It's In The Blood
Semillion
Semillion became just the latest stakes winner from probably the strongest female family in the Australian stud book in taking Saturday’s $400,000 Inglis Banner (RL, 1000m) at Moonee Valley. Bred by Victorian titan Rob Crabtree, the three-year-old is another product of the Scandinavia (Snippets) line which hatched Black Caviar (Bel Esprit), All Too Hard (Casino... Read More
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Extreme Flight
There are such ballistic stats going on in the parentage of Extreme Flight, you can almost hear them crackling. Just as you could imagine hearing those parents swapping boasts, like a couple of boxers at a pre-fight weigh-in. In the red corner, with gold stars, there’s Extreme Choice (Not A Single Doubt). The sire who,... Read More
Hilal
There can be few more potent pedigrees in Australian racing at present than that of Hilal, who broke through for black-type success with a slashing win in Saturday’s Stan Fox Stakes (Gr 2, 1500m) at Randwick. The Team Hawkes-trained colt is from one of Emirates Park’s strongest female families – one which has spawned such... Read More
Get In The Spirit
There’s a line from an American author named Jack Kornfield – not coincidentally a Buddhist practitioner – that says to let go and move on means we release “the clingings and disappointments of the past that bind our spirit”. Surely there can’t be a more apt setting for that than racing and breeding, where ifs,... Read More
Chaillot
Gerry Harvey is not just a titan of Australian business but a colossus of breeding, an octogenarian whose acumen has brought billionaire status and, at last count, around 550 broodmares. It’s a little surprising, then, when he makes the following declaration on the secret of making thoroughbreds: “I’d say it’s 98 per cent luck and... Read More
Lightsaber
As the name would suggest, Lightsaber is a flashy thoroughbred who stands out – in more ways than one. For a start there’s the tail – the eyecatching streak of silver trailing the bay, who underlined his Caulfield Guineas credentials and further pushed those of his sire Zoustar with his second stakes win from eight... Read More