Patience pays for Alsephina breeder 

The saying goes that if at first you don't succeed, try and try again.

But what happens if you still can't get the job done on the second, third or fourth attempt? You try one more time, of course.

That's what Michael and Carolyn Grant did with their prized mare Delta Gee, who can deliver them a breakthrough Group 1 success as breeders when her daughter Alsephina tackles Saturday's Toorak Handicap at Caulfield.

Michael Grant trained the daughter of Street Cry during a successful, albeit setback-interrupted racing career and when she transitioned into a breeding career, so did he.

Grant, who trained Cats Fun to G1 success among several other Stakes wins during his career in Perth, moved into the bloodstock space but quickly realised it was just as tough as training.

"We owned and trained her (Alsephina's) mother Delta Gee, a Stakes-winning Street Cry mare," Grant said.

"She was a very talented mare, but she had some issues all the way through her career.

"I actually took her to Melbourne and she ran second in the Tesio Stakes.

"I trained quite a few Stakes winners, but we just became more focused on the breeding.

"I don't think you can do both well, so we decided that we'd focus more on the breeding and take a step back from training.

"I think it's a tougher gig than training horses and it's definitely not all beer and skittles.

"We've had a few Group winners but hopefully she can be the first Group 1 winner we've bred."

That it's Delta Gee who may provide the Grants with a G1 winner as breeders will come as a surprise to most who have worked with the mare.

She missed or slipped in her first five seasons at stud and for most breeders, that would be enough to give up.

But Grant persisted, knowing that if the mare could pass on her ability, her offspring could be pretty special.

With careful management and help from a Victorian vet, Delta Gee fell pregnant and delivered a healthy foal in her sixth season at stud.

She successfully foaled down again in 2016 and 2017, the latter year when she gave birth to a Star Turn filly who would later be named Alsephina.

"She's (Delta Gee) got a horrible breeding record," he said.

"She suffered from placentits and unfortunately had a few late-term abortions with her foals.

"Even though we had her on all the treatments, the antibiotics, the regumates and all those sorts of things, she still had a lot of trouble.

"We brought her home (to WA) and thought that we'd try to control the process and manage her a bit more closely ourselves.

"We sent her to Blackfriars and her first foal was Born To Try, who turned out to be a nice, city-winning mare.

"She's got another one called Tale Of Perth up in Hong Kong that is lightly raced by shows plenty.

"We got Alsephina and now we've got a yearling colt by Brazen Beau and a foal colt by Brazen Beau, which is fortunate.

"She (Delta Gee) lives with my vet in Victoria, Alison Miles, and she does a terrific job looking after her.

"Alison has made her a special project and the mare almost lives in their lounge room.

"They do everything that they can and it's a real credit that they've got us two Brazen Beau foals in a row."

The mating with Alsephina's sire Star Turn was motivated by a desire to inject some speed into Delta Gee's offspring.

Star Turn retired to stud with a CV that included wins in the G2 Schillaci Stakes and G3 San Domenico Stakes, both over 1100m, and Grant thought the son of Star Witness would perfectly complement Delta Gee.

While he would love to send the mare back to Star Turn, he's wary of her fertility issues and reluctant to travel her too far from her Victorian base.

"We sent the mare to Star Turn in his first season," he said.

"She got over a bit of ground and we were looking to inject some speed into the mare.

"I think Alsephina has been that ideal balance of what you're looking for when you breed.

"She's a Group winner from 1500m to 1800m, but she's won from 1100m and she's got that really good turn of foot.

"It's been a really good mating for Delta Gee but we're a bit restricted now because we keep the mare in Victoria, we will only breed her to Victorian stallions because I don't want her to leave Alison's care."

Under the care of Grant and Alana Williams, Alsephina has stamped herself as one of Perth's most-talented horses.

She won nine of her first 11 starts, including Stakes wins over 1600m and 1800m.

Last season, she ran second in the G1 Railway Stakes, before showing her form at home was no fluke with a classy win in the G2 Stocks Stakes at her second Victorian start this spring.

Grant races the mare in partnership with clients of the Williams stable and said whether it's on Saturday or in next month's Empire Rose Stakes, he's hopeful Alsephina can deliver a dream G1 win.

"Grant and Alana Williams are very good friends of ours and we have a lot to do with them," he said.

"When we were living in Victoria, we had a farm at Romsey for five years and they were over to visit.

"Grant saw Alsephina as a weanling in the paddock and asked me what she was, I told him it was a filly out of Delta Gee and he asked if he could buy her.

"She was a really lovely type and we could've taken her to a sale but because we're breeders, we're also really keen to keep the fillies out of our nice mares so it was the perfect opportunity to sell half and keep half.

"We've been on a really good ride.

"Hopefully now she's in career-best form.

"The Empire Rose has always been her main goal, but we picked up the Group 2 win on the way at Moonee Valley.

"There was the 1600-metre mares race on Saturday which was going to be the perfect lead-up for her (to the Empire Rose), but Grant had the view that we are here to win a Group 1 and you can't win one unless you're in it.

"She's in fantastic order and pulled up super after the Stocks Stakes, so he thought she may as well have a crack at the Toorak, down in the weights."