Analyse This: May sire focus on Toronado

Each week we put the analytical spotlight on an in-form sire, trainer, vendor or breeder who is enjoying a particularly good run. This week, Toronado (Ire) is TDN AusNZ’s sire of the month.

Adam Sangster’s decision to permanently stand Toronado (IRE) at his Nagambie-based Swettenham Stud is proving to be a wise one. With five crops of racing age in the books, the former Haras de Bouquetot shuttler looks set to be a valuable addition to the Australian Stud Book for many years to come.

• Toronado has enjoyed his best domestic season to date with eight individual Australiasian stakes winners.
• He has sired stakes winners at distances of 1100 metres to 2000 metres.
• Breeders have enjoyed estimated returns as much as 30 times his stud fee ($27,500 in 2020) at this year’s yearling sales.
• The average yearling purchase price of his current season stakes winners is $100,500.

The European-bred stallion is enjoying his best season to date in Australasia having added eight stakes winners to an already impressive resume. The sire of 33 individual stakes winners worldwide, Toronado is proving to be a versatile stallion for his ability to produce elite sprinters, quality middle-distance specialists and an even spread of well-performed colts and fillies.

Group 1 winners and emerging stars

The Joe Pride-trained Mariamia handed Toronado his third elite-level winner this autumn with a dominant victory in the G1 The Galaxy H. in March. Prior to joining Pride’s camp last autumn, the Adam Sangster-bred mare was trained by Shane Stockdale who prepared her to three Melbourne metropolitan wins and a third in the G3 MRC Geoffery Bellmaine S.

Newhaven Park’s John Kelly took note of the mare as a future breeding proposition paying a sale-topping $335,000 in last year’s Inglis Digital March (Early) Sale, where she was offered by her former owner Gasper Stellato, who had purchased her for just $18,000 at the Inglis Premier Yearling Sale from the Swettenham Stud draft.

Mariamia, winner of the G1 The Galaxy | Image courtesy of Ashlea Brennan

Since joining Pride’s Warwick Farm base, the 6-year-old mare has won four races including two at stakes level. Mariamia’s 2023 campaign has seen her rise from a BM88 victory at Rosehill to a convincing victory in the G2 Expressway S. when defeating Group 1 winners Golden Mile (Astern) and Forbidden Love (All Too Hard). At her first attempt at the elite level, she ran out a dominant winner in the G1 The Galaxy H. when subsequently defeating G1 Oakleigh Plate winner Uncommon James (Cable Bay {Ire}). With earnings now exceeding $1.2 million, she has well and truly etched a fairytale chapter in the lives of her current and former connections.

Lightly raced Greg Eurell-trained 3-year-old Papillon Club is shaping as an exciting filly for the future. A $70,000 purchase for her trainer at the 2021 Inglis Gold Yearling Sale, she has never been out of the placings in her six starts to date. She was second at her only start as a 2-year-old before breaking her maiden as a spring 3-year-old and going from strength to strength since. An important metropolitan win at the start of the year earned her chance at two stakes-class events where she was third in the G3 Vanity S. before a narrow second to the multiple Group 1 bridesmaid Revolutionary Miss (Russian Revolution) in the G2 Kewney S. at Flemington.

Papillon Club, winner of the G3 Alexandra S. | Image courtesy of Racing Photos

Just four months since her maiden victory, she justified her short starting price to land the G3 Alexandra S. at The Valley running away a 2.5l winner. With over $300,000 in the bank, she has already accumulated over four times her purchase price and the ceiling certainly appears nowhere within reach for the exciting 3-year-old.

Versatility in spades

A dual Group 1-winning miler himself, Toronado is providing a versatile sire having produced stakes winners over sprinting and staying trips. While his sweet spot appears to be in the middle-distance category, his three domestic Group 1 winners – Masked Crusader, Shelby Sixtysix and Mariamia are all genuine sprinting horses who have won elite races at 1200 metres or less.

Aside from Group 1-winning sprinter Mariamia, all of his stakes winners this season came in the middle-distance range (1400 metres-1600 metres), including four stakes winners over 1400 metres. He sired stakes winners from 1100 metres to 2000 metres and was represented by four of his five crops of racing age.

Toronado (Ire) | Standing at Swettenham Stud

In a further testament to his versatility, Toronado is featured by at least one stakes winner from every crop of racing age except his current 2-year-olds. His 3-year-olds are certainly flying the flag with three individual stakes winners hailing from his 2019 crop including Papillon Club, The Intimidator and Laced Up Heels. The Lindsey Smith-trained Queen Air was third in the G1 VRC Oaks, while the Ben and JD Hayes-trained Angry Skies was just shy of handing his sire a ninth stakes winner for the season when a close second in the Listed MRC Gothic S.

While not known for his precocious stock, from just two juvenile runners this season, Toronado managed to make a clean sweep on the 2-year-old VOBIS Gold Premier Race Series with promising filly Shesallshenanigans. The Simon Zahra-trained filly is already stakes-performed being fourth on debut in the Listed Debutant S. behind King’s Gambit (I Am Invincible) and a close third in the Listed Cinderella S. at Morphettville three starts back. A $115,000 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale purchase for her trainer, she has amassed over $700,000 in earnings from just five career starts and earnt connections over six times her purchase price.

On the rise in Hong Kong

With a 76 per cent winners to runners strike rate in Hong Kong, Toronado currently sits equal fourth on the Hong Kong list for most wins by a sire this season and he is eighth on the table by earnings. Former Chris Waller-trained gelding Senor Toba is flying the flag for his emerging sire adding further black-type victory to his resume with a win in the G3 HKJC Centenary Vase in February. A winner of the G3 ATC Frank Packer Plate and runner-up in the G1 BRC Queensland Derby while trained by Waller, Senor Toba has accumulated over $2 million in earnings in his 22 starts to date.

Senor Toba | Image courtesy of the Hong Kong Jockey Club

Fellow Toronado son Victor The Winner kicked off his career in Hong Kong after being purchased by Golden River Investments and Mr Chu for $180,000 at the 2020 Inglis Premier Yearling Sale. Winning five of his seven career starts including his last three on the bounce, the Danny Shum Chap-shing-trained 4-year-old could be seen in Group company at his next assignment following an impressive victory in a Class 2 H. (1200 metres) at Sha Tin last month.

Off the back of his breakthrough season, heightened demand for Toronado stock this season comes as no surprise. The Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) went to $850,000 to secure the first foal from winning Pierro mare Tereka at this year’s Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale making him the equal most-expensive Toronado yearling sold on record. A month later, the HKJC secured his second most-expensive yearling of the season when securing a colt from Group 3 winner Art Series (Sebring) for $420,000 at the Inglis Classic Yearling Sale. Incredibly, both colts were bred off a modest service fee of just $27,500 (inc GST).

The highest-selling Toronado (Ire) colt out of Tereka, which was purchased for $850,000 by the Hong Kong Jockey Club at this year’s Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale | Image courtesy of Magic Millions

Yearling sales

It comes as no surprise that Toranado’s average yearling price has reached a career high this season. Averaging $165,543 across all Australisian sales this season, Toronado’s results on the track have ensured a 40 per cent increase on his lowest domestic average yearling price which came in his second season ($67,215).

The Victorian stallion has instilled confidence in breeders with healthy sales returns since day one. Breeders who took the punt on Toronado in the risky third year at stud were rewarded when his domestic yearlings averaged over $100,000 or almost five times his service fee ($22,000 {inc GST}).

A fee increase to $27,500 (inc GST) in 2019 was absorbed by his yearling sale average climbing to almost $150,000 or over five times his service fee. Thanks to a standout year on the track, his supporters enjoyed their best returns on investment yet at this year’s domestic yearling sales with his yearlings averaging over $165,000 or six times his service fee for that covering season.

Covering his largest book of mares in 2021 and 2022 off his highest service fees to date ($47,500 {inc GST} and $88,000 {inc GST}), there is no doubt that the best is yet to come for the young stallion. Despite a remarkable season on the track, Swettenham Stud announced Toronado would remain at $88,000 (inc GST) this season. Based on the 13-year-old’s results to date and the promise of what’s to come, there is no doubt the Nagambie-based nursery will have plenty to cheer about in the years to come.

Source: https://www.tdnausnz.com.au/edition/2023-05-09/analyse-this-may-sire-focus-on-toronado