Behemoth joins Group 1 fray with Memsie triumph
Melbourne’s first feature of the season goes to $6,000 Adelaide raider for Jolly and Grand Syndicates
Behemoth by name and by nature – but not by sales price – Behemoth is now among that most exclusive of clubs for racehorses as a Group 1 winner after he scored his first success at the highest level in yesterday’s Magic Millions Memsie Stakes (Gr 1, 1400m) at Caulfield.
Long touted as a Group 1 winner in the making, a view only solidified by his narrow defeat in The Goodwood (Gr 1, 1200m) as a three-year-old at just his seventh start, the David Jolly-trained Behemoth (5 g All Too Hard – Penny Banger by Zedrich) – who was purchased for $6,000 as a yearling – entered the Memsie Stakes off a dominant first-up win in the Spring Stakes (Gr 3, 1200m) at Morphettville.
Sent out as $3.30 favourite, Behemoth looked poised to justify that support throughout after he was given a soft run by Craig Williams from gate two.
Landing in a handy spot behind a solid tempo set by Begood Toya Mother (Myboycharlie) and the pressing Streets Of Avalon (Magnus), the hulking bay assuaged pre-race concerns as he never appeared cluttered for room at any point.
Tracking up sweetly on the home turn as Streets Of Avalon wilted under pressure, Williams was able to force off the fence with ease early in the straight and from there it was simply a question of margin.
The answer was a length and a half, holding off the late-charging Queensland Derby (Gr 1, 2400m) winner Mr Quickie (Shamus Award), who made a pleasing return.
Glenfiddich (Fastnet Rock), the first three-year-old to contest the Memsie in more than a generation, ran a strong third two and a quarter lengths from the winner in what marked the return of 53-time Group 1-winning trainer Peter Moody to the big leagues.
“When he landed in the right spot I thought he’d be hard to beat,” said Jolly, who was forced to watch from Morphettville in Adelaide due to Covid-19 border restrictions. “When we drew inside some people thought that wasn’t a good thing but I was happy. He was able to take a spot and stretch out.
“I said to Craig to use him from the gate, be a little aggressive. It worked out so well. I’d have loved to have been there.”
Honest charges Cascadian (New Approach) and So Si Bon (So You Think) performed solidly for fourth and fifth respectively, while two-time Australian Cup (Gr 1, 2000m) winner Harlem (Champs Elysees) worked home well enough for a never-nearer seventh.
However, the spring campaigns of All-Star Mile (1600m) winners Mystic Journey (Needs Further) and Regal Power (Pierro) appear up in the air after they finished tenth and 12th respectively.
Regal Power’s stablemate Arcadia Queen (Pierro) also remains under a cloud after she was scratched from the Memsie due to hoof issues, while P B Lawrence Stakes (Gr 2, 1200m) victor Savatiano (Street Cry) was a late withdrawal after she reared up in the tie-up stalls.
In the end, though, all honours were with Behemoth, who has, this preparation, furnished into the elite-level racehorse he long promised to be.
It has been a case of slowly, slowly, for Jolly as he has nurtured Behemoth along: a city winner in both Adelaide and Melbourne in his second preparation, a Group 1 runner-up in his third campaign, a stakes winner in his first month as a four-year-old and a solid Group performer by the time he reached the Adelaide features in May.
This was evident in his game fourth in the inaugural $7.5 million Golden Eagle Stakes (1500m) at Rosehill last year, finishing in front of highly-touted horses like Arcadia Queen, Beat Le Bon (Wootton Bassett), Classique Legend (Not A Single Doubt) and Brutal (O’Reilly), as well as filling the same spot in this year’s The Goodwood.
It was a fitting reward for Jolly as he picked up his first Group 1 win in 18 years; his last came in The Goodwood with Zip Zip Aray (Bellotto) in 2002.
“It’s been a long time since my last Group 1 win in The Goodwood,” Jolly reminisced, “but I’ve had a few near misses in Adelaide and Melbourne.”
After yesterday’s win, Behemoth’s prize-money haul now sits at $1,324,810, having won six of his 16 starts and recorded a further four seconds.
That pales in comparison to his purchase price as a yearling, when the Peter and Karen Morley-owned Grand Syndicates paid just $6,000 for him at the 2017 Magic Millions National Yearling Sale – he has earned more than 220 times that to date.
That $6,000 purchase came less than a year after he sold for $120,000 from the Tyreel Stud draft at the 2016 Inglis Great Southern Weanling Sale Platinum Session.
Linda Monds recalled of Behemoth as a foal: “I loved him, he was full of character, he really had such a big personality. He was such a giant weanling, that’s why we put him through the Great Southern Sale early on and while he kept growing after that, boy can he run.
“He was absolutely one of the biggest weanlings we’d had but that said, we’d had big before so it just proves again that Group 1 winners can come in all shapes and sizes.’’
Not much had changed by the time he came into Grand Syndicates’ ownership a year later, according to racing manager Sam Lyons.
“He was very big, but not really in proportion body-wise and had a very interesting big boofhead,” Lyons told Racing.com earlier this week. “That’s why he hasn’t been over raced and we’ve allowed him time to grow into himself.”
Yesterday, Lyons added: “It’s a big thrill. David has been so patient with him. People have dropped off him along the way too. He just needed time.”
Behemoth is the second Group 1 winner for Black Caviar’s half-brother All Too Hard (Casino Prince), having produced his first – Australian Guineas (Gr 1, 1600m) conqueror Alligator Blood – earlier this year.
Bred by Wallings Bloodstock, the breeding outfit of Tyreel Stud’s Linda and Laurence Monds, Behemoth is the fourth of five foals for the now-deceased mare Penny Banger (Zedrich).
While Penny Banger won the Schweppervescence Sprint (Listed, 1000m) for juveniles at Flemington in 2008 and was quite precocious, she was a half-sister to Master Minx (Surtee), who won the Aquanita Stakes (Listed, 1650m) and was placed in both the WATC Derby (Gr 1, 2400m) and the Perth Cup (Gr 2, 3200m).
While Behemoth is yet to race beyond 1500 metres and holds favouritism for the Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes (Gr 1, 1400m) at Caulfield next month, his stamina could potentially be tested at a mile next time out in the Makybe Diva Stakes (Gr 1, 1600m), a race that in turn could also lead to a Cox Plate (Gr 1, 2040m) berth.
He has also shortened into equal favouritism for the Toorak Handicap (Gr 1, 1600m) alongside Buffalo River (Noble Mission) and Showmanship (Showcasing).
For now, Jolly is not ruling anything out, except for the fact that Behemoth is likely to head back to the trainer’s Goolwa base for the time being.
“We’ll bring him home and talk about where we go,” he said. “He does have an entry for the Cox Plate but we’re not sure whether to take a handicap or weight-for-age path with him. I’m very mindful that he was more forward in his preparation than many of the others but it all worked out so well today.”
San Domenico muddies Everest picture for Aquis
Aquis Farm faces a potential dilemma ahead of the world’s richest turf race, The Everest (1200m), after Anders streeted his rivals in the San Domenico Stakes (Gr 3, 1100m) at Rosehill yesterday.
The Aquis Farm-owned Anders (3 c Not A Single Doubt – Madame Andree by War Emblem) lived up to his first-up win in The Rosebud (Listed, 1100m), leading every step of the way under James McDonald to defeat the highly-touted Peltzer (So You Think) by three and a quarter lengths with the Group 1-placed Mamaragan (Wandjina) a further three-quarters of a length away in third.
The margin was not quite the same as the four and three-quarter length gap Anders put on his rivals in The Rosebud, but this win added further legitimacy to his credentials and suggests that he is among the top three-year-olds with a month gone in the season.
It was his first win on top of the ground, the competition – on paper, at least – appeared far stiffer and his time of 1:02.67 was only 0.16 seconds outside the Rosehill 1100-metre track record set by Westicaro (Westbridge) in February, 2007.
“He is very good. I was just saying to one of the owners he is possibly our best so I was hoping he would do something like that today,” Maher said. “He couldn’t be more impressive, could he?”
Aquis Farm holds a slot for the $15 million The Everest and Anders’ early-season form has potentially upset a fairly straightforward plan.
Among a bevy of other contenders for their slot is Golden Slipper Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m) winner Farnan (Not A Single Doubt), who leaps out as the most logical selection given he is raced by Aquis, Phoenix Thoroughbreds and Kia Ora Stud.
The Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott-trained Farnan returns in The Run To The Rose (Gr 2, 1200m) in two weeks, which looms as one of the early races of the spring. Also slated to head there are San Domenico placegetters Peltzer and Mamaragan, as well as Group 1 winners King’s Legacy (Redoute’s Choice) and Rothfire (Rothesay).
However, early indications are that Anders is an unlikely runner on September 12 with his next start likely to come in the Moir Stakes (Gr 1, 1000m) at Moonee Valley on September 25. Quarantine protocols are likely to play a big role in determining whether he heads to Melbourne or remains in Sydney to target The Everest.
The Moir winner has lined up in The Everest in each of its three runnings to date, but the uncertainty surrounding Covid-19 protocols and the transportation of horses between states makes it a more difficult decision than would usually be the case.
“The Moir was always the target for him because of his speed and the weight drop three-year-olds get. But you’d have to consider The Everest, wouldn’t you?” Maher said.
“I’m not going to rule anything out at the moment. But The Everest you would definitely have to consider.”
McDonald will ride Everest favourite Nature Strip (Nicconi) this spring, but he believes that Anders can measure up. However, given the nature of Anders’ wins this campaign, he could prove a nuisance to the free-rolling Nature Strip should he secure a slot.
“The 1200 metres will be fine, but it depends if he has any pressure,” McDonald said with a grin, suggesting that an Everest campaign would be suitable but that he is well-suited in his current races.
Purchased by Aquis Farm and Ciaron Maher Racing for $670,000 at the 2019 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale, Anders has now had eight starts for four wins and two placings, amassing $290,615 in prize-money.
He is one of three winners from three to race out of unraced mare Madame Andree (War Emblem), making him a half-brother to Gosford Guineas (Listed, 1200m) runner-up Battleground (Snitzel).
His second dam, Glamour Stock (Sunday Silence), is a half-sister to champion Canadian colt Exciting Story (Diablo) as well as stakes winners Strong Memory (End Sweep), Sweeping Story (End Sweep), and Diablo’s Story (Diablo).
Ming Dynasty title to Holyfield
Two races later, Maher, Eustace and Aquis Farm made it a clean sweep of Rosehill’s three-year-old features yesterday when Holyfield took out the Ming Dynasty Quality (Gr 3, 1400m).
Holyfield (3 c I Am Invincible – Hurtle Myrtle by Dane Shadow) had won the T L Baillieu Handicap (Gr 3, 1400m) at the course and distance in March, producing a strong but dour effort, but had disappointed first-up when coming unstuck on the Heavy 10 surface, finishing seven lengths behind dominant winner North Pacific (Brazen Beau) in the Up And Coming Stakes (Gr 3, 1300m).
Allowed to roll on the speed by Tim Clark, Holyfield led at a solid clip but was well-rated by the rider, giving few of his rivals the opportunity to run him down even under his 59-kilogram impost.
While challengers emerged, none ever looked a serious threat to Holyfield as he continued to fend off all challengers in the run to the wire.
At the post, Holyfield had a margin of a length and a quarter over the David Payne-trained Bazooka (Smart Missile) with favourite Overlord (Sebring) working home from his usual backmarker position to finish third, a further head away.
While both Anders and Holyfield led their respective races, Maher said that they were completely different types, with the Caulfield Guineas (Gr 1, 1600m) and potentially even the Cox Plate (Gr 1, 2040m) on Holyfield’s radar as he develops into a middle-distance type.
“I always thought the Guineas would be a good race for him,” Maher said. “We nommed him for the Cox Plate. That might be getting well ahead of myself but we will see how he runs in the Guineas because I did think he would run a bit further.
“Tim rode him very well. He was keen to get to the front and control it. This horse was always going to improve into his three-year-old year because he was quite a raw two-year-old.”
A son of Group 1 winner Hurtle Myrtle (Dane Shadow), Holyfield is her first stakes winner from four to race. Terwilliker (Pierro) and Snow Sparkle (More Than Ready) have also emerged victorious, while the twice-raced Vamos Bebe (I Am Invincible) will attempt to make it four from four for her dam when she steps out at Avondale on Wednesday.
Bred by Segenhoe Thoroughbreds, Holyfield was purchased by Aquis Farm and Phoenix Thoroughbreds for $800,000 at last year’s Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale.
He has now won four of his seven starts and banked $226,865 in earnings.