Follow The Stars to Medowie Lodge

Former New Zealand and Australian 2YO Colt of the Year Follow The Stars, who has proved himself in the top bracket among the two-year-old sires with only three crops racing, is to stand at the Medowie Lodge stud, near Newcastle, of Darren Reay this season.

The all-American bred son of Art Major is currently seventh on the national two-year-old money-winning list and with a strong entry in Friday night’s Group 1 $100,000 Westbred Classics at Gloucester Park, is expected to further improve his ranking.

Follow The Stars, who stood his first five seasons at the stud in WA, has made a promising start as a sire. In his first season he left 60 foals, and of these he had 36 to the races half way through their four-year-old season, and 29 were winners. Of 54 three-year-old starters, 24 are winners, while his current two-year-old crop of 54 has produced six winners and nine placegetters from 19 starters including Bushwacked (1:56.9), winner of the Group 2 $50,000 WA Champagne Classic, and Follow The Music (1:56.7), who won the Westsired 2YO Classic.

From his first crop he sired a smart colt in Aristocratic Star (1:59.5), who won five races and $102,703 including the WA Country Derby, and the Westsired 2YO Classic placegetter The Stars Above (1:56.2)and a top filly in Star Fromthepalace (1:56.6), a multiple Group placegetter and winner of $113,365.

Glamour filly Blackjack Baby 1:57.2 ($185,484), a winner of 12 races including the Group 1 $80,000 Westbred Classic and who was one of the star two-year-olds of her season, the Group placegetters Robbie Rocket and Our Star Billing, Star Of Willoughby (1:56.8) and recent Gloucester Park winner Per Ardua Ad Astra have been winners by Follow The Stars from his second crop.

Overall, Follow The Stars has sired 59 individual winners and they have amassed $1.65 million in stakemoney – an average of $15,150 per starter.

On the score of blood Follow The Stars lacks nothing. His sire Art Major (1:48.8) was a champion with stake earnings of $3,273,217 and has been one of Australia’s top sires for some time. He figures as the sire of two of Australia’s greatest pacers in For A Reason (1:49.4) and Sushi Sushi (1:54.1).

Smyrna Duruisseau (1:56), the American-bred dam of Follow The Stars, has proved a prolific broodmare. She is also the dam of Stefsbest 1:54.7 ($150,117), Be My Baby (1:56.1), Moon Ovr Manhattan (1:57.1) and Art De Triomphe (1:58.8), dam of Goodtime Grace (1:54.6) and this season’s top two-year-old filly Petillante (1:55.6), runner-up in the $125,000 APG Gold Bullion.

Secret Date, the dam of Smyrna Duruisseau left eight winners in 2:00, three of whom took records of 1:55 or better, while the third dam, Dateable, produced 12 winners including five in 1:55 headed up by the Canadian 2YO of the Year Historic 1:51 ($1.3 million) and the Stakes winner Seven O Clock (1:53.6), dam of the Woodrow Wilson winner Dontgetinmyway 1:50.4 ($1.4 million).

Follow The Stars is an Abercrombie line horse – that which produced Art Major – from one of the strongest families in the American stud book, and boasts three strong crosses of the blood of Albatross.

He should prove an ideal outcross to mares boasting Cam Fella, Western Hanover, In The Pocket, Mach Three, Abercrombie, Jate Lobell and Falcon Seelster blood.

Follow The Stars’ service fee is $3,300 including GST. His progeny are eligible are the NSW Breeders Challenge, NSW Colonial Bonus and the Breeders Crown.

by Peter Wharton