Sigh flies high in Sir John Monash victory
Yulong’s daughter of No Nay Never continues rapid progression to claim maiden stakes win at Caulfield
Yulong Investments may have spent millions of dollars in all corners of the globe securing the very best breeding stock for their 700-plus band of broodmares, but their latest star stakes-winning filly was sourced all of four years ago, as a weanling at Melbourne’s Inglis Great Southern Sale.
Purchased for $85,000 from the Tyreel Stud draft, Sigh (No Nay Never) added to her thriving race record with a first stakes success in yesterday’s Sir John Monash Stakes (Gr 3, 1100m) at Caulfield, as Yulong’s patience with the rising five-year-old was rewarded.
Profiting from a smooth run when turning for home in the off-season Group 3 sprint, Sigh ($7) burst through to hit the front 250 metres from home, and won by a neck, holding off the surging challenge of last year’s winner Mileva (Headwater) ($8.50), who will likely be destined for the breeding paddocks this year at Hunter Valley stud Kia Ora, after they paid $700,000 for the mare at the recent Inglis Chairman’s Sale.
Victory also handed her apprentice rider Carleen Hefel a memorable first stakes win of her career.
While the mares dominated, the entires trailed behind, as General Beau ($7), a four-year-old son of Brazen Beau (I Am Invincible), finished a further length back in third, and three-year-old colt Sweet Ride (Deep Field) ($10) headed Ingratiating (Frosted), the $4 favourite, to take fourth.
Trained by Peter Moody, who last won the Monash in 2010 with subsequent stallion Reward For Effort (Exceed And Excel), Sigh took her career record to six wins from nine starts, posting a third successive victory this preparation as the daughter of No Nay Never (Scat Daddy) continues to blossom.
The confidence of her training team was exemplified by the decision to bypass last week’s Santa Ana Lane Sprint Series Final (Listed, 1200m) at Flemington, to contest yesterday’s tougher Group 3 event.
“In the end it was a relatively easy decision with this race being a Group 3, it does look better on her pedigree, and also with the [Caulfield] track today being more suitable for her,” assistant trainer Katherine Coleman said.
“When it was raining this morning, I wasn’t very happy about that, but thankfully it’s been a lovely day and the track’s played in fantastic order.
“Gate one was a concern, but the way the day played out it gave us a bit of confidence they would come off the rail and give us room to build momentum.
“A lot of credit goes to Mr Zhang and the whole Yulong team for allowing us to take our time to give her a chance to mature, which is paying dividends.
“There is more to her than this race.”
Hefel, who has ridden 30 metropolitan winners this season, was beaming in the aftermath of the race.
“It’s amazing. It’s so great to get an opportunity like this [in a Group race]. It’s so special,” the winning rider said.
“She is a beautiful little progressive mare and I think she’s only going to get better as she gets older.”
Sigh (4 m No Nay Never – Fantasize by Authorized), who was withdrawn from the Magic Millions Adelaide Yearling Sale and retained to race by Yulong, was bred by Matrix Bloodstock. With yesterday’s victory, she became the 52nd individual stakes winner and eighth southern hemisphere-bred stakes winner for her Coolmore sire and former shuttler No Nay Never.
She is the first foal out of Sydney metropolitan winner Fantasize, who was raced by Matrix Bloodstock’s Michael Crismale. Fantasize is a half-sister to the Group 1-placed multiple winner Mr Sneaky (High Chaparral) as well as Mr So And So (So You Think), a placegetter at Group 2 level. Sigh’s US-bred third dam Shalbourne (Nureyev) is the producer of Brisbane Cup (Gr 1, 3200m) winner Danestorm (Danehill).
Fantasize was purchased for $80,000 by Mapperley Stud in 2019, and has since been covered by their resident stallion Contributer (High Chaparral), producing a colt last year.
Cigar flicks aside rivals to show promise
Churchill (Galileo) filly Cigar Flick added a second win to her juvenile campaign with an authoritative victory over a small but talented field in yesterday’s two-year-old handicap at Randwick.
Jumping slowest of the four runners in the 1100-metre contest, the Chris Waller-trained Cigar Flick ($2.45) tracked the leader and favourite Epic Proportions (Better Than Ready) ($2.10) into the straight under Jason Collett, who had to use all his experience and patience with his mount boxed in on the rails with less than 200 metres remaining.
However, the pair exploited a gap that opened on the inside of the Ciaron Maher and David Eustace-trained Epic Proportions, before cruising clear to win by three-quarters of a length in a success that was meritorious of a bigger margin of victory.
Cigar Flick broke her maiden on debut at Canterbury in January, and was campaigned at stakes level in three subsequent starts, finishing fourth in the Widden Stakes (Gr 3, 1100m) before being sent to Melbourne, where she ran fifth in the Blue Diamond Prelude (Gr 2, 1100m) at Sandown. Redirected back to Sydney, Cigar Flick trailed Learning To Fly (Justify) by four and a half lengths when third in the four-runner Reisling Stakes (Gr 2, 1200m) in March.
Waller’s assistant trainer Charlie Duckworth admitted to some nerves when Cigar Flick seemingly had nowhere to go with the line approaching, but believed her to be a talented filly, who will now progress to the Silver Shadow Stakes (Gr 2, 1200m), the first leg of the Darley Princess Series.
“We were a bit nervous. When you get a field of four they often become a tactical affair and that’s exactly what happened,” Duckworth said.
”But she was very good. She was game to take a narrow margin up the fence and when she let down she let down strongly.
“Realistically, off the races she was running in during the autumn carnival, she didn’t really need to improve much to win today.
“She’s in for a good campaign this time in and hopefully we can aim up for some bigger and better things.”
Cigar Flick, who is one of two juvenile winners this season for Coolmore shuttle stallion Churchill, is a homebred for the Ingham family, being the first foal out of three-time winning mare Palmateer (Fastnet Rock), herself a half-sister to the Ingham’s Group 1 winner Fangirl (Sebring).
Margs is hot at Caulfield
More than 70 women in the ownership of Spicy Margs (Deep Field) were sent into jubilant celebrations at Caulfield yesterday, when the juvenile came home an emphatic winner of the two-year-old fillies’ handicap over 1100 metres.
A drifting $11 chance, the Mick Price and Michael Jnr-trained Spicy Margs defeated the regally bred Sensical (Zoustar) ($3.40) by two and a quarter lengths, with Elderberry (Bolt D’Oro) finishing a further neck back in third. The victory was a poignant one for winning rider Beau Mertens, who on Thursday farewelled his father Peter, a Group 1-winning jockey, in a funeral at the track.
“It was a beautiful service,’’ Mertens said, reflecting on Thursday’s gathering. ‘’Speaking on behalf of all my family, they thought it was absolutely fantastic to see the amount of people and their love and affection they have for Dad.’’
On the filly, who provided Mertens with a 98th winner of the season, the rider added: ‘’She’s very speedy, first time sitting on her. She jumped out of the machine and jumped straight onto the bridle and gave me a beautiful ride.
‘’She just travelled so nicely, especially at this tight-turning track, she was able to carry herself around it so well.
‘’At the 400[-metre mark], I gave her a little squeeze and to me she felt like she picked up and sprinted really well.’’
Part-owner Emma Shelley, who is also the office manager for the Price and Kent Jnr stable, revealed details of the raucous ownership group in Spicy Margs, who was a $340,000 buy from the Daandine Stud draft at last year’s Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale.
“I can’t believe it, there’s 70 ladies in this horse and Mick said during the week I’m not sure if she’ll get the distance,” Shelley said.
“Everyone is like, ‘Do I jump on? What do I do?’ and just before the jump I got on, so I was cheering even more, I can’t believe it, just rapt for the team.
“There’s some partners of Mick’s long-time owners, there’s a heap of my friends in her.
“Mick did an update when we first bought her at Magics and said, ‘If you bought your husband a lawnmower get him to buy you a share in this racehorse!'”
Spicy Margs, who became the sixth individual two-year-old winner this season for her sire Deep Field (Northern Meteor), was last seen finishing 13th in the Ottawa Stakes (Gr 3, 1000m) at Flemington in November.
She is the second foal out of the winning stakes-placed Helmet (Exceed And Excel) mare Crossing The Abbey, who was purchased by Boomer Bloodstock and Daandine Stud for $340,000 from the 2019 Inglis Chairman’s Sale.
Son of Brave Smash remains unbeaten
Power Of The Brave, a son of Yarraman Park’s first season sire Brave Smash (Tosen Phantom), remained unbeaten from two starts when downing odds-on favourite Transatlantic (Snitzel) to win the 1350-metre two-year-old handicap at Doomben yesterday.
Owned by Prime Thoroughbreds, who purchased the gelding as a weanling for $80,000 from the Newhaven Park draft at the Magic Millions National sale, the Kris Lees-trained Power Of The Brave battled well to hold off the imposing challenge of Transatlantic, winning by a head. There were a further three lengths back to the third-placed Masterplan (Sidestep).
Power Of The Brave broke his maiden at Newcastle last month, and is one of ten winners for Brave Smash this season, a tally which sees him sit top of the leading first-season sires by winners charts, two clear of Harry Angel (Dark Angel) and Trapeze Artist (Snitzel).
“He is a real good stallion, this Brave Smash,” stable representative Mel Eggleston said.
“They are starting to come to the fore, and they are cracking types with great natures and are easy to handle.
“He is a beautiful horse, this bloke. Joe O’Neil can find a horse; he has a very good eye.
“He stepped slow the other day, but this is a different race, and I told Andrew [Mallyon, rider] to give him a good dig. He got there easily and controlled the race.”
Power of the Brave is the fourth foal and third winner out of the stakes-placed winning More Than Ready (Southern Halo) mare More For Me, who was covered by Farnan (Not A Single Doubt) last year.