While we are only in the first few weeks of the Northern Hemisphere breeding season, stallion masters in Australia are already at work on recruiting new stallions to their rosters for the 2012 Southern Hemisphere breeding season, which is still some six months away. Among the first of these announced are Smart Missile, who goes to Arrowfield Stud in New South Wales, and Toorak Toff, who will start his stud career at Rosemont Stud in Victoria.

Bred by the Gooree Park Stud of Eduardo Cojuangco, Pedigree Consultants mating Smart Missile carried the Gooree colors throughout his career. Smart Missile made his debut in the five furlong AJC Breeders’ Plate, and became a stakes winner at first time of asking, scoring by daylight from a field that included subsequent grade two winner Wild and Proud, and grade one performers Darci Be Goodand Induna. Returning six months later for the six furlong ATC Todman Trial Stakes (gr. II), Smart Missile produced a devasting kick to run down the previously undefeated grade one winner Sepoy, with sprint star Foxwedge back in third. Two weeks later, Smart Missile and Sepoy disputed favoritism for the Golden Slipper (gr. I), but the highly-anticipated clash never took place, Smart Missile having to be scratch after getting his leg caught over an upright. Sepoy went on to win the Golden Slipper, leaving Smart Missile as the only horse to defeat the champion at two, and as one only two horses to win a race against Sepoy in his 12 starts to date.

Returning at three in the six furlong ATC Run to the Rose Handicap (gr. III), Smart Missile produced an astonishing finishing burst, moving from last on the home turn to score from Foxwedge, three-time grade one winner Helmet, and millionaire Karuta Queen. In the seven furlong Golden Rose Stakes (gr. I), Smart Missile  again closed fast to narrowly miss catching four-time graded winner Manawanui, with Foxwedge and Helmet well-beaten.

Smart Missile is by one of Danehill’s most exciting young sons, the Australian Champion Three-Year-Old and Sprinter, Fastnet Rock. With his third crop only three-year-olds of the 2011-2012 season, Fastnet Rock has already sired 26 stakes winners, including the grade one scorers Atlantic Jewel, Irish Lights, Wanted, Rock Classic, Mosheen, Planet Rock, Lone Rock and Rock ‘n’ Pop. Out of the Red Ransom granddaughter, Comical Smile, Smart Missile is half-sister to stakes winner Kiss From A Rose. Comical Smile is herself a half-sister to another brilliant Gooree speedster, Northern Meteor (another Pedigree Consultants mating), a spectacular grade one winner who was nicknamed the “Usain Bolt of Australian racing” after the winner of the Beijing Olympic 100 and 200m events, both in World Record Time. Smart Missile’s granddam, Explosive, is a stakes placed daughter of Fappiano and the stakes winner Scuff. By Forli out of U.S. Horse of the Year Moccasin, Scuff shares all four of her grandparents with Champion Sprinter Thatch, Coronation Stakes (gr. II) victress Lisadell, and Special, the dam ofNureyev, and granddam of Sadler’s Wells and Fairy King.

There are obviously a bunch of interesting matings that could be made here, particularly picking up on Smart Missile’s female line with Sadler’s Wells, Fairy King (including Encosta de Lago), Nureyev (a strain that seems to do well for Fastnet Rock, and looks particularly interesting through Peintre Celebre, who is already broodmare sire of a Fastnet Rock grade one winner), Perugino,Thatch/Thatching, and Geiger Counter, to name a few. Fastnet Rock’s also done well with another source of Nureyev, Zabeel (who is out of a mare by Nureyev), and there are plenty of options available from that sire line. We can also note a grade one winner by Fastnet Rock from a mare by Zabeel’s sire,Sir Tristram. Fastnet Rock’s broodmare sire, Royal Academy, is a close relative to Storm Cat, and out of Storm Cat line mares he’s sired graded one winner Irish Lights and multiple graded winnerFoxwedge. There appears to be a Fastnet Rock affinity for Mr. Prospector line mares, and he already has stakes winners out of mares by Lion Cavern (brother to Gone West), Woodman, Afleet andDistorted Humor. We’ll also note a couple of graded winners out of mares by Snippets, and success over the Blushing Groom line through Mt. Livermore.

Toorak Toff has been a major stakes winner every year he’s raced. He won three of six starts at two, including the Adelaide Two-Year-Old Classic and National Stakes (gr. I) and was a good fourth in a contentious renewal of the AJC Sires’ Produce Stakes (gr. I). At three, he added the Vain Stakes and Golden Rose Stakes (gr. I), and in the current campaign, he’s captured the MRC Invitation Stakes (gr. I).

Toorak Toff is going to be one of the major hopes for the extension of the once-dominant Star Kingdom line. He’s by the very successful, Show a Heart, who in turn is a grandson of Star Kingdom line Champion Sire Bletchingly. Toorak Toff’s dam, Orong, a daughter of Grand Lodge, is a sister to stakes winner Avilde, and closely related to stakes winner Super Lacuna. The granddam, Blixen, won the Sandown Guineas (gr. II)

Toorak Toff is going to be open to a lot of different sire lines. We particularly like the idea of doubling the Northern Dancer/Secretariat cross through Storm Cat and Dehere. Variations of the Northern Dancer/Sir Gaylord cross should also do well, including through Barathea, King of Kings, Bluebird andGreen Desert (whose son, Volksraad, is broodmare sire of a Show a Heart stakes winner). Green Desert is a Danzig line horse, like Toorak Toff’s broodmare sire, Grand Lodge, and Toorak Toff should also like doubling up on Danzig, including through Danehill. Zabeel is a reverse Northern Dancer/Sir Gaylord cross, and his sire, Sir Tristram should be a positive. We can also note Show a Heart having a pair of graded stake winners, one grade one, out of a mare by Royal Academy, a pair out of a mare byCentaine, as well as from daughters of Canadian Silver (by Geiger Counter), Citidancer, Lion Hunterand Danzero (both by Danehill), Snippers, St. Jude, and St. Covet.