Few broodmares in Tasmania can claim to have produced both a Guineas winner and one of the state’s most exciting modern performers, but Arenzano has quickly established herself as one of the jewels of the Armidale Stud broodmare band.
Purchased by Denise Martin’s Star Thoroughbreds for $60,000 from the 2011 Tasmanian Magic Millions Yearling Sale, Arenzano enjoyed an outstanding racing career. The daughter of Not A Single Doubt won eight of her 19 starts and was placed on a further four occasions, earning a reputation as a tough and talented racemare.
Following her retirement, Arenzano was secured by the Whishaw family’s Armidale Stud as a broodmare prospect. It proved to be a shrewd investment.
One of her early visits was to resident stallion Needs Further, producing a colt that would catch the eye of bloodstock professionals Denise Martin and Adam Hamilton at the 2022 Tasmanian Magic Millions Yearling Sale. That colt was Durazzo, and the rest is now part of Tasmanian racing folklore.
Durazzo’s remarkable winning streak has provided particular satisfaction for Martin, who raced both horse and dam.
“Arenzano was a talented horse and after she was purchased by Armidale Stud, I was keen to follow her progress as a broodmare,” Martin said.
“Durazzo was her second foal and he’s an absolute beauty. It’s lovely to see her producing such good horses so early in her broodmare career. Needs Further did a tremendous job at stud before his untimely death last month.”
Arenzano’s record as a producer extends beyond Durazzo. She is also the dam of Tasmanian Guineas winner Mazzini, further enhancing her credentials as one of the state’s emerging blue-hen mares.
And now 17 years old she still produces studding foals her latest by Bodyguard is pictured in the article.
The strength of Arenzano’s success should come as little surprise given the depth of her maternal family.
She is by the highly influential sire Not A Single Doubt and is the fourth foal from Marina Miss (Grand Lodge). Marina Miss also produced Regal Fame, a five-time winner in New Zealand.
The family traces back to Concert Star, a daughter of Pompeii Court who produced Listed winner Beyonce’s Star, successful in Brisbane’s Just Now Quality. Beyonce’s Star in turn became the dam of dual Group winner Oak Door, ensuring the black-type influence continued through subsequent generations.
Arenzano’s third dam was Solo Performance, a daughter of Without Fear who was herself a high-class performer. She captured three black-type races, including the Group 3 Merson Cooper Stakes, before becoming an outstanding producer.
Among her progeny were Clout, winner of the Listed Ngawyni Stakes in Western Australia, and Solo Show, a Group 2 winner. Solo Show later produced Toast Of The Coast, another elite performer who claimed Group 2 honours in the Yallambee Classic.
Further back, the pedigree remains rich with quality. Solo Performance was out of Star Of The Show (Showdown), who also produced Rock Show, a multiple black-type winner whose victories included the Group 3 Tattersall’s Cup, Port Adelaide Cup and Rain Lover Plate.
The family tree continues to reveal an extraordinary collection of elite performers. One of the most notable descendants is Suzanne, a Group winner produced by Allstar, a daughter of the legendary Star Kingdom.
Other standout performers emerging from the family include Continual, a Metropolitan winner, and Iva, winner of the prestigious Orr Stakes.
The pedigree ultimately traces to one of Australia’s greatest racing heroes, Heroic. A superstar of the 1920s, Heroic won the Breeders’ Plate and Maribyrnong Plate as a two-year-old before adding the Australian Derby, Newmarket Handicap and Cox Plate to his remarkable résumé. He later became an influential sire and produced another champion of the turf in Ajax.
With Durazzo continuing to make headlines and Mazzini already a classic winner, Arenzano’s influence on Tasmanian racing is still unfolding. Given the depth of her pedigree and the quality she has already produced, there is every reason to believe the best chapters in her broodmare story are yet to be written.
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