Brilliant Bivouac claims decisive Newmarket Handicap
Godolphin three-year-old emulates sire Exceed And Excel in taking out historic race
Bivouac (Exceed And Excel) was already assured of being Darley’s hottest new stallion prospect prior to his Newmarket Handicap (Gr 1, 1200m) victory, but the manner of the performance only enhanced the brilliant three-year-olds on and off-track credentials.
The Golden Rose Stakes (Gr 1, 1400m) winner, who was also runner-up in the “stallion-making” Coolmore Stud Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m) in the spring, was always in control of yesterday’s famous straight six race at Flemington, and had a two-and-a-half length margin over fellow three-year-old Loving Gaby (I Am Invincible).
Black Caviar Lightning Stakes (Gr 1, 1000m) winner Gytrash (Lope De Vega) was another length away in third.
The well-backed favourite Exceedance, who had Bivouac’s measure in the Coolmore, finished sixth, four and three quarter lengths behind the winner.
Darley’s champion sire Exceed And Excel won the same race in 2004 when trained by Tim Martin.
This season’s three-year-olds are widely regarded as a strong crop and Godolphin Australia managing director Vin Cox believes the James Cummings-trained Bivouac deserves to be seen as the best of the lot.
“It’s an elite crop of three-year-olds. He’s at the top of them and it’s very exciting that we can own him,” Cox said.
“He’s one of three Group 1-winning sons of Exceed And Excel in a very good crop of three-year-olds and to win as dominantly as he has in a Newmarket Handicap, I think is very special.”
Craig Williams, who was committed to Loving Gaby yesterday, rode Bivouac first-up in the Oakleigh Plate (Gr 1, 1100m) a fortnight earlier when disadvantaged by a rails and on-pace bias. Glen Boss chased the ride in The Newmarket and was jubilant afterwards.
“To be able to get myself on the back of this colt and feel the power and feel the speed, it was just immense,” Boss said.
“Thanks to James, we had a really good chat this morning, he put my mind at ease and these are the moments we live for. I enjoy it so much.”
Bivouac is likely to tackle the T J Smith Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m) at Randwick next start, but a trip to Royal Ascot in June for the sprinter appeared to be off the table, with Godolphin set to race the colt on at four to target October’s $15 million The Everest (1200m).
“The T J is a weight-for-age six-furlong race and an obvious target for him, but we’ll sit down and have a yarn about him,” Cox said.
Trainer Ciaron Maher indicated that Loving Gaby would return to the scene of her Manikato Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m) win at Moonee Valley for the William Reid Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m) next start.
“She seemed to pull up really well, no excuses, but the other horse was better on the day,” Maher said.
“She’ll probably now go to The Valley, back to where she was able to break through and win her Group 1, so back around a bend she might be just that little bit more at home.”
Jockey Dwayne Dunn, who rode Exceedance, said the colt ended up “in an awkward spot for the first half of the race”.
“I went back left to get the bit better going and it was a good effort. If it had’ve worked out better, then he would have finished better,” Dunn told Racing.com.
Bivouac (3 c Exceed And Excel – Dazzler by More Than Ready) has won six of his 13 starts with a further four placings for $2.147 million in earnings for Godolphin who bred the colt.
By Darley’s champion sire Exceed And Excel (Danehill), he also has the pedigree to feature prominently on Darley’s stallion roster, being a brother to two other winners including the stakes-placed Coruscate. His dam Dazzler is a half-sister to champion three-year-old Guelph (Exceed And Excel) and Todman Stakes (Gr 2, 1200m) winner Ghibellines (Shamardal).
Guelph is also the dam of Danehill Stakes (Gr 2, 1200m) winner Encryption (Lonhro) who stood his first season at Eureka Stud in Queensland last year.
Dazzler has a yearling filly by Medaglia d’Oro (El Prado) and a weanling colt by Lonhro (Octagonal). She returned to Exceed And Excel with an October service date last year.
Fifty Stars gives Lindsay Park perfect ten in Australian Cup
European import Fifty Stars (Sea The Stars) provided the famous Lindsay Park operation, currently led by David Hayes, with its tenth Australian Cup (Gr 1, 2000m) and arguably one of the family-run stable’s most important.
Hayes, the son of Australian Racing Hall Of Fame member and late Lindsay Park founder Colin, is set to train in Hong Kong later this year, leaving the Australian base in the charge of his current training partners, nephew Tom Dabernig and son Ben.
Lindsay Park has now won the past three Australian Cups and four in the past six years.
“It’s a real thrill,” David Hayes said.
“The whole team at Lindsay Park are here today, so to win the tenth is just a fantastic effort by everyone for a lot of years, over 50 years.”
Backing up after taking out the Blamey Stakes (Gr 2, 1600m) the previous Saturday, Fifty Stars ran down Perth visitor Regal Power (Pierro) to score by half a length with John Allen in the saddle.
Melbourne Cup (Gr 1, 3200m) winner Vow And Declare (Declaration Of War) left trainer Danny O’Brien satisfied with his first-up third, three quarters of a length behind Regal Power.
Owned by Gerry Ryan’s Ryco Equine, Fifty Stars has the option of taking his place in the $5 million All-Star Mile (1600m) at Caulfield next Saturday, but Hayes said connections elected to stick to the original Australian Cup goal.
“We planned this race for a long time and those carrots can sometimes throw you off,” Hayes said.
“But Gerry, in his wisdom, said let’s go for the Group 1. We had set him for it and it paid off.”
Dabernig said Fifty Stars relished the short time between starts.
“I was saying to some people during the week I was glad this race wasn’t in two weeks time because he was jumping out of his skin,” he said. “And he ran like it.”
Fifty Stars also provided Irishman Allen with his eighth Group 1 victory.
“It’s great to get a big winner for Gerry Ryan in these colours as he’s been a huge supporter of mine so big thrill to ride it for him,” he told Racing.com.
“It was messy early when I got caught wide, but the runner-up popped out and we got on his back and gave us a good cart into the race.”
Leading Perth owner Bob Peters, who races the Grant and Alana Williams-trained Regal Power, indicated the four-year-old gelding would join stablemate Superstorm (Sebring) in the All-Star Mile.
O’Brien, meanwhile, said of Vow And Declare: “That was a really good first-up effort from him coming off the Cup. It’s good to see him come back and come back in great shape.
“He’s obviously been outsprinted late by a couple, but he was not giving any ground and I think he’s come back a better horse than he was in the spring.
“He had to (improve from the spring). He was on the bottom of the handicaps in both Cups – albeit he won one and ran second in the other – but that’s some terrific form from him at weight-for-age.”
Fifty Stars (5 h Sea The Stars – Swizzle Stick by Sadler’s Wells), who was bred to northern hemisphere time, has won ten of his 23 starts for $2,043,550 in prize-money.
The Australian Cup winner is a half-brother to six-time European winner Whiskey Sour (Jeremy) who has also been successful over the jumps, while his second dam is the Italian Listed winner Viz (Darshaan).
His dam Swizzle Stick was unraced but is a half-sister to joint champion two-year-old filly in 2012, Viztoria (Oratorio), who trained on to be crowned champion older female sprinter two years later.
Son of a gun becomes Randwick Guineas Hero
Mark Newnham has made comparisons between his stable star Shadow Hero, triumphant in yesterday’s Randwick Guineas (Gr 1, 1600m), and that of the three-year-old’s sire Pierro (Lonhro).
Shadow Hero, who claimed the Spring Champion Stakes (Gr 1, 2000m) in October, proved the strongest of his contemporaries in yesterday’s $1 million race, prompting the Sydney trainer to laud the gelding and his competitiveness, a trait shown by champion two-year-old Pierro.
Newnham worked closely with the now Coolmore-based sire when he was a key member of the Gai Waterhouse stable.
“He’s a fabulous animal. He’s got so much of his father about him. He pins those ears back,” Newnham said of Shadow Hero.
“He just wants to win and when Josh (Parr, jockey) got him into the clear at the top of the straight, he started to surge between them, I was pretty confident he would be the strongest late.”
The Sydney trainer, who operates from Randwick and Warwick Farm, plans to target further Group 1 riches with Shadow Hero with the ultimate aim of taking out the ATC Australian Derby (Gr 1, 2400m).
“It’s been the plan all along so I don’t see any reason to change,” Newnham said.
“He can come back for a Queen Elizabeth next year. He’s a gelding, he’s here to race and I’ve got no worries about him staying the (Derby) trip.
“The best thing he does during any race is conserve energy and that’s why he will stay.”
Shadow Hero overhauled on-pacer Microphone (Exceed And Excel) to win by three quarters of a length, with a head back to Hobartville Stakes (Gr 2, 1400m) winner Brandenburg (Burgundy).
“I am so excited. I’ve got a lot of history with this horse and other runners and I stuck with this horse and this stable, they stuck with me and here we are,” Parr said.
“These are the moments we all work for. We had a plan going into this race how we would attack it and it come off inch-perfect.”
Jockey Rachel King, who rode Brandenburg, felt the Soft 6 track conditions counted against the John Sargent-trained colt.
“Get him back on a good track and he’s going to win a Group 1, for sure,” King said.
Cox Plate (Gr 1, 2040m) runner-up Castelvecchio (Dundeel) made a long, sustained run before the effort told late, finishing eighth.
“We moved into it at the 700-metre mark and the horse finished the race off well, it just wasn’t run to suit him today,” jockey Kerrin McEvoy said.
“I’m sure that out in trip he can show more.”
Meanwhile, the Greg and Donna Kolivos-bred Shadow Hero (3 g Pierro – Sookie by Casino Prince) has won four of his nine starts for $1.46 in prize-money, a big return on his $260,000 purchase price paid by Sweetbriar Equine at the 2018 Inglis Classic Yearling Sale after being consigned by Newgate Farm.
His dam Sookie, a Group 3 winner in Queensland, has had two foals to race – both by Pierro – with Shadow Hero the best-performed but his brother Picaro is also a Sydney metropolitan winner.
Shadow Hero’s third dam is the dual Group 1-winning two-year-old Victory Vein (Mr Henrysee), who was successful in 12 races, including a remarkable eight as a juvenile.
Newgate Farm, on account of the Kolivos’ Lightning Thoroughbreds, will offer Shadow Hero’s sister at next month’s Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale as Lot 215.
“It’s always great to offer Group 1 winners but it’s even better to sell tough, well-bred animals and that’s what this bloke is,’’ Newgate Farm’s Henry Field said.
“He proved himself at two, he continues to prove himself at three and there’s nothing to suggest he won’t continue to prove himself in the future.
“Wait until you see the sister we’ve got coming to Easter. She’s an even better sort than Shadow Hero was as a yearling.’’
Pierro is currently third on the Australian general sires’ table with $10,234,348 in earnings, behind I Am Invincible (Invincible Spirit) ($11,236,737) and Snitzel (Redoute’s Choice) ($10,705,824).
The Bostonian takes out Canterbury Stakes
The Bostonian (Jimmy Choux) continues to fly under the radar but the New Zealand sprinter again upstaged his Australian rivals to take out the Canterbury Stakes (Gr 1, 1300m), his third success at the highest level across the Tasman.
The win by the Tony Pike-trained The Bostonian yesterday also capped the comeback of Nash Rawiller, with the Randwick feature the jockey’s first at the highest level since returning from Hong Kong where he was found guilty of receiving gifts or money in exchange for tips and disqualified for 15 months.
Aided by a brilliant ride by Rawiller, The Bostonian stalked the well-backed Savatiano (Street Cry) in the run before running him down to score by one and a quarter lengths.
The James Cummings-trained Savatiano had another three lengths to spare over the third-placed Mister Sea Wolf (Amadeus Wolf).
“I’ve been knocking on the door but this is my first Group 1 since I’ve been back from Hong Kong,” Rawiller said.
“It’s good timing to get the monkey off my back going into the autumn carnival.
“We had a beautiful run behind the one we felt was hardest to beat (Savatiano) and I was able to track it as long as I could after doing a bit of work early.
“To his credit he was really strong when he came out from behind them.”
Pike suggested the George Ryder Stakes (Gr 1, 1500m) could be The Bostonian’s next start but was cautious about taking on fellow Kiwi Te Akau Shark (Rip Van Winkle).
“It’s been a great couple of weeks for the Kiwis. Jamie (Richards) had a super weekend last weekend which is great, two Group 1 wins on the same day and The Bostonian has come over and won,” Pike said.
“We haven’t had a lot of numbers over here yet but I think a fair few are coming over in the next few weeks after the Derby and the Oaks.”
The Bostonian claimed a Group 1 double during last year’s Queensland winter carnival when taking out the Doomben 10,000 (Gr 1. 1200m) and Kingsford-Smith Cup (Gr 1, 1300m) but was placed just once in four starts during a four-start Melbourne campaign last spring.
Expressway Stakes (Gr 2, 1200m) winner Standout (Exceed And Excel) ran second–last, more than 13 lengths behind The Bostonian in the seven-runner field.
Jockey Tommy Berry was mystified by the Gerald Ryan-trained Standout’s below par performance.
“A horse like him has never shortened up in his action like that,” Berry said.
Retained to race by breeder David Archer after withdrawing him from the 2016 NZB National Yearling Sale, The Bostonian (5 g Jimmy Choux – Keepa Cheval by Keeper) has won ten of his 22 starts and earned over $1.6 million in prize-money.
He is one of three winners for Keepa Cheval who is a half-sister to champion New Zealand sprinter-miler King Mufhasa (Pentire). She has a yearling colt by Iffraaj (Zafonic), who was bought by Ciaron Maher Racing for NZ$80,000 at the NZB Karaka Yearling Sale in January, and a weanling filly by Almanzor (Wootton Bassett). She was covered by Ocean Park (Thorn Park) last year.
Cool Aza Beel bounces back in Sistema Stakes
Exciting two-year-old Cool Aza Beel (Savabeel), a dynamic Karaka Million 2YO (RL, 1200m) winner in January, solidified his star factor and laid claim to being New Zealand’s best juvenile with an eye-catching victory in the Sistema Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m).
Continuing the domination this season of Te Akau Racing and head trainer Jamie Richards, the colt was the first leg of a Group 1 double for the combination after Avantage (Fastnet Rock) later showed her superiority to claim the Bonecrusher Stakes (Gr 1, 2000m).
Cool Aza Beel suffered a shock defeat at the hands of stablemate Need I Say More (No Nay Never) a fortnight earlier at Matamata but a firmer Ellerslie circuit yesterday saw the valuable colt return to his best.
He defeated the Brendan and Jo Lindsay-owned Vernazza (More Than Ready) by a length, with Kelly Renee (Vespa) another two and a half lengths away in third.
“They didn’t go that hard early on and he was pulling a little but once I got him out into the clear it was all over,” Cool Aza Beel’s jockey Opie Bosson said.
“He’s a good colt and just a gun little racehorse. Last start he was just dipping and diving in the ground so I knew getting him back on to a good track, he would be hard to beat.”
Richards described Cool Aza Beel as a “very special colt”.
“He might have been half a run short at Matamata but the ground had to be taken into consideration and we couldn’t have had him any better for today,” the trainer said.
“We put a little rubber noseband on him to just slow him down a little early on today but Opie peeled out at the right time and he quickened really nicely.
“I did think Vernazza was going to give us a good crack there but he is a very good colt.”
Richards stopped short of confirming that Cool Aza Beel would be a definite starter in New Zealand’s other Group 1 two-year-old race of the season, the Manawatu Sires’ Produce Stakes (1400m) on March 28.
“Otherwise we could have a look at Sydney, and I think this horse has still got it all in front of him,” the trainer said.
“He’s a lovely horse, not overly big, but has a very good action, and wants to be a racehorse which is the most important part.”
Te Akau Racing also scored a Group 1 double in Sydney last week when Probabeel (Savabeel) and Te Akau Shark (Rip Van Winkle) took out the Surround Stakes (Gr 1, 1400m) and Chipping Norton Stakes (Gr 1, 1600m) respectively to go with the Ellerslie success yesterday.
The 20th individual Group 1 winner for New Zealand’s champion sire Savabeel (Zabeel), Cool Aza Beel is the first foal to race out of the three-time winner Cool ‘N’ Sassy (Testa Rossa) who was bought by breeder Fairdale Stud for $13,000 at the 2016 Inglis Great Southern Sale in Melbourne.
Cool Aza Beel was selected by Te Akau principal David Ellis, landing him for NZ$150,000 at last year’s New Zealand Bloodstock Karaka Yearling Sale from the Fairdale Farm draft.
Cool ‘N’ Sassy has a yearling brother to Cool Aza Beel who was withdrawn from January’s NZB Karaka Yearling Sale while a weanling half-brother by Iffraaj (Zafonic) who was born last November. She was not covered in 2019.