Price drops in to scope out talent
LEADING Victorian trainer Mick Price visited North Taieri this week in the hope of finding his next group 1 galloper.
Price touched down in Otago just hours after lining up Grunt, who ran fifth in Mystic Journey’s All Star Mile at Flemington.
The main focus of Price’s visit was to check out the stock of his former racehorse turned sire Prince Of Brooklyn.
The stallion has stood at Grassyards Farm, near Mosgiel, since June 2017.
Prince Of Brooklyn has sired one crop of foals, and Price checked them out while he was there.
‘‘I came over to have a look at the horse and some of the foals because we might want to buy one or two and bring them back to Australia.
‘‘We might be putting a syndicate together to bring a couple back to Australia to race.
‘‘The horses look great, they are nice and healthy and Prince Of Brooklyn himself looks fantastic.’’
Like most top trainers, Price has his own checklist when appraising young horses.
He said he saw stock of Prince Of Brooklyn that he likes the look of.
‘‘There are certainly some horses there that match up on the normal criteria that I would use to buy a foal or a yearling.
‘‘Regardless of what the horses are by, the individuals match up.
‘‘I think there are a couple of colts there that are quite nice, and there is a filly there that is quite nice.’’
Prince Of Brooklyn is by Magnus from Zabeel mare Tristabeel.
He was a group 3 2yrold winner on debut for trainer Price before injury ended his career.
The galloper tallied more than $A270,000 ($NZ279,538) in stakes and won two more races in Victoria before his career was over after just 10 starts.
Price has had good success with the progeny of Tristabeel.
Duke Of Brunswick, a full brother to Prince Of Brooklyn, won seven races and more than $A500,000 ($NZ517,667) in prize money from the Price stable.
Princess Of Queens, a full sister to Prince Of Brooklyn, won her last start in group 3 company at Caulfield last month.
Price said there were differences between each of the full siblings.
‘‘Duke Of Brunswick threw to the Zabeel side — we know he was a bit cranky.
‘‘And I think Princess Of Queens has thrown to Magnus himself.
‘‘Prince Of Brooklyn, I think, has thrown to the Flying Spur part of Magnus.
‘‘So, what I think with Prince Of Brooklyn is he is a really handsome Danehill and Flying Spur type of colt.
‘‘He won his first start in a group 3 race and I did have a good opinion of him.’’
Jason Coutts and Charlotte Young, who operate Grassyards Farm, are taking bookings for Prince Of Brooklyn ahead of this year’s spring breeding season.