In announcing Xtravagant’s fourth season at Newhaven Park, John Kelly believes ‘the 30% reduction in his fee is reflective of the uncertain economic times.’
‘It allows breeders to breed to a multiple Group One winner at a fee where there is scope to make a profit,’ John stated with Xtravagant’s first crop creating wide-spread interest at yearling sales.
Earlier this year his yearlings sold up to $270,000, some eighteen times his service fee, and averaging $152,000 at the Gold Coast and $67,2000 at the Inglis Classic Sale.
Again, they were purchased by such industry leaders as David Ellis, Ciaron Maher, Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott, McEvoy Mitchell Racing, John Foote, Gerald Ryan, Ric Wylie and Mark Richards.
The New Zealand Two Thousand Guineas winner Xtravagant stands at Newhaven Park Stud at Boorowa, NSW as the Champion New Zealand 3YO of 2015-16 in being the best since Bonecrusher.
In not only winning the NZ Two Thousand Guineas 1600m by 8½ lengths in record time of 1-33.59sec, he later won the Waikato Sprint of 1400m by eight lengths against five Group 1 winners.
Also as a three-year-old he won the Cambridge Breeders’ Stakes 1200m, New Zealand Herald Stakes 1400m, Wellington Guineas Trial 1400m and finished fourth in the Levin Classic of 1600m.
At two-years he won his only start by eight lengths in the Hastings 2YO Maiden Handicap of 1400m, to commence a highly successful career of 6 wins from 12 starts and over $458,000 in stakes.
A bay standing 16hh, Xtravagant is completely free of Danzig blood, being by Champion NZ Sire Pentire, winner of the King George V & Queen Elizabeth Diamond Stakes and Irish Champion Stakes.
Pentire has sired 16 Group 1 winners including two NZ Horse of The Year in Xcellent and Mufhasa, champions Zarita and $2.2m earner Rangirangdoo, plus Melbourne Cup hero Prince of Penzance.
Xtravagant is a full-brother to the Group 3 winner He’s Remarkable, whose grand-dam is the duel Group 2 winner Arletty, the grand-dam of stakes winners Exclusive Lass and Koala Bear.
Arletty is also sister to Group 3 winner Firetaine and stakes placed winner River Century, the dam of Legs, the Joint-top NZ 3YO Filly, and WATC Derby winner Guyo. She is a three-quarter sister to Champion NZ 3YO Filly Sixty Seconds.
However, in Xtravagnce inheriting Newhaven’s ‘consistence and pride with the world’s richest two-year-old race’ when will he sire his first Golden Slipper winner.
Newhaven’s Golden Slipper hall-of-fame began as the breeder of John’s Hope in 1972, owned by Jack and Bob Ingham, followed by Vivarchi in 1976 and both sired by three times Champion Sire Wilkes.
Marauding won in 1987 owned in partnership by Newhaven Park, Robert Sangster and Jack Ingham, with Newhaven also breeding the Slipper placegetters Joy in 1980 and Imperial Baron in 1986.
Marauding went onto sired the Newhaven owned and bred Burst to win in 1992, giving Shane Dye his third consecutive Slipper win, and the 1998 winner Prowl, also owned and bred by Newhaven Park.
The AJC Sires’ Produce Stakes and Champagne Stakes winner Encounter ran second in 1997, Glammis in 1998 and English in 2015 with each being owned and bred by Newhaven Park.
Encounter went onto win the AJC Sires’ Produce Stakes and the Champagne Stakes, the remaining two legs of the Sydney 2YO Triple Crown. Wenona Girl also won the AJC Sires’ Produce Stakes followed her Golden Slipper placing.
