The staying struggle: can Australian-bred stayers reclaim their place on racing’s big stage?

How do we make breeding staying horses popular again in Australia?

It’s a question that gets asked every spring when, invariably, the fields for our biggest middle distance and staying races are composed primarily of expensive European imports and raiders from Ireland, the UK, Japan and further afield.

The Caulfield Cup was the latest example. One of only four Australian-bred horses in the race, Half Yours, showed that it’s still possible to breed, nurture and develop a top class stayer in this part of the world.

As one of the nation’s biggest and most successful importers of European stayers, Jamie Lovett has been at the forefront of the trend that has seen horses bred outside Australasia win 11 of the last 15 Melbourne Cups, as well as the three Caulfield Cups prior to Half Yours’ famous win.

His Australian Bloodstock operation had two runners in the Caulfield Cup – topweight Vauban who was bred in France and raced in Ireland before arriving down under and G1 Metropolitan winner Royal Supremacy, who was bred in Ireland and campaigned in the UK until 2024.

They also have Irish St Leger winner Al Riffa, Vauban and Royal Supremacy in the Melbourne Cup.

Lovett has made a business out of plundering Europe’s staying races to win Australia’s best middle distance and staying races but he still harbours a dream to breed a winner of the Caulfield or Melbourne Cups.

Romantically, he hopes his Melbourne Cup hero Gold Trip can make the cut at stud but, while he’s supporting the young stallion with his own mares, he’s realistic about the horse’s commercial prospects.

“I’d like to think the tide can turn a bit but history would show that we’ve had elite staying horses like Americain and Fiorente that have stood at stud and they’ve had enough support but haven’t really made their mark,” Lovett said.

“With Gold Trip it’s been a bit of a battle but we’re certainly trying.”

“He was an amazing racehorse and there’s every reason to think he can carry that on at stud.”

“I’ve got three Gold Trip foals myself on the ground and we’ll certainly be trying to get them into the right stable to give him a chance.”

“I’ve sent half a dozen mares to him again this spring and they are nice mares and he’s producing some really nice foals so why wouldn’t he have a chance?”

“Romantically, I’d love nothing more than to have a Gold Trip running in a Melbourne Cup in four or five years.”

“You just need enough people to believe that you’re as good a chance as any if you’re willing to give them a bit of extra time to grow them out and develop them.”

“But I think the reality is that they (staying-bred horses) aren’t as commercial as sharper breeds as things stand and, like any business, if it’s not commercial and unlikely to make money, it doesn’t work.”

Lovett said the feedback he receives from clients is that the they prefer to spend a bit more on a proven commodity rather than waiting several seasons for a younger, homegrown prospect to emerge through the ranks.

Domestically, the cost to breed, nurture and develop any horse, let alone a stayer, has increased.

“The cost of production is a big thing and your trainer’s bill that you’re getting now looks nothing like the bill you got three years ago,” he said.

“It’s 30% to 40% more expensive to get a horse to the races now.”

“We get knocked all the time for chasing the instant gratification but unfortunately the reality is that if I put an import up for sale, it’s done in 24 hours and if I put a yearling up, it takes me six weeks to sell it.”

“That is the commercial reality for me running a business.”

“The last thing people want is to pay up and wait for three years and then the horse gets beat 10 lengths in its first barrier trial because it needs time and ground.”

Like Gold Trip, who stands for $8800 at Victoria’s Lovatsville, several other elite middle-distance stallions have retired to stud in Australia in recent seasons with solid initial support form breeders.

Dual Derby winner Hitotsu was one of the country’s busiest first season stallions at Arrowfield Stud in 2023. His first two-year-olds will race this season, although he is expected to make more of an impact with his three-year-olds next year.

Another Arrowfield poster boy, The Autumn Sun, never raced beyond 2000m but is proving to be a brilliant sire of classic-style horses, while So You Think produced a number of top class horses that can get over 2000m and beyond.

City Of Troy, St Mark’s Basilica, Ghaiyyath and Benbatl have all shuttled to Australia in the last couple of seasons and will get their chance to make their mark on the track.

Grant Dwyer, the stud master at unheralded Victorian farm Brackley Park, hopes his own staying stallion can emerge as a viable commercial option for breeders.

And it might just be the case for St Jean, who is the sire of Saturday’s Caulfield Cup winner Half Yours.

A son of Teofilo that won a G2 over 2400m in New Zealand during an injury-plagued racing career, St Jean has covered just over 100 mares in eight seasons at stud.

Last spring he only covered six mares and this year, he’s on track to get a handful more, even with a G1 winner on his CV now.

“Most mares were already booked in before Half Yours started doing his thing,” Dwyer said.

“He’ll get more mares than last year, maybe 15 or so, but he won’t get 50 or 60 which is really the sort of numbers he needs to be doing to give himself a chance.”

“The sales companies want to sell yearlings that make the most amount of money because they obviously work on commission and those young horses that look like they’ll be two and three-year-old sprinters are very popular and sell for a lot of money so they are the horses that make catalogues.”

“St Jean clearly doesn’t get two-year-olds or even three-year-olds – he gets a late three-year-old occasionally but most of them don’t get up and racing until they’re four or five and don’t start to fire until they get out to 1800m and beyond.”

“It’s been a really difficult process to go through but I’m pretty happy now because of what Half Yours has been able to do so hopefully next year he can get those 40 or 50 mares.”

“The whole game changes if that stallion starts producing successful progeny and this stallion is doing it the hard way.”

“He hasn’t had quality or volume.”

“He’s had 22 starters for 12 individual winners and he’s got a Caulfield Cup winner.”