Rosemont Stud has celebrated the safe arrival of one of the highest-profile foals that will be born at its Gnarrwarre farm this year, but the hardest part of the process may be ahead of them.
Anthony Mithen and his co-proprietor Nigel Austin now have to decide what to do with the daughter of I Am Invincible and Stylish Bel, who is a half-sister to champion Hong Kong miler Beauty Generation.
The filly would be a banner attraction at any sale but would also have immense value as a broodmare if retained by the breeding operation.
“It would make a bit of sense that we keep a filly out of this family given how good a family it is,” Mithen said.
“You’re talking about a high-class family and a mare that has still plenty of life left in her – she’s 15 Stylish Bel – so we’ve got a few bites at the cherry to try and get another filly.
“But in the meantime, we’ll rub our chin and wonder about this little girl and whether she’d look good in a sale ring somewhere or whether she’d look good running around in the Rosemont red.”
The filly became the eighth foal of Stylish Bel, a 15-year-old daughter of Bel Esprit and Stylish Victory, who is best known as the dam of Beauty Generation, who was bred in New Zealand and raced in Australia as Montaigne before being sold to Hong Kong.
Rosemont purchased Stylish Bel via its association with Donna Logan and Peter Woods, when Logan relocated to Singapore, and was thrilled to see her safely deliver the result of a union to champion stallion I Am Invincible after missing to that stallion 12 months earlier.
The birth took place at around 6:30am on Thursday, later than is customary with mares generally preferring to foal in the dark of the night.
“She is an absolutely beauty,” Mithen said. “She is as good a foal as we’ve had on the farm this year and we couldn’t be more delighted at the job that Stylish Bel had done for us.”
The filly’s arrival comes three days before Beauty Generation’s racetrack return in Sunday’s Celebration Cup at Sha Tin, which will be his first start for trainer David Hayes.
– racing.com
