The find of the stallion scene in North America this year has been the son of Western Hanover in Big Bad John.
A high class two and three year old, Big Bad John is the leading first season sire in North America this year even though he stood in Ohio which put him at a disadvantage over his contemporaries.
Every time Lemon Tree Stud proprietor Ross Gange checked the statistics this year the smile on his face grew wider and wider.
That was due in no small part to Ross being able to look out the window at Lemon Tree Stud and see the dam of Big Bad John in Trulyawork Of Art in the paddock outside.
Ross is over the moon with how it has all turned out.
"I was having lunch back in mid 2012 with a dear friend of mine (the late Bruce Richards) & his daughter Belinda when we began talking horses."
"Bruce, well into his eighties, had only recently retired from the farm he had all his life & was talking about the his use of draft horses & how the stallions used to travel the roads breeding mares for farmers in order to replace/increase farm harness working horses."
"I got around to telling him about what I did & how I bought a lot of mares & stallions from the USA."
"He became interested in what I had done in that area over the years & offered to lend me a considerable sum of money to buy a highly credentialed broodmare for myself."
"I bought Trulyawork of Art in 2012 from the famous USA nursery 'Brittany Farms'.
"I had previously bought the most famous Little Brown Jug winner of all time in Life Sign from Brittany Farms a few years before," Ross said.
Ross have been very active in Southern Hemisphere breeding for 40 years, owning dozens of top grade American stallions & mares.
He has a long association with the Jug, having owned 3 Little Brown Jug winners ( Life Sign [1993] Laverne Hanover [1969] & Henry T Adios [1961] ) plus his ill fated stallion French Chef that sired the 1990 Jug winner in Beach Towel.
Ross and his wife were invited to the Jug by French Chefs previous owner Norman Woolworth (then owner of Stoner Creek & Meadow Skipper) & his trainer Stanley Dancer.
Ross anticipated that Beach Towel would win the Jug so he had an Australian victory rug made for him & presented it at the Jug.
Years later he bought a Beach Towel daughter in Paige Nicole Q who had actually won the 3yo females Jugette.
About 1997 he bought Armbro Caprice that produced 2 world Champions incl a Senior Jug winner in Hi Ho Silverheels.
Back to Trulyawork Of Art who arrived in Australia in January 2013 and went straight to Lemon Tree Stud which has an AQIS approved facility to foal pregnant mares arriving in Australia.
Trulyawork Of Art subsequently had a Rocknroll Hanover filly on April 30th, 2013.
Since then Trulyawork Of Art has had a Bettors Delight colt that is Lot 112 at the Melbourne APG sale in 2016 but it has been far from smooth sailing since then.
" She slipped her foal at 4 months in 2014 so not wanting to miss having a foal from her in 2015 I bred her to Life Sign & had a late embryo transfer done."
"A surrogate mare now has an embryo transfer foal which is due in late Feb 2016."
"Trulyawork Of Art is back in foal herself to a Little Brown Jug winner in Rock n Roll Heaven & is due in late September 2016," Ross said.
Ross has four other yearlings entered in the APG Melbourne sales and all have the stamp of quality about them.
* Lot 164 – A Bettors Delight – Contapan colt who is a full brother to Border Control 1:50.6 ($515,435) and a half to Chasin Racin 1:51 ($763,977)
* Lot 53 – A Art Major filly from Paige Nicole Q 2 1:53.8 3:1:52 ($712,801) who has left seven winners with two in 1:50 including Cue The Paige 2:1:54.2, 4:1:49.3 ($326,973) and Teenage Paige 1:50 ($379,,619)
* Lot 72 – A Somebeachsomewhere filly half sister to Major Cruiser 1:56.2 ($56,970 from a half sister to It Is I – 1:56.4 ($208,575) and La Speranza 1:59 ($155,828)
* Lot 123 – A Somebeachsomewhere filly from a full sister to All American Raquel 1:51.4 ($149,400) who is the dam of Honky Tonk Woman 1:50.2 ($560,138) and is a half sister to Island Fantasy 1:50.1 ($1,371,525)
However at the end of the day all eyes will be on the Bettors Delight half brother to Big Bad John 1:49 ($1,000,559) when he enters the ring, none more so than those of his breeder Ross Gange.
Harnesslink Media