Davali Thoroughbreds situated along the Hunter river is co-owner Alison Hush and her husband, who have persevered to make Davali a recognized name in the thoroughbred breeding industry.
In this interview, Alison Hush talks about their select draft for the Inglis Easter Yearling Sale this year & her preference for the riverside stables as a sales house:
Q: What can buyers expect from your 2019 draft, in terms of quality and quantity?
A: We have a small draft of three yearlings to present at Easter this year, but they are a group of well grown, athletic horses who I think will go on to make their mark on the racetrack in the coming years.
Q: Which lots would you say are your highlight lots?
A: It’s hard to pick a highlight lot from a group of three. Each has their own desirable qualities.
Lot 135 is a good moving, strong colt with a workmanlike attitude. His sire, PIERRO, continues to prove his worth in the breeding barn, producing stakes winning horses such as LEVENDI, PIERATA and TULIP. His dam, stakes placed MONTANA SUNSET, is producing winners in her own right, with two winners and a very consistent placed horse from her three runners to date.
Lot 311 is the first foal from winning NORTHERN METEOR mare TIFFANY’S DIAMOND. She is a well grown, athletic filly and is sure attract her share of admirers. Her sire, FOXWEDGE, has a great record for producing top class daughters, including Group 1 winners FOXPLAY and VOLPE VELOCE.
Lot 383 is a classy filly in the mold of her paternal grandsire, SEBRING. She is by up and coming young stallion DISSIDENT who has so far produced two early winners from his first crop. Her well-related dam, BOROBODUR, is a half sister to stakes winning and multiple stakes producing DAMA DE NOCHE. This is a filly with plenty of residual value.
Q: What do you like most about selling at the Riverside Stables?
A: Riverside Stables is a grand new venue for us to present our stock. The thing I like the most would be the layout of the precinct, with the central spine linking all the barns together and leading to the parade ring and ultimately the sale ring. Once all the landscaping and trees have time to develop, it will be one of the most beautiful sale venues in the world.
Q: Which Davali sales graduates are your highlights from your previous years?
A: Davali Thoroughbreds presented it’s first yearling draft in 2015. We have been very fortunate to have fantastic support from clients such as Huntworth Stud, GT Park and Crowning Stone along the way and we have had some great sales - we are now enjoying watching these horses on the racetrack. Our highest priced yearling in our short history is $400,000, but a highlight for us would have to be a horse by the name of SMARTEDGE. He was the first foal born at Davali and was the first horse we offered at sale with the Davali brand on his shoulder. He was sold for $70,000 at the 2015 Inglis Broodmare and Weanling Sale and is still racing for Triple Crown Syndications, having won three races and placed seven times to date, earning him over $217,000 in prizemoney.
Q: When procuring a mare, what factors makes her stand out to you? What trends, pedigree or otherwise, do you key in on when evaluating a mare?
A: The first thing for me when buying a mare is that I have to be happy to look at her every day in the paddock at home. If a mare walks out of a stable at the sales and my first thought is “I don’t like that much”, I can’t buy it. The main physical factors I have in mind are type, conformation and soundness. A mare that is unattractive or has bad conformation is highly likely to give you an unattractive foal or one with conformation issues. Breeding history and of course pedigree are important too - all breeders aim for a broodmare band full of the coveted black type.
Q: How important is black type and race record in your evaluation of a mare as a broodmare prospect?
A: Black type and race record are both very important, especially as they usually play a big part in determining what you have to pay for a mare. The more black type the better and usually the more expensive. Hopefully though, those pedigrees give you greater reward in the sale ring. I believe that when you sell a yearling, buyers like to see that black type or at least a winner in the first dam – if the mother can run, hopefully the progeny can too.
Q: Which sprint sires do you like? In your opinion, which first crop sires, should buyers be keeping an eye on?
A: Anyone that knows me knows that I love NICCONI. I followed him as a racehorse, I sent mares to him as a stallion and David and I raced a very good filly by him (LOVED UP) with some family and friends. He just seems to produce an athlete and upgrade his mares. Another sprinting horse I have a lot of time for is EPAULETTE. He raced in a period of very good sprinters and he is now proving his worth at stud. And of course you can’t forget PIERRO, FOXWEDGE and DISSIDENT!
Of the first crop sires in the sale ring this year, VANCOUVER would have to be an exciting prospect. He was a champion 2yo himself and his family just keeps getting better and better. Another to keep an eye on when his first crop go to the races next year is HEADWADTER. A Group 2 winning 2yo himself, he is impeccably bred, being by Group 1 winner EXCEED AND EXCEL from Group 1 winner RIVER DOVE.
Q: Who does all the matings at the farm and what do you look for when you plan those matings? Are you after an overall athletic horse or are you more focused on horses suited for specific types of races?
A: David and I do the matings for own mares, and I usually have some input into our clients mares. If we need another opinion, Brett Howard from Randwick Bloodstock Agency is only an email away. When planning the matings, we are looking to produce an athlete first and foremost. In regards to races, we are dictated to a little bit by the Australian market, which tells us earlier type horses are more sought after than staying types.
Q: And finally, what characteristics do you think incredibly talented horses have in common?
A: Incredibly talented horses come in all shapes and sizes. Whether they reach their potential depends on many factors and one important factor is temperament. If a horse with all the ability in the world is unmanageable, it is not going to win races. Good racehorses can have a quirky character about them or a bit of attitude, but they must be trainable and tractable enough to do everything that is asked of them on race day.