Open Day Success

 Good weather, good horses, good company and good beverages.

The annual Pfieffer Racing open day was held in "ideal conditions" on Sunday, as close to 100 guests arrived on course to tour the complex and meet with the Warwick Farm-based horseman.

David Pfieffer took centre stage as a characteristic ringmaster, entertaining his clients and their families for a relaxing end to their weekend.

"It's a good time of year really" said the trainer, "if you get a nice still day like today and find yourself in the sun you are all set".

The spotless stables held no vacancies as 35 horses willingly greeted the bustling group of visitors with pricked ears; posing for photographs and leaning over their doors for rubs and scratches.

Kept busy by a swarm of followers, Pfieffer signalled for lunch and guests eagerly tucked into a plentiful roast served on the grass, just a few hundred metres from Warwick Farm's winning post.

With a beer in hand and his brochure in the other, Pfieffer introduced his stable newcomers to his faithful group of owners, as well as providing all the details on each prospective racehorse for those who may be ready to dive into their first ownership.

"I'm really excited about the future of my stable, having purchased a few excellent types from the sales and been lucky enough to secure a couple of others privately" he boasted.

The stable will soon house progeny of some of Australia's most exciting young stallions, from All Too Hard and Pierro to the "explosive" Smart Missile, champion So You Think and US super stallion Uncle Mo.

Bathed in sunlight and glossy even with a winter coat, each horse caught the eye and Pfieffer found it hard to fault the condition of his charges.

Grooms Robert and Laura were on hand under the guidance of foreman Sue O'Keeffe to parade four strapping colts and a gelding for the crowd.

The first, by supreme sire Fastnet Rock, was the colt from Allez France, a stakes-winning daughter of Hennessy who has already thrown a black type performer in Superfly, winner of the Listed 2yo Widden Stakes. A conformationally faultless colt who continues to impress the Pfieffer crew, he was unsurprisingly popular.

Following the Fastnet Rock colt was a similar bay colt by the champion 3yo and brother to our greatest in All Too Hard. A son of the stakes-winning Encosta De Lago mare Senorita De Lago, the colt paraded in terrific order to compliment his superb pedigree.

The third horse to parade was a strapping brown colt by Patinack Farm's classy racehorse-turned-sire in Trusting. Like his sire, the colt from Second Draw, a city-winning daughter of breed-shaper Galileo, was an immediate standout in looks and it certainly showed on Sunday.

Bold, structurally sound and a great moving individual, Pfieffer was lost for superlatives for the handsome young horse.

Adding to the quality parade of horseflesh was the 2yo gelding by first season "sire on fire" in Smart Missile. The gelding is from Longueville Lass, who produced another Pfieffer-trained filly in Humble, a horse the trainer held in high regard until her premature retirement. The gelding was fresh and eager as he pranced around the ring, dazzling in the coat and demonstrating his fine proportions to onlookers.

The afternoon also saw the drawing of the Open Day Raffle, with Ian Dix, part-owner of the Sepoy filly Pirate Smile, earning the bragging rights of a priceless pair of signed ATC jodhpurs kindly donated by Tommy Berry.

Berry chose two foundations to honour his late brother Nathan as the beneficiaries of ticket sales. Signed by 20 of racing's most talented hoops, the jodhpurs proved exceptionally popular and sales totalled $1,370; all to be donated to the Sydney Children's Hospital Network and Epilepsy Action group.

The pleasant day filled Pfieffer with confidence in both his team and network of supporters. Surrounded by friends and family, he was able to look forward to the upcoming 2016/17 race season, but not before sharing one last celebratory beverage beside the famous satin rug worn by Cradle Me following her Group 2 win in Queensland.

"Some of my very best have retired this season; Tahitian Black, Lord Leofric and of course Cradle Me" said Pfieffer.

"But today was a good day; with good horses, good people and good drinks. What more can you need?".