Photo: Supplied
This week in Dunstan Horse Feeds Meet the Breeder, we caught up with Olly and Annabel Tuthill of Beaufort Downs. The couple, who have lived and breathed horses all their lives, bred Listed Castletown Stakes winner, Platinum Diamond (Hello Youmzain).
Tell us the story of Platinum Diamond?
We bought the mare Spritz, a few years ago. One of the main reasons we bought her was because she was from Annabel's Grandparent's family, they raced the group 1 winner Seamist.
Spritz was a very tricky breeder, and we had a lot of trouble getting her in foal at the start. We really wanted to get a foal out of her so we persisted and ended up having to serve her on the day before Hello Youmzain left New Zealand for the season. She finally got in foal which turned out to be Platinum Diamond, and that's why she is a December foal.
She was always a nice filly but very behind the others at the yearling selection time, so was put into book 2. But she flourished into a gorgeous filly with great movement and Lisa Latta saw past her late birth date and bought her.
Provide a brief overview of Beaufort Downs.
We were living in the UK, Olly playing Polo and Annabel Eventing. When we decided to move back to NZ we bought a property in North Canterbury. It wasn't really set up properly for raising horses so we spent a lot of time and effort fencing and developing the farm, which we called Beaufort Downs.
We are a boutique stud farm. We have our own small select broodmare band which we breed from every year. We also Agist a small amount of outside mares as well as some race horse spelling.
How did you get into thoroughbred breeding?
Annabel's family has always been into breeding, her Great Grandfather Ken Austin set up Inglewood stud in 1938. When we decided to move back to NZ we went to Tattersalls and bought two mares to send back to NZ. They were our first two mares, and they have both done really well for us. We have tried to buy a mare or two every year to add to our broodmare band.
How many mares do you breed from?
We breed from about 18 mares at the moment. But we are always to trying to add to that and improve the broodmare band.
What else do you have in your bloodstock portfolio? (foals, racehorses, stallion shares etc)
We do some race horse spelling for a few local trainers, which we enjoy. We like to do everything to a very high standard.
We do end up with the odd racehorse, which doesn't go through a sale for one reason or another.
Annabel has her training license, which is more of a hobby at the moment. But the aim is to be able to train a few of our home bred fillies and retain them as broodmares. We also have a few stallion shares.
Do you breed to race or breed to sell? If sell, how do you decide on what to retain and what to sell?
We breed to sell at the moment. It would be nice to be in the position to keep a filly to race, but at the moment we sell everything.
Do you seek advice on your breeding decisions?
Yes we seek a lot of advice. Annabel's father John loves racing and breeding, so helps us a lot with pedigrees etc. Annabel's cousin Gus who runs Inglewood Stud is very helpful to bounce ideas off and has been great to us along the way.
We are always asking questions and learning all the time!
Best breeding advice you have received?
The cheap ones still cost the same to look after as the expensive ones
And always go for a good broodmare sire.
What do you love about the thoroughbred breeding industry?
The horses and the lifestyle. We both have loved working with horses all our lives and its great to be able to put our skills to use in a different way. Its also a wonderful lifestlye being able to work together on the farm at home. We can be here everyday as well as being with the kids and bringing them up together on the farm.
We are both very goal driven and there is always something different to focus on at different times of the year. Whether it be yearling prep, choosing mares, choosing stallion matings etc
What advice would you give someone entering the industry as a breeder?
Start slowly and get a lot of advice before throwing yourself into it too quickly. Ask lots of question. you never stop learning.
If you could make one mating with any mare and stallion (past or present), what would it be?
Winx and Frankel
Finish this sentence: The best part of being a thoroughbred breeder is…
The excitement of breeding a good racehorse and the variety each day bring.
