Catbird though won the 1999 Golden Slipper after winning the Black Opal of that year. He was a son of Danehill, out of the Marscay mare, Fitting. He now hast two full brothers at stud in the Pago Pago winner, Danbird, and Longhorn. There was never any doubt though that Catbird came from a family of stallions. His third dam, Donna Nook was imported from Great Britain and become one of our best broodmares, producing County, Dieu D’or and Mister Kwila who all enjoyed success at stud. Mister Kwila continues to stand in Queensland. Interestingly, Donna Nook also produced the stakes winning mare, Beans, who also won the Black Opal at Canberra.
The family of Donna Nook though must rate as one of the Australian stud book’s finest. In addition to those horses named, it is also the family of Maizcay, Donna Dior, Donna Cara, Coats Choice, and Half Hennessy among a long list of black type performers.
Catbird At Stud
Catbird entered stud in 2000, and covered large books of mares every year in spite of ordinary fertility rates. His progeny also were not the most robust in general, with only 405 named foals out of over 600 horses of racing age, although over 60% of these win when they do race. Catbird’s yearlings have always sold well, averaging over $50,000 from a service fee that began at a fairly modest $12500 plus GST. Perhaps the service fee figure is relative to a rather hefty increase in first season sire fees in recent years. It seems almost incomprehensible at present to think that a Golden Slipper winner could stand at this figure in the current economic climate.
Catbird’s Group Winners
At stud, Catbird produced ten stakeswinners including Diego Garcia, Cateclipse, Catechuchu, and Cat’s Fun. Interestingly, Catbird had a deal of success with Sir Tristram mares, and also mares by that stallion’s sons such as Marauding, Zabeel and Grosvenor. This no doubt is particularly critical given that the stallion spent his entire career in the HunterValley. It is also of note that three of his stakes winners were actually foaled in New Zealand reflecting the strong support he had from this region. This support may also be reflected in the fact that his progeny have had success over more distance than might be expected by a Slipper winning stallion. His progeny’s sole Group 1 success actually came in the West Australian Derby, although others have predominantly won over shorter trips.
Ross Prowd - Ross Prowd is a freelance racing journalist in Australia, as well as being a renowned pedigree expert. He writes weekly for Australia's ...
