Racehorse TALK

By Warwick Barr
SYDNEY, July 12 AAP - A famous chapter in Australian thoroughbred breeding has been closed with the death of noted sire Zeditave.
Zeditave was euthanased last week after showing signs of colic.
At age 25 he is the last in a long line of stallions to call Newhaven Park Stud home.
"I think it's fair to say Zeditave's death is the end of an era for us," Newhaven Park's Richard Kelly said.
"We decided some time ago not to stand stallions anymore because it has become quite expensive.
"It costs 10 to 20 million dollars now to secure a top stallion."
Located near Booroowa in south-west NSW, Newhaven Park was a sheep and cattle property before it was turned into a thoroughbred farm which would become synonymous with Australia racing.
In 1954, Kelly's father John imported Wilkes from France.
The stallion was an instant success and became a foundation for Newhaven Park's influence on the world's greatest two-year-old race, the Golden Slipper.
Wilkes sired Golden Slipper winners Vain, John's Hope and Vivarchi as well as Wenona Girl, a mare described as "the forgotten champion".
Newhaven also stood Golden Slipper winners Luskin Star and Marauding.
Marauding was the sire of Burst and Prowl who won Golden Slippers in the 1990s under the care of Clarry Conners.
Other famous stallions to stand at Newhaven Park have included English St Leger winner Boucher, Bold Minstrel and Imperial Prince.
Imperial Prince sired the outstanding racemare Research as well as Arborea who were both trained by Conners.
Alongside Widden Stud, Newhaven has long represented one of the last bastions of colonialism left in an Australian breeding industry increasingly dominated by overseas conglomerates.
But Richard Kelly says Newhaven could only survive for so long outside the Hunter Valley - the undisputed breeding hub of Australia.
"The industry has become very centralised," he said.
"If Newhaven Park was located in the Hunter Valley we would have stayed in stallions but now we are happy to breed from our own boutique band of mares."
The Newhaven broodmare roster includes Queensland Oaks winner Allow and stakes performers Media and Court.
"They are among the 50-odd broodmares still on the property. They are young mares who will be given every opportunity," Kelly said.
Zeditave was bred and raced by Sydney bookmaker Colin Tidy and his wife Helen who also raced his 1997 Newmarket Handicap winning daughter Ruffles.
Under the guidance of Angus Armanasco Zeditave was a racetrack star as a juvenile.
His one defeat in 10 first-season starts was in the 1988 Golden Slipper when he finished unplaced.
But the colt made amends during the Brisbane winter carnival when he extended his brilliance to 1600 metres to claim the Group One QTC Stakes.
A deal which secured Zeditave's stud future was struck when the colt was a spring three-year-old.
He bowed out of racing with an unblemished record during the 1989 Melbourne autumn carnival which netted Group One wins in the William Reid Stakes (1200m), Lightning Stakes (1000m) and Futurity Stakes (1400m).
In 21 seasons at stud, Zeditave sired seven Group One winners.
The powerful chestnut also became a sire of sires with his sons Strategic and Magic Albert doing well at stud.
There is every chance Zeditave's legacy will only be enhanced in coming seasons, according to Kelly.
"During EI (equine influenza) all our mares stayed at Newhaven and I regard his rising two-year-olds to be among his best crop so far," he said.