Phil and Denise Thurston bred three Group 1 2YO winners last season from just seven foals, spearheaded by star colt Fate Awaits, who won the $500,000 Protostar and $150,000 NSW Breeders Challenge Final.
Fate Awaits will be strongly fancied to take the title of Australian 2YO colt of the year after winning five of his nine starts and $394,000 in stakes.
He also became the fastest 2YO colt in Australasia when he stopped the clock at 1:50 in the Breeders Challenge Final at Menangle.
The Thurstons’ filly, Bittersweet, kicked off the season in glittering form, winning her first four starts, including the $150,000 Bathurst Gold Tiara.
She was considered one of the favourites for the Protostar before injury ended her season two days before the race.
She won $96,000 and recorded a time of 1:54.4 when she took out the Group 1 Tiara in dominating fashion.
Emerging star Mac Bon finished off the year with a victory in the $100,000 2YO colts Breeders Crown final at Melton in November.
The couple have come a long way since their first foray into harness racing when they bought shares in a yearling filly at a horse sale in Parkes in 1978.
“A nice filly came into the ring and Denise’s dad asked us if we wanted to go shares,” Phil Thurston said,
“We got her for $600 and True Copy, as she was named, turned out to be a nice race mare winning 10 races. She threw six winners from six foals including good city performer, Go Forest (1:57.4, $96K), who won multiple races at Harold Park.
“Denise’s father John Reedy was a true horseman. He trained a few gallopers and Denise used to ride track work when she was at school.
“I had no experience with horses at all but became interested when John broke in True Copy and I got my trainer’s and driver’s licences.”
The Thurstons, who trade as Celestial Standardbreds, have only been breeding commercially for a decade but they have recorded some outstanding results and gathered a small band of elite broodmares.
They topped the APG Sydney Sale in 2019 ($130K) and 2024 ($100K) with Bettors Delight colts. Another of their Bettors Delight colts was second top price at $100,000 in 2021.
They sold the equal second top priced colt at the 2023 Nutrien Sydney Sale – a Bettors colt for $160,000.
Phil and Denise, under the Celestial Standardbreds banner, will offer four high quality youngsters in our 2025 Sydney Yearling Sale, including a half sister to Fate Awaits and a stunning Huntsville colt out of Group 1 winner Miss Halfpenny.
The filly (Lot 208) is by champion pacer King Of Swing from Art Major mare For All We Know (1:54.2, $69K) and is from a champion filly family.
Her grandam Tout Le Monde is a half sister to superstar mare Bettor Cover Lover (1:53.8, $1.1M) from the family of triple Oaks winner Under Cover Lover (1:53.8, $864K).
“The filly is lovely to work with. She has nice length and will mature into a strong type and she is bred on a golden cross of a Rocknroll Hanover stallion over an Artsplace line mare.”
The Huntsville colt (Lot 228) is a half brother to 2024 Sydney sale topper, who has been named A Buck Ten.
He is from Miss Halfpenny (1:55, $235K), who is a half sister to star mare Anntonia (1:49.8, $411K) and smart colt Humble (1:50.6, $150K), who has won eight straight in the US in the past three months.
“The Miss Halfpenny colt is probably the pick of the draft this year. He is a good size and very athletic,” Thurston said.
“He ticks all of the boxes and looks like an early goer and Huntsville has done a huge job with 80-odd winners from one crop in Australia.
“Miss Halfpenny is by American Ideal, who is really making a name for himself as a broodmare sire.
“I also really like the colt (Lot 205), by King Of Swing from Cullen Reign. He has an amazing temperament and is a big strong colt – he looks like a 2YO now. He will be a good value buy.
“Our other filly is also worth a look (Lot 253) by American Ideal out of Group 1 winning mare Sweet Molly O’Shea who is a 100 percent producer and goes back to the amazing Molly Darling. She is a racy looking filly and a great mover in the paddock.”
For full details of these or any other yearlings in the 2025 Sydney Yearling Sale please visit APG’s Online Sales Catalogue or Register as a Buyer today!
By APG Media
