General Nediym and Best Runner Show Up Horse Lottery
24-12-2011
BACK at the beginning of 1990, a visionary Brisbane businessman, the now deceased Ron Ashdown, and his wife Helen, established the Glengarry stud on quality tree studded rolling country served by a crystal clear mountain streams in the Fassifern valley out of Ipswich in Queensland.
A result of the Ashdown enterprise was the production of two horses who were not only two of the best bred in Queensland in recent years, but two more examples of the horse lottery.They were General Nediym, the only Group1 winner by Glengarry foundation sire Nediym (IRE) (Northern Dancer grandson) and his first crop daughter Regimental Gal.
Bred by the Ashdowns, General Nediym ended up being raced by them with friends after a buyer at $20,000 at the Magic Millions Gold Coast yearling sale reneged on the deal. It was fortuitous as the General became one of the best of his age at two and three – champion Australasian sprinter. In earning $2,128,998 in 21 starts, he won13 races, including the VRC Newmarket, Lightning, AJC Stan Fox, San Domenico and Magic Millions 2YO Classic. He finished third in the Caulfield Guineas and Doomben 10,000 and fourth as a short priced favourite in the Golden Slipper.
Used at four different studs, starting off at Glengarry in1999, ending up at the Widden stud, one at which he unfortunately died at 14 in January 2009, and represented by his last crop of 2-year-olds in the current racing year – over a hundred potential runners, General Nediym has supplied to date 465 winners (nine countries, 35 SWs, 31 SPs) of 1173 races and $33,558,526. In 2010-11 he had 96 winners (five SWs,10 2yos) of 160 races and $4,837,697 in 2010-11 for Australian racing and in 2009-10 was New Zealand’s leading sire of juveniles on earnings.
His best performer has been his fluke bred first crop filly Regimental Gal, one got at Glengarry from Hallaya, an unraced Yallah Prince mare inbred 3x3 to Northern Dancer which Ron Ashdown sold along with a service to Nediym for $500 to his stud secretary. When Hallaya was ready to be served, Nediym was out of action, so Ashdown switched her to General Nediym. Sold twice at the Gold Coast sales, $16,500 as a yearling and $800,000 as a broodmare, and represented by lot 250, a colt by More Than Ready on account of Cressfield, Scone in the 2012 catalogue, Regimental Gal picked up $1,615,350 at the races. She won seven, including the VRC Lightning, MVRC William Reid, AJC San Domenico, Silver Shadow and Magic Millions 2YO Classic, and was placed in the VRC Newmarket, BTC Cup – twice and MRC Schillaci Stakes.
So far only one son of General Nediym has had runners and he is General Marvic, the source of General Beejay, a smart winner for the Fred Wieland (Cairns) stables of the juvenile event which opened the program at Townsville on December 20. General Beejay is the fourth winner from the ten named foals, all runners, sired by General Marvic in his first four seasons, 2004 - 07, a period he served a total of 17 mares. In the first year, he had only two and they produced General Weiland (five sprint wins, two at Cairns, ten seconds and five thirds) and third placed General Blamey.
All the winners are trained by Fred Wieland for G. A. Price, their breeder and host for General Marvic at Bowen on the North Queensland coast. Unraced, General Marvic is from Perennials, a daughter of the Bletchingly AJC Spring Champion Stakes and George Main Stakes winner Coronation Day and In The Country, a mare by In The Purple, a French stayer who, from use in New Zealand, produced How Now (won Caulfield Cup) and Gold and Black (Melbourne Cup). In The Purple appears three times – 4x4x3 – in General Marvic’s pedigree and his sire Right Royal, a French Derby winner and Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe second, appears 4x5x5x4.
Courtesy of Brian Russell Bloodstock Media Service
