Quality In Spades For Prospective Breeders

IN the early days, before La Grand Quality stepped foot on the racetrack, breeder-owner Kellie Fogarty and trainer Darryl Thomas reckoned it would take a car wreck to stop the sensational youngster.

The son of El Grand Senor-All Quality had been showing enough potential for Thomas to put him in the car and head to Queensland for the time-honoured Vince Curry Maiden a race that had always tossed up superstars in the past.

Darryl and Kellie reckoned they had one to match anything.

What they didn't reckon on was the car wreck Darryl would go through on his way to Queensland. It affected both he and the dog who finished fourth as the $1.45 favourite in his heat.

It would be five months before La Grand Quality would get over that crash and win a race … at Grafton. Not just any race, but another time-honoured one at that, the July Maiden that had also seen champions unearthed, champions like Brother Fox.

La Grand Quality led throughout to win that July Maiden final and it heralded the start of a 12-month racing campaign that took him to just 18 starts for 12 wins and $85,000.

Along the way he brilliantly won the Group 2 Warragul Cup, ran a track record at Maitland of 24.56, and made the finals of the Ballarat and Maitland Cups both at Group 2 level.

When he was right … La Grand Quality was unbeatable.

His litter sister Caviar Quality was a finalist in the Group 2 Bulli Gold Cup and Group 3 Goulburn Cup.

Their dam All Quality, by champion Bombastic Shiraz out of champion One Tree Hill, also is the dam of Ask King Jeff (23 wins, $129,000). All but three of her 36 offspring have been winners.

It is the famed direct damline of Spanish Dance. The greats from this family are far too numerous to mention here.

La Grand Quality is being given his chance at stud. A track record breaker, Group winner, one-turn track specialist … that's the recipe for stud success that has stood the test of time decade after decade and will continue to do so.

He has a pedigree to suit most Aussie lines, boasting the Where's Pedro sireline, Bombastic Shiraz as the sire of his dam, a touch of US influence through Gable Lafourche, plus the looming presence of great sires like Awesome Assassin and Head Honcho.

It meets the needs of many, many broodbitches.

Bitches by Barcia Bale, Collision, Fabregas, those with more Brett Lee, more Spanish Dance will all suit him.

Look for bitches with Keybow, Kinloch Brae, Velocette, especially Knocka Norris to cross well with him.

Bitches with Bit Chili will be an absolute MUST for La Grand Quality.

And anyone with a Mepunga Blazer daughter should be lining up to bring in a proven Premier Fantasy/Fortress cross.

And, to top off all that, those myriad of Fernando Bale bitches could do best by being mated to La Grand Quality. It introduces a special link between La Grand Quality's dam All Quality and Fernando himself.

They have MUCH in common.