Salanitri hoping for big Showdown victory
John Salanitri has trained horses for Victorian owner-breeder Eddie Hirsch for more than two decades and he hopes to reward that loyalty with a big race victory in the $855,000 The Showdown (1200m) at Caulfield today.
The pair is double-handed with sons of Darley’s Street Boss (Street Cry), Just A Tribute and Fender Bender, in the second running of the lucrative two-year-old race restricted to progeny of eligible Victorian VOBIS Sires.
Just A Tribute closed strongly at Benalla on March 15 to win his first start, defeating Black Caviar’s (Bel Esprit) fourth foal Ready For Caviar (More Than Ready) over 1112 metres, which confirmed to Salanitri that The Showdown was a realistic target.
His Hirsch-owned stablemate Fender Bender had made his debut six days earlier, finishing runner-up to Thudson (Pride Of Dubai) in an 1100-metre two-year-old maiden at Ballarat and was also placed on a Showdown campaign, which was won last year by Prince Of Sussex (Toronado).
“We are looking forward to it as they have done nothing but please me and hopefully they can put their right foot forward and one can salute the judge,” Salanitri told ANZ Bloodstock News yesterday.
“You wouldn’t think the distance will be a problem for either of them as they’ve both given the impression that they’ll get 1400 to a mile, so the 1200 metres will be right up their alley.”
Salanitri has up to ten horses in work at a time for Hirsch, who spreads his homebreds between him and fellow Caulfield-based trainer John Sadler.
The owner-breeder’s commitment to his trainers also stretches to that of stud farms, with Hirsch’s support of Darley also potentially about to pay off in The Showdown via the deeds of shuttler Street Boss, also the sire of this season’s Group-winning sprinter and Blue Diamond Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m) favourite Hanseatic.
“We’ve been together for 20-something years and still going strong and for me to get a result for him would mean a hell of a lot,” Salanitri said.
“Eddie has taken a number of mares over the past three or four years to Street Boss, so he has always been a big rap on him. They are just temperamental horses, which is the only problem, but if you can work past that he is capable of getting a nice one.”
Hirsch has ramped up his investment in the racing and breeding industry in the past 12 months, by firstly being instrumental in the purchase of Foxwedge (Fastnet Rock) that saw the Group 1-winning stallion relocate to Woodside Park last year, before reaching a deal with Mark Rowsthorn to buy the stud’s pre-training centre.
The Melbourne-based businessman is currently having the Tylden property upgraded, with a particular focus on the training track, before having one or multiple trainers relocate to the property to the city’s west.
Caulfield is set to close as a training centre by November 2023 and Salanitri revealed yesterday that it was likely that he and his racing manager brother Frank would move their stable to Hirsch’s property in the near future.
“We are still in talks about that at the moment, but it seems to be the case in terms of where we will be going,” he said.
“It is going to be a great place … and I am really looking forward to it actually. They are still working on the track at the moment and there’s still a fair few things to be put in place (but that is where we are probably moving to).”
Hirsch resolved to never sell a yearling again after parting with 2001 Australian Oaks (Gr 1, 2400m) winner Rose Archway (Archway) for just $12,000 at the 1999 Inglis Melbourne Autumn Yearling Sale.
Just A Tribute is one of five named foals out of dual Group-winning mare Laura’s Charm who Hirsch secured for $55,000 at the 2014 Magic Millions Patinack Farm Complete Dispersal Sale, while Fender Bender is a son of US-bred mare Flamingo Guitar (Storm Cat).
Hirsch paid $87,500 at the 2016 Inglis Australian Broodmare Sale for the European-winning mare, who is a sister to US Grade 2 winner Fantasticat, in foal to Choisir (Danehill Dancer).
Just A Tribute has a yearling half-sister by Kermadec (Teofilo) and a Sebring (More Than Ready) weanling half-brother, but Fender Bender’s mother died without producing another foal.