Stock Horses
Nonda WinnersRgrinners (SOLD)
Exceptional prospect
NONDA WINNERSRGRINNERS
Sunday Knight – Nonda Happy Ever After
Age: Bay gelding, 2YO (foaled 17/9/05)
Height: will mature around 15.2hh
Registration: ASHS Registration is currently under way
Comments
WinnersRgrinners is a bay 2YO gelding. He is by one of our selected thoroughbred stallions used in our special breeding program from Nonda Happy Ever After (Doc’s Freckles Oak) who is a three-quarter sister to Nonda Let’s Talk Later (won 2000 Warwick Gold Cup). This is Nonda’s best mare family, proven on cattle since 1923. This big, athletic gelding is a beautiful mover who will draft, play polo or polo crosse.
“This horse started an absolute treat under saddle. I always deliberately give the horses who are by thoroughbreds from our camp mares extra time and patience, but he was exceptional: always so relaxed, intelligent and eager to learn. He came back from the breakers like a wise old ten year old who had spent half his life droving. I think this gelding will make a wonderful horse, the complete all rounder. I have been using him as a lead horse working with my thoroughbred weaners while he’s been spelling and he’s turned into a real star. He loves people and he’s just a real mate to be around.”
This horse was started at Finch Farm, owned by David Finch. David is currently EFA Coach of the Year, and his protegee Robert Moffart – who starts and rides all the young horses – is a World Cup Showjumper. He grew up on a property in the Qld bush, won the Brisbane Exhibition World Cup in 2007 as well as numerous Grand Prix wins at major shows across Australia. While Roberts sights are set on the Olympics, he is also a full time trainer of performance horses for a wide number of disciplines.
“This is the sort of horse you could teach to do anything. He is very trainable, very soft and very responsive. He has the best balance and movement of all the colts I have started in the last few months. He’s just a really nice person to be around, if you know what I mean.”
Pedigree
Sire
Sunday Knight (Sunday Silence – Wraparound)
Sunday Knight is the only Australian bred son of the international super-sire Sunday Silence in the world. He combines Sunday Silence with a double cross of the great Australian sire, Star Kingdom. Sunday Knight hails from an outstanding Australian colonial family of Group 1 winning and Group 1 producing mares.
It is an outstanding family of champion mares: his dam Wrap Around is a G1 winner, her half sister, Rose of Danehill is a G2 winner and another half sister Attire has produced the G1 winner Fashions Afield. Their dam Beach Gown is a G3 winner as well.
Sunday Knight’s first crop are now 3YO’s and they are showing plenty of ability (see News section) with 11 race wins and 17 placings. Three of his geldings, Marunouchi, Punch Up and Wullkuraka have chalked up 8 wins between them.
Sunday Knight is an outstanding near black stallion with an imposing presence. He is athletic and highly intelligent to work with.
As a yearling, Sunday Knight was offered by Arrowfield at the Australian Easter Yearling Sales and sold for $800,000, which gives some indication of his pedigree and conformation.
Sunday Knight is a true son of his sire Sunday Silence. He is black/brown, 16.2 hh, with the same blaze and white sock as his sire. His colour and conformation gives him a real presence when he steps onto the parade ring. He has a typical Sunday Silence head and a very similar physique. He is a beautiful mover, and has a way of going through his gears with seemingly very little effort.
He has dominated his foals in exactly the same way that his sire, Sunday Silence did. The majority are blacks or dark browns with the customary running white blaze (or star and snip) and one of two hind white socks. There is an occasional dark bay with no white. This is the same colour patterning as produced by Sunday Silence. They are true to their sire in type and are particularly good movers.
Dam
First Dam
Nonda Happy Ever After (Doc’s Freckles Oak – Nonda Night Bird)
This mare is from Nonda’s finest mare family, proven on cattle since 1923. She is a three-quarter sister to Warwick Gold Cup winner Nonda Let’s Talk Later (Terry Hall) This mare was drafted by Terry Hall before she was retired to stud. Her foals are outstanding. This mare will be an asset to any leading Australian breeder.
Second Dam
Nonda Night Bird (Nonda Skywatch – Nonda Cuddles)
Pedigree Notes
Nonda Night Bird was an exceptional type of mare. This original taproot family was developed by the Brown family in 1923 at Nonda Downs station, Julia Creek N.W. Qld. They were an outstanding line of camp drafters, station stock horses and all-rounders with tremendous heart and stamina.
Performance
Nonda Night Bird was shown by champion trainer Ian Francis.
- 2YO: Junior State Champion Working Horse of Qld at the State Championship Show.
- 3Y0: won the Station Hack Class at Brisbane Royal Show (youngest horse in history to do so): second at the 3YO Widgee Futurity
- 4Y0: Retired to stud where she produced 5 daughters until her untimely death.
Stud Record
Her foals include:
- Nonda Bounceback (Rivoli Rex)
Sold by Nonda as a 2Y0 and drafted by Peter Cominsky. This mare placed second in the Novice Draft at the ACA National Titles (by one and a half points) Peter Cominsky had a very high opinion of this mare. She was later re-purchased by Nonda to join their brood mare band where she proved extremely successful. Her progeny include:- Nonda Military Cross (Acres Destiny) sire owned by Mr David Rathie and successfully campaigned by Mick Connelly
- Nonda Spider in the Swag (Nonda Swag) successful sire in Western Australia
- Nonda Undoolya (Beaver Doc) Multiple halter and show winner for her owners.
- Nonda Sweet Dreams (Boab) See above.
- Nonda Allnightlong (Docs Freckles Oak) Not shown due to injury. At stud she has produced the outstanding and widely respected Open campdrafter ONE DARK NIGHT (Acres Destiny) owned by the Hick Family, of St Elmo Julia Creek, NWQ
- Nonda Happy Ever After (Docs Freckles Oak) Drafted by Terry Hall before she returned to the Nonda broodmare band. She has produced a number of quality colts.
Third Dam
Nonda Cuddles (Skymark – Nonda Blue Mist)
Nonda Cuddles was a brilliant camp mare at Nonda who became a wonderful producer. This family has been owned and bred by members of the Brown family at Nonda Downs for 83 years: NH Brown (1923-1953) Reg Brown (1953-1975) Heather Brown (1975-2006).
The Rotorua family has always been regarded as Nonda’s best family. This family carries outstanding thoroughbred blood – the kind of bush thoroughbred that passed on speed, conformation and temperament.
Due to the distance and isolation of Nonda Downs, a station in North West Queensland, Nonda Cuddles was only ever bred to the one stallion, the thoroughbred Skywatch (Lumley Road – Countess Lloyda).
What she might have achieved if she had the opportunity to be bred to some of the more popular campdraft sires in the South can only be left to the imagination.
Her foals include:
- Nonda Bull Mitchell (Skywatch): station camp horse and picnic race horse
- Nonda Flynn (Skywatch)– station camp horse
- Nonda Jeannie Gunn (Skywatch)– halter winner at Brisbane RNA
- Nonda Daisy Bates (Skywatch) – broodmare
- Nonda Nellie Melba (Skywatch)– broodmare
- Nonda Salute (Skywatch) – gelding
- NONDA NIGHT BIRD (Skywatch)
- Shown by champion trainer Ian Francis.
- 2YO: Junior State Champion Working Horse of Qld
- 3Y0: won the Station Hack Class at Brisbane Royal Show: second at Widgee Futurity to another Nonda owned Filly.
- 4Y0: Retired to stud
- NONDA NATIVE SON (Skywatch)
- Remarkably tough, handsome horse who won a legion of admirers. He was used as a station camp horse at Nonda Downs during the years when the BTEC clean-up campaign was under way, and his speciality was running bulls. He was one of the greatest natural horses on cattle we have ever bred.
- He was shown at Cloncurry Show and Hughenden Show, where he won the Champion Stock Horse stallion on both occasions.
- His only other outing was in the Winton to Longreach Endurance Ride. Heather Brown was asked by outback legend RM Williams to accompany him for part of the ride and write about it for the Weekend Australian in order to promote the then yet-to-be-built Australian Stockman’s Hall of Fame in Longreach.
- Then a 6YO – and coming off the back of a long winter muster on the station – Native Son started the Ride without any special training. He vetted through at Eversham, 96 miles down the road, and the next day completed the 35 miles from Maneroo station into Longreach in 2 hours and 11 minutes. He vetted through again and won the admiration of both vets and horsemen everywhere.
- In a stud career cut tragically short by his early death (32 registered foals) Native Son managed to sire:
- NONDA BEBOPALOOPA (Charlie Brook) Champion Polocrosse Horse of Australia
- WOODBRIDGE GAZELLE winner of the prestigious Victorian Barastoc Horse of the Year.
- NONDA NATIVE WHIMSEY – won Station Hack at the Brisbane Royal Show in 1983, the only horse from the north to ever do so. Trained by Ian Francis, she also won another 8 working stock horse events.
Price
For Private Sale
Photo Gallery
Sunday Night
Nonda Happy Ever After
Nonda Night Bird cutting (ridden by Ian Francis)
Nonda Cuddles as a 3YO in 1967
Nonda Native Son
Nonda Native Son – ridden by Johnny Banning (aboriginal stockman)
Heather Brown and Nonda Downs stockman Joe Wilson. Native Son is photographed minutes after he crossed the line after traveling 35 miles in 2 hours and 11 minutes
Heather Brown and RM Williams
Nonda Bebopaloopa
Woodbridge Gazelle
Nonda Native Whimsey