The Breeder Series - A Lifetime Reaps Its Reward
Queensland breeder Kevin Seymour has been breeding from his imported New Zealand mare Call Girl and her descendants for nigh on 43 years and they have provided Seymour with a host of quality winners.
Seymour bought Call Girl in foal to Transport Chip, a moderately performed son of Most Happy Fella, in May 1982 and imported her to Australia a month later.
In November 1982 Call Girl dropped a filly foal that Seymour would name Goldrush Girl and she would become the foundation mare of this particular line of Seymour’s breeding operation.
Goldrush Girl was a top-class racemare and her 41 wins included a Queensland Golden Slipper Stakes as a 2yo and a Queensland Oaks as a 3yo before she took on the boys and finished second to Henry Luca in that season’s Queensland Derby.
Retired to stud in 1989 Goldrush Girl produced nine foals with eight of them winners including the star mare Good Lookin Girl which won a pair of Group Ones in the Victorian Queen of the Pacific and the NSW Ladyship Mile.
Goldrush Girl’s second foal, born in 1992, was a Vanston Hanover filly that Seymour named Girl From Ipanema.
Girl From Ipanema won 13 races including the 2yo Queensland Triad and she is now the third dam of Seymour’s 4yo gelding Free Thinker which, in light of his 40-year Queensland pedigree, is a more than appropriate representative for Racing Queensland in their Eureka slot.
Free Thinker is the fifth foal from the Art Major mare French Charm, and he earned his spot in the 2024 Eureka in the $207,000 The Hayden on July 20 at Albion Park.
French Charm won a solitary race as a 3yo but she is a half-sister to three $100,000 earners including Fame Assured $318,537 and the Group One 3yo Queensland Triad winner Frankie Rocks
In addition to Free Thinker she is the dam of Be Good Johnny Sprint winner Future Assured p,1:50.9 $228,244 and the current handy 2yo winner French Fries p,2,1:58.5.
Free Thinker is by the imported Hurrikane Kingcole which unfortunately died 23 days before Free Thinker was born at Queensland’s Egmont Park Stud.
At the time of his death Hurrikane Kingcole’s first crop of 35 foals were starting to make breeders sit up and take notice.
His first crop of 35 foals had just turned 3yo when Free Thinker was born and there are now 26 winners from that first crop at a remarkable 74% winners/foals.
Free Thinker