Maid Of Heaven beats the boys in the Spring Champion Stakes
The honour roll of Spring Champion Stakes winners over the past 47 years contains some great names such as Kingston Town (Bletchingly), Beau Zam (Zamazaan), Tie The Knot (Nassipour) and a host of other top class horses including reigning New Zealand champion sire Savabeel (Zabeel).
Having only her fifth start last Saturday, Maid Of Heaven broke her maiden in a 1250 metre race at Canterbury on August 8, so she has come a long way in two months. She will now be spelled and while she may not match the deeds of some past winners she looks to have bright prospects of adding another Group 1 or two when she resumes racing in the autumn.
On Saturday Maid Of Heaven settled back in eighth place, began a run out wide on the home turn then challenged the leaders 200 metres out before digging deep to defeat Aramayo (Poet’s Voice) by a long head with Victoria Derby (Gr 1, 2500m) hope Thinkin’ Big (High Chaparral) another two and a quarter lengths back in third place. Race time on the rain affected track was 2:05.59 with the final 600 metres covered in 36.84.
Maid Of Heaven’s victory was memorable for more reasons than one as it was the first Group 1 success for both her trainer Mark Newnham and her jockey Rachel King, as well as the first winner at the highest level for the filly’s sire Smart Missile (Fastnet Rock).
Smart Missile’s stocks as a sire have taken a sharp upturn in recent months since the announcement was made of his transfer to Olly and Amber Tait’s Twin Hills Stud, Cootamundra, in southern NSW, after six seasons at Arrowfield Stud.
Since then the stream of winners by the stallion has become a torrent with unbeaten filly Smart Melody (Smart Missile), likely favourite for this Saturday’s MRC Thousand Guineas (Gr 1, 1600m), leading the way.
Smart Missile’s stud career began at Arrowfield with high expectations in 2012 but after covering books of 196, 196, 210, 202 and 153 there were indications last season that many breeders had to some degree lost confidence in the Fastnet Rock (Danehill) horse when he served only 63 mares. Recent results, though, suggest early assessments of Smart Missile’s potential as a sire may prove correct and, while those who paid his advertised fee of $22,000 (inc GST) at Arrowfield have obtained better value at Twin Hills, which cut his fee to $13,200 (inc GST), he has been rewarded with a full book for 2018.
Still owned by his breeder Gooree Park Stud and Arrowfield, Smart Missile was a brilliant two-year-old when he defeated Blue Diamond Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m) winner Sepoy (Elusive Quality) in the ATC Todman Stakes (Gr 2, 1200m) two weeks before the 2011 Golden Slipper Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m), only to be sensationally scratched at the barrier before the big race leaving Sepoy to win unchallenged. Smart Missile overcame injury to resume racing as a spring three-year-old, winning The Run to the Rose (Gr 3, 1200m) before a gallant second to Manawanui (Oratorio) in the Golden Rose (Gr 1, 1400m).
Maid of Heaven was bred by Arrowfield Pastoral Pty Ltd and Belford Productions, a company owned by controversial radio king Alan Jones. She was offered in the Arrowfield draft in the Gold Riband Session of the 2017 Inglis Classic Yearling Sale in Sydney where she was knocked down for $60,000 to the bid of agent Dean Hawthorne and now races in the Arrowfield colours.
She is the 11th foal, second black type winner and fourth winner for her dam St Therese (Dehere), a multiple stakes winner in New Zealand where she also placed in seven stakes events up to Group 1 level. St Therese also raced well in Melbourne for two seconds in Group 2 races.
St Therese has made a considerable contribution as a broodmare as apart from the racing achievements of her foals, two of her daughters have produced stakes winners Hussy By Choice (Hussonet) and Precious Memories (Stratum) as you will see from the accompanying catalogue pedigree.
Maid Of Heaven’s second dam Moon Scent (Aloe) may be remembered as the dam of Planet Ruler (Kaoru Star), a five time Group 1 winner whose 17 career wins earned connections $1,445,135 some years ago when prize-money levels were substantially lower than today.
Moon Scent was Queensland bred by little known sire James (Princely Gift) from Flash in the Pan (Pan II) and comes from the very distinguished family founded in Australia by British mare Joan Alone (Lally).
The closest duplication in Maid Of Heaven’s pedigree is a double of Northern Dancer (Nearctic) via sons Danzig and Vice Regent in her fifth remove while there is another line coming through another son, Nijinsky, in Smart Missile’s background.