Rookie Breeder Bruce Tarry Strikes Gold with Boom NSW Sprinter Cya Art

It was a case of beginner’s luck for Northland breeder Bruce Tarry, whose very first broodmare purchase, Cyathea, has produced the Group 1 $150,000 Len Smith Mile winner at Menangle last Saturday — the brilliant sprinter Cya Art.

“Todd Mitchell broke Cyathea in for Monty Baker, a long-time Auckland breeder,” Tarry recalled.
“Monty said he wanted to keep the colts from her mother and sell the fillies. Todd picked this one out and told me she was probably the best of them. He said she wouldn’t make a two-year-old but had a lot of potential.”

That filly was Cyathea, secured by Bruce and his late wife Sharron for $10,000 as a yearling.

“Unfortunately, she copped a stone bruise early and later had lower hock issues. She only had seven starts for us, winning twice and placing three times,” Bruce explained.

Retired to broodmare duties, Cyathea was bred in partnership with Robert and Sandy Mitchell. “Robert had a property at Raglan and looked after the agistment. I paid the service fees and we split the progeny,” Bruce said.

Her second foal was Cyamach (Mach Three), who fetched $92,000 at the 2011 Karaka Yearling Sale. He won 10 races in New Zealand — including the 2014 Winter Cup at Alexandra Park — before a successful stint in Western Australia where he added another 10 victories at Gloucester Park, among them the Inter Dominion Consolation and Lord Mayor’s Cup. Later exported to North America, he finished with close to $500,000 in stakes and a mile record of 1:50.8.

Cyathea produced five more foals before leaving Cya Art to Art Major in 2017. Among them were Star Of Montana, a six-time Albion Park winner, and Santanna Jewel, a prolific Sunraysia campaigner.

The eighth foal, Cya Art, was sold for $27,500 at the 2019 NZB Karaka Yearling Sale to Stonewall Stud’s Steve Stockman. “Steve loved the breed and bought several of her foals,” Bruce noted.

Trained by Steve and Amanda Telfer, Cya Art won five races in New Zealand before being sold to clients of Jason Grimson on the eve of the NZ Cup carnival. He finished runner-up to Don’t Stop Dreaming in the Group 3 Junior Free-For-All on Cup Day before heading across the Tasman.

Since arriving in Australia, the now seven-year-old gelding has flourished in open-class company. He captured the Group 3 Shirley Turnbull Memorial at Bathurst, ran placings in the Ballarat, Albury, Tamworth and Renshaw Cups, and finished third in this year’s Inter Dominion Grand Final behind Leap To Fame and Speak The Truth.

Six weeks later, he earned a permanent place in the record books, flashing home to win the Len Smith Mile in a staggering 1:47.5 — the equal second fastest time ever recorded in Australasia, matching Have Faith In Me’s Miracle Mile performance in 2016 and bettered only by My Field Marshal’s 1:46.9 Miracle Mile victory in 2018.

Cyathea has since left another winner in Cya Doit, a full brother to Cya Art.

“I gave Cyathea to Alabar Bloodstock four years ago after my wife passed away and I stopped breeding then,” Bruce said.

“But I still keep my hand in, racing horses with the Breckon Farms Syndicate. We’ve been lucky to have some good ones like Linda Lovegrace and a few nice trotters.”