Look and Book. That’s the message – loud and clear – out of Swettenham Stud with Trust In A Gust leading up to this Sunday’s stallion parade at Nagambie.
Pedigree and performance were always going to help promote Trust In A Gust but his physique will be a tipping point for breeders.
“He was awesome in front of the Inglis Sale crowd at Oaklands last Friday,” Swettenham owner Adam Sangster said. “He was the last of the first-season sires to parade and he was the stand-out.”
It was the second time Trust In A Gust had graced the sale ring at Oaklands and Inglis compere Peter Heagney read the mood as Trust In Gust was led around the auditorium.
“Isn’t he letting down into a magnificent stallion!” Heagney declared. “We sold him as a yearling and he was VOBIS Horse of the Year. Then he came back to win at Group 1 level in the Rupert Clarke and Toorak Hcp at Caulfield.”
Champion trainer Darren Weir did a champion job developing Trust In A Gust. Given a couple of outings as a two year-old – for placings at Bendigo (VOBIS Gold Rush) and Caulfield – he blossomed the following season winning 6 of his first 7 starts including the VOBIS Gold Eureka (Ballarat), VOBIS Gold Carat (Caulfield) and VOBIS Gold Star (Moonee Valley).
“Trust In A Gust showed plenty of promise from the start but really hit his straps as a three and four-year old,” Weir recalled. “He was a great horse to train. Sound, tough and he made his own luck. In a tight finish, he was the one you wanted to be on.”
A Swettenham homebred, he bowed out with a career record of 10 wins in 23 starts and over $1.17 million in prizemoney.
Trust In A Gust represents the internationally renowned Sunday Silence sireline through Keep The Faith. A stakes winner for Lindsay Park in Australia, Keep The Faith later became the fastest horse to ever race over 1200 metres in the United States when clocking 1.06.82s on turf at Belmont.
There’s also a Swettenham link through his dam Subtle Breeze (Storm Cat). She is a three-quarter sister to the Robert Sangster-bred Balanchine (Storm Bird) who was Champion 3YO Filly of Europe in 1994.
Trust In A Gust will stand at an introductory fee of $12,500 (inc gst) and lifetime breeding rights are available at $25,000 (inc gst). Breeders who can’t make Swettenham’s stallion parade this Sunday can inspect the stud’s stallions by appointment. For further information, contact Adam Sangster (0418 543 633), Brian Gorman (0429 660 266) or Rachel Spriggens (0439 101 195).
TRUST IN A GUST
Photo / Sharon Chapman