NEWS
Shuriken off to Hong Kong after a massive offer following his gallant 4th in the Group 2 Sandown Guineas for Toward Reward Thoroughbreds
December 31st, 2022
These are the stories we love in racing.
Matt Sellick, founder and owner of Toward Reward Thoroughbreds, is a new syndication company in the competitive Victorian Thoroughbred Industry.
Bluegrass was commissioned by Toward Reward to buy their first horse for syndication during covid. Matt Sellick requested that I buy a weanling. With the Inglis Great Southern sale going online, I travelled around Victoria with a limited budget to find a runner for Matt and Toward Reward.
What happens next brings a smile to my face, Matt and his wife Cynden are just quality people and so passionate about our great industry, their start couldn’t happen to better people.
Bluegrass purchased a Tosen Stardom weanling colt whom I thought was very athletic, a great mover and above all, thought he would make a successful racehorse.
Managed and trained beautifully by Symon Wilde and team, Shuriken went on to win his first start as a 3yo at Casterton, and wow, he just progressed from there.
A few weeks later he contested a 3yo stakes race at Flemington on the new revamped Champions day for a very good 6th placing in a field of 15 beaten only 3.3 lengths.
Shuriken continued his first racing prep a few weeks later at Ballarat in the 175k Eureka Stockade for 3yo’s, and he won convincingly by 0.75 lengths, amazing.
Having his final run of the prep, the bar was raised and he went to Group 2 level in the Sandown Guineas, unlucky for Shuriken it was run at Caulfield this year, else if it was the spacious Sandown track, in my modest opinion he could have won.
Shuriken ran a huge 4th in the Sandown Guineas, coming from 12th at the 400m mark to be beaten only 1.95 lengths, no horse was finishing harder. He caught the eye of the very astute Hong Kong agent Juzzy Bahen, and the rest is history. Shurikens owners were well rewarded on the track and in the pocket and can now watch Shuriken race in Hong Kong with his new owner, we all wish him the very best of luck, a horse with huge potential.
Toward Reward now have some very promising youngsters in their team and I couldn’t recommend them enough for aspiring owners to get involved and race with them.
Boss'n the Moss wins his 4th race today at Mornington, the legacy lives on!
November 17th, 2022
Boss’n the Moss, the full brother to Moss n dale continued the families trait of just winning horse races. Bossy, Mossys full brother, brought the tally to 22 race wins for the sons of Hot n moss, the star matron who has had only 3 foals to race, has done an amazing effort.
Bossy showed the customary trait of the family of digging deep when the chips are down, and just winning at Mornington today. The work of the Ash and Amy Yargi team cannot be underestimated, Bossy coming off a high suspensory surgery needed rehab, and was perfectly handled by the team. He has since won 2 races from 2 starts, making all his owners proud, and privileged to race him.
Hot n Moss, the daughter of Strategic Image left Te Runga farm with little fan fare as a yearling. Bluegrass bought her off good friend Wayne Larsen for $20,000 AUD, never would we have imagined the legacy she would leave. A winner of 2 races in Aus, Hot n Moss boarded the ship back to NZ to be mated to Castledale, the 7k stallion standing at Te Runga, the place of her birth.
Her first foal Moss n Dale was a winner of 14 races and over 1 million in prizemoney and a multiple stakes winner in Aus, 2nd foal Moss n Bolt a winner of 4 races and metro placed and her 3rd foal is Bossy, winner of 4 races from only 15 starts, may the legacy continue
Regal Azmon, another Malaguerra!
June 27th, 2022
The Inglis Vobis Gold sales 2019, I was searching for my next good horse with Mark Burckhardt from Regal bloodstock. As you do, we stumbled across this son of Magnus, “ does lighting strike twice”, this day it did. This boy was a beautiful walking son of Magnus out of a Daylami mare with so much length and presence we had to buy him. The auctioneer knocked him down to us for the princely sum of $25,000 AUD. He was backward but had the best frame, we thought we stole a champion for a pauper’s sum. So many million dollar purchases from the so called best judges can’t win a race, look up this blokes record.
I’m very privileged at Bluegrass Bloodstock to work with amazing syndicators who allow me to do my job to find the best racehorse, follow this boy, he is a ripper!
Another kiwi Stakes Winner for Bluegrass Bloodstock, when Open Minded Saluted at Caulfield.
January 26th 2022
I started working back in New Zealand in the late 90’s at Cambridge Stud, learning from the best as a complete novice, I then slowly progressed to Te Runga Farm NZ, a smaller farm but more responsibility for the green horseman under the tutelage of Wayne Larsen.
What I never imagined was that the land of the long white cloud would be the source of some of my early stakes winners for Bluegrass Bloodstock.
Open Minded, the prospect I sourced from NZ as a trial winner, who came into the world under the watchful eye of Wayne Larsen at Te Runga farm, has now become a winning machine in Australia for Dream Thoroughbreds, and he took his career to a new level, when he won the Listed Barton Stakes at Caulfield Jan 26th 2022.
Open Minded has now won 9 races and over $469,000 in stakes and it gives me great pleasure to see him do the job for David Azzopardi and the team at Dream Thoroughbreds.
Bluegrass heads to the Hunter and Widden Valleys for Yearling Inspections Pre Magic Millions Sale.
December 8th, 2021
On farm yearling inspections, pre-yearling sales, are an important part of the selection process for yearling purchases from the Yearling sales.
In preparation for the 2022 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling sales, Bluegrass attended the major Hunter Valley farms, as well as Widden Stud in the beautiful Widden Valley.
Some beautiful well grown and conformed yearlings were inspected by Bluegrass and we’re very excited by what’s on offer at the upcoming MM yearling sales 2022.
The process of on farm inspections is very important as it allows us to see the future development of yearlings during a preparation from the farm to the sales grounds, the early prep work coupled with sales inspections and vettings allows Bluegrass to make the most in depth selection for future race track stars. Can’t wait for MM 2022.
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Second Slip ready for stakes grade in Saturday's Leon Macdonald stakes.
26/08/2021
New Zealand tried horse purchases for Bluegrass Bloodstock continues to go from strength to strength for the Will Clarken stable.
Will and his team have done a fantastic job with Second Slip since purchase, he has won 4 from 6 starts, all Saturday metro wins and a 2nd placing in a listed race, the Matrice stakes.
Second Slip was an emphatic winner at Caulfield the 14th of August 2021, he was first up from a spell and returned in great fashion signaling a great prep ahead, the pic above is of his win at Caulfield.
He now takes his place in the Leon Macdonald stakes on Saturday and is a live chance in the 1400m Listed race at Morphetville 28th of August.
Continuing the great run of kiwi purchases for Bluegrass is the smart Shea Eden trained galloper Rock In the Park, he was a big winner at Sandown first up over 1200m on the 21st of July 2021, he then followed up his first up win with a very good 3rd at Moonee Valley 9 days later. Shea has been very patient with Rock In the Park and he is raced by a great group of owners, the future is bright for this lightly race galloper.
Our Japanese project is now on Australian Shores.
25/08/2021
It started around 6 years ago after a conversation with my very good friend Josh Rodder. He had a contact and friend in Japan who I got to know after his travels to Australia.
After many conversations with our Japanese contact Ando I flew to Japan August 2019 to view foals on around 12 farms which could be purchased.
These farms are on the rich volcanic soil in the Hokkaido region of Japan which have produced countless champions who have won feature races all over the world. The Japanese Thoroughbred are widely considered the best stayers in the world.
There was a plan, purchase a foal and rear it on the rich volcanic soil in Japan before it would begin its breaking in process in Japan and pre-training on the world class training facilities which Japan offers, in my opinion the best training facilities in the world. Our filly which we purchased would work on the indoor straight inclined tracks of 1200m on woodchip (the best and most expensive surface you can work on) working on these incline tracks they develop their superior lung capacities which make them superior stayers. The plan was then to bring the horse to Australia and place it in the care of leading trainer Phillip Stokes, Phillip Stokes is not only a leading trainer in Victoria but he also understands the Japanese thoroughbred having worked in the Hokkaido Japan in racing, it just made sense.
After viewing around 40 foals I found a gorgeous filly by 1st season sire Isla Bonita, she was a beautiful type with a great walk and temperament, and it also helped that her dam was by Japanese champion stallion Deep Impact.
After 2 years of careful rearing and preparation in Japan, the filly arrived in Australia 2 weeks ago and left quarantine yesterday to join the Phillip Stokes yard, the picture above is 2 days old, taken of the filly at the completion of her quarantine, she has done remarkably well after such a long journey, it says a lot about her temperament and constitution.
There are some fantastic people who are involved in racing this filly and I hope she does everyone proud, it is a project that I would like to repeat many times over, the Japanese thoroughbreds are elite and we are hopeful the Isla Bonita filly can showcase her talents on the Australian racetracks.
Sir Da Vinci a kiwi tried horse purchase who is coming good
April 2nd 2021
Not often you have a galloper winning their maiden by 7 lengths, but that is exactly what Sir da Vinci did at Hobart over the 2100m distance at Launceston.
The same connection of Bluegrass, Wayne Notman and Scott Brunton that really got Bluegrass Bloodstock going with our NZ tried horse purchases was at it again with big Sir da Vinci.
This same connection won the Hobart Cup and many other races with star galloper Count da vinci.
Tim Harrison who does a great job breeding good horses with the assistance of stud master Wayne Larsen bred Sir Da Vinci in New Zealand.
Sir Da Vinci was showing some promise in NZ catching Bluegrass’s eye before we negotiated purchase for Wayne Notman with Tim Harrison remaining in the horse.
Scott Brunton who has taken his time with Sir Da Vinci preparing him and conditioning him over shorter trips, before stepping him up to the middle distance trip of 2100m. It was great to see Sir Da Vinci so dominant in his maiden win over 2100m journey.
Sir da Vinci is a horse you might see in a Jericho Cup later in the year, as he stays all day.
Winning machine Open Minded adds 100k MV sprint final!
February 26th 2021
Open Minded, the new winning machine for Dream Thoroughbreds keeps going from strength to strength.
Pictured above winning the Sprint final at Moonee Valley worth 100k, Open Minded has now taking his winning record to 6 wins from only 11 starts, 3 of those wins at metropolitan level, Moonee Valley, Caulfield and Sandown, now Flemington beckons!!
Open Minded was born and raised at the racehorse producing NZ nursery of Te Runga Farm. Many a good racehorse including stakes performed horses have come off the fertile Patumahoe pastures where Te Runga Farm is based, and his breeder Tim Harrison has produced many a good horse.
Open Minded had won a trial in NZ when he grabbed Bluegrass Bloodstocks attention, it was exactly the sort of trial we like to see and coupled with his pedigree, type off the pics, good feedback from the Owner and breeder and we were away.
He wasn’t an easy horse to place in Australia but Dream Thoroughbreds showed faith and also loved the horse themselves and purchased their first NZ tried horse.
Open Minded hasn’t let his owners down and with some very smart training from the Freedmans, keeping him fresh and applying the blinkers and the horse has gone to another level. He is definitely a horse on the up and proving some doubters wrong.
When Bluegrass spoke to Dave Azzopardi of Dream Thoroughbreds we were hopeful of Open Minded getting a derby trip and probably enjoying soft conditions, Bluegrass couldn’t of been more wrong, Open Minded is a 6 furlong horse who likes quick ground and he can run time, maybe in time he will get further, he has won over 1300m.
One thing we did get right is he is a talented galloper who loves to win and is keeping our strong NZ record of finding metro gallopers intact!
Second Slip gives them the slip at his first start in Australia!
9/01/2021
Second Slip completed the hat trick for the Will Clarken and Bluegrass Bloodstock combination when he won at his first start at Murray Bridge on Sat 9/01/2021.
Second Slip is an NZ tried horse purchase by Bluegrass Bloodstock on behalf of the Will Clarken stable and his connections. Buying these kiwi horses is made an easier job when you have someone like Will training them. So far in past 5 years Bluegrass has purchased 3 NZ tried horses for the Will Clarken stable, Savatag, Handsome Return and Second Slip, and they all have 2 things in common, they have all won at their first Australian start and they’re all Sat metro winners in Aus since purchase.
The type of horse selected for Will can take months to identify, Will then undertakes a strict vetting, we have had several horses fail the vet before in NZ and they have never crossed the ditch. Once all the stars align, horses form, type and vetting stack up we will then get them over. It’s a proven formular which is working.
Bluegrass has some more tried kiwi horses ready to step out for their first start in the coming weeks with the Robbie Griffths and Shea Eden stables.
The Family that keeps giving!
October 5th 2020
Hot n moss our bonny little broodmare just had her 3rd foal in the pic above win his 2nd race, Boss’n the moss, well the photo shows that but the racing stewards thought otherwise!
From 3 foals to race to win a total 20 races I think any studmaster would be happy with that effort, and that is the story here with Hot n moss.
Boss’n the moss showed the customary family trait of the will to win when he fought Brilliant Venture all the way down the Echuca straight, Brilliant Venture got past Bossy but Boss’n the moss kicked back on the line to win by a head, he showed guts and determination and told us that he will make the grade.
Hot n moss has another 2yo in NZ which is just at the breakers, he is the best foal the mare has left so far, and another full brother to Moss n dale. And then her last foal is an Almanzour yearling filly which is a lovely type also, can’t wait to see her on the racetrack and then in the breeding barn to keep this family kicking!
Moss n Dale Retires a Champ!
August 2020
Not much more you can say about Moss n Dale, he was the Punters Pal, The Owners Pal, The Trainers Pal and even the Jockeys Pal.
Jockey Jack Martin can attest to this, he formed a great bond with Mossy and they went on a 3 state rampage together where they won an open hcp at Moonee Valley, then he floated to Adelaide to take out the Listed Tokyo City Cup, and then he was back on a truck to Sydney to compete on Everest Day winning the Group 3 Craven Plate. Mossy beat 4 individual group 1 winners in the Craven Plate and joined an honour roll which includes the Immortal Phar Lap.
He was a ripper racehorse, a pleasure to train for Peter Gelagotis, “he always gives you premium effort Pete would say, whether that’s trackwork or raceday”.
As a racehorse Moss n dale achieved more than his pedigree suggested winning 14 races, 9 of those wins at metropolitan level, he won at Flemington, Moonee Valley, Sandown, Morphetville, Randwick, Rosehill and a host of provincial tracks, he won over a million dollars and 3 Stakes races, Gippsland Horse of the Year winner, he was an owners dream.
Thanks Mossy for the ride, enjoy retirement now, you have been a Star!!
The Melbourne Premier Sales see another Yearling purchase On the Tiles salute.
August 23rd, 2020
The Melbourne Inglis Yearling Sales have been a fruitful hunting ground for Bluegrass Bloodstock in the past with the multiple group 1 winner Malaguerra purchased for 32k, group 1 placed Mr Sneaky and Group 2 placed Mr So and So all coming out of the Melbourne sales.
On the Tiles was a Reset yearling selected by Bluegrass Bloodstock out of the 2018 Melbourne Premier Sales on behalf of Jeremy Ruz racing from the Blue Gum Farm draft. He was specifically selected to be a racehorse for the $80,000 purchase price.
He was a good sized yearling with plenty of bone and had walk which Bluegrass had seen in NZ from Zabeel stock in the past, a bit of a paddle in front. We didn’t mind that at all, and he had that really good length about him suggesting he would follow his pedigree and get over some ground.
Jeremy Ruz made the good decision to send the horse to Gelagotis racing who have shown a great knack of getting good results with stayers and especially the progeny of Reset.
The picture above shows the now 3yo Reset gelding called On the Tiles winning a bm58 as a maiden horse in dominating fashion at only his 5th start, it was 4.25 length margin at Moe but he was eased down late and it could have been bigger. The Gelagotis stable have been very patient with On the tiles racing him over shorter trips teaching him to settle before stepping up to the 1600m distance, he is a work in progress but we’re sure there are better wins in store.
Kiwi thoroughbreds continue to win all over Australia for Bluegrass Bloodstock
July 2020
The Kiwi thoroughbred has been at the forefront of Australian racing for well over 100 years, dominating our staying events all over the country, no one can forget that gangly yearling bought for 160 shillings from the Trentham sales who turned out to be the immortal Phar lap.
Bluegrass principal Lenny Russo worked on the farms in NZ back in the day cutting his teeth at Te Runga, Cambridge and Ashwell farms working with some of the best bloodstock in NZ. One thing probably not well known is that Lenny travelled around NZ’s Nth Island every Tuesday for a couple of years to NZ official trials. This experience is very important to Bluegrass Bloodstocks overall understanding of the NZ trial and racing system, it is very unique and is geared to producing and selling kiwi thoroughbreds.
The results of this experience can now be seen in the Bluegrass tried horse purchases winning around Australia most weeks. Group winners such as Moss n dale, Count da Vinci and countless city winners such as Savatag, Handsome Return, The Willybe, Lucky for All, Open Minded, Akamon and winning machines like Parliament and Banstead. These horses are durable, they sprint and stay, win on wet and dry tracks and give their trainers and owners lots of fun for generally a small price tag.
In recent weeks Bluegrass has been sourcing more kiwi tried horses for the likes of Dream Thoroughbreds/Anthony Freedman, Trevor Miller, Will Clarken and Shea Eden stables, there are some really nice prospects heading over the ditch and looking forward to the next lot of kiwi group and city winners to race in Australia.
Bluegrass is on the constant hunt for the next kiwi star watching all the trials and races and utilizing the solid contacts we have made to make sure we get the job right.
Feel free to contact Bluegrass Bloodstock anytime if you’re keen to source a kiwi thoroughbred to race in Australia, they won’t let you down!
Outstanding yearling purchase is now a City winner
Feb 26th 2020
Magic Millions 2018, and Bluegrass Bloodstock inspected a most outstanding looking yearling by So You Think.
The brown colt in question now named So He Rules was just an outstanding looking yearling, he had it all, type, temperament and pedigree. For Bluegrass Bloodstock he was a 3 tick horse, our top marking for a yearling.
The notes as it reads on the ipad, “ Very healthy, lovely colt, great strength and a beautiful walk, correct. Great head and temperament”.
Walking away after inspecting him I just knew he was a colt we had to get.
Teaming up with Manny Gelagotis we set about trying to buy the colt at auction, Manny was strong in the auditorium bidding, and the colt was knocked down to Gelagotis Racing/Bluegrass Bloodstock for $280,000. The most at that stage that Bluegrass had been involved in the purchase of a yearling.
Fast forward just over 3 years and So He Rules as a 4yo was winning his 2nd race from only 7 starts in a dominant front running display at Sandown for Gelagotis Racing.
The beautiful yearling who is now a mature gelding has taken his time to furnish but with the polished touch of Peter Gelagotis we now have a very nice racehorse.
It was great to see So He Rules win in such a dominant display at Sandown and we’re now looking to the future with him and more city successes.
My Tribute to Hot n Moss who has gone to greener pastures.
October 10, 2019
There are times in life where something or someone teaches you some valuable life lessons, Hot n moss the race mare and then emerging broodmare did just that.
Starting Bluegrass Bloodstock back in 2010 coincided with Hot n Moss’s first race win at Canberra races, July 11, 2010, it was just a little 1280m mdn on the Acton track.
Back tracking a little, I purchased Hot n moss as a yearling off my very good friend Wayne Larsen of Te Runga Farm. Wayne sent me some pics and a pedigree, she was by his stallion Strategic Image whom I inspected for Wayne prior to his purchase from Victoria, he went to stand at his farm in NZ, he was a bread and butter stallion but did leave a group 1 winner in Altered Image.
There was some familiarity with the pedigree, and then Wayne’s belief in the female family, a great tough NZ family, group 1 winners Moss Downs and Spenophyta featured prominently.
She looked a nice filly in the photos, I had great faith in where she was raised so I put together a group of owners consisting of family and friends and we purchased her for $20,000 NZ.
This was the beginning and in this bloodstock game some valuable lessons have been learned and to have continued success, you must establish key industry relationships, trust, and an ability to follow a process which works for you and never waiver from it even when horses fail.
These relationships, trust and process cannot be more prominent than my business dealings with Wayne Larsen of Te Runga Farm and it all came to fruition through the achievements of Hot n Moss, our favourite mare who passed away on Tuesday 8/10/2019, leaving behind a gorgeous 5 week old filly foal by the Cambridge stud stallion Almanzor.
From humble beginnings, Hot n moss went onto win a Canberra mdn for the very good Canberra trainer in Matt Dale, this win allowed me to start up my business Bluegrass Bloodstock. With a nice wager on maxidiv $32 Uni with corporate bookmaker Sportingbet I was able to get Bluegrass off the ground.
Hot n moss’s career was short lived due to a few ailments but she had showed enough ability with a very good turn of foot that maybe she could pass this onto her progeny, her race record may not suggest so, but I had worked with her closely and had watched her ability in trackwork and glimpses in races to envisage a possible stud career.
Putting together a plan with one of her fellow owners Steve Salib we approached Wayne Larsen to see if we could breed back to Castledale, Wayne’s new stallion, a dual group 1 winner by Peintre Celebre. Wayne offered us a great deal where we could have an opportunity to breed two foals to Castledale with him.
Sticking to the processes, and trusting the relationship, Hot n moss bred a WFA group winner in Moss n dale her first foal who has won over 1 million dollars in prizemoney. Her 2nd foal Moss n bolt has won a further 3 races and been metro placed in Melbourne, between her first two foals they have won 17 races between them, who would of thought!!
Hot n moss has produced another 2 colts by Castledale, one of them in training now with Peter Gelagotis of Moe, the other a yearling who is still growing out at Te Runga Farm in NZ. Wayne comments on the latest yearling ‘he is the closest resemblance to Castledale he has bred’.
Her final act is a beautiful 5-week-old filly foal in the picture above with Hot n moss herself, by the highly credentialed Cambridge Stud stallion in Almanzor.
Hot n moss sadly lost a battle with colic during the week, I loved her, I’ll miss her quirkiness from when I worked with her, I now see it now through her sons Moss n dale and Moss n bolt.
She is the first mare I have personally bred; the fundamentals are so important in this game for me as I have highlighted above, and she taught me plenty.
Wayne has taken her back to Te Runga Farm to be buried, thanks for the memories Katie, rest in peace and I will be back to visit next time I’m in NZ.
AllStarMile for Moss n dale
Story of the 'bulldog' Moss n dale!
The story of Moss n dale started back in September 2003.
Wayne Larsen of Te Runga Farm in Patumahoe New Zealand is a personal friend, and I worked for him as a stud hand in the early 2000’s.
He called me late in 2003 to inspect a stallion in Victoria called Strategic Image who had recently retired. Wayne bought Strategic Image and he went back to NZ to stand at his farm in NZ called Te Runga Farm.
A few years earlier Wayne had purchased a mare off the track which the trainer has recently told him was the slowest horse he had ever trained, her name was Moss Arising which is the grandam of Moss n dale.
Wayne liked the breeding of Moss Arising as she was very closely related to some very good NZ group 1 winners in Moss Downs and Sphenophyta.
Wayne sent Moss Arising to his new stallion Strategic Image and produced the mare Hot n moss. Bluegrass purchased Hot n moss off Wayne as a yearling, she was an athletic filly and i liked her and flew her back to Melbourne where I was working for a trainer at Mornington Neil Walsh. I put a group together led by John Scire and Steve Salib and we raced Hot n moss.
Hot n moss always showed nice ability and jockey Daniel Moor would always say to you would swear she was an open class sprinter not a maiden that’s how well she galloped in track work.
Hot n moss had a host of issues and she never realised her best form until Canberra trainer Matt Dale took her over and she won 2 races in very impressive fashion, albeit a Canberra Mdn and Wagga bm55. After this Matt Dale and then jockey Talia Rodder who is a family friend both advised the group to retire Hot n moss.
After discussion with the ownership group and Wayne Larsen it was decided that we would send her by ship back to NZ and breed her to Wayne’s new stallion Castledale, a dual group 1 winner in the USA by Peintre Celebre.
We struck up a deal where the ownership group got to breed the first two foals by Castledale and we would share the ownership with Wayne Larsen.
The 1st foal was a colt and we named him Moss n dale.
He was the first horse the group and myself has raced with Peter Gelagotis and what a fantastic trainer and person Peter is, it has just been the perfect ride for all of us.
Moss n dales 1st race at Traralgon he ran 8 of 10, it probably wasn’t the best of rides by the jockeys own admission but I have never seen a trainer so upset, not because of a punt, because Peter doesn’t bet, he was just so upset because he knew the horse was so much better than that.
From that day at Traralgon Moss n dale has gone onto win 14 races so far from 32 starts and 933k, he is a WFA winner and multiple stakes winner and has given myself, Wayne Larsen and all the ownership group the biggest ride of a lifetime.
He has been the best ambassador so far for the Bluegrass Bloodstock colours, purple, white B and hot pink, and will give us the greatest thrill when he lines up in the inaugural All Star Mile on Saturday March 16
Mossy Takes The Craven
October 13th 2018
The Craven Plate is a time honoured event which has been run at Randwick since 1867 and has boasted champion winners such as the immortal Phar Lap x3 , Tulloch, Mummify and now the 2018 winner is our little champ Moss n dale.
Superbly handled by apprentice Jack Martin who has developed a real affinity with the Bulldog making it his 7th win on him, this was both horse and jockeys biggest career triumph with the Group 3 win, and we’re all hopeful that the best is yet to come.
The week leading into the race trainer Peter Gelagotis was supremely confident that Moss n dale would get the job done and he had the horse trained to the minute. It was a vintage Craven Plate field with no less than 4 individual Group 1 winners taking part.
As always Moss n dale raced as though he was the only group 1 winner in the field (even if he hasn’t won one yet), putting himself right in the race in 4th position in the run before showing the field a clean set of heels in the straight and powering away to win by 2 lengths with dual group 1 winner Egg Tart running into 2nd position.
It was an exciting day for all the ownership group, Gelagotis Racing and jockey as Moss n dale brought up his 3rd win in a row.
From humble beginnings Hot n moss as a yearling filly was purchased off good friend and part owner/breeder of Moss n dale Wayne Larsen of Te Runga stud who stood her sire Strategic Image and owned her dam Moss Arising. He bred Hot n moss and contacted me about purchasing her as a yearling, I liked the pedigree and photos which Wayne sent me and the deal was made.
An ownership group was put together consisting of family, close family friends etc to race Hot n moss or Katie as she was known in the stable. I knew Katie from the beginning of her racing career, strapping her and watching all her track gallops. Jockey Daniel Moor remarked on a few occasions that ‘If you didn’t know she was a maiden you would swear she was an open class sprinter’, that was the feel she gave you in her fast track gallops.
Katie whilst she was at Mornington for a few reasons most probably immaturity never reached any level of success on the racetrack and with one owner selling out his share we had a new owner farrier Ben Shinsky buy in and she was transported to Matt Dale in Canberra. This move worked great as Hot n moss won her maiden at Canberra showing a blistering turn of foot to come from last to first. She then continued on to win another race on a wet track at Wagga before Matt called me to call it a day with her as she had a bad front fetlock joint and was a grade 4 roarer. Upon reflection there were two great attributes which Katie displayed during her racing career which she has passed onto her son Moss n dale, his love for a wet track and his turn of foot!
After some discussion with the owners especially Steve Salib who was keen to explore the prospect of breeding Hot n moss I contacted Wayne and a deal was struck to send hot n moss via ship back to NZ where she was bred to Waynes new stallion, dual group 1 winner Castledale.
The 1st foal was Moss n dale and we haven’t looked back, his full brother Moss n bolt looks a stayer of the future and the other two full siblings are absolute cracking sorts.
Looking forward to the future!
Moss n Dale Wins the Listed Sale Cup
October 29th 2017
Moss n dale continued his rich vein of form by winning the strongest edition of the Sale Cup on record by 1.25lengths defeating the OTI import Fastnet Tempest. Moss n dale put the writing on the wall with his very game 3rd in the listed Seymour Cup his previous run.
Ridden a treat by Regular jockey Anthony Darmanin and trained to the minute by great horseman Peter Gelagotis, Moss n dale put the issue beyond doubt when he travelled up very strongly on the bridle at the top of the long Sale straight, and then sprinted away from the Sale cup field leaving Fastnet Tempest in his wake.
A big congratulations goes out to all the ownership group in Moss n dale, and big thank you to Te Runga Stud master and owner of Castledale Wayne Larsen. Wayne bred Hot n Moss with his resident stallion Strategics Image, Bluegrass purchased Hot n Moss as a yearling off Wayne and then when she finished racing in Aus we sent her back to Wayne who mated her with his dual group 1 winning stallion Castledale and the 1st foal was Moss n dale.
ABOUT BLUEGRASS BLOODSTOCK
There is no doubt that Leonard Russo is an exceptional judge of a thoroughbred - in an industry where results mean everything, Leonard consistently delivers for his clients and achieves phenomenal return on investment each season on and off the race track.
A widely travelled bloodstock agent with extensive experience overseas, Leonard has worked for some of the best thoroughbred operations in the world; New Zealand's Cambridge Stud, Coolmore Stud in Ireland, Ashwell Stud, Roger James Racing, John Hawkes Racing, and Tattersalls UK.
From stallion handling, farm and broodmare management, to foaling down, stable work, and yearling preparation, Leonard has touched every part of the thoroughbred industry, and it is this experience that makes him one of the most successful bloodstock agents in Australia pound for pound.
Leonard's methodology is a simple one; plan for success, work honestly and diligently, and deliver the best result possible result for your client - an ethical and upfront approach is always best.
Leonard is a member of the Federation of Bloodstock Agents Australia Limited (FBAA) and adheres to the organisations strict code of ethics.
LATEST NEWS
Moonee Valley quinella for Twin Perfection and Hissy Fit
August 12th 2023
Bluegrass yearling selections Twin Perfection 75k and Hissy Fit 50k cleared out from the rest of the pack to run the quinella at Moonee Valley today.
Demolition job at MV for Claidheamh Mor.
July 29th 2023
Wow, what a demolition job by Claidheamh Mor at Moonee Valley by 5.75 lengths over the 2500m. All credit must go to trainer Gemma Rielly with this boy, she has been very patient and looked after him and she is now reaping the rewards.
Bluegrass Bloodstock purchased him on behalf of a client as a weanling to pinhook, didn’t get that right, but our advice was to keep him if the money required wasn’t achieved because we thought he had all the attributes to be a successful racehorse. And isn’t he doing that now, onwards and upwards!!
Struck Gold salutes on debut from New Zealand
July 28th 2023
NZ tried horse purchase Struck Gold wins by 4 lengths today at Echuca for Anthony and Sam Freedman. This son of Castledale was a private purchase for Bluegrass Bloodstock off Darryl Lang in NZ, Darryl does a great job with his horses and Bluegrass has had good luck buying off Darryl, long may it continue!!
Regal Azmon wins again
July 7th 2023
He’s a good horse this boy. That’s win number 4 today at Sale from only 9 starts for Regal Azmon, this son of Magnus has gone from strength to strength with Stokes racing. He was a 25k Inglis Vobis Gold sale yearling purchase by Bluegrass Bloodstock in conjunction with Regal Bloodstock.
Brave Star 2 from 2 this prep.
June 25th 2023
Brave Star under the urgings of Zac Spain made it 2 from 2 today when he showed some toughness to win at Werribee, he has returned in good style for Stokes Racing.
Brave Star wins his first race in Aus today at Werribee.
June 8th 2023
Brave Star the NZ tried horse purchase by Bluegrass on behalf of Regal Bloodstock, broke through today at Werribee for Stokes racing, fresh up he showed some toughness and there are some more wins in store.
Regal Zeus breaks his maiden today at Sale
June 7th, 2023
Smart horse in the making Regal Zeus put away a good maiden field at Sale today under the guidance of Jamie Mott. Well prepared by trainer John McCardle, this son of Zoustar is going places. He was selected and purchased by Bluegrass Bloodstock and Redgum Racing on behalf of Regal Bloodstock From the Inglis Easter Yearling sale for 150k.
Pasheona Breaks her maiden at Kilmore
May 11th 2023
Pasheona the sister of the classy Passeto, broke her maiden today in good style at Kilmore for Dream Thoroughbreds and Ciaron Maher/David Eustace Racing, aided by a good ride by Indian import Suraj Narredu, Pasheona saluted by 2.25 lengths, she was an 85k Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling purchase for Bluegrass and Dream.
2nd win for Twin Perfection
May 10th 2023
Twin Perfection the son of Nicconi wins his 2nd race tonight at Pakenham for Regal Bloodstock and Stokes racing, only his 7th start, future is bright, he was a 75k yearling purchase for Bluegrass Bloodstock from the Inglis Classic yearling sale on behalf of Regal Bloodstock.
Shunme salutes at Pakenham today
May 7th 2023
Shunme our Japanese purchase won at her 2nd start today at Pakenham, she showed a lovely turn of foot to find a winning margin over the concluding stages, well done to the Phillip Stokes team
Successful pictured as a yearling before breaking her maiden at Canberra
February 24th, 2023
Successful pictured above at the Gold Coast Magic Millions yearling sale where she was purchased for $70,000 by Dream Thoroughbreds from the Arrowfield Stud draft, she was selected by Bluegrass Bloodstock.
Successful went to Canberra for her 2nd race start as a 3yo filly and showed a huge finish over 1000m to overcome her rivals, winning by 1.48 lengths on the line, she ran a very quick 32.68 seconds for her final 600m. This is a great start for early on in her career.
Open Mindeds little bro Dirty Mind wins impressively at his 2nd start at Moe for Dream Thoroughbreds.
February 19th, 2023
Dirty Mind, the ½ brother of stakes winner Open Minded was a private purchase from NZ by Bluegrass on behalf of Dream Thoroughbreds. The son of Vadamos has been slow maturing and has had his fair share of niggles, he has been expertly handled by Anthony and Sam Freedman, they have done a fantastic job to get him to the races sound and winning very impressively at Moe today. Another winner off Wayne Larsens Te Runga Farm in NZ and breeder Tim Harrison, he seems to have his brothers will to win.
Congratulations to Dream Thoroughbreds and connections, you have been patient and it was rewarded today, hopefully more wins in store.
Kiwi Import Dawn County breaks through in impressive style for Kane Harris at Wodonga today
February 17th, 2023
Dawn County, the son of Alamosa who has been particularly well trained by Kane Harris and Carly Kenny of Swept By, was a private purchase from NZ for Bluegrass and Mick Sharkie of Aspen Thoroughbreds. At his 2nd start since joining the Kane Harris stable, Dawn County contested a 1300m maiden at Wodonga. After copping a bad check at the 600m point of the race, Dawn County showed great resolve by picking up the bit and taking a narrow split in the straight to win going away by 1.25 lengths, onwards and upwards for this son of Alamosa.
That is the 5th individual winner purchased by Bluegrass from NZ by Alamosa, including city winners The Willybe, Savatag, Netanyahu and stakes winner Second Slip.
Batting Above makes it 2 in a row over the 2500m trip at Murray Bridge
January 26th, 2023
Batting Above, the son of So You Think purchased by Dream Thoroughbreds and selected by Bluegrass from the Melbourne Premier Sales is showing nice staying promise as a 3yo. Taking on the older horses at Murray Bridge today over the 2500m journey, Batting Above proved too tough in the straight, out staying his rivals, maybe a Bagot Hcp at Flemington for 3yo’s beckons.his is your News article. It’s a great place to highlight press coverage, newsworthy stories, industry updates or useful resources for visitors. Add a short summary, include links to relevant content and choose a great photo or video for extra engagement!
Bluegrass Quinella for Dream Thoroughbreds at Mornington today, Hissy Fit from Pasheona
January 22, 2023
Hissy Fit, the tip for the ages, 4 trial wins from 5 trials, lived up to the hype, by easily winning her maiden at her first start over 1000m today at Mornington today. With the large Dream Thoroughbreds girls syndicate on course, she easily won from the fast finishing Pasheona for 2nd placing. Great job from the Ash and Amy Yargi team with Hissy Fit, who has been a handful at times. Great result for Bluegrass Bloodstock and Dream Thoroughbreds, with both fillies selected and purchased as yearlings from Inglis and Magic Millions Yearling sales respectively.
The Favourite horse Netanyahu salutes at Sandown Sat grade!
January 7th, 2023
Netanyahu, the little bulldog trained by Leon and Troy Corstens, and managed by Regal Bloodstock, showed his true grit, to salute at Sandown today. After having a tussle with Merry Mac Boy down the long Sandown straight, he prevailed by 0.4 lengths, it was another tough win for this son of Alamosa. Bluegrass Bloodstock love the breed, having had previous success with Second Slip, The Willybe and Savatag all Saturday metro winners by the same sire.
Batting Avove Salutes at Oakbank, Dream Thoroughreds Average is Bradman like!
January 11th, 2023
Batting Above, the So You think purchase for Dream Thoroughbreds and Bluegrass Bloodstock from the Inglis Premier Yearling sale, just went bang at Oakbank today for Grant Young over the 1900mtr trip, he is a proper stayer. SA Derby on the radar for this exciting son of So You Think, here we come!!!
We love Netanyahu, what a win at Sandown today!
January 7th, 2023
Netanyahu, the son of Alamosa who has Tiger fighting qualities, showed the greatest heart when he wore down leader Merry Mac Boy over the testing Sandown straight and prevailed at Sat grade. The Leon and Troy Corstens team have done an amazing job with this boy, well done to the Regal Bloodstock team headed by Mark Burckhardt, a lot of faith was shown by the team to secure this boy but that is why we’re renowned at Bluegrass Bloodstock for buying the best proven kiwi talent at the most competitive prices.
Regal Azmon scores in amazing fashion at Moonee Valley
December 16th 2022
Oh wow, Regal Azmon showed his Bernborough qualities by rushing home from the tail of field in a good quality bm 64 at Moonee Valley, to back up his last start win doing the same at Cranbourne, this boy is going places for the Phillip Stokes yard and Regal Bloodstock. He could be another good Magnus purchase from the Inglis Vobis sales for Bluegrass Bloodstock, “Malaguerra”!
Twin Perfections breaks his Maiden at Ararat today, after putting the writing on the wall at his first 2 starts.
November 29th 2022
Twin Perfection with Daniel Moor in tow made his way to Ararat today when ‘Buckets Moor’ rode him like the best horse in the race. Getting across from the wide gate Buckets took Twin Perfections to the front and never looked back, he won his maiden impressively today by 1.25 lengths.
Regal Azmon sprouts wings at Cranbourne
November 25th, 2022
Regal Azmon the son of Magnus who was purchased as a yearling for 25k from the Inglis Vobis Gold sale by Bluegrass Bloodstock on behalf of Regal Bloodstock, showed a devastating turn of foot for the second time in his short career.
Regal Azmon settled 11th in the run at Cranbourne and was still 11th at the 400m with nowhere to go, he then showed a huge turn of foot to make up big ground through the field and win the race, it was an incredible win. Looking forward to his next race start, watch this space…….
Shuriken takes out the 175k Eureka Stockade at Ballarat
November 19th 2022
Shuriken really made some giant steps in his very young race career winning his 2nd race from only his 3rd start on Saturday. Shuriken took his place on Ballarat Cup day in the 175k Eureka Stockade for 3yo’s. Settling handy in the run, Shuriken took the lead in the straight only to be headed but then showed great fight to beat off Street Delight. He is going great guns for the Symon Wilde, big congratulations to Matt Sellick and the team at Toward Reward Thoroughbreds.
Shuriken was a 15k weanling purchase as a racehorse by Bluegrass Bloodstock from Nooralim Thoroughbreds.
Boss'n the Moss makes it 2 from 2 since his injury at Mornington today
November 17th 2022
Boss’n the moss was tough again today winning at Mornington. He settled very handy in run given a great ride by jockey Jake Noonan he was set alight before the turn and went for home, he then toughed it out down the straight winning his 4th career race from only his 15th start.
Netanyahu wins in impressive fashion first-up at Pakenham
November 4th, 2022
Netanyahu brought his form from the training track at Flemington all the way to Pakenham, where he scored an impressive first-up win on a heavy 8 track at Pakenham. Credit to the Corstens stable, who had Netanyahu training and looking a treat, big congratulation to Regal Bloodstock and connections. Another kiwi son of Alamosa, we just love them at Bluegrass!
Bossy is back after 16months on the sidelines and wins first up at Pakenham
October 28th, 2022
Boss’n the moss saluted in impressive fashion today at Pakenham on the synthetic track. Sitting second in the run, he dashed away at the top of the straight and really flattened out in his action. The brother of Moss n dale has spent 16 months on the sidelines due to injury, he was successfully rehabilitated by Lee Everson and then Amy and Ash Yargi have just carried on the great job with the horse and have done a superb job.
Shruiken kicks off the Bluegrass and Toward Reward Partnership with a winner!
October 24th,2022
Shuriken the 3yo son of Tosen Stardom was a private purchase as a weanling by Bluegrass Bloodstock from Nooralim Stud for $15,000 AUD on behalf of Toward Reward Thoroughbreds.
The first ever purchase for Toward Reward and their first ever runner and Shuriken didn’t let his supporters down, by scoring an impressive win at Casterton as his first start, onwards and upwards! Congratulations to Matt and Cynden Sellick and the team at Toward Reward.
Jenkins backs up his good recent form by winning at Pakenham.
September 22, 2022
Jenkins was an impressive winner today at Pakenham for Mark Burckhardt’s Regal Bloodstock. He’s put the writing on the wall for the new stable Phillip Stokes racing, with some encouraging runs, and today aided by a very good Zac Spain ride, he put the field away.
Jenkins was an online digital purchase for Regal Bloodstock, Bluegrass assisted in his selection.
Unanimous strikes at Flemington
September 18th, 2022.
Always showing the ability, Unanimous wins at Australia’s greatest racetrack in Flemington, for Dream Thoroughbreds. After an absolute gun ride from Ben Melham, Unanimous stuck to the fence in heavy conditions, and fought off Craig Williams mount Keats, before he staved off a late challenge from Gunstock for a dominant win. Congratulations to Dream Thoroughbreds, this son of Deep Field has been a great yearling purchase for Bluegrass Bloodstock from the Magic Millions GC yearling sale for $34,000, he has now taken his prizemoney to $227,600, onwards and upwards.
Galactic Rock breaks through at Murray Bridge
September 7th, 2022
Galactic Rock, the horse who has showed so much speed and promise for Dream Thoroughbreds early doors but has suffered a variety of issues finally broke through today in his Mdn at Murray Bridge today for Adelaide trainer Grant Young.
Desert Dreamer notches up his 6th career win winning at Doomben today
6th of August
Desert Dreamer stuck his nose out where it counted today at Doomben getting the photo finish. He has done a great job for Dream Thoroughbreds and their connections. We Desert Dreamer might like the warmer climate after his move to the Tony Gollan stable he has won 2 metro races at Doomben.
Wow, Regal Azmon shows a scintillating burst of speed to win at Pakenham.
June 27th
Regal Azmon was amazing today breaking his maiden on the synthetic at Pakenham, it was his 3rd start.
Settling back in the field with Jamie Mott on board Regal Azmon was 9th at the 400m and showed an amazing turn of foot to run down the leaders, it was some win.
Fantastic to see for Regal Bloodstock and their owners, the Stokes stable have really brought this gelding along and have done a great job.
He's Exclusive and Netanyahu salute
May 18th and 20th
New Zealand purchase Netanyahu seen in the pic breaking through at Geelong for Regal Bloodstock, trained by Leon and Troy Corstens.
It was a big thrill to watch Netanyahu break through, he’s already ran a couple of 2nd placings at Sandown and he is showing very good form.
Troy has been patient handling Netanyahu and we feel next prep he is going to really stamp his class.
Bluegrass Bloodstocks other kiwi purchase He’s Exclusive won his 3rd race in Australia for the Will Clarken stable, he was dominant winner on the heavy 8 track in a solid benchmark 70 at Ballarat.
Mio Capo and Lord Pierro both salute at the famous Bool Carnival
May 3rd, 2022
What a day it turned out at Warrnambool when Bluegrass Bloodstock purchases Mio Capo and Lord Pierro both saluted.
Mio Capo an Inglis Ready to race purchase for long time owner Mr Peter Gangemi, showed good speed to lead and win a strong maiden at the Bool, with plenty of mail on other runners in the race. Mr Gangemi has had previous success at the carnival with Mio Dio saluting a few years back.
A first for Bluegrass was having a maiden hurdle winner, when Lord Pierro won for the Preusker stable. I’m guessing not too many January Gold Coast Magic Millions purchases have won a maiden hurdle at Warrnambool, this son of Pierro didn’t inherit much speed from his Golden Slipper winning father but he does have some ability to jump.
Set to Prophet stars in his maiden win at Pakenham
April 28th, 2022
The Dream Thoroughbreds owned and managed Set to Prophet breaks through in impressive fashion at Pakenham tonight.
Set to Prophet was a $280k yearling selection for Blue Sky Bloodstock and Bluegrass Bloodstock from the Inglis Classic sale and he is now on his way to recouping that purchase price.
Settling last in the run Set to Prophet made a wide run to pick up in the leader in the shadows on the post, he was gawking around and still green, so some headgear will probably be required in time, the Anthony and Sam Freedman trained galloper looks to have significant upside.
Former Jumps star rider, now turned trainer, Brett Scott, does it again with Paint Me Red.
April 28th, 2022.
Lumping the big weigh of 63kg after the claim from apprentice Matthew Chadwick, Paint Me Red scored another decisive win at Mornington today over the 1500m, he is showing a real liking for the track and distance, Brett Scott is doing a great job with him, lots of fun for the owners.
Two state double with Paint Me Red and Desert Dreamer saluting in Vic and Qld respectively.
April 4th, 2022
Kiwi import Paint Me Red displayed a great front running display at Mornington today taking away the Bm58 hcp. It was his 2nd win since purchase from NZ for Bluegrass Bloodstock, trainer Brett Scott has done a great job with him and there are more wins in store. Thanks to Stephen Pinfold who helped facilitate the deal from NZ.
Desert Dreamer continued a great day for Bluegrass Bloodstock by winning at Doomben, he has been a great Inglis classic purchase for Bluegrass and Dream Thoroughbreds. Dream have a great knack at placing their horses in the best jurisdictions where they will be most successful, and this has been the case with Desert Dreamers move to Qld with Tony Gollan, congratulations to all.
He's Exclusive wins at Morphetville sat grade.
March 19th, 2022
Great to see He’s Exclusive salute at Saturday level at Morphetville today. He’s Exclusive was an NZ tried horse purchase for Bluegrass Bloodstock on behalf of Clarken racing. That’s his 2nd race race win in Australia and his 3rd win overall.
It was a dominant front running display from He’s Exclusive who is showing a liking for the 1400m journey.
Australia Day Stakes winner Open Minded at Caulfield today.
January 26th, 2022
Wow, what a day for Dream Thoroughbreds and their big band of loyal owners at Caulfield today. The fantastic pic above is of the Dream Thoroughbreds crew going nuts when Open Minded ran his rivals ragged in his first stakes win. The Listed John Dillon stakes at Caulfield today was where Open Minded saluted beating a game Lighthouse.
Open Minded has now taken his career record to 9 wins from only 18 starts, that is an amazing 50% winning strike rate.
Open Minded Wins his 8th career race today at Caulfield.
January 8th, 2022
What an emphatic victory for Open Minded today at Caulfield when he demolished his rivals by 3 lengths at Caulfield. That was his 5th win in town and 8th win overall, he is really starting to put together a very impressive CV.
Kiwi Import caps off a great year for Bluegrass winning at Warrnambool
December 31st, 2021
He’s Exclusive capped off a great year for Bluegrass Bloodstock winning a strong bm64 at Warrnmabool by 2.25lengths for the Will Clarken stable whilst in the care of Matty Williams.
It was a dominant front running display and the horse relished the 1400m journey where he was allowed to dictate in front. Enjoying the great facilities of Warrnmbool in the Matty Williams care the horse has done very well.
The Clarken stable is in the process of finishing their beach facility where He’s Exclusive will be very well suited, He’s exclusive continued the run 100% strike rate for Bluegrass/Clarken with NZ imports now being 5 from 5. We will work hard at keeping this strike rate up. Congratulations to all involved.
Second Slip salutes at Flemington and Open Minded a gallant 3rd
December 18th, 2021
What an exciting finish for Bluegrass Bloodstock NZ tried horse purchases in the 1400m hcp at Flemington with the Will Clarken trained Second Slip winning the race by 0.4 lengths and the Dream Thoroughbred owned Freedman trained Open Minded 1.4 lengths away in 3rd position.
Second Slip was given a beautiful run in transit by Kah with some lovely cover and was produced at the top of the straight to score a great win. Second Slip has gone from strength to strength since purchase from NZ recording his 6th victory in Australia, all metropolitan wins.
Open Minded ran a great race in 3rd position not being able to get his customary lead but he showed great heart in the straight to kick and just get run-down late, he is in for a great prep.
Rock in the Park beats a strong Bm78 field in the mud at Moe.
October 15th 2021
Kiwi import Rock in the Park won his 2nd race since purchase for Bluegrass Bloodstock taking out a strong bm78 60k race at Moe. Shea Eden has done a fantastic job with him, getting him to win first up at Sandown then at his 7th run in the prep winning at Moe in the mud. He is showing a distinct liking for wet tracks and we might see him in the Autumn in Sydney.
Castle of Kings a big 5 length winner at Gawler
September 1st 2021
What a sight to see with the Te Runga farm bred and raised Castle of Kings demolishing the field of maidens at Gawler by 5 lengths, Will Clarken put the polish on after some very encouraging lead up runs at Morphetville.
Castle of Kings looks to have a bright future for his ownership group led by Wayne Larsen and Paul Humphries.
Leon Macdonald Stakes win for Second Slip
August 28th, 2021
Second Slip has been a revelation since joining the Will Clarken yard after purchase from NZ.
With a great front running ride by Todd Panell, Second Slip was always in control of the Leon Macdonald stakes field, winning going away by an impressive 2.5 lengths.
Second Slip made Saturdays win his 5th metro success in Australia from only his 7th start. This was Second Slips first stakes win and another stakes horse for Bluegrass Bloodstock.
Congratulations to Will Clarken, his team and all connections in Second Slip, a big thank you to Peter “Dids” Didham in NZ who put the horse forward to me.
Be Amazing was exactly that at Echuca today.
August 26th 2021
Be Amazing showed another string to her bow today at Echuca, being slowly away, normally she leads, she had to come from well back in the field, in an awkward position before the turn, she had to angle out very wide at the top of the Echuca home straight, she was 5 lengths off the runaway leader and had to chase very hard to win on the line for the Amy and Ash Yargi yard. She is raced by loyal supporters Dream Thoroughbreds.
Be Amazing was a $20,000 dollar yearling selection for Bluegrass on behalf of Dream Thoroughbreds from the 2017 Magic Millions National Yearling sale, she has now won 4 races and over 85k in prizemoney, she is doing a fantastic job and hopefully she can add a city win to her CV in the near future.
Second Slip makes it his 4th metro win from only 6 Aussie starts at Caulfield
August 14th 2021
Second Slip continues to go from strength to strength for the Will Clarken stable, winning in emphatic fashion at Caulfield. Resuming from a spell he settled just forward of midfield and was given a lovely ride by Jamie Kah before being much too strong in the straight. He looked to have a lot in hand on the line with the topweight of 61kg, and most of his competitors claiming in the race he had to give away plenty of weight which gave the win even more merit.
That was Second Slips 4th metro win from only 6 starts since purchase from New Zealand for Bluegrass, he has also managed a 2nd in a stakes race in those 6 starts, onwards and upwards.
Rock In the Park at Sandown
June and July
July 21st Rock In The Park an NZ tried horse purchase for Bluegrass ventured to Sandown for Shea Eden stable, racing 1st up from a break but getting conditions to suit for the 1st time in Australia. A Heavy 9 track was welcomed by Rock in the Park who settled last in the run but unleashed a whirlwind finish to come down the outside of the track to win going away by 1.25 lengths in the bm64 1200m handicap.
Another kiwi for Bluegrass in late June by the name of Worth Bottling won on debut for the Logan McGill stable, Logan has shown a great deal of patience with this filly for owner Tim Harrison and her win at Moe must be seen to be believed.
July 22nd the Shea Eden stable is on fire and the Craig Scott ownership group are going great with Libertus adding another win to his CV at Cranbourne on a heavy 10. Libertus was too good for the bm64 field winning his 2nd race from only his 5th start.
We love 3peats, Sir da Vinci makes it 3 wins.
May 16th
Since getting out to the staying trips Sir Da Vinci has grown another leg notching up his 3rd win in a row at Hobart today in the 2100m bm70, he had to show some toughness to hold off the challengers to win by a head margin. Scotty Brunton has added some variety to his training schooling big Sir between races. This has definitely helped him in his past few runs really sparking him up.
Five wins for the month of April for Bluegrass Purchases
April 1st 2021
Above is little Rocket Empire in the Regal Bloodstock colours notching up 3rd career victory from only his 8th start. Rocket Empire showed his big finish to come from 7th at the 400m to make up good ground and win by 1.5 lengths in the finish at Wangaratta, great to see for Mark Burckhardt’s Regal Bloodstock who do a great job for their clients.
Beginning the month was the first starter Tequila Cabos winning her 1st career start at Coffs Harbour for Nathan Doyle, this daughter of Press Statement, was purchased by Bluegrass Bloodstock from the Magic Millions National weanling sale.
April 2nd was a kiwi race domination with Sir Da Vinci winning by 7lengths at Launceston for Scott Brunton, he really appreciated the step up to the middle distance trip of 2100m, great to see for this Bluegrass NZ tried horse purchase.
April 9th the Bluegrass/Shea Eden connection and ownership group led by Craig Scott were debut victors with Libertus showing very nice ability, winning a nice maiden at Cranbourne under lights, Libertus was a Bluegrass private yearling purchase off Owner/Breeder David Phipps.
April 17th now that Sir da vinci has tasted that winning feeling he does it again at Kyneton over the staying trip of 2837m, it was another dominant performance winning by 4 lengths, he could be a future Jericho Cup horse, stays all day.
April 24th the picket fence continues with open Minded making it his 4th win in a row winning a strong bm84 at Caulfield, he has been a ripper for Dream Thoroughbreds and connections, well done to the Freedman stable also.
The Boss wins first up
March 18th
It was a pleasant surprise to see Boss’n the moss win first up at Pakenham over 1400m in a strong bm58. Boss’n the moss looked a picture in the yard and confidence grew as he went out on the track. He is starting to show a real will to win, and fought all the way down the straight, once again he was protested against but this time he was successful in keeping the race, well done Bossy and well done to the Gelagotis stable and Jason Maskiell.
Up North in Darwin, Paseeto, who was a yearling purchase for Bluegrass, notched up his 5th win after such a long time off the scene with Pods disease, great to see him doing well for the new connections.
Day of 3 peats, Kiwipower
February 27th
The kiwi tried horses were at it again for Bluegrass Bloodstock with both Open Minded and Second Slip making it a hattrick of wins.
Open Minded was topweight at Moonee Valley with 60.5kg on his back in the 100k sprint final and he showed his toughness with an on speed effort holding off the challenges of Vongole and Leiter in the straight to win by 0.5 lengths, he’s a little ripper, great to see for big supporters Dream Thoroughbreds.
Then looking out across the west in South Australia Second Slip completely dominated for his 3rd win in a row winning Bm86 hcp for Will Clarken by a good margin of 2.1 lengths. Second Slip has settled in really well in Australia and is doing a great job for the new ownership group.
Open Minded does it again!!
Feb 15th 2021
Open minded recorded his best win yet at Sale Jan 31 2021 in in the 60k Sale Sprint feature winning by 2.25 lengths for Dream Thoroughbreds and Freedman racing.
He ran 1.08.99 and was 0.5 seconds outside the Sale track record, he is racing in great heart at the minute and has now brought his very good race record to 5 wins from 10starts including 2 metro wins.
Above is the pic of Open Mindeds ½ brother by Vadamos, Dream Throughbreds have secured this beautiful 2yo colt who broke in beautifully, he arrives in Australia mid March and there is still some shares available in him, contact Dream Thoroughbreds to get involved.
Dream Thoroughbreds were at it again 8/2/2021 when their flying 3yo filly Florescent Star destroyed a benchmark 64 field at Kyneton in a competitive field, she is now made it 2 in a row and looks a progressive filly, credit must go to the Yargi racing team who have done a fantastic job with her.
Competitor who had been moved to the West 13-2-2021 in the care of Peter Fernie broke his maiden at Esperance bring up Bluegrass Bloodstocks 8th individual winner in 2021, he was a yearling purchase from the Melbourne Premier sales.
Open Minded Wins at Caulfield and brings up Bluegrass Bloodstocks 5th individual winner in 13 days
January 13th 2021
After pretty reasonable 2020 for Bluegrass winning 27 races and having sourced 18 individual winners, 2021 has started with a bang.
We opened our account on New Years Day with the Dream Thoroughbreds galloper Be Amazing winning her 3rd career race from only 15starts for Ash and Amy Yargi at Mornington, Be Amazing showed her customary fight to win, holding off Annie’s Missile in a great finish. Be Amazing has gone from strength to strength under care of the Yargi stable and this 20k MM National sale Yearling Sale selection by Bluegrass Bloodstock on behalf of Dream Thoroughbreds is doing a great job.
January only got better on the 3/1/2021 when Creative Lad put up a great performance to win at Sale in a handy bm64 , he has been well handled by the Gelagotis Racing team considering this horse had a tie-back operation to assist with his breathing early on, he has now had 3 wins from 10 starts and for only a 42.5k purchase from the book 2 Magic Millions yearling sale. He looks to be a great value buy for Bluegrass.
Dream Thoroughbreds were at it again on the 5/1/2021 with the hot combination of Dream and Yargi racing saluting with their young emerging Zoustar filly Florescent Star.
For a Zoustar filly she was a relatively cheap purchase from the Magic Millions yearling sale for 80k, Bluegrass Bloodstock made this selection for Dream, ‘There was a lot to like about her movement and attitude at the sales, she was just small’, Lenny Russo of Bluegrass said. Ash and Amy have thought outside the square with this filly to keep her settled and the hard work is paying off with Flo breaking her mdn at Stony Creek by 4.25 lengths winning eased down. Great for the Dream Girls syndicate who race the filly.
Newly purchased NZ tried horse Second Slip had his first start in Australia for the Will Clarken stable 9/01/2021 and he kept in tact the winning record of Bluegrass and the Clarken stable of NZ tried horse purchases winning at their first start in Australia. Savatag, Handsome Return and now Second Slip have all won at their first start in Australia for the Will Clarken stable and they have all been selected and purchased as tried horses from NZ by Bluegrass Bloodstock on behalf of Clarken racing.
Second Slip was very impressive winning a sat grade metro race at Murray Bridge. Will has such a great knack of improving these tried horses off other stables.
The pic above shows tried NZ kiwi purchase Open Minded notching up his 4th career win from only his 9th start at Caulfield, they ran 1.09.66 for the 1200m and it was the quickest of the three 1200m events on the day. Anthony Freedman and the team have done a very good job with Open Minded, adding the blinkers to get him focused and now his record is very sound including 2 metropolitan wins at Sandown and Caulfield. Congratulation to Dream Thoroughbreds and all their connections, onwards and upwards!
Regal Rossa makes it her 3rd career win for Regal Bloodstock November 2020
July 12, 2025
Regal Rossa has been a bonny little mare for Regal Bloodstock and her loyal owners, she notched up her 3rd career win at Donald on the 15th of November 2020 from only her 12th start.
Purchased from the 2017 Vobis Gold Sale for Bluegrass and Regal Bloodstock, this daughter of Testa Rossa was a 25k purchase from the Yarran Draft and she has nearly tripled her purchase price in her short career, there are more wins in store for her. She has been well handled by her trainer Matt Cumani.
Heading into December the Amy and Ash Yargi team have Be Amazing in great form when she notched up her 2nd career win at Mornington for Dream Thoroughbreds and owners on the 15th of December 2020 over 1500m. Amy and Ash have done a great job with Be Amazing since getting her, as she has had her fair share of problems but she has been patiently handled and is now starting to reward all connected with her. It was a good solid win at Mornington.
French Bishop in October
October 31st 2020
French Bishop the Shea Eden trained son of Denman started his career in final style winning his maiden easily by 1.5 lengths at Wodonga, he then had a few misses but was back in the winners stall October 9th at Ballarat on the synthetic track. It was only a 3 horse race but they were handing out a first prize so Shea sent the Bishop to line up and take the spoils which he duly did.
So far French Bishop is the winner of 2 races from only 7 starts and for his modest $30,000 purchase price for Bluegrass Bloodstock from the 2017 MM National Yearling sales he is doing a good job for Shea Eden Racing and connections.
Victoria Derby day October 31st Bluegrass managed to snare another yearling selection winner, just this one was as Royal Traralgon 1430m maiden, Be Amazing broke he maiden for Dream Thoroughbreds and trainers Ash and Amy Yargi racing.
Be Amazing has always shown good ability but has been thwarted by bad luck and injury but it was great to see her break her maiden and reward the patience of Dream and her trainers who have done a great job. Be Amazing was again another product of MM National yearling sale and was only a 20k selection for Bluegrass Bloodstock.
Boss'n the Moss breaks his Mdn in emphatic fashion at Tatura!
September 19th 2020
The Peter Gelagotis trained Boss’n the Moss was sent out a short priced favorite as he stepped up to the 1980m Mdn trip at Tatura, and he didn’t let his owners or backers down winning emphatically in the Bluegrass Bloodstock racing colours by 2.25lengths leading for nearly the whole trip.
Boss’n the Moss has been showing good maiden form over the shorter trips and his trainer Peter Gelagotis was adamant he wanted ground and proved correct in the strong performance delivered by Boss’n the Moss. He is the 3rd foal to race for his dam Hot n Moss and makes it her 3rd winner from as many foals.
Earlier in the month on the 6th of September Boss’n the Moss’s full brother Moss n bolt saluted at Devonport over the 1880m for his new trainers Ken and Tanya Hanson, it was great to see Moss n bolt bring up his 4th career win, he has been knocking on the door since his switch to Tasmania for new connections.
The 8th of September Bluegrass Bloodstock brought up a double in emphatic style with Bluegrass Bloodstock purchased yearlings winning at Moe.
Firstly On the Tiles for Gelagotis Racing and Jez Ruz racing made it two wins in a row winning the 2000m bm58 by 6 lengths, this son of Reset a 80k purchase from the Melbourne Premier sales looks to have a bright future, great to see for Jez and his owners.
And to cap the day off Desert Dreamer won the 1600m bm58 by 1.75 lengths notching up his 3rd win from only 9 starts for Ciaron Maher racing and Dream thoroughbreds. Desert Dreamer was an Inglis classic yearling sale selection by Bluegrass for Dream, congratulations to all connections.
Another Cups Win For Handsome Return taking the Katherine Cup and Kiwis Akamon and Parliament salute again.
August 15th, 2020
The month of August started off on a great note with Parliament winning his 8th race in emphatic fashion by 3.5 lengths at Wodonga. In a daring ride by the young apprentice Alexandra Bryan she took off on Parliament and said catch me if you can, maybe Parliament took off on the young girl also, but the end result was Ms Bryan produced Parliament to win by his biggest winning margin. There is the pic above of Parliament winning at Wodonga.
Around 3000km further up the road on the 15th of August the Will Clarken trained Handsome Return was in the mood for winning more cups this time taking the Katherine Cup on the dirt. The win for Handsome return has really opened up the options for him going forward as he can target more of these Country Cups on the dirt and give his trainer and owners lots of fun.
Since Handsome Returns latest win Bluegrass has sourced another lightly raced kiwi by Alamosa for Will Clarken stable named Second Slip, he is a well priced horse that should give his new stable and owners some fun.
Shea Edens hot run continued with Akamon winning on the Sunday at Cranbourne, Akamon another kiwi purchase has had his fair share of niggles, but Shea and the owners have showed terrific patience and faith in the horse and they were dually rewarded with his 4th career win at Cranbourne.
August 24th and On the Tiles breaks his mdn destroying his opposition at Moe by 4.5 lengths for Jeremy Ruz racing and Gelagotis racing.
Bluegrass purchased this son of Reset for 80k from the Melb Premier yearling sales and he has always been a good type but just taken a few preps to mature. Credit must go to Manny and Peter Gelagotis who have both educated this horse at Caulfield and Moe, they have taken their time with him and his last start he finally started to race tractably in the run and actually finish it off and win by a space 4.25 lengths, great ride by Jason Maskiell and both he and Anthony Darmanin have done some great work with him, big congrats to Jez Ruz and his owners.
Handsome Return wins the Port Augusta Cup
July 2020
Another couple of months of winners in the months of June and July with 6 individual winners for Bluegrass selected or purchased horses.
On the 9th of June Dream thoroughbreds kicked of a winning run with It’sayesfromme making a really good run to win at Pakenham on the synthetic breaking the track record in the process. The son of Dundeel made it his 2nd race win from only a handful of starts.
Pictured above is the Bluegrass Bloodstock tried horse purchase for the Will Clarken stable Handsome Return winning the Port Augusta Cup on the 5th of July.
Will Clarken a trainer who is always thinking outside the square made the genius move of stepping Handsome Return up to the staying trip of 2300m and trying his hand on the dirt for the first time. The move paid dividends with Handsome Return being an emphatic winner, HA has now won 5 races since purchase.
Dream Thoroughbreds continued their great run with Soul Star winning her 2nd city race on the 8th of July at Doomben, Soul Star is now a dual city winning mare and was a Inglis Classic sale selection for Bluegrass Bloodstock. She is headed for the National Broodmare Sale at the Magic Millions.
Desert Dreamer after a good break and special care shown by the Maher/Eustace team was a very impressive winner 13th July hitting the line full of gusto at Murtoa, this was his 2nd career win.
The winners kept rolling in July on the 16th with Creative Lad winning in impression fashion for the Gelagotis stable, making it his 2nd win from only his 6th Start. Creative Lad is doing a good job for the stable and his owners and was a $42,500 purchase for Bluegrass Bloodstock from the Magic Millions 2017 Yearling Sale.
July finished with a bang for Bluegrass with the Regal Bloodstock managed and syndicated galloper Jenkins rounding off a luckless campaign by being a dominant winner at Swan Hill. It was a satisfying win for Mark Burckhardts Regal Bloodstock.
Kiwi Domination
21st of May 2020
An exciting couple of months have just passed for Bluegrass Bloodstock NZ tried horse purchases. On the 29th of March at Hobart racecourse Banstead made it 4 wins in a row for master Tasmanian conditioner Scott Brunton. Banstead has gone from strength to strength since crossing to Tassie and is doing a great job for Shaun Wallis and his crew. The stable is now looking to raise the bar with Banstead and he will have a short spell before coming back for a spring assault!!
Picture above shows the Dream Thoroughbreds managed and Freedman trained Open Minded winning in dominant style at Sandown April 1st, this was Open Minded’s 3rd win from only 3 career starts, he has certainly started his career with a bang.
Open Minded was selected and purchased by Bluegrass Bloodstock on behalf of Dream Thoroughbreds from New Zealands great little breeding nursery in Te Runga Farm. Tim Harrison who bred Open Minded has had a great deal of success breeding countless winners and a lot of them have come off Te Runga Farm. Open Minded will continue to improve, and we have high hopes for him when he is a mature horse.
Working into the month of May the Andrew Dale trained galloper Parliament had a month to remember. Parliament kicked off on the 10th of May winning his 6th race at Wagga and just to keep the ball rolling he won again on the 21st of May making it 7 career wins, he was a maiden when Bluegrass purchased him from NZ for a really modest purchase price. Credit to the Andrew Dale stable who have placed Parliament superbly.
Treble for Bluegrass Bloodstock Including a City winning double
Feb 26th 2020
What a day Feb 26th for Bluegrass Bloodstock yearling selections and NZ tried horse purchases.
A great day started off with the very smart Dream Thoroughbreds owned colt Unanimous winning his first start in emphatic style at Sandown.
The 2yo son of the hot Deep Field was a 34k yearling selection from the Magic Millions 2019 sale for Bluegrass on behalf of Dream Thoroughbreds.
Unanimous has shown the Ciaron Maher/ David Eustace stable for a while that he has above average ability, and on a day when you wanted to be near the fence at Sandown, he defied the pattern by coming from back in the field and wide, with a sweeping run to win by 2 lengths going away.
He looks a very exciting prospect for Dream Thoroughbreds who are having a great run at present. Unanimous is set to tackle the listed St Albans stakes at Mooney Valley Friday 19th of March.
To continue a great day at Sandown, So He Rules a 280k purchase for Gelagotis Racing/Bluegrass Bloodstock saluted in a great front running display at Sandown. He has been a work in progress but he is really starting to hit his straps this son of So You Think making it his 2nd win from only 7 starts, onwards and upwards.
Finally to finish a great day was the bulldog type win of the Bluegrass Bloodstock New Zealand tried horse purchase Banstead.
On Launceston Cup Day Banstead won his 3rd race in a row for the hot Scott Brunton stable and Group 1 Red. He showed really good fight and a will to win sticking his neck out to win on the line in a strong bm74 race.
Banstead is really start to show some strong form and we’re looking forward to his next assignment which might be on the mainland.
Kiwi Import Parliament wins the Cootamundra Cup, making it 5 wins from 9 Aussie starts
October 10, 2019
The Bluegrass Bloodstock New Zealand tried horse purchases continued their great run with the Andrew Dale trained Parliament winning the Cootamundra Cup on the weekend.
Sent out favourite, Parliament travelled handy in the run before toughing it out in a driving finish to win in a photo.
Parliament has certainly taken all before him since crossing over from NZ winning 5 of his 9 starts in Australia. He was a 4 start mdn when identified by Bluegrass Bloodstock and purchased for the Andrew Dale stable.
In recent weeks two Bluegrass Bloodstock New Zealand tried horse purchases are set to make their Australian racetrack debuts for the Scott Brunton and Anthony Freedman stables. Both look very exciting prospects, the Dream Thoroughbreds prospect trained by Anthony Freedman still has a small share available and I highly recommend contacting Dream.
Watch this space for the upcoming debuts…….
Other winners so far for the month of October for Bluegrass Bloodstock have been the yearling purchases Absolute Artie a son of Artie Schiller winning his 4th race and making it 4 in a row, Bluegrass purchased him from the Melbourne Premier sale.
And on Sunday The Egyptian broke his maiden over 1000m for the Shea Eden stable, The Egyptian was purchased in conjunction with the Eden stable from the Magic Millions yearling sale, in fact both yearlings were purchased with Shea.
Creative Lad on debut for the Gelagotis stable ran a 0.1 length 2nd, he was a Magic Millions yearling purchase also, hoping he can break his maiden at his 2nd start.
Bluegrass In Japan
Just a way Yearling Filly August 2019
An amazing 7 days was spent in Japans beautiful Hokkaido region with Bluegrass attending the Hokkaido Summer Yearling sale and then visiting some beautiful farms to inspect foals for prospective purchase out of the paddock.
Whilst in the Hokkaido we managed to go out to Tomita farm to see our beautiful Just a way yearling filly who is the most amazing filly. She has just been broken in and has started pre-training and from all reports broke in very well. This filly is owned by JR Thoroughbreds and partners and there is still some small shares to get involved in this filly, I highly recommend her, and she has a positive breaking report now also.
This filly will pre-train on the amazing JRA facilities in Japan building her lung capacity before leaving Japan in August 2020 to start her racing career with Phillip Stokes at Pakenham.
The opportunities in Japan are endless for these staying types of horses and Bluegrass has now developed a very good network to purchase these foals out of the paddock and utilize Japans premier training facilities, the best I have seen to develop these young thoroughbreds into staying machines.
Exciting times ahead and we can’t wait at Bluegrass for our next trip to Japan June 2020 to purchase the next foals to develop in Japan to be elite stayers in Australia.
There is always opportunities to get involved and Bluegrass is always happy to discuss the possibilities with you.
Akamon salutes at the Bool carnival and Parliament makes it 3wins from 4starts in Australia
14th of May 2019
It was back on at Warrnambool again and Te Runga Stud stallion Castledale struck again with his son Akamon winning in tough fashion over the 2000m 2nd day of the famous Warrnambool carnival. Superbly handled by Cranbourne trainer Shea Eden, Akamon has always shown great ability since purchase from NZ as a tried horse by Bluegrass, but he has suffered numerous niggles which Shea has had to manage. It was great to see him stick his big neck out and get the win for Shea and Akamons owners.
The kiwi horses have continued the winning feeling in May with Moss n bolt making it 2 wins in a row for the Gelagotis stable winning at Cranbourne over the 2000m. He surprized jockey Jason Maskiell by hitting the front a little quickly in the straight and then floated a little before Jason had to give him a few little reminders to keep his mind on the task at hand and Moss n Bolt toughed it out, for a good win. The full brother to Moss n dale now takes his record to 12:3-4-1, starting to build a consistent record.
Parliament continues his winning way by making it two wins in the first 13 days of May for the Andrew Dale stable, Andrew is doing a great job with the son of Crowded House just taking him through his grades building a nice little record in Australia of 3 wins from 4 starts and his only other start he was a good thing beaten for 3rd.
Over the next week Bluegrass will have some really good chances with Moss n Bolt going to bm70 grade on Sunday, Pembroke Isle at Moe on Tuesday and Moss n dale will go to Brisbane next Saturday.
Raining winners for Bluegrass in April
13th May of 2019
What a great thrill it was to watch Pembroke Isle steamroll her rivals in the picture above by 4.25 lengths at Cranbourne over the staying trip of 2580m. Pembroke Isle was one of 9 winners for Bluegrass Bloodstock during the month of April.
Pembroke Isle is a daughter of All American purchased by Bluegrass for $26,000 from the 2016 National Yearling Sale. She was a filly we loved on type and her dam Trina being a half-sister to Adelaide Cup winner Demerger we knew she had the blood to stay but we would just have to be patient.
The stable system of Peter Gelagotis has worked perfectly for her, she is a filly who has needed lots of patience and care, Peter has developed her slowly and this prep the transformation has been something to behold. She now parades like she belongs in the mounting yard instead of being a timid nervy filly and she is showing some nice ability on the race track, especially her liking for wet tracks.
Well done to the owners who have shown some great patience, its only early days but hoping the filly continues to develop.
April has also been a great month for Dream Thoroughbreds with Splitter winning a 75k race at Toowoomba, she has been a great selection for Bluegrass from the MM sales also for 41k where she has built a record of 22:5-6-4 and 175k in prize money. Wealthy Wolf an Inglis selection won his mdn for Dream in impressive style at Cranbourne at only his 3rd start, he is a nice progressive son of Foxwedge, Splitter also being by Foxwedge.
There was metro success with Call it a day winning at Caulfield over the 1440m, a big congratulations to part-owner Ian Ricciardi and trainer Wez Hunter who has done a great job nursing Call it a day through some serious injuries, Call it a day was a 46k purchase for Bluegrass Bloodstock from the Magic Millions Sale. And then Handsome Return for gun Adelaide trainer Will Clarken won a 100k feature at Morphetville, Bluegrass Bloodstock purchased Handsome Return as a tried horse for Will from NZ, and he looks a very promising horse in the making, a country cups style of horse, maybe a Swan Hill Cup beckons!!
The swagger of winners in April continued with the kiwis, Moss n dales full brother in Moss n Bolt dually saluted winning in tough style at Moe on Anzac day and kiwi private purchase for the Andrew Dale stable in Parliament keeping the great record of kiwi tried horse purchases for Bluegrass by winning their first start in Australia.
Bluegrass also had some luck with yearling purchases breaking their maidens at the end of the month with Rocket Empire a 65k purchase from Inglis vobis sale for Regal Bloodstock scoring a decisive victory at Geelong at only his 2nd start after running 2nd at his first start.
Rocket Empire was a nice well balanced yearling who has always showed nice ability so was great to see him break his mdn for Mark Burchhardt and his owners from Regal Bloodstock.
Ta da goose, (never found out the background on that name from Wez but I’m sure its good) she was an emphatic winner over the staying trip of 2200m at Sale, she has had her share of issues but Wez has done a great job managing her also.
Great start to March For Bluegrass Selections
March 9th 2019
March started off with a bang with Bluegrass private yearling purchase from Te Runga Farm NZ Francarlo breaking his mdn, for the inform and master trainer of stayers Pat Carey.
Francarlo a son of Reliable Man has been a slow learner, but Pat Carey and his staff have always been positive and at his 9th start Francarlo was an impressive winner over 2550m at Pakenham.
Perfectly rated by Jack Martin, it was a strong on pace win. Racing in the colours of loyal owner Frank Carratelli, we were so happy to see the horse salute for Frank, Nancy, Carlo and Wayne.
Its always a learning experience watching these stayers develop and there is none better to watch than Pat Carey plying his craft, looking forward to the future with Francarlo.
The weekend of Frank Carratelli got better when the Shea Eden trained Duke of Magnus broke his mdn at Cranbourne in a very tough win, Frank is an owner in this horse also.
Duke of Magnus was a yearling purchase by Bluegrass in conjunction with Shea Eden Racing from the Melbourne Premier Sales.
Shea has done a fantastic job with the Duke, he would of won his mdn sooner if he had some luck with the barriers but after perfect placement at Cranbourne Friday night Duke of Magnus saluted.
Dream Duo for Feb
Feb 20 2019
The dream thoroughbred duo of Russian Romeo and Splitter both had nice wins, both horses are Bluegrass Bloodstock yearling selections from the Magic Millions yearling sales.
Splitter a daughter of Foxwedge and a $41,000 from MM yearling sale made it her 4th win in a class 4 at Gold Coast first up Feb 20 2019, she has been a highly consistent mare being in the top 3 finishers 13 times from only 19 starts and taking her earnings to over $123k.
Meanwhile in NSW for the Ciaron Maher stable Russian Romeo has taken his time to break his mdn but he did it in impressive fashion at Goulburn, he has showed lots of promise at home, now hopefully he will start to produce on raceday.
Kiwi tried horses hot in December
December 31st 2018
The kiwi horses continue to fire for Bluegrass Bloodstock with Count da Vinci leading the charge and winning the 100k Tasmanian Stakes.
Settling very handy in the run Count da Vinci was very dominant in his victory over the 1600m at Hobart and he looks well on track for the Hobart Cup. He’s been an old marvel Count and is racing as good as ever as a rising 9 year old.
Kiwi import Handsome Return is racing in great heart for the Will Clarken stable having a massive December, in his first racing prep for Will he won his first 2 starts in impressive fashion before starting even money in the Alcopop final at Morphetville Boxing day over 1600m worth 100k and only being narrowly beaten into 2nd place.
He looks a stayer of promise and looks an exciting find out of New Zealand for Bluegrass Bloodstock, big thanks to Danny Roulston from NZB for his assistance with the purchase of this horse.
Lovin th’castle was an exciting winner for team Gelagotis, Wayne Larsen and the band of Bluegrass Bloodstock owners when she won her Moe Mdn over 1600m on the 14th of December.
After recovering from some cosmetic surgery to remove a small chip, Lovin th’castle has been nursed back to full health by PG, and she won her mdn with some authority.
She is still a mare who is quite immature and with another spell or two under her belt she will be a lovely staying prospect for the stable.
Mr So and So winning in Hong Kong, Bluegrass Yearling purchases having a great December!
December 20th 2018
What an exciting month for Bluegrass Bloodstock yearling selections and purchases.
Mr So and So a yearling selection for Dream Thoroughbreds from the Melbourne Premier sale has been doing a great job in Hong Kong for the John Size stable bringing up 2 wins at Sha Tin for the month of December which is a great effort.
Dream Thoroughbreds have continued on with their successes with Columbia a Bluegrass Bloodstock yearling selection from the Gold Coast Magic Millions sale bringing up his 3rd Saturday metro win at Morphetville in very convincing fashion, this son of Denman is racing in great heart and trainer Will Clarken has him going great guns.
Savvy Shields another Dream Thoroughbred owned and managed was a Bluegrass selection from Inglis Classic has a great little strike rate notching up her 4th win from only 13 starts at Stony Creek, this daughter of All American now deserves her chance in some better races. On the same day for Dream, Soul Star ran a game 2nd 1st up at Moonee Valley in a 100k race, she looks in for a great prep, this daughter of Hinchinbrook is very well bred being very closely related to Sunlight and was a Inglis Classic yearling sale selection for Bluegrass.
Over in the west Bluegrass had some luck with yearling purchase The Cornish for Peter Fernie winning her first two race starts in the month of December. She was $50,000 buy by Bluegrass on behalf of a Perth businessman out of the Windsor Park draft at Melb Premier, this daughter of Pins will keep improving with age. Peter Fernie had a fantastic year in Kalgoorlie training a record number of winners.
Savatag and Columbia Make it a metro double in Adelaide
3rd of November 2018
Morphetville Racecourse has become a happy hunting ground for Bluegrass Bloodstock purchases winning metro Saturday races and in Columbia’s case the feature race on the card.
Both horses trained by Will Clarken, who is a master with conditioning tried horses off previous trainers, through Bluegrass this has been Savatag, Mio Dio, Columbia and of recent times Handsome Return.
Columbia who is managed and owned by Dream Thoroughbreds and their band of owners was thoughtfully placed in Adelaide by Dream director David Azzopardi, this was a masterstroke as Columbia has transformed his career, in 3 starts he has run 2nd and won 2 sat grade races at Morphetville including his barnstorming finish to take out Saturdays 100k Riziz sprint final.
And 2 races before, kiwi staying prospect Savatag effortlessly took out the Bm86 Chickens Hcp over 1600m, this kiwi galloper a private purchase from NZ for Bluegrass made Saturdays race his 3 sat grade race in Aus from only 5 starts since purchase in Aus. Future looks bright for these two.
Lucky For All Wins Again At Caulfield
October17th 2018
Kiwi purchase Lucky for All is showing some high class qualities for the Brad Spicer team since his purchase from kiwi Farm Te Runga by Bluegrass.
Lining up at Caulfield on Blue Sapphire Stakes day Lucky looked a really good chance on paper and was sent out favourite.
Showing his customary turn of foot, Lucky For All made a quick mover before the bend to win impressively in the 120k hcp at Caulfield from the Japanese galloper Danon Roman.
Still a work in progress LFA is still learning his trade but he possesses all the tools to make it to the top in racing. His ability to quicken for a stayer is rare and gets him out of trouble when most horses are finding excuses.
Still 12 months away from being the finished article, Lucky For All next tackles the 350k Ballarat Cup November 24th where if he gets a little bit of juice in the track he will take some holding out.
Bluegrass Bloodstock is enjoying great success with their kiwi tried purchases and we currently have our eye on some new prospects who could be the next Count da Vinci’s or Lucky for Alls.
Moss n dale takes the Craven!
October 13th 2018
Everest day Sydney October 13 2018!
Moss n dale before a huge crowd at Randwick took out the 2000m Craven Plate in boggy conditions, this Group 3 event has been around forever and won by champions.
With 4 Group 1 winners in the race this was a very competitive and deep Craven Plate but Moss n dale treated the field with contempt running away to win by 1.8 lengths. It was a great day for Gelagotis racing, Jockey Jack Martin and the Moss n dale ownership group.
The Bulldog has now entered Group company, and somehow I don’t think he is leaving!
Tokyo City Cup For Mossy, Making It Win Number 13
September 26
Moss n dale you star!
After an emphatic win at Moonee Valley, trainer Peter Gelagotis identified the Tokyo City Cup at Morphetville as a really nice step for Moss n dale, rising in distance to the 1800m in Listed grade.
Like a seasoned professional Moss n dale travelled over to Adelaide and Bluegrass Bloodstock principal Lenny Russo followed. ‘You can just see he was in a zone, parading at Morphetville Mossy just had his game face on and I knew the race was over from there’, Lenny said.
Apprentice Jack Martin was given the reins in a non-claiming race and had the horse in a beautiful position in the run, knowing the horse well when he came off the bridle Jack didn’t panic and just stoked up the horse before coming home with a big finish to run away from the field by 1.9 lengths on the line.
The win took Moss n dales career tally to 13 wins from 30 starts and his 2nd Listed race win. He has been an amazing horse and seems to be racing into his prime.
Moss n dale is like any good footballer and has his fair share of niggles but he has a master hands on trainer in Peter Gelagotis to manage him at the superb Moe racing training facility and Mossy thrives.
Next stop is the Group 3 Craven Plate at Randwick on Everest Day where Moss n dale has saluted previously.
Saturday September 22nd was a busy day for Bluegrass Bloodstock with three other runners running at metro level and all horses running fantastic.
Darren Weir and Spicer Thoroughbred managed Lucky For All ran a frustrating 2nd in the 1800m hcp at Caulfield, like the caller accurately described Lucky for All was all over the track like a shopping trolley, if he goes straight he wins, simple as that. This son of Tavistock bred by Tim Harrison and TeRunga Farm NZ who was a Bluegrass Bloodstock NZ tried horse selection is being set for the Ballarat Cup but looks a very promising stayer, next year might be his year to start shining.
Mr Sneaky for Dream Thoroughbreds ran later in the day in the Group 1 Rupert Clarke for a fast finishing 6th of 15 runners beaten only 2 lengths on the line, Mr Sneaky ran the quickest sectionals of the race but had no favours with the moderate tempo up front, he is going great and a win is only around the corner, Mr Sneaky was a Bluegrass Bloodstock yearling selection from the Melbourne Premier Sales for Dream.
And lastly Columbia for Dream who was a Magic Millions yearling selection made his Morphetville debut for the very astute Adelaide trainer in Will Clarken. Will does an amazing job especially with tried horses and he conditioned Columbia beautifully with 2 trials to run a very unlucky 2nd in the 1100m bm64 hcp of 11 runners, he got held up at a vital time and would of made the race interesting if he got out, onwards and upwards for him.
Moss N Dale does it again at Moonee Valley
September 8th 2018
Moss n dale continued his fantastic prep with a very dominant win at Moonee Valley on Saturday. Running a quicker time than the Dato Tan Chin Nam earlier in the day, Moss n dale took advantage of his good barrier and was rated perfectly by jockey Jack Martin who has a great winning affiliation with the kiwi bred galloper.
Bringing up his 12th win, Moss n Dale sat off leader Zahspeed before entering the short Moonee Valley straight where he was asked for the supreme effort by Martin and he never let him down going away to win by 2.25lengths.
Moss n dale was very strong at the end of the mile and is racing like a horse who might get more distance which is exciting.
He has been a great horse for connections winning in 3 states and at metro tracks Morphetville, Moonee Valley, Sandown, Flemington and Randwick.
He now boasts a career high 106 rtg which is testament to the placement and training ability of his trainer Peter Gelagotis. Peter has a great set-up at Moe for the kiwi horses but caters for all styles of gallopers with his Caulfield and Coronet Bay facility.
Spring is gearing up for Bluegrass and we have enjoyed a great couple of months with winners in July such as Splitter, who has since won again at Ipswich and has been twice metro placed at Doomben, and Bluegrass little 15k National MM purchase Bedrock Dreams who brought up her 3rd career win and almost 80k in prizemoney.
On the same day at Moonee Valley NZ selection Lucky For All for Brad Spicer was very impressive running 3rd, he is still very green but has enormous potential and could be running on the big stage in 12 months. And Mr Sneaky a yearling selection for Dream Thoroughbreds ran a close up 4th in a listed event and now looks very much on track for Saturdays group 1 Rupert Clarke stakes.
JRHA Select Sale And The Hokkaido Farms, Amazing Place Japan.
July 30th 2018
Bluegrass Bloodstock spent an amazing 10 days in Japan attending the Select Foal and Yearling sale and also visiting the world class stallions at Shadai including Deep Impact. The structure of the sale is first class and the quality of the bloodstock is second to none.
Bluegrass was also very fortunate to travel round the farms in the Hokkaido on the rich volcanic soil, with pasture only matched by the Waikato of New Zealand.
There is endless opportunities here in Japan to source the best staying bred bloodstock in the world and to grow them out on the rich pasture and train on the incredible facilities which are available.
Bluegrass is very excited by the prospect of bringing these regally bred youngsters back to Australia to win our spring staying features.
Magic Millions Weanling Sales
30th of May 2018
The Magic Millions Weanling sale is the biggest in the Southern Hemisphere and working for JR Thoroughbreds, Bluegrass Bloodstock purchased 5 beautiful weanlings by 5 very commercial stallions including this ripper Dundeel filly in the picture.
These weanlings will be grown out and prepared under the management of JR Thoroughbreds before going back to the sales as yearlings to be sold again for profit in 2019. That is the plan and looking forward to seeing these guys grow out over the coming months.
Kiwi Blitz For Bluegrass
May 18th 2018
The kiwi tried horse onslaught on Australian shores continues for Bluegrass Bloodstock with our outstanding strike rate kept in tact with recent winners Lucky For All and Equilibrium.
Lucky For All a son of Tavistock looks an outstanding prospect winning his first 3 starts in Australia and now on the 2nd line of betting for the Qld Derby.
Managed by Brad Spicer and trained by Darren Weir, Lucky For All was identified off the trials and 1 race start by Bluegrass and with the assistance of astute form judge Mick Sharkie he was snapped up by Brad Spicer.
His latest win on the 12th of May at Caulfield in a 3yo 2000m hcp was emphatic winning by 3 lengths and coming from well back in the field to show a very good turn of foot. His earlier wins at the Warrnambool racing carnival and Terang were also impressive. He looks a potential group 1 horse n the making.
Bluegrass Bloodstocks other purchase Equilibrium has been great for trainer Shea Eden who has placed him to perfection by winning a bm58 at Sale and then going on to win bm64 at Cranbourne over 1500m. The son of Shamoline Warrior has showed a gritty determination to find the line and was an astute purchase from NZ having had 19starts for only 1 win, the same credentials as now group winner Count Da Vinci prior to purchase from NZ.
And of recent times Mr So and SO, the 100k yearling selection by Bluegrass has been sold for huge money to Hong Kong trainer John Size, looking forward to watching Mr So and SO race in Hong Kong now.
Savatag wins on Adelaide Cup Day for WIll Clarken
12th of March 2018
Savatag has continued Bluegrass Bloodstocks outstanding strikerate of selecting topclass New Zealand tried horses by winning on Adelaide Cup day at Morphetville in dominant fashion, leading all the way over 1600m for gun SA trainer Will Clarken.
Savatag has been in outstanding form since heading over the ditch winning his first two starts for W Clarken at Saturday metro level. The future looks bright for this son of Alamosa.
Bluegrass Bloodstock yearling selection Mr So and SO for Dream Thoroughbreds has had an outstanding Autumn being twice group 2 placed in the Autumn Classic and Autumn Stakes both at Caulfield and is now commanding strong interest from Asia, he was only a 100k purchase for the Melbourne Premier Sale, a son of So You Think, Bluegrass is very keen to secure more stock of this up and coming stallion.
Count Da Vinci Wins Moe Cup And Paseeto Wins Again
October 24 2017
Count Da Vinci won his 2nd Cup race taking out the 150k Listed Moe Cup over 2050mtrs on thursday 19th of October. This was a huge thrill for Bluegrass Bloodstock as Count Da Vinci has won 7 races since purchase and around 320k, not a bad investment for 60k.
Great training performance by Scott Brunton and superb ride by David Pires.
The weekend got better when Bluegrass purchase Paseeto won his 2nd successive metro race at Morphetville, he will now contest the Carbine Club on Derby Day at Flemington.
And on the Sunday Bluegrass favourite Moss n Dale ran a close 3rd in the 150k Seymour Cup, such a competitor he will be winning a cup race soon.
A huge weekend treble!
October 7, 2017
Hot on the heels of our Morphettville double on September 23 came ANOTHER winning double at that track with Bluegrass buys Paseeto and Moss 'N Dale both dominant winners of their respective races.
To top off a great weekend, Moss 'N Bolt romped home at Bairnsdale on Sunday making it a weekend treble for Bluegrass.
"I try and buy horses like this for my clients - we don't spend a lot but we aim to buy horses that can earn a lot on the track," said Lenny.
"The hard work and home work is paying off and there's more to come!"
A big thanks to trainers Tony McEvoy and Peter Gelagotis and their teams for helping realise our latest winning day.
Adelaide double for Bluegrass
September 24, 2017
The talent of agent Lenny Russo was on show at Morphettville on Saturday along with the training nous of Peter Gelagotis as the pair combined for a winning double.
The Willybe and Moss 'N Dale were both successful for the duo, earning their connections a cool $27,500 each for their wins, and confirming Russo's excellent eye for talent.
The Willybe was purchased privately early in 2017 and since arriving in Australia has finished no further back than 5th in eight starts, with two wins and four second placed runs netting near $70,000.
Moss 'N Dale was bred by Wayne Larsen, Lenny and his owners and how well he's going winning 10 of his first 21 starts so far and plenty still to come.
"It was a fantastic result for Bluegrass Bloodstock and a great training performance from Pete." said Lenny.
"It's days like this that I work so hard to achieve."
Bluegrass buys on song
September 16, 2017
Lenny was on track at Flemington to watch two of his recent purchases run big races in the Listed Sofitel Stakes.
In fact, Lenny had three past purchases in the same race - Mr Sneaky, Count Da Vinci, and Mio Dio - with Mr Sneaky (2nd) and Count Da Vinci (3rd) finishing in the placings.
"Mr Sneaky has really come on this prep' but unfortunately couldn't run down the winner, while Count Da Vinci is in for a huge campaign once he gets over more ground, he was brilliant," said Lenny.
Don't miss your chance to get amongst the action this spring, contact Lenny today to find you your next horse!
Sneaking up on group success
September 2, 2017
A horse Lenny described as "The best colt I'd seen all season" could be on the cusp of G1 glory this spring carnival.
Mr Sneaky (4yo g, High Chaparral x Danesty) stormed into contention for the G1 Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes with an explosive victory in the 1200m Hocking Stuart Plate at Caulfield on Saturday, earning rave reviews from trainer Anthony Freedman.
"We've targeted the Rupert Clarke and this was a step in the right direction, he's a lovely horse," Freedman said.
Purchased by Lenny on behalf of Dream Thoroughbreds at the 2015 Inglis Premier Yearling Sale for $120,000, Mr Sneaky has won 5 of his 12 starts and amassed over $176,000 in stakes with far greater earnings on the horizon.
"He was the best colt I'd seen all season, I told Dave (Azzopardi) that you've just got to buy him," Lenny said.
"It's a big call but I've seen it before with Malaguerra, this is the sort of horse that wins group races and I think he will win plenty of them. He's proof again that the Bluegrass model works."
To watch the replay of the win click here.
OUR SUCCESS STORIES
The Bluegrass Bloodstock team put in the hard work and research to give our clients the best possible chance of realising their racing dreams. Here are a sample of some of our success stories.
Dual G1 winning powerhouse
MALAGUERRA
Selected by Bluegrass Bloodstock and bought for just $32,000 at the 2013 Inglis Vobis Gold Yearling Sale, Malaguerra has won the G1 BTC Cup and G1 Darley Classic with earnings over $1.6million to date (4900% ROI)
Future Group winner
MR SNEAKY
Selected by Bluegrass Bloodstock for Dream Thoroughbreds at the 2015 Inglis Melbourne Premier Sale for $120,000, Mr Sneaky has won over $176,000 in just 12 starts and is a future Group performer.
From obscurity to Cup success
COUNT DA VINCI
Plucked from NZ as a Class 1 performer to fulfil a client's dream to win a cup race, Count Da Vinci has made his $60,000 purchase price seem cheap, winning the G3 Hobart Cup and over $200,000 for his new owner.
The unlikely class act
MIO DIO
Leonard identified an unraced God's Own gelding in the care of Wez Hunter as having big potential and secured a majority share for a client for just $20,000. 11 wins and over $300,000 in stakes says his judgement was spot on.
Hong Kong trade success
STRALIA
Selected by Bluegrass inconjuntion with Mark Riley and bought for $140,000 at the 2013 Magic Millions Adelaide Sale, Stralia won his first two runs and ran 2nd in the G2 Danehill Stakes before Asian buyers came calling. The colt was sold for a seven-figure sum.
Making dreams come true
LOPOV
When Vice Chairman of Perth Racing Peter Gangemi asked Leonard to find a horse to win the Kalgoorlie Cup, Bluegrass searched high and low before buying Lopov privately for $90,000. 11-months later the horse claimed the Cup and over $140,000.
OUR SERVICES
Yearling Selection & Purchase
Leonard has an outstanding eye for value backed up by a phenomenal return on investment rate, regularly between 50% to 70% within the first 24 months.
Leonard also provides a full inspection and short list service for all major yearling sales.
Bank on Bluegrass this sales season
Tried Horse & Private Purchases
Leonard consistently buys the right horse for the job - whether you want to win the Melbourne Cup, Darwin Cup, Hanging Rock Cup, or just a race at your local track, Leonard can find and buy the perfect horse for you.
Bluegrass Bloodstock negotiate ethically on all private purchases under an extremely competitive commission rate.
Pinhooking
Pinhooking is the art of identifying a young untapped weanling at a budget price and turning them into a profitable yearling sale commodity.
Leonard's experience at some of the world's best thoroughbred studs has armed him with the knowledge and foresight to predict and purchase future yearling sales stars.
International Thoroughbred Trade
With extensive contacts in Asia, Europe, and New Zealand, Leonard is perfectly placed to identify profitable trade opportunities for his clients.
Whether you are buying a Kiwi stayer for the Melbourne Cup, securing the perfect broodmare prospect from Europe, or selling a racing prospect to Hong Kong, Leonard can cater to your needs.
Broodmare management
Selecting the right mating for your broodmare can be the difference between sales ring and race track success and a significant financial headache.
Take the risk out of broodmare management with Bluegrass Bloodstock, and let Leonard assist you with mating plans, sales strategy, and ongoing management of your broodmare assets.
Bloodstock Valuations
Ever wonder just how much your racehorse is worth?
Bluegrass Bloodstock can tell you!
Leonard provides certified valuations on all thoroughbreds from active racehorses to breeding stock, so that you know exactly what your thoroughbred asset is worth.
WE'RE HERE TO HELP
Contact Leonard and the Bluegrass Bloodstock team and let's discuss how we can help you get the most out of your racing or breeding experience.
Ph: 0432 518 378