Normal service resumes
Australian stakes success by Kiwi-breds resumed normal service last Saturday.
Drawing blanks the previous week came as a bit of surprise but the ship was righted when, of the 13 stakes run across the Tasman, four fell New Zealand’s way. Significantly, three of the four winners began their careers at home.
Nevertheless, at home, the last Group 1 of the current season was taken out in grand style by the Australian-bred filly Imperatriz (I Am Invincible).
Te Akau Racing has a penchant for discovering and developing top fillies and mares. Their successes with Melody Belle (Commands) and Avantage (Fastnet Rock) dominated New Zealand racing recently, until each was retired and sold.
Although raced in the chequered gold and black colours of Brendan and Jo Lindsay, Probabeel (Savabeel), is yet another highly successful female from the stable. Happily, Probabeel was not sold.
The void created by these top mares’ retirements appears to have been partially filled. Imperatriz took the New Zealand Thoroughbred Breeders’ Stakes (Gr 1, 1600m) by the throat at the 300 metres then powered away by five lengths. Her acceleration once straightened and balanced was never really challenged and she won as she liked.
One surprise was that, for Opie Bosson, it was his first win in the race and his ride on Imperatriz was copy-book stuff. When he moved the filly out from the 600 metres to be three wide rounding into the straight, Bosson effectively forced his toughest competition to go around him or wait for a split. When he pushed the button at the 300 metres, the damage was done and the race was safe quite a long way from home.
Bosson said: “I was pleased that I could get off the fence when I could, although I did wonder if I had gone too soon, but I had a lapful of horse and I think she could even get further as she relaxes so well and will get even stronger as she gets older.”
Winning trainer Mark Walker added: “She’s a high-class filly. She is just getting more mature and Opie took bad luck out of the equation when he popped off the fence and went three wide. He knows what to do on the big days.”
Plans for the filly are not set yet. “We will see how she eats over the weekend and we trot up every horse who races on the weekend on a Monday,” said Walker. “She did go to Riccarton in the spring, so maybe a break is in order.”
The field of eight, which saw leading chance Levante (Proisir) withdrawn before final acceptances, included three Group 1 winners: Imperatriz, Coventina Bay (Shamexpress) and Two Illicit (Jimmy Choux), and they were the first three home.
The filly was unbeaten in two starts in her first season including the Eclipse Stakes (Gr 2, 1200m) at Ellerslie. That was a tough win, by only a head, the first two well clear of the rest but she ran 1:08.40, a very good time for a juvenile.
As indicated by Walker, for her second season Imperatriz has been up since the spring, her eight starts at three beginning with a victory in the Northland Breeders’ Stakes (Gr 3, 1200m) in September.
A heavy track for the Gold Trail Stakes (Gr 3, 1200m) squelched her chances when finishing third but on a Good 4 track at Matamata she bounced back to win the Soliloquy Stakes (Gr 3, 1400m), finishing strongly in another smart time of 1:22.68.
At Riccarton, for the New Zealand One Thousand Guineas (Gr 1, 1600m) she left her big finish too late to run fourth, finishing less than a length from the winner.
After a short break she returned on Karaka Millions night to run second to stablemate Sword Of State (Snitzel) in the Almanzor Trophy (Gr 3, 1200m) and then ran a cracking 1:21.77 in taking out the Lisa Chittick Plate (1400m) on Matamata Breeders’ Stakes Day.
The Levin Classic (Gr 1, 1600m) last month saw her take control from the 200 metres, showing the same turn of foot she repeated at Te Rapa against the older mares on Saturday.
Hers is an impressive record of ten starts for seven wins including two Group 1s, a Group 2 and two Group 3s and she has banked $300 shy of half a million dollars. She is yet to finish further back than fourth.
On reflection, it is just as well that the stable never contemplated a Sydney autumn campaign. Rain affected tracks are not for her.
Long term, Imperatriz will be set for the Empire Rose Stakes (Gr 1, 1600m) at Flemington in November. This may mean a clash with fellow three-year-old and stablemate Belle En Rouge (Burgundy), whose immediate targets are the Hawkes Bay Triple Crown series but who also might head to Melbourne.
For Walker it’s a nice problem to have.
Godolphin’s loss
Imperatriz is, by far, the best representative of her immediate family. Her dam, Berimbau (Shamardal) once belonged to Godolphin but was sold in 2016 for $180,000 to Raffles Racing as a Group 2–placed two-year-old winner.
Berimbau was sold in foal to Exceed And Excel (Danehill) and Imperatriz is her second foal, making $360,000 at the 2020 Magic Millions Yearling Sale when secured by Te Akau’s David Ellis.
Her third foal, a filly by Fastnet Rock (Danehill), fetched $300,000 at the same sale the following year and the mare produced a fourth filly, by Press Statement (Hinchinbrook) last spring. She was covered by Capitalist (Written Tycoon) for the current stud season.
Prior to Imperatriz, the best runner in the close up family was Poor Judge (Royal Academy), the winner of 16 races including at Flemington Group 3 level. Berimbau’s grandam is a half-sister to Poor Judge’s dam.
A three-quarter brother to Poor Judge is Todman Slipper Stakes (Gr 2, 1200m) winner and Group 1 placed at two, Royal Courtship (Royal Academy), who is a half-brother to Berimbau’s dam.
More distantly related are the Group 1 winners Fairy King Prawn (Danehill), Easy Rocking (Barathea) and Cosmic Endeavour (Northern Meteor), these being descendants of Extradite (Bletchingly) whose half-sister Virgin Wing (Todman) is the fourth dam of Berimbau.
Continued pattern
As detailed several weeks ago, the money for retired quality mares in Australia is very strong, thus many well-performed and bred females are being lost from the New Zealand Stud Book.
Stakes money is creating a similar one-way-traffic as New South Wales and Victoria compete with each other to attract the best racehorses.
New Zealand-based trainers and owners are fully aware of the stark difference in available stakes, even for country racing, and it doesn’t take rocket science to figure out that if you’re going to race at all and have a runner with some talent, Australia offers huge incentives.
In a great result for Haunui Farm, former NZ-trained Verona, a daughter of their Belardo (Lope De Vega), broke through as Belardo’s first Australian stakes winner with her victory, as the only filly against 12 boys, in Randwick’s Frank Packer Plate (Gr 3, 2000m).
ANZ Bloodstock News’ stakes race analyst Ken Boman described the filly’s win as “classy, running out the 2000 metres very well,” aided by a ground-saving ride from Willie Pike.
Stolen for an amazingly low $8,000 from Book 3 of the 2020 NZB Karaka Yearling Sale by trainer Jenna Mahoney, the filly was having her second start in Australia after being purchased for clients of Ciaron Maher and David Eustace.
A winner on debut at Te Aroha last October, she stepped up to Group 2 class in Ellerslie’s Eight Carat Classic (1600m) last Boxing Day and although squeezed and held up over the last 100 metres, finished a solid fifth.
A week later she drew the outside from Ellerslie’s tricky 2000 metre start and fought on well for fourth in the Royal Stakes (Group 2) before a storming finish, again for fourth, in the Karaka Million 3YO Classic (RL, 1600m).
In her first run in Australia, at Warwick Farm last month, she was hampered early before running a fair fifth, doing her best work late over 1600 metres.
“There is plenty of improvement in her,” said Johann Gerard-Dubord, representing the stable. “She spent a bit of time at the beach. We have taken our time with her. As one of the fresher fillies on the scene, a trip north to Queensland looks almost certain.”
She became her sire’s seventh stakes winner, comprising three Group winners and a Listed winner in Europe, a Listed winner at Santa Anita, a Listed winner in New Zealand and now Verona.
His oldest are just three (now four in the northern hemisphere) and in a quiet way he is getting the job done, siring 88 winners with earnings exceeding $3.4 million.
Verona’s dam Spamalot (Stravinsky) has foaled three winners from four to race while her grandam is by Defensive Play (Fappiano), maternal grandsire of Bonneval (Makfi).
Verona is the first stakes winner in the first three generations of her family but is a direct descendant of champion mare Maybe Mahal (Maybe Lad), her fifth dam.
Maybe Mahal was a wonder horse, won seven races at two then proceeded to win five Group 1s, namely the Doncaster Mile (1600m), the Doomben Ten Thousand (1350m), the Newmarket Handicap over the straight six at Flemington plus the Craven A Stakes (1200m) and George Adams Handicap (1600m) at the same course.
In all she won 14 times and in 1978 was named Australian Horse of the Year.
Randwick double
Relishing the rain affected track, Kiwi mare Polly Grey (Azamour) added a second Group 3, the JRA Plate (2000m) to her new total of six stakes successes, five of which have taken place since transferring to Chris Waller’s stable, earning more than $800,000 from a career total of 11 wins.
Unusually, she went to the front after the first 200 metres then rolled along under little pressure to the top of the straight. Near the 300 metres she opened up a break and the field had to watch her race clear, away by a widening five lengths at the post.
Being New Zealand-owned, Polly Grey will be a welcome addition to the broodmare ranks back home. Her dam, Allanah (Zenno Rob Roy) had just one foal (Polly Grey) and is a half-sister to two Group winners including Easter Handicap (Gr 1, 1600m) victor Pasta Post (Postponed).
Itsy bitsy spider
Of all the things that can happen to a racehorse, a spider bite is not one that readily comes to mind, certainly not one that could endanger a horse’s life. However, that is exactly the case regarding budding star, Kiwi-bred Ayrton (Iffraaj), a handy winner of the Victoria Handicap (Gr 3, 1400m) at Caulfield.
The now four-year-old was having his first start since the spider incident and will again head to Queensland where, last winter, he took out the Gunsynd Classic (Gr 3, 1600m). He heads there with an impressive six wins in eight career starts and Price confirmed that the Doomben Ten Thousand (Gr 1, 2000m) is one the targets this time around.
Caulfield double
Savabeel (Zabeel) four-year-old Milford, who was formerly with Stephen Marsh, has taken eight Australian starts to show the sort of form that resulted in a close second to Rocket Spade (Fastnet Rock) in the 2021 New Zealand Derby (Gr 1, 2400m).
A Listed winner at Ellerslie before that, Milford showed great determination in Saturday’s Easter Cup (Gr 3, 2000m), looking beaten all the way to post before stretching his neck to get the bob on the line.
Big shoes to fill
Natural front-runner Johny Johny (Charm Spirit), again led all the way in Hastings’ Power Turf Sprint (Listed, 1200m), the same race that launched recent Newmarket Handicap (Gr 1, 1200m) winner Roch ‘N’ Horse (Per Incanto) on to the stakes scene a year ago.
After only eight starts, Johny Johny has five victories and has sped through the ranks quite quickly on his way to nabbing his maiden stakes win. He was bred by Christopher Grace and sold for the bargain price of $12,500 at the 2019 NZB Ready To Run Sale.
The four-year-old is from the winning Savabeel mare Galway, one of eight winners from Grace’s wonderful producer Trocair (Flying Spur).
Trocair’s nine foals include six by Savabeel (all winners) and three of those are stakes winners, the best, by a country mile being Shillelagh, a $1.8 million earner who bagged the Kennedy Mile (Gr 1, 1600m) and the Empire Rose Stakes, both at Flemington.
Not Bart
Last week’s Kiwi Chronicles, the focus being So You Think (High Chaparral), repeated an error that deserves to be corrected.
Previous assumptions can be misleading then repeated when accessed by fellow writers. Such is the case surrounding the purchase of So You Think at the 2008 NZB Karaka Yearling Sales.
An understandably proud Duncan Ramage, Proprietor of DGR Thoroughbred Services, was the purchaser of So You Think, and not, as has been surmised by assumption, Bart Cummings.
“Steve Davis knocked him down to my bid,” said Ramage, “and, of course, most importantly, I paid the bill.”
Ramage continued: “It is probably more romantic for Bart to have been the buyer and since he trained him, that assumption might seem logical.
“Also, his sale, after he ran third in the Melbourne Cup, was ahead of its time. Bart may have been very disappointed to lose the horse but sales of that nature are quite commonplace these days.
“The stallion is doing a great job on top of his great race record, the best of any southern hemisphere-bred racehorse to venture to Europe.
“The Cox Plate is proving to be very much a sire–making race. The other Group 1 on day two of the Championships went to El Patroness, a daughter of 2013 Cox Plate winner Shamus Award.”
Ramage is correct. New Zealand’s own Savabeel was the victor in 2004. All three aforementioned won the great race as three-year-olds as did Lonhro’s sire Octagonal (Zabeel) in 1995.