Rothfire chases five wins in a row
$150,000 and $110,000 but the year before, Rothfire was deemed not good enough for any sale.
“The sales companies came to inspect him, he was a nice horse, but didn’t have enough pedigree and both Magic Millions and Inglis said he wasn’t up to the sale,” Gleeson said.
“We originally offered him for sale to North Queensland, but that didn’t happen, so we offered him to Rob (Heathcote) for $10,000 and he agreed to take him.
“The rest is history. He’s just jumped out of the ground.
“We are absolutely loving it. You get a big kick out of it. While you may not own them, we get a massive thrill out of seeing it. It just lets you know you are on the right track and it means they are getting the right upbringing.”
Rothfire’s mum Huss On Fire was retired after Rothfire couldn’t make the sales and was being used as a nanny mare, but sadly suffered a leg infection and died.
The Gleesons have however been able to buy back two of her daughters, so there is upside for the farm in future residual value of those mares if Rothfire can keep climbing the ladder.
Racing has been in the Gleeson family for decades, but it’s only more recently they decided to breed commercially. “Our family has been breeding a long time and racing in the bush, but about 10 years ago dad retired and we decided to breed a few horses together,” Gleeson said.
“We started from a low base and we’ve learned what the market wants, upgraded and now have 15-20 good quality mares. We also have shares in (stallions) Spirit Of Boom and Super One.”
Wally Gleeson is a former amateur jockey, who one day rode a treble at Eagle Farm at a meeting where amateurs were allowed to compete against their professional counterparts.