Dynasty
Video of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II’s visit to Cambridge Stud in 1990 is a timely reminder, not only of the Queen’s passion for horse racing and horse breeding, but also that dynasties exist outside of the Royal Family.
Sir Patrick Hogan was present at his “old” stud last week when the New Zealand Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association, in conjunction with Cambridge Stud, commemorated the passing of Her Majesty. Sir Patrick cast his mind back to that special day, when the Queen stepped forward to give Sir Tristram (Sir Ivor) a few pats on his off–shoulder.
The Queen was at Epsom and witnessed Sir Ivor’s devastating finishing burst of speed to win The Derby of 1968, and at Cambridge Stud was witness to an equine dynasty which is still unfolding.
Sir Ivor would ultimately sire 89 stakes winners, but Sir Tristram was not one of them. By 1990 Sir Tristram was established as one of the greatest sires in New Zealand history, but it would have been unthinkable that the Sir Ivor line has now all but died out everywhere else in the world. Sir Tristram’s 130 stakes winners is head and shoulders above Sir Ivor’s Bates Motel and Imperial Prince, with 33 and 20 respectively.
There seems to be no end to the Sir Tristram dynasty, which began when Sir Patrick was strongly advised against buying the stallion. “The horse was not recommended to me at all. I am a pedigree person and I lay out eight-generation pedigrees then decide if that pedigree will nick with mares that are in New Zealand,” said Sir Patrick in an interview at Karaka quite a few years ago.
“I learnt duplicating through pedigree Jersey cattle, from my father, and that’s what I followed right through. I couldn’t get Sir Tristram out of my head and I rang the agent and said that it didn’t matter how much he didn’t recommend him; it didn’t matter how much he didn’t like him, I told him I’m buying the blood. An ounce of blood is worth a ton of bone.”
Sir Tristram was succeeded by his son Zabeel whose influence, apart from siring a record 166 stakes winners, remains super strong through Savabeel as well as through his daughters and granddaughters.
It is too easy to forget that Sir Tristram’s sons Grosvenor (54 SWs), Kaapstad (46) and Marauding (32), were also highly successful in their own right.
Savabeel is on the cusp of overtaking Sir Tristram’s 130 stakes winners, his total now 126 courtesy of I Wish I Win’s heart-stopping victory at Sandown on Sunday.
Next best of Zabeel’s sons is Reset’s 35 with Octagonal’s 25 seeming to be less than expected. Octagonal’s champion racehorse and sire Lonhro has righted the ship with 94 (and growing). Lonhro’s son Pierro’s total currently stands at 30, but that number is hardly static.
Birthday boy
Uncanny timing was on display last Saturday. It’s as if someone knew.
Waikato Stud is only too aware just how important Savabeel is to their success; success which includes four-times champion sire O’Reilly (Last Tycoon). He is leaving an indelible impression on the industry, hence their video release of Savabeel’s story and legacy. Savabeel turned 21 on Saturday. Happy Birthday Savabeel, and many more.
If you have not seen the video, it is well worth a visit to the stud’s website.
Appropriately, Savabeel’s son Embellish joined in the celebration the same day by siring his first winner when Luberon booted clear halfway down the straight at Ruakaka to win the two-year-old race by four lengths in a sharp 45.28 seconds for the 800 metres.
Whose colours was Luberon carrying? None other than Cambridge Stud’s Brendan and Jo Lindsay’s. You can’t make this up. The Lindsays also bred the filly, from their Fastnet Rock (Danehill) mare Elegant Achiever, whose two foals to race are both winners. Elegant Achiever is an unraced daughter of the twice–winning Cape Cross (Green Desert) mare Astonish whose half-sisters Wunders Dream (Averti) and Grecian Dancer (Dansili) were both Group winners. There is plenty of black-type in the family.
The fact that Embellish stands at Cambridge Stud only makes sense since both his grandsire and great grandsire held court there. He is a natural and the Lindsays have made Embellish available to all breeders, setting and maintaining a generous service fee to the classic New Zealand Two Thousand Guineas (Gr 1, 1600m) winner.
Luberon may be the first of many as Embellish has 90 living foals from his first crop, plus a further 55 from his second. The 2020 crop must have impressed breeders because Embellish covered his biggest book in 2021, 158 mares, so we can expect another 100 or more little Embellishes to arrive this season.
Savabeel’s son What’s The Story, standing at Novara Park, can claim the honour of being Savabeel’s first sire son when Big Story won at Ballarat last month.
Still the boss
The boss himself, Savabeel had a very good day at Sandown on Sunday, when Mo’unga thrust his head into second against four of the very best: Alligator Blood (All Too Hard), Zaaki (Leroidesanimaux), I’m Thunderstruck (Shocking) and Mr Brightside (Bullbars) in a thrilling renewal of the Underwood Stakes (Gr 1, 1800m).
As good as Mo’unga’s superb effort was, it was overshadowed 35 minutes later in the Listed Testa Rossa Stakes (1300m) when I Wish I Win overcame serious traffic problems then dusted the opposition with a flashing finish.
Mo’unga is likely headed to the Might And Power Stakes (Gr 1, 2000m) where he will again clash with the same runners, but with the addition of current star Anamoe (Street Boss). Hang on to your hats. The Might And Power will be just that.
The Toorak Handicap (Gr 1, 1600m) is I Wish I Win’s next target and based on Sunday’s whirlwind finish must be a strong contender. His turn of foot was undeniable at Sandown, so Caulfield’s tricky layout and 300–metre straight should be no issue. His race prior to the Testa Rossa was achieved there, but the difference between an open handicap and a Group 1 handicap is considerable.
The 1600 metres won’t be an issue either as he has placed at the distance in Trentham’s Levin Classic (Gr 1) last March. Interestingly, I Wish I Wish holds a nomination for the WS Cox Plate (Gr 1, 2040m).
The Testa Rossa was the last stakes of an enthralling weekend but The Boss had the last say.
Speedy filly’s Kiwi connection
Group 1 racing was spread across three days this past weekend and the winners of Moonee Valley’s Moir Stakes (1200m) and Rosehill’s Golden Rose (1400m) can each claim a connection to the New Zealand Stud Book.
Friday night’s Moir Stakes was a triumph for the youngsters, when Coolangatta just lasted after setting all the fractions. As a three-year-old filly against some hardened older sprinters, it was a bold call on behalf of the Maher-Eustace training partnership to line her up.
Pre-race, Ciaron Maher believed that the filly was his best chance of his three and so it proved, with Jamie Kah taking advantage of both the inside barrier and the lightweight 50 kilograms she had to carry under the weight-for-age conditions of the sprint.
The filly held on by a head from stablemate Bella Nipotina (Pride Of Dubai) with the stable’s third runner, Generation (Snitzel) sticking on for fourth.
Unbeaten in her first three starts at two, including the Magic Millions Classic (LR, 1200m), Coolangatta also finished a noteworthy third in the Golden Slipper Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m) and at three, fresh up, was a solid third in the McEwen Stakes (Gr 2, 1000m) in her first look around Moonee Valley earlier in the month.
Bagging four wins and two thirds in six starts, the filly is a serious sprinter, yet she descends from a family that, in the past, was known for its New Zealand stayers. Being by Written Tycoon (Iglesia) and her first, second and third dams being by More Than Ready (Southern Halo), Danehill (Danzig) and Kaapstad (Sir Tristram), her genes have been spiced up considerably over the last 30 years or so.
Her dam is a half-sister to the 2008 Blue Diamond Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m) winner Reaan (Hussonet), while her grandam, Ribe (Danehill) scored her best win at Moonee Valley in the Moonee Valley oaks (Gr 2, 2040m).
Coolangatta’s third dam Kapeskin (Kaapstad) was bred in New Zealand, however, apart from herself, two of the better–known runners in her family are 1970 Melbourne Cup (Gr 1, 2m) winner Baghdad Note (Kurdistan) and New Zealand Cup (Gr 1, 3200m) winner Watallan (Bellborough), even though they are quite distant now.
Baghdad Note and Watallan are from the half-sisters Fair Note (Fair’s Fair) and Swanky (Beaumaris). Another half-sister is Chattel (Chatsworth II), the sixth dam of Coolangatta. The next dam, Lyndall (Man’s Pal) can claim 62 stakes horses including 30 stakes winners of which eight have succeeded at Group 1 level. Zabeel Classic (Gr 1, 2000m) winner Concert Hall (Savabeel) is one. Her fourth dam, Lyndabelle (Bellborough) and Watallan are sisters.
And another
Saturday’s Golden Rose victor, Jacquinot (Rubick) also has a distant connection to the New Zealand Stud Book.
Once a popular Ra Ora family, Jacquinot traces to Oleanda (Pink Flower), a mare imported by Woolf, later Sir Woolf, Fisher, during the late 1950s. Oleanda’s half-sister was Red Sunset (Solario) the grandam of The Derby Gr 1, 12f) winner Crepello (Donatello) as well as Champion New Zealand Sire, Better Honey (Honeyway).
The mare raced under the name of Sweet Pea in England and is responsible for 49 stakes horses, including 23 stakes winners, Jacquinot being the fifth that has won at the elite Group 1 level. The fourth was 2017 Randwick Guineas (Gr 1, 1600m) winner Inference (So You Think) whose half-sister, Ponterro (Pierro) is the dam of Jacquinot.
Ponterro’s younger brother is Dragon Leap (Pierro) the dual Group 2–winner who races out the Lance O’Sullivan/Andrew Scott stable.
Recently retired speedster Away Game (Snitzel) is another member of this family. The Magic Million Classic (RL, 1200m) winner and earner of $3.75 million is a granddaughter of Abbotswood (Sir Tristram). Jacquinot’s fourth dam Cherry Garden (Sir Tristram) and Abbotswood are sisters.
And here’s one for those who look for interesting blood couplings: Jacquinot’s sire Rubick (Encosta De Lago) is from Sliding Cube (Rock Of Gibraltar), a three-quarter sister to Redoute’s Choice (Danehill). Redoute’s Choice is the sire of Jacquinot’s grandam Pontiana.
Doing it the hard way
Competitive among the three-year-old fillies last season, including two Group 3 placings, Mustang Valley (Vanbrugh) provided her sire with his second stakes winner this season, following Sheez Dominant’s big win in the Wanganui Guineas (Listed, 1340m) last month.
Saturday’s Metric Mile (Listed, 1550m) saw Mustang Valley slow into stride, tacking on to the bunch past the 800 metres, then accelerating quickly out wide to be handy at the 600 metres. Continuing her run she was almost level with the leader starting the run home, but Courtney Barnes waited until straightening before issuing her challenge. She took over at the 200 metres and to the line was always in control, away by two and a quarter lengths.
Vanbrugh (Encosta De Lago) is doing it the hard way. In contrast with Embellish (above) who had 90 first crop foals, Mustang Valley is one of 36 first crop foals (now four-year-olds) followed by 16 three-year-olds and just 11 current two-year-olds.
There have been 23 to the races and 11 winners but most importantly, now two stakes winners. Is he off to the races? It is fair to suggest that Windsor Park Stud will be getting more calls about Vanbrugh this time around. The stallion is making some noise.
Time equals money
Time Test (Dubawi) added stakes winner number six (five in Europe and one in New Zealand) to his growing tally when Crypto Force came away over the final furlong to claim the Beresford Stakes (Gr 2, 1m) at The Curragh on Saturday, his second win in three starts.
The colt has had more experience at the sales than on the racecourse, but his worth has increased markedly at each appearance. As a foal he fetched 32,000gns and as a yearling 65,000gns. Sent to a breeze up sale at two he realised 160,000gns, all before he made his comfortable winning debut at The Curragh on June 1.
His next public appearance was not at the track, but back at the sales, making €900,000 before finishing seventh in the Royal Ascot Cheshire Stakes (Listed, 7f) just five days later.
The win in the Beresford could be a precursor to the Futurity Stakes (Gr 1, 1m) at Doncaster next month, the two-year-old’s next probable target. His odds for next year’s Derby (Gr 1, 12f) have already shortened.
Time Test’s New Zealand stakes winner Leedox is set to return next Saturday in the Hawkes Bay Guineas (Gr 2, 1400m).