Racing Post Article On Maurice Burns

11 Jan 2013

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Rewards of a burning ambition to succeed; THURSDAY THOUGHTS Tom Pennington talks to Maurice Burns about the challenges facing independent stud owners.

AFTER a memorable weekend for his family, Maurice Burns, owner of Rathasker Stud near Naas, could be forgiven for waking up a little bleary-eyed on Monday.

 

His brother Seamus bred Friday's Oaks winner Was, a victory that Burns describes as a "wonderful family triumph", while he was busy celebrating Laugh Out Loud's success in the Group 2 Prix de Sandringham at Chantilly. The Norman Court Stud-bred filly is by Rathasker resident Clodovil, who also sired Tuttipaesi, a Listed winner in Italy on Saturday, whom Burns had sold for €18,000 as a foal on behalf of a client.

 

"It was a fantastic weekend," he says. "It was great for Seamus, but it's a wonderful family triumph. My Dad [Paddy Burns] had Park Express [great granddam of Was] and we were all there when she won her races. It's great that the family has gone on and is still producing Classic winners every year."

 

The focus on Burns, who alongside Clodovil stands first-season sire Thousand Words and Fast Company, whose first foals are on the ground, is as much pinpointing stallion potential as developing famous female lines.

He believes that the initial impact a stallion's crop has on the racecourse is imperative to the success of independent stallion operations.

 

"The most important thing with any stallion operation is that the sire is quick out of the blocks and when he gets runners, he produces winners," says Burns. "If he does well initially, breeders will come to you.

 

"The hardest part is the beginning - getting a good number of foals on the ground and having enough soldiers out there to compete.

 

"Sixties Icon is having a great time of it," he adds. "It didn't look like he had a big chance of succeeding but with the right support he has done well. The people that own the stallion have thrown a few good mares at him and that helps.

 

"There are a number of high-profile farms that have stood first-season sires with well in excess of 100 foals on the ground that have been total flops, and then you get other sires like Verglas and Chichicastenago who start off with smaller crops and prove to be great successes."

 

Burns emphasises just how risky it is to recruit a new stallion, especially if you are not one of the larger studs in Britain and Ireland.

 

He says: "A big operation can afford to have one or two slip ups because it won't put them out of business. But if a small operation makes one slip you can be put out of business overnight." The risk factor involved with independent operations standing first-season sires therefore makes stallion selection even more important. 

 

"It's probably true that you need a sire that is going to produce speedy, early runners and Sixties Icon is the exception to the rule," says Burns. "You are looking for a horse capable of producing precocious sorts. It is difficult to find horses of that calibre on a budget and with there being so much risk involved smaller farms have to be very careful with their money."

 

Thousand Words, a son of Dansili who won the Somerville Tattersall Stakes as a juvenile, has sired three winners this season, one of which could be Royal Ascot bound.

 

"He's had a good start - he hasn't had many runners yet, but they have all shown ability," says Burns. "All but one of his horses have been in the first four and the trainers say they have good temperaments. Lyric Ace [trained by Richard Hannon] will hopefully go to Royal Ascot and could take us to the next level.

 

"I liked the horse's pedigree - I like Dansili and I'm a big fan of the Danehill line. You have to take a punt in life and I thought he was worth taking a punt on. You don't have to be the best racehorse in the world to produce good progeny."

 

The Burns family have been associated with the thoroughbred industry for several generations. Burns' father Paddy was associated with numerous Group winners, including the great mare Park Express, who was a wonderful servant both on the racecourse and at stud. A Group 1 winner on the track, she went on to produce the Derby winner New Approach as well as Alluring Park, dam of the Oaks heroine Was.

 

Burns has been brought up around horses all his life and he relished the opportunity to go it alone. He has been standing sires at Rathasker for nearly 30 years.

 

"A time came when we all branched out [brothers Seamus, Lodge Park Stud and Patrick, Newlands House Stud] and we set up on our own," says Burns. "I was looking forward to the challenge of going it alone and then Rathasker came up for sale, so we bought that and Red Sunset was the first stallion we stood.

 

"I have built up a loyal bunch of clients and my expenses aren't on the scale of large farms so I can run it a little differently.

 

"We're a commercial farm that produces about 50 yearlings for the sales every year. We would target the speedier two-year-old type of horse, that offer a quick return for the people that buy them. If we can get between €30,000 and €50,000 for them at the sales it's a good return."

 

With the world still submerged in economic uncertainty, many stud owners and vendors will be having sleepless nights about this year's yearling sales. But Burns thinks there will always be a market for the horses he consigns, as they have the potential to offer a greater return further down the line.

 

"The trainers will always need horses, it's their business and livelihood - the key is getting new money into the game," says Burns. "If you paid €20,000 for a yearling and he comes out and wins impressively first time out, he would be worth €100,000 plus so there are great incentives to be in the business.”

 

"We have a product that a lot of other people in the world can't produce. We have the land and the expertise to produce the best horses - so people have to come here to buy them."

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