Originally published in TDNAusNZ, Written by Lydia Symonds
Musk Creek and Craig Rounsefell of Boomer Bloodstock (FBAA) purchased Spiritualised’s dam, Personalised (Snitzel), for $525,000 from the draft of Cressfield Stud at the Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale in 2019 and she has since consistently handed the farm brilliant results in the sales ring.
She was bought carrying Spiritualised in utero and he would almost instantly repay the mare’s transaction fee when he was sold to his trainer Tony Gollan and John Foote of Foote Bloodstock (FBAA) for $575,000, which still remains a record price for the Eureka Stud-based sire.
Williamson said the plan when they bought the mare was to use the Dundeel (NZ) nomination they purchased for $100,000 in aid of injured jockey Tye Angland at the 2019 edition of the Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale.
“At the same sale, we purchased the Dundeel nomination for $100,000 at the auction held for Tye Angland and that is what urged us to buy Personalised because we needed a mare to go to him for that sort of price.”
That plan turned out to be inspired when in 2022, the resulting Dundeel colt handed the farm a second consecutive strong result when he was snapped up by trainer Matt Laurie for $520,000 at the Inglis Premier Yearling Sale.
“Personalised has ended up being a great purchase for us. The Dundeel, who we sold for $520,000 at Premier last year to Matt Laurie and some of his owners, has been going really well and they are happy with him.”
Another good result?
This year, the mare’s third foal, a filly by Zoustar, will look to continue her good run of results when she goes through the ring as Lot 229 on Wednesday.
Spiritualised’s victory on Saturday was the fourth of his career, but one of the most important, having come off the back of his disappointing sixth–placed finish in the Listed Gold Edition Plate on December 17.
Following Saturday’s victory, Tony Gollan said he now harbours Group 1 ambitions with the colt, with the G1 Stradbroke H. now the main target.
Meanwhile, Musk Creek’s Scott Williamson told TDN AusNZ on Sunday that he was pleased to see Spiritualised regain his winning thread on Saturday, having always held the colt in the highest regard.
“Speaking to Tony (Gollan) about the horse he said he has all the ability in the world and Tony thinks he’s a Group horse, which is obviously very exciting. It will be interesting to see how far he can go,” he said.
“He has a lot of speed and he can lead most horses, but when he does get in a fight that is when he struggles a little bit. But he led comfortably yesterday (Saturday) and he went on to win impressively in the end. It was good to see him do that and I would think there is plenty more in store for him now. It is very pleasing to see the first foal out of the mare to be that good and he has a lot racing ahead of him.”
Williamson has high hopes for the Zoustar filly and being out of a Snitzel mare, she is bred on an emerging cross, which has produced seven winners from seven runners and they are headed by two stakes winners, including this season’s G2 Furious S. winner North Star Lass (Zoustar).
“She is a lovely athletic filly. She is not the earliest of foals, but you can see what she is going to be. She has a good forearm, very correct and has a lovely outline. She has a very good temperament, which is something the mare puts into all her stock.
“She has a lovely overstep and a very fluid, beautiful walk. She is just an athlete. Zoustar himself is getting a lot of nice fillies.
“She has been very popular and she deserves to be.”
