Going Global
Thoroughbred racing and breeding is truly global, exemplified by the result of Saturday’s thrilling Cox Plate (Gr 1, 2040m) at Moonee Valley.
The winner, State Of Rest (Starspangledbanner), is bred in Ireland, is by the Australian sprint star Starspangledbanner (Choisir) and arrived in Melbourne as the last-start winner of the recently re-established Saratoga Derby Invitational (Gr 1, 9.5f).
Slight contact between State Of Rest and Caulfield Guineas (Gr 1, 1600m) victor Anamoe (Street Boss) a few strides from the finish meant that the stewards were called in after Anamoe’s rider Craig Williams lodged a protest.
The significant delay, which ultimately resulted in the protest being dismissed, suggests that Williams had a strong case but the stewards probably got this one right. The brushing was minor and Anamoe’s momentum was not sufficiently affected.
The two combatants were not in unison for their final strides and the replay has them see-sawing to the finish. The fact that Amamoe’s nose was in front a stride past the past was deceptive. State Of Rest’s nose was in front a stride before the post as well as at the post.
The scratching of the pre-race favourite Zaaki (Leroidesanimaux) took some steam out of the race, but take nothing away from the winner or the runner-up, they provided a great spectacle, especially when Anamoe mounted his challenge along the inner soon after straightening.
Certainly Anamoe had a clear weight advantage, being a three-year-old at weight-for-age, so his 49.5 kilograms was always going to be a factor.
However, comparatively, State Of Rest was seriously disadvantaged. A northern hemisphere three-year-old, the colt had to lump 56.5 kilograms, 1 kilogram less than that of a southern hemisphere four-year-old’s weight of 57.5 kilograms, yet the colt is just six months older than the runner-up.
Except for the August 8 win at Saratoga, State Of Rest would have struggled to make the field. Tackling and beating some of Australia’s best backs up the opinion stated by rider John Velazquez after the storming Saratoga Derby victory: “The horse is actually a very, very nice horse,” he commented. “He didn’t break very well, but I didn’t panic. I just saved all the ground, looking for somewhere to go down the stretch and when I got him out, he responded really good.”
The winner’s sire, Starspangledbanner, had blistering speed. After a highly successful race career in Australia, he gave northern hemisphere sprinters a few galloping lessons to become Europe’s Champion Sprinter courtesy of the Golden Jubilee Stakes (Gr 1, 6f) at Royal Ascot and the July Cup (Gr 1, 6f) at Newmarket.
His sire, Choisir (Danehill Dancer), paved the way in Europe, also becoming Champion sprinter.
Trainer Aidan O’Brien was dismayed to learn that Starspangledbanner took his high speed out to 1600 metres when leading all the way in the 2009 Caulfield Guineas (Gr 1, 1600m). According to O’Brien, Starspangledbanner is one the fastest horses he has ever had in his care.
Initially held back by a low fertility rate, the now 15-year-old, who shuttles between Victoria and Ireland, is being well managed by his two studs.
The stallion was mentioned at length in a recent Kiwi Chronicles Plus, about Angel Bleu, the big winner of the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardare (Gr 1, 1400m) on Arc day at Longchamp. Their connection to New Zealand is via the Zamazaan (Exbury) mare Olympic Aim who was bred by Rodmor’s Stud’s Jim Morris.
By some coincidence, Angel Bleu added a second Group 1 this weekend, winning the Criterium International (Gr 1, 1600m) at Saint-Cloud.
Starspangledbanner’s brilliance is evident in his stock. Most show early form. Eleven of his 21 stakes winners have won stakes races at two, four have succeeded beyond 1600 metres and just two beyond 2000 metres.
State Of Rest’s dam, Repose, never raced but has produced two stakes performers, the other being Listed-placed Tranquil Lady (Australia). Repose is a half-sister to two Listed winners and her dam, Monaassabaat (Zilzal), also won at Listed level.
The next dam, It’s In The Air (Mr Prospector) was an outstanding two- and-three-year-old filly in the USA and was Champion of her crop. Her 16 wins included five Group 1s plus she became a top class producer of nine winners from ten to race including three stakes winners.
It’s in The Air’s grandson Storming Home (Machiavellian) was a four-time Group 1 winner and is sire of the late Jakkalberry. Going one better, with five Group 1s, is her granddaughter Music Note (A P Indy). Yet another granddaughter is Poule d’Essai des Pouliches (Gr 1, 1600m) winner Musical Chimes (In Excess).
Follow The Money
She doesn’t win out of turn, but Icebath (Sacred Falls) seems to raise her game when the big money is on offer.
Yet to win a stakes race, Icebath took her earnings to $3.382 million in landing the inaugural Invitation Plate (1400m) for Fillies and Mares and highlights the occasional oddities when comparing stakes wins and monies earned.
Her premier stakes performance is her second to Cascadian (New Approach) in last autumn’s Doncaster Handicap (Gr 1, 1600m). Her biggest payout was not even in Saturday’s $2 million race. The $1.5 million she banked from her second placing in last year’s Golden Eagle (1500m) is the main reason for her out-of-proportion wins-to-earnings ratio.
Furthermore, three performances (this latest win and two second placings) account for $3,065,000 or 91 per cent of her total earnings.
This scenario reminds one of the golfer Miller Barber, also known as Mr X. Barber, in similar fashion to Fred Couples, had a propensity to win some big-money events outside of the regular PGA tour season. Such wins were not included in the annual “official money list”, but according to Barber, “When it’s in my bank, it’s all official money!”
Icebath’s dam, Fabulist (Savabeel) is proving to be a wonderful producer. Retiring with five wins including in Melbourne and Adelaide, she is five for five to the races and two of those are stakes winners headed by the exciting Hong Kong performer, Icebath’s baby brother, Courier Wonder (Sacred Falls).
Courier Wonder was unbeaten in his first five races culminating with a Group 3 victory in the Sha Tin Vase (1200m) last May. He has stepped out once so far this season and suffered his first defeat when finishing fifth in the The Premier Bowl (Gr 2, 1200m), being denied a run at a crucial time. In the last 200 metres he ran into a wall of horses when looking ominous.
Icebath has Waikato Stud’s fingerprints all over her bloodlines. She is by their Sacred Falls, whose sire O’Reilly (Last Tycoon) has left a great legacy. Her dam is by their multiple Champion Sire Savabeel (Zabeel) and her granddam, Group 3 placed Fontaine, is by their great stud success, Centaine (Century).
Fontaine is one of only two foals (both winners) from Melbourne and Adelaide winner Water Garden (Bellwater), herself a half-sister to Listed winner Eccentricity (Noalcoholic) and to the dam of Wakefield Challenge Stakes (Gr 2, 1100m) winner Kapsdan (Kaapstad).
Savabeel Group Treble
The Savabeel (Zabeel) train shows no signs of stopping for water with Noverre becoming stakes winner 117 and, the following day, Cheaperthandivorce, number 118. Savabeel’s current season is looking a lot like his previous seasons. Stakes winners weekly.
Noverre was a commanding winner of Riccarton’s War Decree Stakes (Gr 3, 1600m) on Saturday, thus making a strong statement ahead of next month’s New Zealand Two Thousand Guineas (Gr 1, 1600m).
Pocketed rounding into the straight, he moved out starting the run home yet sat third last. Once balanced he began the chase, drove through to share third at the 250 metres then had the leader to catch. Travelling strongly, he levelled up at the 100-metre mark then took over, getting to the line by a very comfortable length and a quarter.
His big finish, over the same track and distance as the upcoming Guineas, speaks volumes for his chances next month.
One of Te Akau Racing’s more expensive buys, Noverre fetched $800,000 at the 2020 NZB Karaka Yearling Sale. David Ellis and Jamie Richards must have been smitten with the attractive dark brown colt who was a star even before he raced which includes now two wins and three placings from his six starts.
He is the only named foal of Magic Dancer (Rip Van Winkle). She and Noverre’s granddam, Dazzling Belle (Desert Sun) were stakes winners as two-year-olds.
Trelawney On A Roll
The Taylor family of Trelawney Stud were unstoppable this past week, celebrating a Group 2 and two Group 3 races in the space of nine days, wrapping up Labour weekend with yesterday’s James & Annie Sarten Memorial (Gr 2, 1400m) in a top class performance from their Pareanui Bay (Lonhro).
Cheaperthandivorce (Savabeel) landed the Thompson Handicap (Gr 3, 1600m) the previous day, surging clear over the last 100 metres to claim her maiden stakes success and career third at start eight.
Two Illicit (Jimmy Choux) got the spell off to a great start for the stud with a Group 3 sprint victory at Hastings, the previous weekend.
Bred 3×4 to Sir Tristram, Cheaperthandivorce is the second stakes winner from the nine-race winner Boundless (Van Nistelrooy), winner of the New Zealand Oaks (Gr 1, 2400m) and three further Group races.
Her granddam, Nothing Less (Star Way), is a sister to two Listed winners and half-sister to the dam of five-times Group 1 winner Veyron (Thorn Park).
Trapped wide for most of the journey, Pareanui Bay was third into the straight, nabbed the leader at the 100-metre mark, then kept finding for a strong win against a good field. He remains unbeaten in two starts and looks like a serious racehorse.
He is the second foal of his dam Okahu Bay (Flying Spur). The mare was purchased in 2017, in foal to More Than Ready (Southern Halo) and covered by Lonhro (Octagonal) before heading to her new home at Trelawney Stud.
Okahu Bay was a Group 3 winner in Adelaide while her dam, Acacia Bay (Rodrigo de Triano), is a half-sister to four stakes winners including Group 1 winner Calveen (Canny Lad), the winner of ten races.
Melbourne Cup On The Radar?
Waikato Stud graduate, Forgot You (Savabeel), also made a statement at Moonee Valley, landing the Vase (Gr 2, 2040m) as a lead up to next week’s Victoria Derby (Gr 1, 2500m).
The colt, a grandson of dual Group 1 winner Glamour Puss (Tale Of The Cat), heads to Flemington as favourite for the three-year-old classic.
Should he win the Derby and come through the race unscathed, he may step out for a tilt at the Melbourne Cup (Gr 1, 3200m) the following Tuesday.
A three-year-old in the Melbourne Cup is a rarity and should he line up it will make for some fascinating pre-race conversation.
When champion Tulloch (Khorassan) won the Caulfield Cup as a three-year-old in 1957, his trainer, Tommy Smith, believed the colt would be unbeatable in the Melbourne Cup. However, the colt’s owner, E A Haley was having none of it and withdrew the champion because he felt that running such a young horse over two miles would ruin him.
Four days before the 1957 Cup, Tulloch waltzed away with the Victoria Derby beating Prince Darius (Persian Book) by eight lengths.
Cup day saw Prince Darius run second to Straight Draw (Sabaean), beaten a neck. Tommy Smith would have been livid. The following autumn Prince Darius again ran into Tulloch in the AJC St Leger and again ran second. Tulloch’s winning margin was 20 lengths.
Tavistock Treble
The loss of Tavistock (Montjeu) continues to haunt the New Zealand sire industry.
Last Wednesday at Geelong the Geelong Cup (Gr 3, 2400m) and the Geelong Classic (Listed, 2200m) went to his Tralee Rose and Tutukaka respectively.
Tralee Rose now heads towards the Melbourne Cup (Gr 1, 3200m) as the win exempts her from the ballot. Tutukaka, the younger half-brother to recently retired star Melody Belle (Commands), will join Forgot You (Savabeel) as Kiwi-bred representatives in next Saturday’s Victoria Derby (Gr 1, 2500m).
The Tesio Stakes (Gr 3, 1600m) at Moonee Valley on Saturday resulted in Flying Mascot becoming Tavistock’s 33rd stakes winner and the way she bolted clear from the top of the straight suggests that the mare can add considerably to her record of four wins in nine starts.
She is a half-sister to Listed winner Koala Bear (Exceed And Excel), they being two of their dam’s seven winners from eight to the races.
Dam Lucky Mascot (Zabeel) is a sister to Axiom, dam of the brilliant Xtravagant (Pentire) who is just starting his stud career and has a stakes winner from his initial crop.
Flying Mascot’s dam, Arletty (Centaine) won Group races in Sydney and New Zealand, retiring with eight wins, five of those stakes.
This is the family of Group 1 winners Legs (Pins), Tiptronic (O’Reilly), Sixty Seconds (Centaine) and Guyno (O’Reilly). All four are by Waikato Stud sires.
Seven For Super Easy
Twice a winner in New Zealand last season at two, Dream Queen (Super Easy) made the transition to Melbourne stakes class, taking out the William Crockett Stakes (Listed, 1200m) and provided her sire Super Easy (Darci Brahma) his seventh stakes winner.
She entered the short Moonee Valley straight four wide but was travelling nicely, took over at the 100 metres then braved it out when challenged late for career win three at start six.
Her granddam is a half-sister to Miss Distinction (Bletchencore), herself the dam of dual Group 1 winner Gee I Jane (Jahafil) and of NZ Broodmare of the Year, Miss Jessie Jay (Spectacularphantom). The latter produced two Group 1 winners including dual classic winner Katie Lee (Pins).
The Local Scene
Racing at Matamata saw two super, yet quite different performances. The first came in the two-year-old event, the other in the Soliloquy Stakes (Gr 3, 1400m).
Te Akau Racing’s Imperatriz (Snitzel) went up in the air when the stalls opened and was second last when they settled. Inside the 600 metres she got off the fence and pulled four wide but was pushed wider starting the run home. Five lengths in arrears, she balanced and went after the leader, levelled up at the 150 metres, grabbed the lead at the 100 metres, then kept going in a big effort by a long head in a sharp 1:22.68 secs.
The filly is set to travel to Riccarton and will be among the favourites to take out the New Zealand One Thousand Guineas (Gr 1, 1600m) in the middle of November.
Two-year-old gelding Mascarinto (Per Incanto) was anything but slow from the stalls. Instead, he flew the gates and was a length clear in the first few strides. He was challenged inside the 800 metres, but was cruising in the lead. He rounded into the straight a length clear, put another length on them inside the 300 metres, then bolted away by five lengths and at the 100 metres he was able to ease towards the line yet was nearly seven in front at the post in a stunning performance.
Cutting out the 1000 metres in 57.82 seconds, Mascarinto is to be put aside and set for the Karaka Million (RL, 1200m) at Ellerslie in January, his connections having paid up two days before the deadline.