Widden Stud Adds Group 1 Winner Portland Sky to Roster

Widden Stud has unveiled its group 1-winning sprinter Portland Sky, who will stand at its Hunter Valley property for an introductory fee of AU$27,500 (US$20,769) (incl. GST) for the upcoming breeding season.

Stud principal Antony Thompson said it was a 'tough decision' but believed the Matt Laurie-trained Neds Oakleigh Plate (G1) winner and best-credentialed son of Deep Field was most ideally placed in New South Wales, where he offers an attractive proposition for those breeders who have successfully bred to Deep Field previously, a stallion that last year commanded a fee of $88,000 ($66,461) (incl. GST) having stood for an opening fee of AU$22,000 ($16,615) (incl. GST) when first retired to stud in 2015.

"We certainly gave great consideration to standing him in Victoria. A lot of Victorian breeders were very keen to have him based in Victoria. But I just thought the number of breeders that have had good success with breeding to Deep Field in the Hunter, off a similar sort of introductory fee to when Deep Field first went to stud, there are a lot of those mares that went to Deep Field in those early days that produced very good-looking yearlings, that have sold very well, and have gone on to become high-class racehorses," Thompson told ANZ Bloodstock News. 

"A group 1-winning colt with his looks and his performances represents terrific value. The breeders that have bred to Zoustar and Deep Field and have had success on that sire line, they know they're such commercial horses.

"Deep Field's price is as such that those breeders are thinking that it might be a bit prohibitive to go back to Deep Field, and they see Portland Sky as a very good option, and that's certainly the response that we've had." 

In a 10-start career, nine of which were in Victoria, Portland Sky became the first elite-level winner for Deep Field when he bravely held on to dead-heat with Celebrity Queen in the time-honored Oakleigh Plate at Caulfield as a 3-year-old. It was a victory that backed up success in the Superior Food Services Manfred Stakes (G3) on his previous start—in which he defeated Neds Blue Diamond Stakes (G1) winner Tagaloa—while the imposing colt claimed a first black-type success in the PFD Food Services Red Anchor Stakes (G3) at Moonee Valley during his first racing preparation that spring. 

With an abundance of tactical speed, Portland Sky led from start to finish in each of his group 3 successes, winning by a three-quarter-length margin over Bella Nipotina in the Red Anchor Stakes while he prevailed by the same margin in defeating Aysar in the Manfred Stakes. 

In the Oakleigh Plate, he jumped from barrier five to travel on the speed in a fiercely run race, with Ancestry on his inside and Anders to the outer, but as their challenge wilted to finish 12th and 15th, Portland Sky showed traits of toughness and desire to ensure he was not headed at the post from the closing Celebrity Queen. 

"He's that sort of horse, he did it at both ends. It was a high-pressure race; he soaked that up when others compounded around him, so again, that's what you're looking for. That's what the trainers are looking for, it's what the breeders are looking for; a really good looking, tough, fast colt," Thompson said, whose historic operation is famed for the colonial speed stallions it has stood, including Portland Sky's ill-fated grandsire Northern Meteor , whose son Zoustar is the stud's current flagbearer. 

"He's a perfect fit for our roster," Thompson continued. "He does have the speed that we look for and physically he's such an impressive horse. Breeders are just going to love him and I'm sure those breeders that do breed to him will be rewarded with commercial yearlings down the track and I'm sure they'll be top-class racehorses as well."

The winning time of 1:02.70 is bettered only by Fastnet Rock  among 3-year-old-winning colts of the race. 

The stallion also proved his credentials at weight-for-age level next start when finishing second to Masked Crusader in the Keogh Homes William Reid Stakes (G1)—a race possessing eight individual group 1 winners—while he returned to Moonee Valley in the spring of his 4-year-old to finish second in the Mittys McEwen Stakes (G2), beating recent 3 Point Motors William Reid Stakes (G1) winner September Run. 

An AU$85,000 ($60,690) buy for Laurie from the 2019 Magic Millions Perth Yearling Sale, Thompson also lauded Portland Sky as a physical specimen and said it was the decisive factor in their decision to buy the stallion and stand him on their roster following his retirement in September last year. 

"When you see a horse win a group 1 and beat the older horses, that gets your attention. We were certainly interested then," he said. "But when we went and inspected him—a great head and jowl, a lovely masculine shape of forearm and gaskin—that just sort of said Australian speed. The way he carried himself with such lovely movement, he really was the complete package.

"Matt Laurie did an outstanding job with this colt, having found him, purchased him, and then trained him. He's effusive in his comments and in his admiration for this horse. I know how much he loved him and Matt was thrilled to see him go to Widden as he believes he'll be a really good stallion." 

Widden is offering shares and lifetime breeding rights in Portland Sky.