Australian Eric Lucas, a Thoroughbred enthusiast who spent three decades working in Japan and has bred and co-owned the international Group 1 winner Highballing Panthalassa He had such faith in the original stallion that he retained his shares in the stallion owned by Yulong.
Lucas, now semi-retired, has mares in Australia, Japan and Europe, will support Panthalassa in his first season in the southern hemisphere at the stud, where he will stand at Yulong’s Victorian stud facility near Nagambie.
The Yoshio Yahagi-trained horse won from ages 2 to 6 in a racing career spanning five seasons and 27 starts, with his victories highlighted by victories in the 2022 Dubai Turf (G1T) and the 2023 Saudi Cup (G1).
Panthalassa, along with other badminton players in Japan Contemplate Mars And Maurice Both will stand at Arrowfield Stud, Woodside Park Stud-bound Benbatl and Rich Hill Stud, who brought the foal Aladdin Satono landed in Melbourne late on 16 July to complete their quarantine period. They will be released from quarantine on 3 August.
Lucas has vowed to use all of these nominations at Panthalassa in his first and subsequent years at the stud and is dreaming of breeding a top Guineas and Cox Plate (G1) horse from his globetrotting sire.
“He raced a lot at 2, he won every year he raced and he really peaked in his career in his last year at the track, so the fact that he had some precocity, combined with his staying ability, (made him an attractive breeding prospect),” Lucas told ANZ Bloodstock News. “He has deep endurance but what I think is really interesting about him in Australia is, he has huge speed and the races he’s run are just in a different league to most of the staying horses that have come to Australia and are in breeding position here.”
Lucas races at Panthalassa with Hiroo Racing Club, a Japanese racing organization he has supported for nearly a decade.
The Australian racehorse owner and breeder is keenly aware of the commercial realities of racehorses, but what captivates him is the dream of breeding and racing a classic winner.
“I like to breed not necessarily or primarily for success on the auction block, although I also sell horses for profit, and you have to do that, but I’m always interested in trying to produce an individual, especially one that can go over a short distance,” Lucas said.
“I’m a traditionalist in horse racing. I’m less interested in the six-furlong race and more interested in having horses that can win classic three-year-old races from a mile to a mile and a half and that’s why the Panthalassa story is so interesting to me.”
“I think physically he’ll suit the Australian mares very well because… I don’t think he’s light, but he’s not a big horse either,” he added.
“He’s very strong and powerful, I think he’ll bring some quality to some of the bigger, more muscular Australian mares that probably need a little more quality and length in the reins.”
Panthalassa, one of the three Lord Kanaloa Stallions listed by Yulong in 2024 will carry an introductory fee of A$16,500 (including GST).
