From Breednet: After settling back at the tail of the field, Angela Jones made a race-winning move when sticking to the rails on the home turn to capture Sunday’s $300,000 Wishlist Caloundra Cup (2400m) on Mission Of Love.
From Breednet: A race-to-race double for Tony and Maddysen Sears as the stable star Yellow Brick staked a claim for the $3,000,000 Stradbroke Handicap on June 15, following his win in Saturday’s Listed Nuturf Spear Chief Hcp (1500m) at Eagle Farm.
Queensland’s leading stallion operation, Aquis Stallions, has revealed its roster for the 2024 season.
Aquis Stallions who have launched the careers of some of Australia’s most promising stallions PIERATA, BRAVE SMASH and ROYAL MEETING now announces its new stallion development opportunity in the three-time US Group winner, Officiating.
A complete outcross, deliberately selected by Aquis Stallions following a global headhunting mission to secure a stallion that will excel with the local Queensland broodmare population, with a particular focus on mares by Spirit of Boom, Better Than Ready and Spill The Beans amongst the wider pool of Danehill heavy Queensland mares.
Officiating is the first son of the North American super sire, Blame, to stand in Australia. An Eclipse Champion Racehorse, Breeders’ Cup Classic winner, and three-time Group 1 winner, Blame is an elite stallion who runs at 14% stakes horses to runners as both a sire and a broodmare sire.
Officiating was a racehorse for all seasons, excelling on fast and heavy surfaces with four of his five career victories at stakes level. Officiating would capture the Group 3 Cornhusker at his penultimate outing making it his third high class Group win before farewelling the track in the US$1million Group 2 Charles Town Classic, finishing a neck fourth behind Art Collector, the winner of the Group 1 Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes. This is proper, fast, tough form on the world stage.
“We got our man!” Aquis Stallions Director of Sales, Jonathan Davies enthused. “In a deal we spent most of 2023 putting together in the USA, Officiating is perfect for our local broodmare population, that’s why he’s here and we’ve already seen a glimpse of that through this season’s Group 2 Todman Stakes winner Switzerland being by Snitzel out of a Blame mare”.
“For us, launching stallions and developing value for our stallion shareholders is what it’s about and like Brave Smash and Royal Meeting, Officiating is that tough, sound, outcross stallion that will work and we have no doubt in four to five years’ time he will be sought by all the big studs in the Hunter Valley and Victoria.
Officiating will stand his first season at Aquis Stallions at a fee of $12,500 inc GST.
Officiating is part of an 8-strong Aquis roster in 2024, which is headed by one of Australia’s leading 2-year-old sires Kobayashi.
Please contact our sales team at Aquis Stallions for more information or to arrange a private viewing of our new stallion Officiating or any of the 2024 stallions.
| Stallion Name | 2024 Fee (inc GST) |
| Kobayashi | $15,000 |
| Lean Mean Machine | $13,200 |
| Jonker | $12,500 |
| Officiating (USA) (NEW) | $12,500 |
| Stronger | $9,900 |
| Invader | $8,800 |
| Glenfiddich | $5,500 |
| The Mission | $4,400 |
From TDN: The Tony and Maddysen Sears-trained Yellow Brick (The Mission) claimed his Group 3 success on Saturday in G3 Gold Coast Guineas at the Sunshine Coast, providing his young Aquis Farm-based sire The Mission a first stakes winner. TDN AusNZ caught up with Maddysen Sears and Paul Moroney to discuss this $20,000 bargain buy.
From ANZ Bloodstock: The Tony and Maddysen Sears-trained Yellow Brick (3 g ex Magical Mist by High Chaparral) took his career record to six wins and two placings from eight starts when he landed the Gold Coast Guineas (Gr 3, 1200m) at the Sunshine Coast yesterday.
Read more (page 8)
From TDN: Queensland trainers Tony and Maddysen Sears fended off a host of inter-state raiders to win Saturday’s G3 Gold Coast Guineas at the Sunshine Coast with their 3-year-old gelding Yellow Brick (The Mission), who made it six wins from eight starts.
From Breednet: It took eight starts and six wins for Yellow Brick to earn the respect he deserves, but the 3yo son of The Mission made an army of new admirers with his dominant performance in Saturday’s $200,000 Group III Brandons Gold Coast Guineas (1200m) at the Sunshine Coast.
Aquis Stallions has today announced their 7-strong stallion line up for the coming spring.
Headlining the Stronger than ever team is the Group 1 winning sprinter, Jonker ($16,500 fee), who covered a superb book of mares for his first season in 2022. A son of the hugely popular Spirit of Boom, Jonker was the fastest male winner of the Gr.1 Manikato Stakes (faster than Redoute’s Choice, Rebel Dane, Sepoy etc..) and his brilliant speed also saw him smash Champion Sprinter, Takeover Target’s 1200m track record.
He’ll be joined in 2023 by son of Champion sire Not A Single Doubt, Stronger ($13,750 fee), a Group 1 winning speedster in Hong Kong and Group winner in Australia at 2.
Both Jonker and Stronger will be joined by the proven Group 1 stallion Invader and up-and-coming sires Kobayashi and The Mission both of whom have enjoyed an incredibly successful twelve months on the track. While Lean Mean Machine – who’s oldest progeny (two-year-olds) are impressing trainers around the country, and the charismatic, good-looking son of Fastnet Rock, Glenfiddich rounds out a strong rooster for 2023.
“We are incredibly excited for the season ahead, we are spearheaded by two good looking proper Group 1 sprinters, both by proven, colonial, speed stallions. We cannot wait for breeders to feast their eyes on Stronger and see Jonkers first foals galloping around paddocks across Australia,” Aquis Farm Director of Sales, Jonathan Davies enthused.
“Jonker covered the best book of mares a first season stallion has covered on this farm. Prudent breeders will of course note that and breeding to Jonker this season will prove an astute move. With the service fee increase to his sire Spirit of Boom, at his fee, Jonker is an attractive option for breeders looking to tap into the sire line,” added Davies.
Like Jonker, Fastnet Rock’s Gr.2 Bill Stutt winner (and Gr.1 Champagne Stakes runner up), Glenfiddich ($8,800 fee) was well received in his first year, while Lean Mean Machine ($13,200 fee) is off to a promising start with trainers predicting progeny will emulate their sire’s Group 2 winning form at 3.
Snitzel’s Group 1 winning 2YO, Invader ($11,000 fee), became the first of the current crop of Second Season Sires to produce a Group 1 winner with Sunshine In Paris winning the Surround Stakes and fellow 2YO stakes winner – the I Am Invincible sire, Kobayashi ($8,800 fee) – has a number of outstanding types coming through, including lightning quick 2YO, Mishani Royale, who has won her last four starts and led home the quinella for her sire in the $500,000 QTIS Jewel.
And the best value for money QTIS stallion, The Mission ($8,800 fee), boasts a higher average earnings index than leading Second Season Sires Russian Revolution and Hellbent. A Group 1 winning 2YO who was Champion Queensland First Season Sire in 2021/22 by winners and earnings and is again the state’s current leading Second Season Sire.
Please contact our sales team at Aquis Stallions for more information or to arrange a private viewing of our new stallion Stronger or any of the 2023 stallions.
| Stallion Name | 2023 Fee (inc GST) |
| Jonker | 16,500 |
| Stronger (NEW) | 13,750 |
| Lean Mean Machine | 13,200 |
| Invader | 11,000 |
| Glenfiddich | 8,800 |
| Kobayashi | 8,800 |
| The Mission | 8,800 |
From ANZ Bloodstock: Tony and Maddysen Sears will bid for a breakthrough stakes winner when Yellow Brick (The Mission) lines up for the pair in Saturday’s Magic Millions 3YO Guineas.
Read More (page 37)
From Breednet: Every colt that has won the Group I ATC Champagne Stakes since 2000 has been given a shot at commercial stud success by major farms and while their results have been mixed with Pierro a clear standout, the winner of the race in 2017 is probably exceeding expectation this season.
Choisir colt The Mission had 19 starts winning just two of them with his two and a half length win in the Group I ATC champagne Stakes over Invader the highlight in an otherwise fairly average racing career.