Sledmere is very proud of its history and the horses with which it is commonly associated. One graduate of the stud that keeps surfacing time and time again is the ill-fated racehorse and sire Gold Brose.
One of the most brilliant young sprinters of his era, Gold Brose was bred in 1989-90 by then Sledmere proprietor Anne Raymond and has kept on making headlines, in one form or another, virtually ever since.
Exceedance, a material great-grandson of Gold Brose
The latest revelation is his involvement with last weekend’s extraordinarily good Group 3 ATC San Domenico Stakes winner Exceedance. The very promising son of Exceed And Excel is a maternal great-grandson of Gold Brose by virtue of the brilliant colt’s second-dam, Gold Class.
As good as the performance was, it wasn’t entirely out of character in regards to the Gold Brose story which began in equally sensational fashion.
For those who weren’t following Australian horse racing in the early nineties, Gold Brose very much burst on to the scene with a brilliant debut success in the Group 2 STC Silver Slipper Stakes (1100m) — then run in the spring of each racing season.
Trained by veteran Randwick horseman Frank Lewis, Gold Brose went on to establish himself as an outstanding 2- and 3-year-old, winning the VRC LInlithgow Stakes at weight-for-age when the feature was one of the major events run during the VRC Melbourne Cup Carnival.
Never the soundest horse in training, Gold Brose was retired to Westbury Stud at a premature stage of his racing career before fate also dealt him another losing hand, the hugely progressive stallion having to be put-down due to pneumonia at just 10-years of age.
Gold Brose’s six years at stud saw him leave the likes of NZ Group 1 winners Buzz Lightyear and Grout, but also some very notable broodmares. And none more so than Parfore.
Parfore, who unfortunately died in May this year, is the very famous dam of Group 1 winning sprinters Terravista and Tiger Tees, as well as the multiple Group 2 winning speed machine Ball of Muscle and the dual Ipswich Cup (LR) winner Our Lukas.
Hence, daughters of Gold Brose have been responsible for winners of the VRC Darley Stakes (G1), VRC Lightning Stakes (G1), AJC The Galaxy (G1) etc, as well as the ARC Railway Stakes (G1), NZ Bloodstock Breeders’ Stakes (G1) and Manawatu Sires’ Produce Stakes (G1) in New Zealand, and even the King’s Stand Stakes (G1) at Royal Ascot in Britain.
It is also a daughter of Gold Brose who produced the stakes winning dam of Exceedance, namely Bonnie Mac (5 wins, SAJC Proud Miss Stakes). Who knows what lies ahead of the ultra-promising Exceed And Excel colt. However, with the name of Gold Brose in his pedigree, it seems certain to prove an exciting ride.