Dominion winner to mix stud and racing duties

It’s not every day you receive a call from New Zealand harness racing legend, Mark Purdon.

The shoe is usually on the other foot with journalists around the country blowing up his cellular device looking for information to print on his litany of star performers and their lofty targets in many of Australasia’s greatest races.

“Good morning Brad, I’m after some information on possibly standing Oscar Bonavena at stud this coming breeding season,” he started.

The three-time G1 winning son of Majestic Son is likely to mix a further racing campaign in the Spring with stallion collect duties with details of where he will stand and at what quote still to be ironed out.

But it presents a unique opportunity for New Zealand trotting breeders to access fresh semen of a unique talent with the maternal bloodlines required of any trotting stallion looking to leave his mark on the studbook.

“We are just sort of feeling the water and I’m unsure how many mares he is likely to serve,” said Purdon realistically.

“I know it’s hard out there for the trotting stallions with a smaller broodmare population. But I think he is very capable of doing both his racing and collect duties through the spring,” said Purdon.

Several of this year’s Elitloppet entries had crops of racing age on the ground and the likes of French world champion of Bold Eagle was serving full books throughout the last four years of his racing career.

Bold Eagle produced 324 live foals between 2016 and 2019, a period in which he netted 19 Group One victories including the Open Breeders Crown Final across the Atlantic Ocean.

“I was only young at the time but when I had Pride Of Petite over at the Elitloppet, I remember Cocktail Jet flew out of Sweden the day after the carnival because he had mares to serve, so I think it’s quite achievable with modern practices,” said Purdon.

Oscar Bonavena’s race resume speaks for itself as the winner of 26 races, 10 at Group level for $858,158 in stakes in a career that has seen him race at the highest level from the age of two to the current season in which he is one of the older heads on the scene as a spritely eight-year-old.

OSCAR BONAVENA 2023 DOMINION REPLAY

His backstory is well known having been born an orphan foal and given the name of the great Argentine boxer having displayed a lot of toughness just to make it beyond his first few weeks on earth alive. From there he showed enormous potential as a juvenile and was purchased out of the Phil Williamson stable for a significant sum to race in the care of Purdon’s All Star Barn.

“The early intention was with having Chris Ryder involved we were hoping that if he was a very very nice horse that America would be on the radar one day given his sheer speed.

“It still could have been an option for him more recently but obviously with his soundness issues that plagued him in the middle of his career, we thought the risks involved for taking him and then things not working out, he would have no real value over there,” said Purdon.

Oscar cemented his value as a local stallion prospect in 2023 with his G1 Dominion success on Show Day ultimately leading to him being crowned as the NZ Trotter of the Year.

“I think he is as good as most of the ones we see out here from America on his day. He has got the speed of a top pacer when he is right and has shown that on several occasions,” said Purdon.

Aside from his race credentials, Oscar Bonavena’s pedigree is as good as any of the North American and European imports being by leading NZ stallion, Majestic Son, and out of one of the best maternal families in the New Zealand studbook.

His granddam Nakura (Jet D’Emeraude) is the dam of the millionaire and two-time Interdominion winner and three time Dominion Handicap winner, Take A Moment. This is also the family of another Dominion winner in Stig, as well as Oscar’s half-brother Dr Hook, a five time G3 winner, and G1 National Trot winning mare Quite A Moment to name a few.

The New Zealand bred would also be another benefactor of the NZ Bred Scheme of HRNZ which sees progeny of locally bred stallions earn 10% on top of their stake money earned in each season (up to a maximum of $10,000).

“Oscar would probably be around 15.2, he is a good size for a trotter and not too big. He has good length about him as well,” said Purdon about the physical attributes of his stallion prospect.

by Brad Reid, for Harnesslink