FLEMINGS ARE FABULOUS

Lee (top) & Dean

Two brothers, Lee and Dean Fleming – hailing from a family which achieved wealth through astute marketing of a grocery chain (‘Flemings are Fabulous’) – have played separate roles in the breeding of two Australian gallopers, Black Caviar and Rocket Man, who in the past week have enhanced their claim to being two of the best sprinters in the world at this time.
The 4YO mare Black Caviar, in fact, has been rated the best racehorse in the world and one of the great sprinters in Australian history following her 1.8 lengths win over the Stratum 2010 Golden Slipper winner Crystal Lily in the $500,000 Group One William Reid (1200m) at Moonee Valley on Friday night. It was an effort which took Black Caviar’s record to an unbeaten 11 wins, the last four at Group One level, and earnings to just under $2.6 million.
Although bred by Rick Jamieson at his Gilgai Farm, Nagambie, Victoria, Lee Fleming had a big input into Black Caviar’s breeding. He stands her sire, leading Royal Academy juvenile and sprinter Bel Esprit, at his Eliza Park stud at Kerrie in Victoria, and in partnership with Robert Crabtree, bred her dam Helsinge, a daughter of three times Australian Horse of the Year Sunline’s sire Desert Sun and the high class Snippets 2YO Scandinavia.
As Black Caviar is bred on a cross of a Nijinsky grandson over a Desert Sun mare, her immediate pedigree is similar on converse pattern to that which produced Sunline. Besides being by Desert Sun, Sunline is from a mare by the Nijinsky sire Western Symphony.
Used in both hemispheres, before coming to Eliza Park (subsequently joined there by Bel Esprit), Desert Sun is also sire of the Ireland bred veteran Hong Kong sprinter Sunny King, a well beaten third when Australian bred Rocket Man confirmed he was a leading international sprinter with a 2.3 lengths win in the $2 million Golden Shaheen at the rich Dubai carnival at the weekend.
Now successful in 14 of his 18 starts, including the Shaheen, the Hong Kong International Sprint and Singapore Lion City Cup (twice) and earner of $3 million, the Singapore based Rocket Man was bred by Dean Fleming on the family’s Tyreel Stud at Agnes Banks, Hawkesbury and sold for $60,000 to World Wide Bloodstock, South Africa at the Magic Millions yearling sale at the Gold Coast.
A half-brother to Our Giant, a dual Group One winner in South Africa by Giant’s Causeway, the 5-year-old gelded Rocket Man is by Viscount, a champion in Australia at two and three by the English Derby winner Quest for Fame and from Antwerp, a Sir Tristram stakes winning grandaughter of Eight Carat, and from Macrosa, a dual Listed winner by McGinty, a top performer in New Zealand and Australia.
- Brian Russell Media

Black Caviar (above) & Rocket Man (below)