Trish Dunell
South Island breeders Cheryl Wilson and Bruce Sheat certainly know the highs and lows of breeding and racing, and this year they have experienced them all.
The couple own the Hussonet (USA) mare Steel Stilettos, and it is her progeny that have provided the ups and downs. Just after Christmas the mare’s first foal Boots’N’All, or Jonesie as he was nicknamed by Wilson, broke through for his fifth win and his first stakes win in the Listed Timaru Cup.
And less than a month later her third foal, Air Max (by Nadeem[AUS]) scored in the Listed Gore Guineas. A fortnight later her fourth foal, a colt by Super Easy, went through the ring at Karaka and fetched $45,000.
Wilson was in two minds about selling the colt as she really liked him and loved his temperament, but philosophically knowing she had service fees to pay she let him go for $45,000. After all she was racing Boots’N’All with Sheat and was in a syndicate that raced Air Max, both from the stable of Lance Robinson. Then Air Max won the Listed Dunedin Guineas.
Steel Stilettos is also the dam of Toms (by Towkay[AUS]), who by this stage had won two races with Foxton trainers David and Emma Haworth.
In March he won the Waipukurau Cup, five days after Boots’N’All won the Hororata Gold Cup, and recently he took out the Listed Fielding Cup taking his winning tally to six.
Less than a month later though Boots’N’All was to suffer a life-ending reaction to an antibiotic injection.
“We were devastated when we lost Jonesie, and Toms win makes up a little bit for that,” Wilson said.
“We have been blown away, it’s been an unbelievable year for Steel Stilettos, and hopefully one of them will carry on further.”
Wilson purchased Steel Stilettos for the bargain price of $500, and her first mating was with Perfectly Ready(AUS) and the result being Boots’N’All. For her next mating she went to Towkay(AUS) (Last Tycoon[IRE]-Princess Tracy[IRE]) looking for the successful Last Tycoon(IRE) cross that had produced the Gr.3 Port Adelaide Cup winner Vestey(AUS).
Her third foal Air Max was by another Little Avondale sire in Nadeem, and when it looked like she was going to be a good producer Wilson sent her to Super Easy, followed by Vadamos(FR) and that colt is now a yearling.
“Hopefully she is in foal to Sacred Falls and I get a filly, I am really hoping for a filly out of the mare, if I could just breed a filly I would be over the moon.” Wilson said of the mare who has produced five colts.
“I have gone Sacred Falls because apart from the fact he is a lovely well performed horse, he has that Last Tycoon(IRE) factor again, being out of an O’Reilly mare as O’Reilly is by Last Tycoon(IRE).”
“I have entered the Vadamos(FR) yearling in the sale but I am in two minds whether to sell him or not. It’s a really hard call, he is a really lovely wee horse, but we have to keep paying for those service fees somehow.
“If we had known what was going to happen during the year, we wouldn’t have sold the Super Easy, colt but that’s the highs and lows of the game.”
The Super Easy colt, was sold to Upper Bloodstock, and appears in the Riversley Park draft at the Ready To Run sales later this month, with a much updated pedigree from when he sold in January.
“We are going to up to see what happens in the sale, and Lance (Robinson) is watching as well,” said Wilson, “Hhe is also waiting and watching to see what I do with the Vadamos(FR).” -Michelle Saba, NZTBA
