Buckaroo blows Underwood rivals away
Talented import Buckaroo showed he is going to be a force to be reckoned with this spring when demolishing his rivals in the Underwood Stakes (Gr 1, 1800m) at Caulfield on Saturday and in the process became the 44th individual elite-level winner for the recently pensioned Coolmore stalwart Fastnet Rock (Danehill).
Trained by Chris Waller and ridden by superstar jockey Joao Moreira, the British-bred gelding looked comfortable throughout the contest and comfortably careered away in the straight to beat Huetor (Archipenko) by 3.5 lengths. The Godolphin homebred Pericles (Street Boss) did not seem to stay out the 1800-metre trip, fading to finishing a further 0.5 lengths adrift in third.
Buckaroo began his career in Ireland under the tutelage of Joseph O’Brien for whom he was victorious in Listed company on two occasions.
The six-year-old arrived in Australia last September and, while his first preparation with Waller was fruitless, he did show his talent with a third-placed finish in the Ranvet Stakes (Gr 1, 2000m).
Having been gelded over the summer, Buckaroo returned this preparation with an impressive win in the Chelmsford Stakes (Gr 2, 1600m) and Waller’s assistant Charlie Duckworth said the operation had had the desired effect on the six-year-old.
“As a colt, he was actually too laid-back but now, as a gelding, he’s actually got a bit of spring in his step and he’s a bit more vibrant,” Duckworth said.
It was Moreira’s first Group 1 success in Melbourne since claiming the 2017 Oakleigh Plate (Gr 1, 1100m) aboard Sheidel (Holy Roman Emperor) with Moreira having only returned to the country earlier this week and he is expected to feature throughout the remainder of the Spring Carnival.
“It feels amazing, you know. That’s what horseracing is about. When you get one up, the feeling doesn’t get any better,” said Moreira.
“Impressive the way he won, isn’t it? He has a tricky manner in the gates, he wasn’t really kind to me there. He began a little bit worse than what we were hoping.
“[Buckaroo] found himself a little bit too far back. But as the race disenrolled itself, it kind of got him into the race. When I turned for home on the outside, with him having great momentum, I was always confident he was going to get up.
“Nice horse makes a jockey’s life so much easier, doesn’t it?”
Raced by an ownership group that includes Ozzie Kheir, Qatar Bloodstock and Yes Bloodstock, Buckaroo holds entries for some lofty targets this spring including the Cox Plate (Gr 1, 2040m), Caulfield Cup (Gr 1, 2400m) and Melbourne Cup (Gr 1, 3200m), so has options aplenty going forward with an overall record that now stands at five wins and five placings from 20 starts.
Buckaroo is from the eighth northern hemisphere-bred crop of Fastnet Rock and is out of Listed winner Roheryn (Galileo), making him a half-brother to Group 3 winner Middle Earth (Roaring Lion), who has recently transferred from John and Thady Gosden to Ciaron Maher. Roheryn herself is a daughter of dual Group 3 scorer La Chunga (More Than Ready).
The gelding is bred on the highly successful Fastnet Rock / Galileo (Sadler’s Wells) cross, becoming the nick’s 11th individual top-flight winner, joining the likes of Via Sistina and Personal. In total the cross has produced 113 winners from 158 runners, headed by 29 individual stakes winners.
A two-time champion sire in Australia, Fastnet Rock was retired from stud duties earlier this season and claimed his first champion broodmare crown last season.