Peters out to conquer the east with his Western Empire
Iffraaj gelding makes his debut for Danny O’Brien in Memsie Stakes as stablemate Graceful Girl reappears in Cockram
Perth’s Bob Peters will seek his first Group 1 of 2022 and the new era of his vast racing and breeding operation when the aptly-named Western Empire (Iffraaj) contests the Memsie Stakes (Gr 1, 1400m) at Caulfield today.
Peters’ famed silks were carried to top-tier victory in the Cantala Stakes (Gr 1, 1600m) by the Danny O’Brien-trained Superstorm (Sebring) at Flemington last Derby Day, before a Peters clean sweep of Perth’s three Group 1s late last year: Western Empire took the Railway Stakes (Gr 1, 1600m), Graceful Girl (Nicconi) the Winterbottom (Gr 1, 1200m) and Regal Power (Pierro) the Kingston Town Classic (Gr 1, 1800m).
All three were prepared by Peters’ long-time trainers, the husband-and-wife team of Grant and Alana Williams, giving the stable-owner partnership a stunning nine Group 1 winners in just three years.
But much has changed since then. The Williams partnership was dissolved early this year, following Alana Williams’ rejection of Western Australia’s Covid vaccination rules. Grant Williams now trains solo, and Peters no longer has horses with him, with his Perth stock split between Adam Durrant and Michael Grantham.
Peters’ growing eastern numbers are prepared by O’Brien, and Western Empire – who’ll make a long-awaited return with his first eastern run today, is shaping as their flagbearer.
The fifth of so far eight foals out of the Peters-bred 2011 Perth Cup (Gr 2, 2400m) winner Western Jewel (Jeune), five-year-old Western Empire announced himself as the latest star from the cerise-and-white production line by winning five of six between January and April last year. The last of those, following three straight Ascot Listed wins, brought a first Group success, in the WATC Derby (Gr 2, 2400m).
The gelding then unleashed a stunning Perth carnival campaign, winning the Asian Beau Stakes (Gr 3, 1400m) first-up, then the Railway – by four lengths – before a half-length second in Regal Power’s Kingston Town Classic on December 4.
That was Peters’ most recent Group 1 win and was also the last time Western Empire raced anywhere, with back muscle soreness after the Kingston Town, and an operation to remove a small bone chip in a hind joint, spelling the end of his season.
Following his transfer to Melbourne and O’Brien, Western Empire tuned up with two jump-out wins last month, over 800 metres at Flemington and 900 metres at Geelong, with Graceful Girl running third in the latter.
That’s helped him become one of three runners vying for second-favouritism in the Memsie – along with Tofane (Ocean Park) and the unbeaten Illation (So You Think) – behind the walking headline that is Alligator Blood (All Too Hard), who was last night around $5.50.
But Peters yesterday said he expected Western Empire to improve on anything he showed today, particularly with Damian Lane forced to navigate from a tricky wide gate at the Caulfield 1400-metre start, in barrier 12 of 14.
“He’s been training well. Danny’s happy with him and the riders are all happy with him, but it’s very hard to win in this company first-up from a long break,” Peters told ANZ Bloodstock News. “You can get them fit, but you can’t get them race-fit. Down in the lower grades it’s possible, but this is a very classy field.
“We’ll be happy if he’s running on well and runs a good race, but hopefully he’ll do better than that.”
That said, Peters noted the Memsie has history in producing first-up winners aimed towards longer assignments, such as Makybe Diva (Desert King) in 2005, Miss Finland (Redoute’s Choice) in 2007, and So You Think (High Chaparral) in 2010.
Western Empire sits on the fourth line of betting for the Cox Plate (Gr 1, 2040m), and at $26 for the Caulfield Cup (Gr 1, 2400m). But while Peters expects he’ll be better placed over longer than today’s 1400 metres, and though Western Empire is a Derby winner from a Perth Cup winner by a Melbourne Cup (Gr 1, 3200m) winner in Jeune, he said it’s doubtful a race of the Caulfield Cup’s distance will be on his agenda.
“I’ve no idea what will come after this race,” Peters said. “My thoughts are we’d stick to around the 1600-1800 metre mark, maybe to 2000 metres. I don’t want to start talking about the Cox Plate. I’m thinking more about whatever his next race will be.
“Yes, he’s won a Derby, but a Derby win doesn’t prove they’ll be stayers as they get older. It’s a bit like seeing a young footballer who might be brilliant, but doesn’t make the cut later on. I never regard the Derby as a race producing a stayer. Milers can win Derbies at three because they’re better than the other horses in the race at that stage.”
Peters had sent Western Jewel to two Australia-based stallions for her first four matings, in Animal Kingdom (Leroidesanimaux) and Dream Ahead (Diktat). The latter sired her first foal and her other stakes-winner besides Western Empire in Western Temple, a Bunbury Listed-class victor.
But the veteran breeder then looked across the Tasman and Haunui Stud’s then-shuttler Iffraaj (Zafonic) for her next three covers, the first of which, in 2016 yielded Western Empire.
“I was looking for a middle distance stallion, and we don’t have a lot of them in Australia, because commerciality dictates people want horses who go a bit earlier and over shorter trips,” Peters said.
“Iffraaj had had a couple of decent horses over a bit of distance, so I sent a few mares over there, and they stayed there until he stopped shuttling.”
It was a prescient move. While Western Jewel was carrying Western Empire, Iffraaj racked up two Derby winners, in Gingernuts – who claimed the New Zealand Derby (Gr 1, 2400m) as well as the Rosehill Guineas (Gr 1, 2000m) – and ATC Derby (Gr 1, 2400m) hero Jon Snow.
The mating of Iffraaj and Western Jewel effected some notable crosses, headed by a 6Sx6Dx6D triplication of Canadian Hall of Fame mare Flaming Page (Bull Page). She threw just three foals – outstanding Northern Dancer (Nearctic) full brothers Nijinsky and Minksy, and Fleur (Victoria Park), who became the dam of Epsom Derby (Gr 1, 1m 4f) winner and another Northern Dancer son, The Minstrel.
The blend is of course carried in Western Empire’s two younger full brothers, Western Knight and Western Power, the former of which won a Northam maiden first-up for Durrant on August 11 and tackles city class at Belmont today. Not that such crosses factor heavily into the Peters breeding model.
“I don’t like to go that far back. Normally what appears on the pedigree page of a yearling sale is what I look at,” he said. “What I look for is just a matter of what we’re trying to breed. For example, I don’t breed to race two-year-olds. I’m looking for horses that throw more mature horses later on.”
The Peters-O’Brien combination also starts another of the owner’s Group 1 winners – Graceful Girl – in Caulfield’s Cockram Stakes (Gr 3, 1200m) today, though Peters said her 60 kilogram topweight and outside gate of 13 will “make it pretty hard for her”. Graceful Girl was at $12 last night in a market dominated by $2.20 first-upper Passive Aggressive (Fastnet Rock).
Meanwhile, Alligator Blood will enhance an increasingly powerful rise for Vinery Stud’s All Too Hard (Casino Prince) if he can provide the 13-year-old sire his 12th Group 1 win today – and his third straight Memsie following Behemoth’s back-to-back successes.
With six crops racing, All Too Hard made his sixth-straight rise on the Australian general sires’ list last season, finishing ninth, and is off to a flying start in the new term. Black Caviar’s (Bel Esprit) half-brother yesterday sat third by winners – behind I Am Invincible (Invincible Spirit) and Snitzel (Redoute’s Choice) – with 18 from 99 runners.
Alligator Blood’s place in the Memsie field was only secured after his breeder, Gerry Harvey, bought majority ownership of the six-year-old earlier this week following disputes surrounding previous major shareholder Allan Endresz.
“To get three Memsies in a row would be some achievement,” said Vinery’s bloodstock manager Adam White, “and it would continue All Too Hard’s great recent progress.
“Only he and I Am Invincible produced four individual Group 1 winners from August 2021 to August 2022,” White said, referencing All Too Hard’s quartet of Alligator Blood, Behemoth, Forbidden Love and Hong Kong sprinter Wellington.
“And only five living stallions have featured in the top 10 by winners in Australia in the past three years, and he’s one of them.
“His stock are now showing that they really train on, winning races up to six and seven at a high level, and his four Group 1 winners are all multiple Group 1 winners.”