Written by
Keely Mckitterick

This spring, Olly and Amber Tait’s Twin Hills Stud are welcoming the first foals from their resident stallion, Daumier, a G1 Blue Diamond S. winner. The Thoroughbred Report caught up with Olly Tait to discuss which mares will be visiting Daumier this season and the plans for their other resident broodmares.

Bred and raced by Godolphin, Daumier made an impression on debut by winning the Listed Blue Diamond Preview (Colts and Geldings) and followed it up by taking the main event, the G1 Blue Diamond S. He later finished a gallant fourth in the G1 Golden Slipper.

“We’ve had two foals born on the farm by Daumier so far,” Tait told TTR AusNZ. “One is out of a mare called Vol Vallee, and the other is a lovely colt out of a mare called Rochelle. They are both genuinely very nice foals.”

This season, Twin Hills will continue to support Daumier, with several mares heading his way. One such mare is Sense And Reason (Exceed And Excel), who won five races. Her first foal, Belieber (Zoustar), won twice and was fourth in the G3 Breeders’ Plate and her latest runner Reasonable Point (Blue Point {Ire}) was stakes-placed as a 2-year-old last season.

“Sense And Reason has been a really good mare to us,” Tait shared. “She was one of the first mares we bought when we started Twin Hills, and she has produced a stakes-placed 2-year-old this season. That filly is by Blue Point and named Reasonable Point; she was second in the Talindert S.

“She’s also the dam of Belieber, who was fourth in the Breeders’ Plate. Sense And Reason produces a beautiful horse every year, and she’s been a great servant to us. So, she’s heading to Daumier and is a really nice mare for him to cover in his second season.”

Another mare set to visit Daumier is Something Silver (Medaglia D’Oro {USA}), who won six races. “We’re also sending Something Silver, who was a top-class race mare trained by Clinton McDonald.

“She’s a big mare and will suit him physically. Something Silver had a nice yearling by Deep Field, who made $240,000 at this year’s Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale and has since been named Mega Mastermind. He was her second foal, and her first foal (Dekadance) has shown a bit of promise. We’re supporting Daumier heavily in his second season.”

Tait also mentioned the mare Demetria (Conatus), who will be served by Daumier this season. Demetria is a half-sister to the Champion 2-Year-Old Samaready (More Than Ready {USA}), the dam of G1 Golden Slipper winner Shinzo and R. Listed Magic Millions 2YO Classic victress Exhilarates (Snitzel). Demetria won twice and produced the Sebring gelding Plutocracy, who was placed in the G3 Vain S.

“It’s hard for any stud to stand a Blue Diamond winner, and we feel very fortunate to have the opportunity to stand him. We’re committed to giving him the best opportunity to succeed, and he had a good book of mares in his first season.”

New sires to be supported by Twin Hills Stud

This season, Twin Hills Stud will be sending several mares to outside stallions as part of their breeding program. “We’ve got about 60 mares we’re breeding ourselves this year,” Olly Tait shared.

One of the mares, Cavaco, a Fastnet Rock mare who is a full sister to G1 Australian Guineas victor Rock Classic, is currently in foal to Capitalist and will visit Newgate Farm’s recent addition, Militarize (NZ). Cavaco’s Justify (USA) filly was sold for $460,000 to Clinton McDonald Racing and Shane McGrath at this year’s Inglis Premier Yearling Sale.

The Justify filly has since been named Kyosha. “Cavaco is a beautiful mare. Her second foal, a filly by Justify, made $460,000 in Melbourne this year. Cavaco will go to Militarize. She’s a big mare, and he was just an outstanding racehorse. We thought that would be a nice commercial mating for her. Cavaco’s last two matings have been with Justify and Capitalist, so she’s been to some proven sires, and now it’s time to go to an unproven sire, and he’s an exciting horse.”

Cosmic Powers (Not A Single Doubt) will head down the highway to visit Pierata. Cosmic Powers is the dam of Lord Cosmos (Pierro), who won four races, including the Listed Waikato Equine Veterinary Centre S., and placed in the G3 Northland Breeders S.

Tait explained the decision, “She is the dam of a stakes-winning 2-year-old by Pierro, so we’re sending her to Pierata. He’s obviously off to a promising start with his first 2-year-olds. He’s far from the finished product as a proven stallion, but he seems to be on the right trajectory. So naturally, to breed a three-quarter sibling to a stakes winner seems the right approach. It looks like a very nice mating for her, and he’s a promising stallion.”

The proven producer My Obsession (Lonhro), who was served by Justify last spring, will head to Shinzo at Coolmore. The daughter of Lonhro won three races and is the dam of G3 Geoffrey Bellmaine S. winner Vagrant (Pariah).

“My Obsession is the dam of Vagrant, a Group 3 winner by Pariah. Pariah is by Redoute’s Choice, so we just thought going for a stallion from the same sireline would be the way to go. So she’s going to Shinzo, who’s a Golden Slipper winner by Snitzel. The age-old cliché ticks all the boxes.”

Support for Home Affairs

Tait is also set to support Coolmore’s stallion, Home Affairs, this season. The son of I Am Invincible has an impressive record, having won both the G1 Coolmore Stud S. and the G1 Lightning S.

Home Affairs will be serving his third book of mares this season, and Tait is enthusiastic about backing the stallion. “We’ve got a lovely mare named Azula, who’s a maiden that we purchased at the Magic Millions. She’s by Maurice and she’s off to Home Affairs.

“We were going to send her to Too Darn Hot but had to switch to Home Affairs, and I’ve always liked supporting horses in their season who’ve covered large numbers of good mares; it has always served us very well breeding on the back of those big books.”

Azula (Maurice {Jpn}) is out of the Redoute’s Choice mare Shutout and hails from the family of G2 HKJC Jockey Club Cup winner Straight Arron (Fastnet Rock). The daughter of Maurice won twice as a 2-year-old, including the Listed The Phoenix S. Twin Hills Stud and Stallion Match secured her for $320,000 at this year’s Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale.

Table: Mating plans for some of Twin Hill Stud’s broodmare band