Powerful Finish Rewards Ability With Bletchingly Victory
Ability (Reward For Effort) produced a last-to-first sprint to deny comeback star Lankan Rupee (Redoute’s Choice) a win in last Sunday’s Bletchingly Stakes (Gr 3, 1200m) at Sandown Lakeside.
Eight-year-old Lankan Rupee, having his first start since November, had taken the lead about 200 metres out but had no answer to Ability’s powerful late charge and was eventually beaten a long neck. On a Heavy 8 track the time recorded was 1:14.27 with the last 600 metres covered in 36.26.
The five-year-old Ability recorded his fourth successive victory since being gelded and his second successive black–type win following his success in the All Victorian Sprint Series Final (Listed, 1200m) at Flemington on 8 July. Ability has now won seven races and earned close to $369,000 but there may be much more to come if he can live up to the quality of his pedigree.
Ability is shaping as the best of the progeny of his emerging sire Reward For Effort (Exceed And Excel) whose stock last season earned more than $3,700,000, a Victorian record for third-season sire earnings.
Also sire of stakes winners Brugal Reward, Dalradian, Desert Lashes, Gold Symphony and Take Pride; Reward For Effort was Australia’s leading third-season sire of 2016-17 by winners with 77. He should not lack patronage at his 2017 fee of $16,500 (inc GST), as he prepares to stand his seventh season at Chatswood Stud, Seymour in northern Victoria.
Bred for speed and precocity, Reward For Effort was one of Australia’s best two-year-olds of the 2008-09 season, taking the Blue Diamond Preview (Listed, 1000m) for colts and geldings before defeating Real Saga (Tale Of The Cat) in the Blue Diamond Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m). He raced only seven more times over the following two seasons, winning the Concorde Stakes (Gr 3, 1100m) and the Sir John Monash Stakes (Listed, 1100m).
Quality and some much needed classic stamina are found on the dam’s side of the pedigree of Ability who was bred by retired leading trainer Peter Moody who sold him for $150,000 through the Yallambee Stud draft at the 2014 Inglis Melbourne Premier Yearling Sale.
Peter Moody has since sold Ability’s superbly bred dam Paeroa (Dubai Destination), in foal to Helmet (Exceed And Excel), for $70,000 at the 2016 Magic Millions Gold Coast National Broodmare Sale. Hancock Quality Bloodstock bought her on behalf of the Esplin family’s Tartan Fields breeding operation. The Esplins also briefly owned Paeroa’s dam, the unraced Armilla (Rainbow Quest), who was bred and imported to Australia by Darley.
Armilla also produced Well Rounded (Reset) for the Esplins, winner of the Matriarch Stakes (Gr 2, 2000m) and fourth in the VRC Crown Oaks (Gr 1, 2500m), while for Darley she produced Paeroa, a placegetter, and Pumatone (Street Cry), a seven-time winner in the Philippines.
Armilla is a half-sister to Godolphin’s globetrotter Campanologist (Kingmambo), and they are out of unraced Ring Of Music (Sadler’s Wells), from the world renowned family of notable racehorses and sires Singspiel (In The Wings), Rahy (Blushing Groom) and former Australian sire Rivotious (Riverman).
Singspiel, Rahy and Rivotious are among nine winners left by Ability’s celebrated fourth dam Glorious Song (Halo), a sister to the good sires Devil’s Bag (Halo) and Saint Ballado (Halo).
Glorious Song was herself a champion in both the United States and Canada and winner of 17 races.
We have commented previously in Pedigree Page on the exceptional international success achieved by Ability’s maternal grandsire Dubai Destination (Kingmambo) as a broodmare sire after a less than stellar career as a sire.
Daughters of Dubai Destination have to date bred 23 stakes winners headlined by European stars Golden Horn (Cape Cross), Postponed (Dubawi), Thunder Snow (Helmet), Ihtimal (Shamardal), Dutch Connection (Dutch Art) and The Juliet Rose (Monsun) and in Australia Group One winner Silent Sedition (War Chant), the Esplin family’s Slightly Sweet (Charge Forward) and now Ability whose dam Paeroa is due to foal in September to Reset (Zabeel) before visiting Lonhro (Octagonal).
Ability carries no fewer than six lines of Northern Dancer (Nearctic) in his background and an interesting duplication of the half-brothers Lomond (Northern Dancer) and Seattle Slew (Bold Reasoning).