Multiple Group Two winner Ocean Emperor will once again stand at Gary and Jenny Hennessy’s Weowna Park this coming breeding season for a fee of $10,000+GST, an increase of $3,000 from last season’s fee.
A son of Zabeel, Ocean Emperor was a $450,000 yearling purchase at Karaka from the draft of Waikato Stud and went on to win nine of his 28 starts for Hennessy, including the Gr.2 Japan-NZ International Trophy (1600m) and back-to-back editions of the Gr.2 Tauranga Stakes (1600m).
Ocean Emperor will be standing his fourth season at stud and while Hennessy has been impressed with his progeny, he is looking forward to seeing them hit the track.
“They have got lovely temperaments, which he has himself. The breakers are really pleased with them,” Hennessy said.
“We sold one mare in-foal to him and the people who bought that mare were so pleased with the foal that they came back and bought a yearling.
“He doesn’t have a lot of numbers, but he has a lot of really good types.”
Hennessy said his progeny are fast-maturing and he expects to see them run early.
“They are far more mature than Ocean Park’s progeny,” said Hennessy, who trained the Gr.1 Cox Plate (2040m) winner.
“The horse himself won an 800m two-year-old trial by five lengths. That is the speed that he has got in his pedigree, he has got a fast pedigree.
“His dam was Group One placed over 1200m. His half-sister has left a Group One winner over a mile, Never Been Kissed, and she ran second in the Spring Championship Stakes over 2000m.”
Hennessy has supported his stallion with a number of quality mares.
“He covered the dam of Brutal last year, she has got a yearling by Almanzor who is going to go to Australia to race for us,” he said.
“Lady Alberton is another three-quarter sister to the dam of Brutal and she has got a lovely yearling colt who is getting broken in at the moment.
“We have sold a couple of yearlings out of the paddock, including one to Matthew Smith to be trained in Sydney.”
Hennessy is looking forward to offering some of Ocean Emperor’s progeny at New Zealand Bloodstock’s upcoming weanling sale.
“We are going to put four in the weanling sale next week to just give him a little bit of representation,” Hennessy said.
“We have only put one colt in. He is not an early foal, but he is going to be a good example for people to see what type he can leave.
“We have got the first foal out of Royal Ruby. She was Group Three placed. It is her first foal and she is a lovely, strong type for a first foal.
“We have got a really strong filly out of Spirit of Karlu, who is a Dubawi mare, and we have got a first foal out of Lil Miss Swiss. She is by Rip Van Winkle and she won the Riverton Cup.” – NZ Racing Desk