A win for Mahis Angel in the Group One Queensland Derby would be a fitting tribute to where he was bred, Wattle Brae Stud, which will be auctioned on Friday.
Mahis Angel, who is by Wattle Brae’s sire Mahisara, is a late entry for Saturday’s Derby after winning at Ipswich last week.
The stud’s owners Gary and Phoebe Turkington will sell a large part of the property but retain some land for a boutique breeding operation.
Wattle Brae has been one of the leading studs in Queensland for more than 100 years and was the home of star sires of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s Pandour and Passing Glance.
Some of the other top sires to stand at Wattle Brae include Claudius and Captain Piper but it is also home to one of the best win-producing broodmare lines tracing back to the good mare of the 1960s Blue Way.
“It is a pity but it is the way things are going. We will stick with some quality mares and aim to the select-sales end of the market,” he said.
“Breeding in Queensland is a tough business and dating back to the EI crisis in 2007 it has got tougher.
“I want to be able to do other things while I am still young enough. I have two daughters living in England and it would be nice to visit them without having to worry about hundreds of mares.”
Turkington will continue to stand his rising star young sire Mahisara and veteran stallion Easy Rocking.
“Hopefully Mahisara will get plenty of support because he is coming on as a sire and a sire of horses who can get over a distance,” Turkington said.
“Mahis Angel is typical of the breed as he is getting better with age.
“The pity is his daughter Miss Sara missed the (Queensland) Oaks with a slight setback as she is one of the best staying fillies in Queensland.”
Meanwhile, trainer Lloyd Kennewell reports Mahis Angel has done well since his Ipswich win.
“We paid the late nomination fee and I don’t think he will let us down,” he said.
