No substitute for luck
A slow getaway did the damage for Legarto (Proisir) and her connections’ bold mission in Saturday’s rich Golden Eagle (1500m).
That is her pattern but at Rosehill you don’t want to be four and five back on the fence before the straight. Legarto’s bad luck was the winner’s good luck. Japan’s Obamburumai (Discreet Cat) was also stuck on the fence, just over a length in front of Legarto, the difference being that his rider Josh Parr waited. In fact he had no option but to wait.
Locked away from the 600 metres, Parr and his mount were stymied and still bottled up starting the run home and on to the 300 metres. Parr’s patience was rewarded at the 250 metres when a path opened next to the fence. He drove through, had three to beat at the 150 metres, two to beat at the 100 metres and Obamburumai kept finding to level up short of the line before thrusting his head in front.
On the other hand, Legarto had to wait even longer but her path never eventuated, forcing her rider Michael Dee to look wider by which time the race was practically over. As usual she finished strongly and was only about four lengths behind at the line. If she had Obamburumai’s spot at the 300 metres, who knows what the result may have been.
Legarto is far too talented to dismiss on that luckless run and when she finds a roomy track, she will undoubtedly bounce back. Although she has won right-handed, her anti-clockwise form is superior.
Whether she could have run down tearaway pacemaker Pride Of Jenni (Pride Of Dubai), further south at roomy Flemington in the Empire Rose Stakes (Gr 1, 1600m), will never be known. Maybe next year.
In the meantime, let’s hope that she returns home sound and happy. There are some nice races for her here in the short term and there is always Australia in the autumn.
Slim pickings
From a New Zealand standpoint, Saturday’s Australian riches largely escaped us, the only stakes highlight taking place at Morphettville where Pudding (Tavistock) took his sire’s individual stakes winners total to 46 after a win in the John Letts Handicap (Listed, 1800m).
Pudding showed grit after nabbing the lead at the 100 metres for his eighth career win and maiden stakes success at start 21. Mostly fourth in the running, from the 600 metres space allowed him to move out to be right in behind the first three into the straight. He gained into third at the 300 metres, was a half–length back at the 200 metres and finally got to the lead at the 100 metres before holding on gamely.
A $65,000 purchase from the 2020 NZB Karaka Yearling Sale, Pudding has banked more than $280,000. He was sourced from the Hallmark Stud draft and is the first stakes winner out of Christmas Day, a Zabeel (Sir Tristram) three-quarter sister to the successful sire Reset (Zabeel).
Reset was unbeaten in five starts taking out the Australian Guineas (Gr 1, 1600m) and Caulfield Futurity (Gr 1, 1400m). At stud he sired 36 stakes winners headed by Cox Plate (Gr 1, 2040m) victress, Pinker Pinker.
Pudding’s granddam, Assertiveness (Danehill), is a half-sister to Champion Australian Two-Year-Old, three-time Group 1 winner Assertive Lad (Zeditave) and to dual Group 1 winner, Assertive Lass (Zeditave).
Oz recognition for Darci
Historically, the stock of Darci Brahma (Danehill) was mostly overlooked by Australian buyers for the simple reason that sons of Danehill (Danzig) were a dime-a-dozen in Australia. Nevertheless, the stallion has been ultra consistent as a sire of stakes winners (57). In Australia, his two best performers are dual Group 1 winner Sierra Sue and Australian Oaks (Gr 1, 2400m) winner, Gust Of Wind.
Through his daughters his influence may be felt for some considerable time and such influence materialised at Flemington in Saturday’s stallion-making race, the Coolmore Stud Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m). Impressive Ozzmosis (Zoustar), whose dam is a stakes-winning daughter of Darci Brahma, led all the way in an exciting rendition of the sprint championship for three-year-olds.
Heading to the Coolmore, the only question mark was the 1200 metres as Ozzmosis had faded in his only try over that distance in the Roman Consul Stakes (Gr 2, 1200m), resulting in his first and only defeat to date. The Flemington runway suited him admirably and they simply couldn’t catch him, burning up the last 600 metres in 33.6 seconds and making things a little too hot for his pursuers.
Ozzmosis has been to the races just five times and the Group 1 was his fourth win and second stakes victory, his first black-type win taking place in late September in the Heritage Stakes (Listed, 1100m). That win prompted talk of an entry into The Everest (1200m). Wiser heads prevailed and he was instead kept for the Coolmore.
A future stallion career for the three-year-old is virtually assured and for Darci Brahma to appear close up in his bloodlines is a big thumbs-up regarding the sire quality of the recent Oaks Stud retiree.
Yesterday’s ANZ Bloodstock News featured Tim Rowe’s interview with Newgate Farm’s Henry Field. Field is bullish about the sire potential of Ozzmosis.
Ozzmosis is the second Group 1 winner from a Darci Brahma mare. Pier (Proisir), winner of last year’s New Zealand Two Thousand Guineas (Gr 1, 1600m) was his first. They are two of eight stakes winners plus a further 13 stakes performers. His mares are just coming into their own so expect his stats to improve.
No More Tears, Ozzmosis’s dam, won four times including three stakes, namely the Mr Tiz Trophy (Gr 3, 1200m) and the Soliloquy Stakes (Listed, 1400m) at Ellerslie plus the Listed Star Way Stakes (1100m) at Te Rapa which she landed on debut.
This family is deep with black-type winners. No More Tears’ dam is a half-sister to Reisling Stakes (Gr 2, 1200m) winner Hips Don’t Lie (Stravinsky), herself the granddam of last season’s Reisling winner, Learning To Fly (Justify).
O’Reilly again
Whereas Darci Brahma is just getting started as a broodmare sire, O’Reilly (Last Tycoon) was represented in that department by his 25th Group 1 winner and 122nd stakes winner when Pride Of Jenni caused gasps from the Flemington crowd by spread-eagling the field mid-race in the Empire Rose Stakes.
Away by at least eight lengths inside the half-way mark, the daring ride by Declan Bates paid off as she set her rivals a huge task at the top of the straight. She still had a length to spare at the line setting up her maiden stakes win.
Pride Of Jenni’s granddam, Vouvray (Zabeel), claimed just three wins but she was a quality performer. At three she won the Queensland Oaks (Gr 1, 2400m) and later in her career placed three times at Group 1 level including third in the Mackinnon Stakes (Gr 1, 2000m).
A Trelawney family through and through, Vouvray’s half-sister, Syrah (Traditionally) produced New Zealand One Thousand Guineas (Gr 1, 1600m) winner, Loire (Redoute’s Choice), and Thorndon Mile (Gr 1, 1600m) winner, A Touch Of Ruby (Pins).
Digging deeper, this family traces directly to 1965 US Broodmare of the Year, Pocahontas (Roman), dam of the champion Tom Rolfe (Ribot) and of War Hawk II (Sea Hawk), a successful sire who stood at John Corcoran‘s Maranui Stud near Wanganui, New Zealand.