The immediate status of Caulfield Guineas winner Griff’s first season at stud remains uncertain amid an ongoing welfare investigation into a Tasmanian thoroughbred property.
Described as a “family-run boutique thoroughbred performance horse stud”, Weona Park is at the centre of a probe led by Tasmanian Racing Integrity Commissioner Sean Carroll.
Officers from Biosecurity Tasmania, Tasracing, and the RSPCA attended the Antill Ponds property on Monday after welfare concerns were raised regarding overstocking issues.
A number of horses on the stud had poor "body scores", but none were found to be at an immediate welfare risk, the ABC reported.
However, a further inspection of four other properties used to agist Weona Park horses, believed to be as many as 200, will continue over the next week.
“We’re making sure every horse has a full inspection,” Carroll told the ABC.
Griff is one of five stallions new to Weona Park Stud, an established business operating in Tasmania’s southern midlands, for the 2025 Australian breeding season.
The others are Bon Aurum, Sports Edition, More Than Value and Utopian.
Master Of Design, the Group 1-winning son of Redoute’s Choice, has stood at Weona Park since 2022.
The Straight has attempted to contact Weona Park manager Fiona Methorst to ascertain if the property’s stallions remain active less than a month into the new breeding season for southern hemisphere-based thoroughbreds.
Griff is the first son of Trapeze Artist to stand at stud and has been offered at an introductory fee of $8250.
He defeated Veight and Steparty in the 2023 Caulfield Guineas but was retired from racing after a dismal spring campaign in 2024.
He was originally set to stand at Larneuk Stud in Victoria in 2025, but a deal on the eve of the breeding season saw him move across Bass Strait.
Weona Park prepared a small draft of four horses for this year’s Magic Millions Tasmanian Yearling Sale.
Methorst told the ABC that the investigation is likely to cause her breeding operation to close once a directive to rehome around 100 horses has been completed in a process she estimates will take “three to six months”.
Images of horses agisting at Weona Park have been circulated through social media outlets, sparking an outcry from the animal welfare groups and the racing community.
Since the story broke, Weona Park’s website has since been taken offline, as has the business’s Facebook page.
"Given the reaction from the general public … it seems impossible for the business to continue as we will be hard pressed to sell anything in the future," she said.
"We have been in discussions for the last couple of months about the youngsters and getting them the training and education they need to find suitable homes," she said.
Methorst has denied any animal mistreatment, insisting that the horses under her care receive sufficient feed and undergo regular veterinary checks.
Tasracing, the RSPCA, and Biosecurity Tasmania are collaborating to determine if any industry policies or government legislation have been breached.
Tasracing released a code of practice for racehorse welfare in October 2024.
Bren O’Brien
