A $2,1 million dollar yearling by champion sire Redoute’s Choice – a Group I weight-for-age winner – a blue-blooded female family – surely this is a recipe for success.
Master of Design
Swettenham Stud think so, which is why they moved fast last year to secureMaster of Design for Victoria.
Redoute’s Choice has taken all before him as a sire of sires with Stratum, Snitzel and Not a Single Doubt all proving runaway commercial success stories, while other sire sons such as Bradbury’s Luck, Duelled and Fast ‘n’ Famous have all left Group I winners.
Arguably better bred than any of them, Master of Design was a $2.1 million Inglis Easter yearling purchase from the Arrowfield draft, blessed with stunning good looks and an equally impressive pedigree.
A brilliant sprinter, who blossomed late in his career after showing immense talent from day one, Master of Design scored career defining wins in the 2011 Group II ATC Theo Marks Stakes and 2012 Group I ATC TJ Smith Stakes, which was to be his last racetrack appearance.
He went out with a virtuoso performance, downing high class speedster Rain Affair by a long head and running the 1200 metres in a slick 1:08.83 seconds, a time in that race bettered only by Black Caviar when she won in 2011.
His trainer David Payne was quick to declare Master of Design should have won more races at the elite level.
“He’s a serious horse,” Payne said.
“He came back this year and never got out at any stage in the Oakleigh Plate. Then he lost two shoes in the Newmarket, so The T J Smith was a just reward.
“Make no mistake about it, Master of Design will finish his stallion career as the most successful son of Redoute’s Choice to stand at stud.”
A winner at three, four, five and six, Master of Design retired with the overall record of seven wins and five placings from 17 starts with earnings topping $900,000 and was quickly embraced by Victorian breeders.
For those who subscribe to the theory that female families make stallions, thenMaster of Design kicks a home run in that regard.
A half-brother to South African Group I winner Suntagonal, Master of Design is from blue-blooded Last Tycoon (IRE) mare Urge to Merge, a daughter of blue hen Princess Tracy (IRE).
A stellar producer, Princess Tracy left five stakes-winners led by Group I winning sire Danasinga and brilliant Group I winning two year-old Tracy’s Element, the dam of Australian Horse of the Year Typhoon Tracy.
Two of her other stakes-winners in Cullen and Towkay have also made their mark at stud in New Zealand where they have sired numerous stakes-winners.
Master of Design satisfies all the criteria for sire success as well as a few of the more scientific factors that are fast gaining credibility with breeders as Adam Sangster points out.
“For those up to speed on the Equinome Speed Gene Testing, Master of Design has a C:C genetic combination,” Sangster explains.
“A C:C horse is likely to be a fast, early maturing horse that performs well as a two-year-old.
“As a two-year-old a C:C horse has 6.7 % greater muscle mass than a T:T horse (stayer) and earns on average four times more prize-money.
“A C:C horse excels in sprints and is best suited to races up to and including 1 mile. Stallions that are C:C have the greatest share of two-year-old winners and have a stamina index of 6 – 8 f (1200 – 1600 m).”
Master of Design also impresses in the area of heart score.
“When he was with Lee Freedman earlier in his career, his heart-score was rated the best of all horses tested at the Rye stables at the time with an elite A+,” Sangster added.
Priced at an affordable $12,500, Master of Design covered 141 mares last spring with his stunning first foals providing great delight to all at Swettenham Stud.
