Photo: Supplied
Dunstan Horsefeeds Meet the Breeder caught up with Linda Huddy, who alongside her husband Graham, own Peachester Lodge in Australia. The Huddy's have had some great racetrack success in their Maroon, Gold Diagonal Stripes, White Sleeves, Gold Cap owning the likes of Shoot Out, Preferment and Most Important; however, they are also renowned breeders and bred the now dual-group one winner, Quintessa.
Tell us the story of Quintessa?
Quintessa came to us through the purchase of an in foal mare from Rosemont Stud in 2020. We were purchasing mares to send to Preferment who was standing in New Zealand and I thought Chaquinta would suit him. I saw her offered online and we were lucky enough to buy her and send her to New Zealand where she foaled a lovely filly by Shamus Award who went on to be sold at Karaka in 2022 and was bought by the amazing judge David Ellis for Te Akau Racing. We were lucky enough to be able to retain 20% of her so we’re very grateful for that.
What motivated you to get into thoroughbred breeding?
I’ve always loved the breeding side of the industry and when my husband and I were lucky enough to have the funds to enter the breeding industry I thought it would be fun to breed a few breed for ourselves and sell a few to bring in some dollars. Sounded like a good idea at the time.
Tell us about some of the success you have had over the years?
We’ve been fortunate enough to breed a couple of Group One winners. Media Sensation was a Group 1 winner in New Zealand; and in Australia we bred a South Australian Derby winner in Volatile Mix.
And of course, Quintessa is now a dual group one winner
How many mares do you breed from?
The breeding band of broodmares varies in number between 20 and 30. It’s very easy for the numbers to gradually increase so I have to be very disciplined and not let it get too out of hand.
What else do you have in your bloodstock portfolio? (foals, racehorses, stallion shares etc)
We race a number of fillies with nice pedigrees that we hope can have enough racecourse success that we can retain them. We have shares and breeding rights in a number of stallions here in Australia. And we have 10 colts going to the yearling sales in Australia and New Zealand in 2026. We only got three fillies last year and we’re retaining all of them.
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 race and sell. Due to the economics we need to sell the colts so we do sell all the colts that we can. Sometimes we sell a nice filly if we have several from the family already on the farm but generally we do try to keep and race the nice fillies.
Do you seek advice on your breeding decisions?
I do talk over various meetings with other people. Mel Copelin at Torryburn Stud, Jo Griffin at Lime Country and Guy Mulcaster are people I like to run my ideas past.
Best breeding advice you have received?
The best breeding advice I think I’ve heard is always to keep in mind the physical you’re trying to breed. And of course a good physical specimen already has some of the attributes to be a good athlete
What do you love about the thoroughbred breeding industry?
I love the baby foals. I love this time of year when the new foals are being born. They’re just gorgeous. But besides that, the fact that a good horse can be bred by anyone and come from anywhere is such a good part of our industry.
What advice would you give someone entering the industry as a breeder?
The main advice I would give anyone looking to enter the breeding industry is make sure you’re resilient. It can be a very heartbreaking part of our industry. But if you can get over the very big bumps which may come along it can also be very rewarding
Proudest moment as a breeder?
Seeing our group of yearlings being presented at the various yearling sales and being popular and sort after by buyers and seeing how beautiful they look in the ring always makes me proud.
Finish this sentence: The best part of being a thoroughbred breeder is…
The best part about being a thoroughbred breeder is that there’s always something to look forward to. Be it the new foals arriving or the yearlings being prepared for the upcoming sales or horses you’ve bred having their first start. There’s always something happening.
