Happy times for Danzero

I doubt there is a better value stallion in Australia than Danzero (by Danehill USA)).

The Arrowfield Stud stalwart, who stands in 2009 at a fee of only $22,000 (incl. GST), hit the headlines again when his sensational son Happy Zero (br g 2004, ex-Happy Love, by Canny Lad) won the Hong Kong Sprint Trial (1200m) at Sha Tin on Sunday.

This triumph comes after another son Niconero (b g 2001, ex-Dubai Lass, by Scenic (IRE)) won three Group 1 races in the 2008-09 season – to add to his career tally of five – and his impressive colt Extra Zero (b c 2006, ex-Extra Bubbly, by Bellotto (USA)) ran a bottler of a race for second behind Monaco Consul in the Group 1 Victoria Derby (2500m) at Flemington.

Danzero, the 1994 Group 1 Golden Slipper winner, is the sire of more than 30 Stakes-winners worldwide, including the extraordinary juvenile Dance Hero (b g 2001, ex-Gypsy Dancer (NZ), by Dance Floor (USA)), who last week was voted by Herald Sun experts as the Australian 2YO of the decade.

Danzero is an ideal proven stallion for young mares to kick off their breeding career, but he’s not for everyone. Danzero, big and heavy with a boofy head (although he matured into an imposing horse), has his physical flaws, so he needs an attractive mare, maybe even light of bone, with some athleticism to achieve the right foal for the sales market.

Happy Zero’s dam, the precocious Stakes-placed Have Love (third 1995 Listed Gimcrack Stakes), was sold, in foal to Danzero, at the 2004 Inglis Australian Broodmare Sale for $140,000 to Leung Kai Fai. She produced a strapping colt, who was sold at the 2006 Inglis Easter Yearling Sale from the Widden Stud draft, to the Hong Kong-based trainer John Moore’s Surefire Limited for $425,000. (Happy Zero is pictured as a yearling).

It was an extraordinary price for a Danzero colt with a limited pedigree (one so thin that it normally wouldn’t make it to an Easter Yearling Sale) and a reflection of the colt’s quality. (View the pedigree page)

Danzero had only three yearlings in that Inglis sale and the $425,000 for the Have Love colt is the second highest price ever paid for a yearling by Danzero, who has had only three yearlings sell for more than $400,000 – in 2005, at Easter, a brown colt from the top producer Professionelle (who raced as Hoystar, a triple Stakes winner) sold to Norma Ingham for $400,000 and in 2008 at the Magic Millions Gold Coast, a filly from the fast filly Hustle Bustle sold for $450,000 to the bid of Lindsey Williams. That filly, named Better Choice, is unraced.

Obviously, Moore was attracted to Happy Zero for more than his pedigree shortfalls – four dams on the page and you need to go off the page to the fifth dam, the New Zealand Listed (1000m) winner Starophelia (by Beau Repaire), to find Happy Zero’s first direct female descendant to produce a Stakes winner. Starophelia produced trainer Meggsy Elkington’s tough staying colt Epidaurus (by Forearmed (GB)), winner of the 1970 VRC St Leger (2800m) when the race (now Listed) had a bit more clout that it does today, as it was probably rated at Group 1 level.

Moore also would have been attracted to the fact Happy Zero’s brother, Triumphant Unicorn (born in 2002), was already a successful horse in Hong Kong, winning four races at the time of the sale.

Happy Zero’s fourth dam, Petine (NZ) (by Persian Garden (GB)), is a half-sister the fine producer Mary (NZ), by Hermes (GB), who is best known as the dam of the outstanding half-brothers Cossack Prince (by Sir Tristram) and Cossack Warrior (by Bletchingly) – both multiple Group 2 winners and both placed in the Group 1 Caulfield Cup (2400m).

Happy Zero was an exceptionally good-looking colt, and very much in the image of his sire (view Danzero to see what I mean), although with a much more attractive head, which obviously appealed to Moore and his bloodstock advisers (a team that can include seriously good judges John Hutchinson and Alan Bell), who select very wisely for the Hong Kong market. Like most Danzero colts, he was a powerful unit, and gelding has been the making of him, as it is with most of the best Danzero colts, including his headliners Dance Hero, Fairway, Niconero and Hoystar.

The pedigree also has a wonderful mix of what has been great about Australian breeding in modern times – Danehill (USA) and Sir Tristram (IRE) (the sire of grand dam Madam Tristo) and a double cross 4×5 of Star Kingdom (IRE) through the dams of Danzero (Kaoru Star) and Have Love (Canny Lad).

Danzero, aged 18, is covering his 15^th book of mares in Scone after starting has career in 1995 at Chatswood Stud, Seymour, Victoria – as did his barn mate Flying Spur. Danzero’s stud fee peaked at $35,000 (inc. GST) in 2001 on the back of his brilliant Group 1 winning 3YOs Fairway and Danglissa, and it has fluctuated since. It is noticeable that his fertility as dropped a little, below 80 per cent (Ref: studbook.org.au) in 2007 and 2008, which is natural for a horse of his age. In 2008, his popularity was high as he covered 134 mares, his third highest number behind 167 (2004) and 158 (2005) in the wake of the deeds of Dance Hero.

1. 

   sam Eoannidis says:

   December 14, 2009 at 2:43 am

   hi could you please explain what is ment by the term affinity when the stallion has a affinity with the mare or this yearling has a duel affinity and how do u work out what this affinity is thank you also how do you think due sasso will shape up as a sire. all the best sam
2. 

   Danny Power says:

   December 14, 2009 at 5:16 am

   Hi Sam,
   A stallion/mare affinity can be described in a few ways. In general terms, a stallion, let’s say Danehill, had a proven affinity with Star Kingdom line and Sir Tristram line mares. In other words, a good percentage of his best winners carried these bloodlines on the dam side. In other words, the affinity (match) of the bloodlines is backed by statistics.
   Danehill might also have an affinity with a particular mare because she represents a mixing of bloodlines within Danehill’s pedigree, rather than be a outcross.
   But the affinity may also be a physical one. For instance, a big, heavy stallion might have an affinity with light-framed or smallish mares.
   As for Due Sasso, I am a bit of a fan of this young sire. He is a very fast son of his sire Scenic and he comes from a good family. History shows that the fastest sons of a particular stallion, whether they are big race winners or not, often become the best sire sons. I wrote about Due Sasso recently, read the story on this link http://thebreed.thethoroughbred.com.au/archives/293