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THOROUGHBRED REVIEW

Time to catch the Foxes at Allandale Park

All credentials point to Foxhound (USA), a much travelled proven Danzig sire available this year on a fee of $8800 at John and ClaireTodd's highly respected Allandale Park Stud at Hobbys Yards near Bathurst, offering an opportunity for mare owners to breed tough, smart horses.

In the first place Foxhound is claimed to have supplied 81.54% winners from use in the northern hemisphere and in the second his only crop of runners got in Australia, the results of a visit in 2000, have included 24 individual winners and six other placegetters.

The locals have included Golden Fox (four wins at two including the Doomben Champagne Classic-Gr.3 and Golden Stakes-LR), Foxaround (three wins and two placings in Perth at two and successful there this year in two open events at 1000 metres), North Fox (won both his outings at two including one over 1000 metres at Caulfield and subsequently successful in two races in Macau), Not That Innocent (ran twice at two for a win and a fourth placing in Melbourne; also a winner at three), Westgate (five starts for wins at Eagle Farm and the Sunshine Coast), Fox'n On (12 starts for four country wins), Sly Dog (three wins Port Macquarie; second Sydney and in the Grafton Guineas), Southern City (won Hawkesbury and placed Sydney at two), Bloodsport (two wins Hawkesbury from four outings), Fox Fighter (wins at Newcastle and Hawkesbury and a second at Wyong from five appearances) and Crombie Castle (winner Newcastle and placed Newcastle, Wyong and Hawkesbury).

Foxhound's only Australian crop has done enough to suggest that he can follow up his widespread success in the northern hemisphere, a region in which he is the source of 15 stakes winners headed in Europe by the Group1 performers Mount Abu (six wins and approximately $600,000 in France; won the Longchamp Prix de la Foret-Gr.1 by two lengths; second Haydock Sprint Cu-Gr.1 and represented Europe in the Hong Kong Mile-Gr.1), Kier Park (two wins England at two including Ascot Cornwallis Stakes-Gr.3; later second in the Newmarket Palace House Stakes-Gr.3 and third to King Charlemagne (USA) in the Prix Maurice de Gheest-Gr.1).

Also used in Chile, South America, he has provided the good gallopers there of the ilk of Mister Price (eight wins including Group 2 and 3 events), Rivaldo (Group 2 winner and second El Derby-Gr.1, Dos Mil Guineas-Gr.1), Steve's Champ (a leading sprinter) and Te Alcance (Group1 second).

Statistics provided on Foxhound show that 88 of his 106 runners in America are winners, all three performers in Japan have been successful, 23 of 29 runners in Italy have won, and that he has had 47 winners in England,15 in Ireland, six (from nine) in France and 10 (from12) in Canada.

That there are more good winners to come for Foxhound in Europe is being shown by his current crop of two-year-olds, nine of which had won through to the end of August.

The speed of his offspring is not surprising as he was a very smart horse himself including being one of the leading two-year-olds in France, a year his five outings resulted in two wins at 1100 metres, one of them in a Listed event, a Group 2 second, Group 3 third and Group1 fifth.

A big appeal of Foxhound, besides his being by Danehill's sire Danzig, is his close relationship to two sires who have sired many tough, good winners in Australia from use over books of moderate quality. Both by a giant of American racing in Spectacular Bid, they are Bite the Bullet (USA), a sire available this year at the Michael Fitzgerald run Bengalla Stud at Muswellbrook in the Hunter Valley, and the deceased Spectacular Spy (USA).

A half-brother to Foxhound, the last named, a sire who died just as he was starting to make a name for himself at the Clearvale Stud at Bylong NSW, left 144 winners (75.4%), including10 successful in stakes races, while Bite the Bullet, a product of their half-sister Lassie's Lady (by Alydar), has had 196 winners (69.8%) including 16 stakes winners.

The immediate family has been one of the best in the world in recent years for racing class and breeding stock including Foxhound being one of 12 winners from the Buckpasser Group 3 winner Lassie Dear. Her best foal, the Secretariat mare Weekend Surprise, followed up two Group 3 wins and four Group1 placings by producing two outstanding American racehorses and sires in A.P.Indy (by Seattle Slew) and Summer Squall (Storm Bird).

A.P. Indy, himself a winner of the coveted American Horse of the Year title, and Summer Squall have both supplied recipients of this honour. In addition A.P. Indy's three-quarter sister Charming Lassie, a half-sister to Foxhound, produced a grand galloper, Lemon Drop Kid (by Kingmambo), who just missed out on being the named American Horse of the Year but who made up for it by having a Japanese Horse of the Year in his first crop.

Now owned by Sydney solicitor Michael Carroll and resident in Australia, Foxhound returned here in 2004 after an absence of four years. He stood last season at the Lakewood Stud in South Australia but was transferred in early September this year to the Allandale Park Stud in attempt by Carroll to assure the horse's future.

His appearance at this stud adds to the great variety of sires standing at the stud at service fees within reach of all breeders. The others are BOOTLEG (Danehill (USA) - Tennessee Mist, by Bletchingly), fee $1100; CARRY THE CROWN (CAN) (Vice Regent - Tiffany Tam, by Tentam), $2200; DIOGENES (Marscay - Klairessence, by Sir Tristram (IRE), $2200; SHAGS (Strategic - Prime Block, by Blockbuster), $2000; STRANDS (Octagonal - Tendrils, by Sanction), $1100; and TIMBER TRADER (Woodman (USA) - Glenview, by Sir Tristram (IRE), $1650.

THIS REPORT COMPILED FOR THE AUSTRALIAN BLOODHORSE REVIEW

Brian Russell Bloodstock Media Service
67 Brecht Street, Muswellbrook, NSW 2333 Australia – September 6, 2005
Phone (02) 6543 3051, Fax (02) 6541 1022, Email brbrian@tpg.com.au