRC Group 1 WS Cox Plate as a 3yo at 2040m. He then went on to win the VRC Group 1 Australian Guineas at 1600m.

Shamus Award was bred by Bob and Sue Hannon at their wonderful nursery Ascot Farm at Pitt Town near Richmond in NSW. Bob is one of the very best breeders in Australia and we spelled our horses at his wonderful property before the terrible floods that wreaked havoc at the farm over the past couple of years. Shamus Award has as good a colonial pedigree as you are likely to find.

He is by Champion sire Snitzel who out of the great Snippets mare Snippet’s Lass who Bill Mitchell trained. He is out of Sunset Express a daughter of the great broodmare sire Success Express and out of a Luskin Star mare.

He has done a remarkable job at stud. At the time of writing, he has sired 224 winners with 24 of these being stakes winners and nine stakes placed. This is a superior conversion race of stakes winners from winners. Only the very best sires have a better than 10% conversion rate. Our two top sires at present, I Am Invincible runs at 11.6% and So You Think at 9.6%. Shamus award runs at 10.7%. A high-profile sire like Written Tycoon runs at just 6.8%. this gives some idea of Shamus Award’s potency as a sire that can produce a superior staying horse.

Importantly, he has sired five Group 1 winners including the absolute super star Incentivise who won nine of his 13 starts with his final four starts being 2nd to Verry Elegant in the VRC Melbourne Cup, won the MRC Caulfield Cup, won the VRC Turnbull Stakes, won the VRC Makybe Diva Stakes. These are four of our biggest Group 1 races.

His other Group 1 winners are the Duais which won the VRC Group 1 Australian Cup, ATC Group 1 Tancred Stakes and QTC Group 1 Queensland Oaks, again some of our very biggest Group 1 races. El Patroness won the ATC Group 1 Australian Oaks and is sadly deceased. Mr Quickie won the QTC Group 1 Queensland Derby and MRC Group 1 Toorak Handicap with Media Award winning the SAJC Group 1 Australasian Oaks.

Each of these horses won one or more Group I races at 2400m. I don’t need to write much more. Shamus Award is a super sire who gets the very best stayers bred in this country.

Despacito

This is Despacito’s second foal. As I wrote I purchased the first foal which is trained by Patrick Payne. Despacito was a useful race mare winning three race including Metropolitan wins in Melbourne and Adelaide. She is by All American, a son of Red Ransom who was a very good racehorse winning the VRC Group 1 Emirates Stakes and was 2nd in the VRC Group 1 Coolmore Stakes as a 3yo. These are very high-profile races.

It has been as a broodmare sire he has had his biggest impact with his daughter Yankee Rose producing the outstanding Japanese Group 1 performer Liberty Island which has won five of her seven starts including the Group 1 Japanese Oaks and she was placed 2nd in the Group 1 Japan Cup as a 3yo. She also won three other Group 1 races. Another of his daughters produced the Group 1 Tarzino Stakes in NZ.

Despacito comes from a great family with the 2nd dam being the dam of the Listed winner Diamonds and Group 1 placed Masthead.

The Breeder

The colt was bred by Ian Smith from Edinburgh Park in NSW. He is one of Australia’s best breeders. I purchased Rubisaki, Zizzis and Black And Tan from him.

The Trainer

Patrick Payne has been a remarkable success for Prime Thoroughbreds. Here is a summary of the yearlings purchased from 2013 to 2020 for Patrick by Prime Thoroughbreds to have raced.

In total 35 of the 45 yearlings to have raced are winners having won 116 races and returned $7,357,748 to date in stakes money (In addition to this the retired mares were sold for $1,664,500 in Public Auctions on completion of their careers with Prime Thoroughbreds. This takes the gross returns to $9,022,248). The 35 winners collectively were purchased for just $2,427,500 ($69,357 average purchase price).

Seven of the 35 winners are still racing in our team. I expect Flattered, Xaphan, Hot Gospel, Hell Of A Trip and Another Nephew which have raced but not won to win races. This would see us having 38 winners from the first 44 horses to race with Patrick (86%). The current value of the seven still in our team is probably greater than the combined purchase price of all the winners to have raced with Quang Tri, Seonee, Birdies Galore and The Devil In Her valuable breeding propositions.

Six of the horses I syndicated with Patrick failed to make the grade and win a race. I have been thrilled with Patrick’s handling of our horses and we have been building up a nice team with him.

An impressive part of our story has been 51.4% (18 of 35) of the winners with Patrick are Stakes, Magic Millions, Inglis Race Series or Metropolitan winners.

Patrick is an outstanding conditioner of horses and probably the best jumps trainer in Australia.

Currently Patrick trains three outstanding staying prospects for us. These are the Tasmanian Derby winner The Nephew, The Cunning Fox who was placed in the VRC St Leger Stakes and won the Bendigo Jockey Club St Leger Trial and The Devil In Her who could be anything. These are three young horses that have been taken along steadily and allowed to find their feet.

I can’t see too many weaknesses in the package.