Stud owner Sir Patrick Hogan learned to take special precautions when handling champion stud stallion Sir Tristram, as this 1996 documentary shows. He was one of the few people who understood and could manage the fiery horse. Hogan imported Irish-bred Sir Tristram in 1976, and within a few years the stallion had given his Cambridge Stud an international reputation. Sir Tristram was champion sire for combined Australian-New Zealand earnings nine times. Among his then world record of 45 individual Group 1 winners were three Melbourne Cup winners. Sir Tristram was retired from stud duties in 1997, and died after a paddock accident that year, but in the 2000s his influence lived on through his sons and daughters and their progeny, including famous son Zabeel.

In 2012 Zabeel had surpassed his sire in numbers of championships won, heading the combined Australian-New Zealand earnings list 14 times since 1995. Already a leading brood-mare sire, he also had three Melbourne Cup winners (plus four W. S. Cox Plate winners) among his offspring.