ThoroughbredNews.co.nz, New Zealand
March 10 2006
Wry smiles from Vanian at Rory’s Jester’s success
10 Mar 2006
By Brian Russell
Souran Vanian, a former international horse breeder now living in
Dubai, may have had a wry smile when the news filtered through to him
that Wahid, a gelding from a mare by 1985 Golden Slipper Rory’s
Jester had taken out the Group1 New Zealand Derby on March 4. Rory’s
Jester, a grandson of another Slipper winner, Baguettte, could have
been a saviour for Vanian investment in Australia if he could have
held on a little bit longer when he ran into financial problems in
the mid 1980s.
Armenian Souran Vanian, a merchant whose business activities
included a Peugeot motor franchise in France, established a horse
stud called Manado on country stretching back from the Goulburn river
to the hills near Sandy Hollow in the Hunter Valley and acquired
Rory’s Jester as a sire from its trainer Colin Hayes.
Vanian would not have contemplated at the time that Colin Hayes
would subsequently not only get back control of Rory’s Jester
following the stallion’s early success as a winner getter but also
acquire Manado.
Renamed Collingrove, it was then owned for a few years by a Hayes
– Sangster partnership but is now owned outright by Sangter’s
Swettenham Stud and is used as the home for their quality broodmare
band and as the nursery for their offspring.
The Hayes-Sangster partnership also established the Collingrove
Stud at Nagambie in Victoria, but this too is now in the sole
ownership of the Sangster family and is the headquarters for an
impressive line up of sires including being the base for the past ten
years for the now retired Rory’s Jester.
Built like a big quarter horse and showing a dazzling turn of foot,
Rory’s Jester had 19 seasons of use, the first nine of them in the
Hunter Valley, and has been responsible for approximately 1000 foals
which reached racing age. Out of these 827 have raced and provided
623 winners (a high 75.3% strike rate) of 1867 races (1648 in
Australia) and earners of $46.2million.
On the quality side he has had 75 stakes winners including four,
Chortle, Isca, Racer’s Edge and Aragen, successful in Group1 events.
Also, 71 others have stakes placed. Very few of his progeny went
1600m or further successfully and he was year after year one of the
prominent juvenile sires by winners and earnings. It is an
achievement he has followed up by becoming a leading broodmare sire.
So far his daughters have produced over 400 winners including 26
successful in stakes races.
They have done well with a variety sires including Almutawakel
(USA) (sire of Wahid), Bubble Gum Fellow (JP) (Rockabubble),
Beautiful Crown (USA) (In Top Swing), Danzero (Hinting),
Danehill(USA) (World Peace) and Royal Academy (USA) (Consular).
Rory’s Jester has proved a good outcross to Danzig and this may
have been a key to the success of Wahid, now winner of nine races in
New Zealand including the Derby, Levin Classic and Waikato Guineas.
His sire Almutawakel (GB) is a Dubai World Cup and French Group 1
winner by the Mr. Prospector sire Machiavellian, a close relation to
Danehill, and from a mare by the Danzig sire Green Desert.
Currently in Ireland on a fee equivalent to $15,000, Almutawakel
paid one visit to New Zealand.
Wahid is from Rory’s Helen, a grey mare bred by Vanian from Rory’s
Jester’s second season at the Manado Stud and raced in New Zealand
where she won one race – 800m at two – and earned $3,971. Her mother
Helen’s Love, a mare unplaced at her only two starts, was bred on a
cross of two greys, being by Karayar (IRE) and from the Sovereign
Edition (IRE) Listed winner Helen of Troy, the grandam also of
Imposera, winner of the Caulfield Cup, Wakeful Stakes and SAJC
Australasian Oaks.