This week on Dunstan Horse Feeds’ Meet the Breeder, we speak with Nigel Drought, son of the late Gail Drought. Gail bred Final Return, who delivered a memorable victory in the Gr.3 Eagle Technology Avondale Cup (2400m) at Ellerslie last Saturday. This week, Nigel reflects on the journey and shares the story on behalf of his family.
Photo note: The image above was taken at Ellerslie Racecourse, likely prior to Cassini contesting the Zabeel Classic on Boxing Day 2012. Nigel notes it was one of the last occasions the family attended the races together before Gail’s passing in 2016.
Tell us the story of Final Return?
My late mother bought Kind Return through the 2002 Karaka Yearling sales as her first horse. She raced Kind Return and then started her broodmare career. When mum passed away in 2016, my two sisters and I had some decisions to make regarding if we wanted to keep Mum's small breeding operation going (at that point Kind Return was booked to see Tavistock when he was standing at $100k). We decided to keep going and Tavistock ended up getting a good result at the sales. Following that we decided to give Reliable Man a visit based on the Zabeel x Reliable Man cross showing early results. As a yearling an offset knee meant he was not a viable sales prospect, so he was given time in the paddock and was leased to Janelle Millar mid-way through his 3yo year.
How did you get into thoroughbred breeding?
As above, my sisters and I kept Mum's small breeding operation going for a few years and kept breeding from Kind Return until we retired her from Broodmare duties after her last foal in 2020.
How many mares do you breed from?
We had one other mare (Cassini) that we breed from for a few years before selling, all Mum's other interests including an Encosta De Lago mare, we sold off.
What else do you have in your bloodstock portfolio? (foals, racehorses, stallion shares etc).
No, we do not hold a bloodstock portfolio anymore.
Do you seek advice on your breeding decisions?
Not any more, when we continued breeding on Mum's behalf, we sought advice from Woburn Farm who had mums mares on property (and foaled Final Return) and one of Mum's personal friends.
What do you love about the thoroughbred breeding industry?
As mentioned, not actively involved anymore. When mum was involved, I used to love going to the Karaka sales with her to find a well bred filly that she can race with the hope of getting some black type and then being a broodmare for Mum. So I always enjoyed those times at Karaka. Also enjoyed once the foals were born, as it was 18 months of planning from booking the stallion, getting the mare in foal to seeing a healthy live foal on the ground. Extremely rewarding!
Proudest moment as a breeder so far?
Probably breeding Final Return, as he was the one horse that I decided the mating for (as others had been decided by mum before she passed or we had input from others) and he has turned out to be the most successful horse breed by us.
