Tuesday’s very impressive debut winner at Sale, Tensig, has an interesting and topical international pedigree.

Tensig is a son of champion New Zealand stallion Zabeel (NZ) – pictured – from the imported Danehill mare Kerkira (IRE). The 3YO gelding, who scored a dominant win over 1400m, is trained by Rodney Douglas for prominent and prolific Melbourne owner Jonathan Munz.

Munz’s Pincecliffe Racing Syndicate paid a whopping $600,000 for Tensig, through the bid of agent and advisor Dean Hawthorn at the 2008 New Zealand Bloodstock Karaka Premier Yearling Sale from the draft of Beltara Stud.

It was the equal fourth highest price for a Zabeel yearling at the sale, which was topped by the $900,000 paid for a colt by Zabeel from La Quinta Gold by David Ellis of Te Akau Bloodstock. The colt races as the promising young stayer Heir Apparent. Heir Apparent, during the spring carnival, finished second in the Listed Geelong Classic (2200m, Geelong) before his ninth behind Monaco Consul in the Group 1 Victoria Derby (2500m, Flemington).

Tensig’s granddam Kotama, by 1985 Epsom Derby winner Shahrastani (by Nijinsky (CAN), was bred by The Aga Khan and won the Listed Leopardstown One Thousand Guineas Trial; she is a half-sister to Kasora (by Darshaan (GB)), the dam of the champion stayer and now exceptional young sire High Chapparal (by Sadler’s Wells (USA). Of course, High Chapparal, who shuttles to Windsor Park Stud, Cambridge, is the sire of the Derby winner Monaco Consul, and also the brilliant Group 1 Cox Plate winning colt So You Think.

The third dam of Tensig is Kozana (by Kris (GB)), the joint top filly in France in 1985, whose wins included the Group 2 Prix de Malleret at Longchamp, but her best performances were her second behind Rousillon in the 1985 Group 1 Prix du Moulin and third behind Rainbow Quest in the 1985 Group 1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.

The Zabeel-Danehill cross has provided the champion Hong Kong star Vengeance Of Rain (ex-Danelagh) and his high-class sister Group 1 AJC Oaks winning sister Dizelle, although Zabeel hasn’t covered Danehill mares in great numbers and certainly not the best of the Danehill daughters, who are generally based in Australia.

Tensig’s pedigree has a triple cross of Northern Dancer (4×4x5) and, of course, Danehill is inbred to Northern Dancer’s family.

By nature the Zabeel breed are late developers; the fact that Tensig, with his stout international pedigree, was able to debut with a win against some fast opposition over 1400m, gives owner Munz a lot to look forward to.

Few people would begrudge Munz a good horse after his considerable buying and breeding of horses in the last 10 years so without the racetrack results to match. His best runner in that period was the ill-fated Group 1 Champagne Stakes winner, Meurice (by Strategic).

View Tensig’s pedigree.

Life’s all about timing, and All American’s win in the Group 1 Emirates Stakes (1600m, Flemington) on November 7 was timely in that it came about the same time as the death of his sire Red Ransom, and it also ensured him a possible seat at the table of Arrowfield Stud stallion roster.

But was the timing right for Arrowfield?

Arrowfield Stud, in fact, is left with a dilemma. Retiring All American immediately, with nearly 10 months to the 2010 breeding season, obviously wasn’t an option for the owners of the horse, including Arrowfield as a major shareholder, but continuing to race him is risky, as we have seen from All American’s disappointing performance (11^th) in Saturday’s Group 1 Railway Stakes (1600m) at Ascot.

Every similar performance to his Railway flop in his autumn 2010 campaign will dilute the horse’s stallion value. Nobody will be more aware of that than Arrowfield supremo John Messara. All American will need to be handled with care.

I suspect that All American’s autumn campaign will be very select and that we won’t see him chasing Group 1 races for the sake of it, because that will be a very risky policy with a horse that already has a history of inconsistency that is of concern some broodmare owners.

All American needs a big track and a fast tempo to produce his best. A race like the Group 1 Doncaster Handicap (1600m, Randwick) is a perfect fit.

Breeding lines:

All American (b h 2005, Red Ransom (USA)-Milva (USA), by Strawberry Road)

Red Ransom (USA) (b h 1987, Roberto (USA)-Arabia (USA), by Damascus (USA))

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.

The Magic Millions Perth Yearling Sale catalogue has arrived on my desk. The sale has been moved earlier than usual, starting on Wednesday, January 27.

A quick peruse of the 630 lots (sold over four days) and I couldn’t help but notice that the former smart Melbourne sprinter Due Sasso has 47 yearlings in the catalogue, a healthy number from 76 foals born in his first season. Due Sasso (pictured) stands in 2009 at Mungrup Stud for a fee of $5500 (inc. GST) – he stood for $9900 in his first two seasons (he only has 36 foals from crop two).

Ironically, as Due Sasso is about to launch his stud career at the yearling sales, his former trainer Brian Mayfield-Smith is about to bow out from training at the end of this month.

Due Sasso has a lot going for him that appeals to West Australian buyers – he’s a son of Scenic (IRE) (by Sadler’s Wells), a stallion that had an amazing impact on WA, and Australian, racing after he moved there from Victoria in 1999. Scenic covered three seasons in WA before returning to Victoria in 2003. Scenic, who died in March 2005, sired the outstanding WA gallopers Scenic Blast, Scenic Shot, Marasco, Idyllic Prince and Grand Nirvana – and of course, the 2007 Melbourne Cup winner Viewed.

Due Sasso is listed as one of Scenic’s fastest sons, which is a tick for his stallion potential – it’s amazing how many times a fast son of a leading sire, even if not Group winner of note, can emerge as a good/champion stallion. Think Danzig (Northern Dancer), Red Ransom (Roberto) and even Due Sasso’s barn mate at Mungrup Oratorio (by Stravinsky).

Due Sasso was a precocious juvenile, winning the Group 3 Blue Diamond Prelude (1100m, Caulfield), beaten subsequent Group 1 winners Nadeem (Blue Diamond Stakes) and Wonderful World (Caulfield Guineas).

Mayfield-Smith described Due Sasso, after that win, as a brilliant colt with natural speed at both ends of his races. He retired after only eight starts.

Due Sasso is out of the Rubiton mare Scarlet Bird, so he defied this part of his pedigree known for producing late maturers. He inherited his speed from his third dam, Sleepyhead, a slick daughter of the fast import Daybreak (IRE) (by Golden Cloud), although Sleepyhead’s dam Mintaway won the Group 1 VRC Oaks (2400m). Sleepyhead is best known as the granddam of the freakish juvenile Rancher (by Bold Lad (IRE), who was also a good sire for Arrowfield Stud.

Three other first season sires have big drafts in the Perth sale – the Fusaichi Pegasus stallion Flying Pegasus (54 yearlings), the stout Danehill son Saxon (34 yearlings) and Catbird’s brother Bearcat (27 yearlings).

Flying Pegasus (b h 2002, ex-Cashier, by Danehill (USA)) won the Group 2 Royal Sovereign Stakes (1200m) as a 3YO and the Group 3 Kindargarten Stakes (1200m) at two. His dam Cashier won the Group 2 Silver Shadow Stakes (1200m).

Bearcat (b h 1999, Danehill (USA)–Fitting, by Marscay) did his racing in Hong Kong where he won four races from 1200m to 1400m.

Saxon (b h 2001, ex-Jeanetta Cochrane (IRE), by Sadler’s Wells (USA)) won four races including the Group 2 Queensland Guineas (1600m).

The Australian Stud Book will have to do something to alleviate the confusion that will reign over the progeny of the two Oratorios in Australia in the coming years.

Oratorio 1 (pictured), born in 2000, is the Australian-bred son of Stravinsky (by Nureyev (USA)), who is based in Western Australia at Mungrup Stud, south of Perth. The stallion, who is from the top broodmare Express The Smile (by Success Express (USA)), is taking Perth racing by storm – his oldest progeny are three, and this former top-class juvenile galloper is shaping as one of the most exciting young stallions in the country.

Oratorio 2, born in 2002, is the Coolmore (NSW) shuttler, bred in Ireland, by Danehill (USA) from Mahrah (USA), by Vaguely Noble (IRE). His oldest Australian progeny are two.

If both horses were racing, the Irish-bred Oratorio, being the younger and the import, would be required to change his name to something like The Oratorio or My Oratorio.

Changing the name for a stallion isn’t obligatory and doesn’t quite work as well. In harness racing, officials seem to have got it right by requiring that the suffix for all horses imported, including those from New Zealand, become part of the name. So in this case, the Coolmore stallion becomes Oratorio IRE.

(Back in 1860s, Australian had two Tim Whifflers racing. The NSW-trained Tim Whiffler won the 1867 Melbourne Cup, in which the Victorian Tim Whiffler finished fifth. They were generally referred to as Sydney Tim and Melbourne Tim.)

Even so, there still will be confusion for breeders and punters alike over the two Oratorios, and even more so now that the Australian version is shaping as a brilliant young sire with three Stakes winners from his first crop, including the sensational, unbeaten gelding Waratah’s Secret, who will be one of the favourites for the Group 2 Winterbottom Stakes (wfa 1200m, Ascot) on November 28.

Last Saturday, Oratorio’s outstanding filly Clueless Angel won the Group 2 WA Guineas (1600m) at Ascot, adding to her Listed Burgess Queen Stakes win.

Last season, Oratorio sired Gold Rocks, the winner of the Group 2 Karrakatta Plate (1200m, Ascot) and he looks to have another exceptional juvenile filly in Motion Pictures, who is unbeaten in two starts.

Oratorio was a classy juvenile for trainer Lee Freedman and a syndicate of owners, headed by Perth-based breeder Keith Biggs. The handsome colt won the 2003 Listed Tommy Smith Slipper (1200m) at Doomben before winning the 2003 Adelaide Magic Millions (1200m) at Morphettville. At three, he trained on to win the Group 3 CS Hayes Stakes (1200m) at Moonee Valley.

Biggs said Oratorio has been a revelation. “I am sending four or five of my good Hunter Valley mares back to WA to go to him this season,” he said.

Oratorio is fully booked in 2009 at a fee of $11,000 (inc. GST).

The Irish Oratorio stands at Coolmore for a fee of $22,000 (inc. GST). He was a triple Group 1 winner in England, France and Ireland over distances ranging from 1400m to 2000m, including the Eclipse Stakes (2000m) and Irish Champion Stakes (2000m) at three.

Oratorio’s first Northern Hemisphere crop includes the Group 1 winner Beethoven (Dewhurst Stakes) and the smart Big Audio, a dual Listed winner. He has not had a runner in Australia.

Breeding lines:

Gold Rocks (b f 2006, Oratorio-Alozie, by Luskin Star)

Waratah’s Secret (br g 2006, Oratorio-Blissfully, by Zabeel (NZ))

Clueless Angel (br f 2006, Oratorio-Petite Angel, by Marooned (GB))

Motion Pictures (b or br f 2007, Oratorio-Zabore Loch, by Zabeel (NZ))

It will be a tough week for everyone at Vinery Australia following the death of Vinery’s “old man” stallion, Red Ransom on the weekend.

Red Ransom, aged 22, was put down after breaking his leg in the process of recovering from intestinal surgery.

Red Ransom’s death comes as his impact on Australian racing and breeding, despite his age, was hitting a peak – in 2009, he has sired four outstanding Group 1 winners: star mare Typhoon Tracy (Coolmore Classic and Myer Classic), All American (Emirates Stakes), Duporth (BTC Cup) and Onemorenomore (Champagne Stakes). All American could add a postscript for Red Ransom in the G1 Railway Stakes (1600m) at Ascot in Perth on Saturday.

And his crack Group 1 winning son Charge Forward (Arrowfield Stud), after winning the Champion First Season Sire (prizemoney) title for 2008/09, sired his first Group 1 winner when his 3YO daughter Headway won the Group 1 Coolmore Stud Stakes (1200m) at Flemington.

It’s true that it after an initial surge in interest in Red Ransom when he arrived to stand at Vinery (near Scone in the Hunter Valley), it took a while for Australian breeders to warm to him – he’s not the most handsome of stallions as he was short on leg and had the tough head of a prize fighter. His early “down under” foals were hard to sell at the yearling sales, as they lacked the good looks and athleticism that appealed to buyers.

I remember inspecting all the Red Ransoms at the 2002 and 2003 Easter Yearling Sales with a buyer looking for a filly, and we both made the comment that it was difficult to assess them, especially as they were heavy-bodied horses and were not flowing, athletic walkers.

Yet that first crop that debuted in the 2002-03 season proved that Red Ransom was an outstanding, tough and versatile sire, perfectly suited to Australian conditions. He had two runners (Face Value and Halibery) in the 2003 Group 1 Golden Slipper (1200m, Rosehill) and later in the year provided two (Face Value and Noble Red) of the colts and geldings that lined up in the 2004 Group 1 Victoria Derby (2500m, Flemington).

Twelve months later, he also had two runners in the Slipper, including the brilliant Charge Forward, who finished runner-up behind the champion Triple Crown winner Dance Hero.

Vinery and other commercial breeders looking for saleable yearlings, soon worked out that the best mares to put to Red Ransom were the lighter-framed, attractive mares. The quality of his yearlings improved dramatically in recent years and they were much more warmly received across the board, especially the well-bred fillies for their outcross value – Red Ransom is free of Northern Dancer blood.

Red Ransom has sired 13 Group 1 winners – six of those in the southern hemisphere. His headline act in Europe was the champion multiple Group 1 winner Electrocutionist, winner of the 2006 Dubai World Cup and Juddemonte International.

According to a Racing Post story, Red Ransom has 15 sons at stud worldwide, and that figure will grow by three when his recent Australian Group 1 winning sons All American, Duporth and Onemorenomore enter stud at the end of the 2009-10 season. All American will stand at Arrowfield alongside Charge Forward, the handsome Duporth is almost certain to replace his sire at Vinery, while Onemorenomore can be expected to stand at Patinack Farm.

The old man might be gone, but his legacy will live on strongly, especially as an outcross option for the wealth of Danehill/Danzig and Northern Dancer blood in Australia through his high-class sons, which includes Lindsay Park’s young sire Face Value, whose oldest progeny are only three.

The breeding lines:

Red Ransom (b h 1987, Roberto (USA)-Arabia (USA), by Damascus (USA))

Charge Forward (b h 2001, Red Ransom (USA)-Sydney’s Dream, by Bletchingly)

All America (b h 2005, Red Ransom (USA)-Milva (USA), by Strawberry Road)

Typhoon Tracey (b or br m 2005, Red Ransom (USA)-Tracey’s Element, by Last Tycoon (IRE))

Duporth (b or br h 2005, Red Ransom (USA)-Staging, by Success Express (USA))

Headway (b f 2006, Charge Forward-Chatrelaine, by Flying Spur)

Face Value (b h 2000, Red Ransom (USA)-Freckled Face, by Polish Patriot (USA))

Electrocutionist (b h 2001, Red Ransom (USA)-Elbaaha (GB), by Arazi (USA))

Leading trainer Brian Mayfield-Smith has announced his intention to retire. Mayfield-Smith will close his Flemington stable at the end of November.

Mayfield-Smith cited economic reasons for the decision – the second time he has retired from training in his career. “It costs me $6000 a week to keep open a stable of 26 horses,” Mayfield-Smith told Sky Channel’s Andrew Bensley.

Mayfield-Smith is best known for ending the run of Sydney Trainers’ Premiership wins by the legendary Tommy Smith, who had won 33 in succession before Mayfield-Smith’s 99 winners in 1985-86 beat Smith for the title. Mayfield-Smith, who won the next two Sydney premierships, has trained 30 Group 1 winners.

The Brian Mayfield-Smith profile, as it appeared in the 2008-09 edition of Racing In Australia.

BRIAN MAYFIELD-SMITH

Born: May 24, 1947.

Brian Mayfield-Smith’s interest in horses was developed during his days as a stockman on remote cattle stations in far North Queensland and the Northern Territory. He started working as a strapper in 1967 in Brisbane, moving to Sydney in 1968 for a short stint with trainer Jack Denham.

Mayfield-Smith was granted his training licence in 1971 and based himself at Cairns, training his first winner with his first starter, in April that year – Gay Meld who won by 10 lengths at Mareeba.

He then moved to Townsville in late 1972, training from a caravan under a tree on the home turn, not long after arriving, he trained his first winner with his first runner.

In 1974, Mayfield-Smith relocated to Doomben, again training a winner with his first starter from his new base. It was in Doomben that Brian produced his first ’star’ horse, Tiger Town, who won several good races in Brisbane and Sydney.

Mayfield-Smith made the move to Sydney in 1976, again his first runner was a winner, with Tiger Town being beaten a nose in the 1976 Group 1 Epsom Handicap (1600m, Randwick). He also was narrowly beaten in the 1977 Group 1 Stradbroke Handicap (1400km, Eagle Farm) in Brisbane.

In 1978, he became private trainer for Millie Fox at Nebo Lodge, Rosehill. A position he held for six years, training more than 300 winners and his first Group 1 winner, Brindisi in the 1980 AJC The Metropolitan Handicap (2400m) at Randwick.

In 1984, Robert Sangster and Bob Lapointe took over the ownership of Nebo Lodge, and appointed Mayfield-Smith as their trainer.

In the 1985-86 season, Mayfield-Smith won the Sydney Trainers’ Premiership with 99 winners, ending Tommy Smith’s 33-year dominance of the title. Mayfield-Smith won the title in the next two years and added the 1987 Golden Slipper Stakes with Marauding on his CV.

In 1987, Mayfield-Smith and his wife Maree took a trip to South Africa that changed their lives. They travelled to South Africa eight times in the next nine years, before Mayfield-Smith made the shock announcement of his retirement from training to move to South Africa to commence a career as a wildlife conservationist, particularly to save the white Rhinoceros.

The South Africa adventure didn’t work out to their liking and the Mayfield-Smiths returned to Australia and opened a boutique training stable at Flemington, with the aim of raising funds for wildlife conservation through training racehorses.

As he has done in every move previously, Mayfield-Smith trained a winner with his first Flemington runner, winning on his home track with Wry Hero.

Mayfield-Smith released his autobiography, titled The Outsider in November 2000.

Mayfield-Smith has the capacity to train 26 horses at Flemington, and his return to training sees him constantly leading the strike-rate averages, with a best season of 27.8% winners to runners in 2001-02. Since his return, he has won eight Group 1 races, including Oliver Twist (2000 Underwood Stakes & Mackinnon Stakes); Rubitano (2002 Newmarket Handicap & Salinger Stakes), Sudurka (2001 Oakleigh Plate & Salinger Stakes) and Lyrical Bid (2006 Myer Classic).

Stables: Flemington

First winner: Gay Meld, Mareeba (Qld), April 1971.

First Group 1 winner: Brindisi, AJC Metropolitan Handicap, October 1980.

Group 1 winners: 30