Better Than Ready is off to a flying start leading, the way at this stage on the first season sire’s list, with seven winners of ten races, including two stakes winners to his credit, he has got away to away to a brilliant beginning with his first crop to race.

He was a very good colt having raced 15 times for 8 wins, and was only out the money 5 times, winning up to 1200 metres, with 80 per cent of our races at 1600 metres or less.  

Better Than Ready went to stud early in 2015 and is producing results in his first season, he was not over raced, that is now a proven formula, local sires have never had it so good.

He has been very well marketed, nothing has been left to chance, it is a very competitive market, if he hadn’t performed in the first couple of seasons it could have been an uphill battle.

It is no surprise really, he has a lot going for him, lovely foals developing into strong yearlings, and from there it’s just a natural progression.

Richard Foster selected the right stud when his choice was Lyndhurst, a great slice of sound horse country, with Jeff Kruger at the helm, with 2500 acres at his disposal on the rich rolling Darling Downs, at Warwick, in Queensland.

Better Than Ready- Champion first season sire

Lyndhurst is a renowned piece of horse country dating back as far as the last century, when the previous owner, John McDougall, was in search of a new stallion for the stud.

It had to be a staying horse, as Lyndhurst had a reputation to uphold of breeding stayers, and that had to be retained.

John took a fancy to a horse named The Bastard, he was by Spion Kop who had won the English Derby, he was ridden by an American jockey, Frank O’Neill, he demanded 200 pounds for the ride and if he won a 1,000 pounds, that was back in the early twenties.

It was a time consuming exercise, no plane travel in those days, you selected an agent and you had to be guided by that agent, you didn’t have much option, and travelling time was around 8 weeks if you were lucky.

John was not getting anywhere, he couldn’t get a picture of how the horse looked, in desperation be cabled back to the agent, saying,” I will take The Bastard”

That soon brought the pot to the boil, John was in trouble when he had some explaining to do, sending a cable with that wording was an offence, and he could face a charge.

When the Postal Master General became involved it was serious matter involving John, who was the innocent party, but still was held responsible.

Finally, it all blew over when it was proven the horse was registered in England as The Bastard, a name change sufficed, he was renamed The Buzzard.

The name change made no difference to The Buzzard, he was an amazing horse, the greatest sire of stayers worldwide, he sired 22 major cup winners.