Spirit Of Boom success in Newmarket Handicap just the reward for part-owner Scott McAlpine

THE grand old man of Queensland breeding could have his biggest payday 18 years on from his greatest defeat if Spirit Of Boom wins tomorrow.

Spirit Of Boom (left) rounds up the field in the Group 2 Caulfield Sprint. Picture: Jay T

THE grand old man of Queensland breeding could have his biggest payday 18 years on from his greatest heartbreaking defeat if Spirit Of Boom wins tomorrow’s Newmarket Handicap.

Spirit Of Boom’s part-owner Scott McAlpine is likely to move on a syndication deal after Saturday, with a retirement to stud likely this year.

“The owners all seem happy to retire this year, with the Stradbroke as his final run, and that being the case we need to get moving fairly quickly or we will run out of time,’’ said McAlpine, who runs Eureka Stud.

“He is a logical replacement for (his sire) Sequalo, who has done a great job over the years and even more so in recent times on the back of some better mares.

“A Group 1 win for Spirit Of Boom would just seal the deal and hopefully between now and then, that will happen.’’

If he does snare a major between now and Stradbroke Day, Spirit Of Boom will be a rarity in retiring to a Queensland stud farm as a homegrown Group 1 winner.

It took a track record to deny Sequalo his rightful place as a Group 1 winner when Brawny Spirit clocked 1min7.7sec to beat him in the 1996 Newmarket.

He would be recognised as a Group 1 winner in today’s racing, having won both the Moir and Linlithgow Stakes, beating Group 1 winners both times.

Spirit Of Boom is a $14 chance with TattsBet, as Shamexpress, Lankan Rupee and Samaready vie for favouritism.

Sequalo has just completed his 17th breeding season, covering 74 mares and getting most of them in foal at an age when most stallions have been pensioned off.

Lyndhurst Stud’s Jeff Kruger would love to see Spirit Of Boom join Star Shiraz (QTC Sires) as a Group 1 winner for the 23-year-old sire, who has clocked up a whopping 619 individual winners.

“He’s so easy to do anything with and even now, still has good fertility,’’ Kruger said.

“Norman Waymouth (who rode him throughout his career) still comes back every couple of years to see him and I’m certain Sequalo remembers him. He’s just a wonderful old horse.’’

McAlpine says Spirit Of Boom possesses similarly tough qualities.

“He went from Western Australia (an unlucky fourth in the Group 1 Winterbottom Stakes) back to Melbourne and it was another week before he made it home to Eureka,’’ McAlpine said.

“He only had three weeks here and we dropped him back at Tony’s stables on Christmas Eve. He’s raced in a Group 1 race only seven weeks later. Only very tough horses can do that.’’

Spirit Of Boom is a $14 chance with TattsBet, as Shamexpress, Lankan Rupee and Samaready vie for favouritism.