Caulfield Guineas winner Super Seth will be retired to stud rather than race on as a four-year-old with uncertainty surrounding the spring program.
New Zealand’s famous Waikato Stud bought a majority share in the Anthony Freedman-trained colt after he won the Group One Caulfield Guineas in October.
But stud principal Mark Chittick announced on Wednesday they had abandoned any plans to keep him racing because of the disruptions to programming caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
A son of multiple Group One winner Dundeel, Super Seth will stand for $NZ35,000 plus GST.
“He’s all quality, a fantastic looking horse with the performance to match his pedigree,” Chittick said.
“Top of our list when it comes to sourcing a successful stallion is a turn of foot and Super Seth’s acceleration was mind-blowing. That was emphasised when he ran down Alligator Blood to win the Caulfield Guineas.
“Our past and present champion sires Centaine, O’Reilly, Pins, Savabeel and Ocean Park, all possessed incredible acceleration, but even they couldn’t have matched Super Seth’s turn of foot.”
Bloodstock agent Dean Hawthorne paid $280,000 for Super Seth as a yearling on behalf of Jonathan Munz’s GSA Bloodstock.
“We typically don’t buy many colts,” Hawthorne said.
“In fact, he was the only colt we purchased that year in Australia, but when he walked out of the box at the Easter Sale it was obvious he was a must-have,” Hawthorne said.
“He is perfectly balanced.
“The other thing that immediately attracted me to him was how much he looked like Redoute’s Choice. We were very confident Redoute’s Choice mares would complement the Dundeel sire line.”
Super Seth retires with five wins and two placings from his 12 starts and $1.7 million prize money.
His last race was when he closed strongly for fourth in Saturday’s Group One All Aged Stakes won by Tofane.
“It’s sad to lose a horse of such quality from our stable, especially knowing the potential he had to win more at the top level as a four-year-old, but his credentials for stud are impressive and the uncertainty around upcoming race programs made it difficult to keep him in training,” Freedman said.
Super Seth will stand alongside alongside Savabeel, Ocean Park, Tivaci and Ardrossan.