So You Think out to silence Debate as Churchill seeks breakthrough
Coolmore Stud hopes today’s accidental Super Saturday at Eagle Farm can be a red letter occasion not just for Queensland racing, but for two of its key stallions chasing some surprising juvenile black type in the BRC Sires’ Produce Stakes (Gr 2, 1400m).
Shuttler Churchill (Galileo) has a chance for his first Australian stakes winner in the last weeks of his first season of runners here, with the Chris Waller-trainer Robusto an each-way hope at around $14 last night, jumping from gate 14 for Hugh Bowman.
Perhaps more unexpectedly – despite his strong standing on the general sires list – So You Think (High Chaparral) is well in the market to claim the race via expensive colt Political Debate, also from the Waller stable, on a day bulging with three Group 1s following the rain-enforced part-merger with last weekend’s Doomben Cup meeting.
With an eager James McDonald taking back the reins from William Pike, Political Debate was around $6.50 last night in light of a fast-finishing third in the Spirit Of Boom Classic (Gr 2, 1200m) last start, at his second outing.
So You Think sits second among overall sires, with last month’s Queen Elizabeth Stakes winner Think It Over flying the flag, and having only been nudged out of top spot by I Am Invincible (Invincible Spirit) in recent days.
However, the former dual hemisphere champion is nowhere to be found on the top 50 two-year-old sires table, his progeny’s later blooming reflected by a career stat of 34 two-year-old winners from 172 runners, with that age bracket bringing just two of his 40 stakes victors.
Political Debate, a $900,000 purchase by Hermitage Thoroughbreds and Coolmore’s Tom Magnier from Kia Ora Stud at the 2021 Inglis Easter sale, was fortunate in drawing barrier one in the capacity field. But he’ll need more luck if the famous Coolmore navy blue is to be seen in the race, since he’s fourth emergency.
Though Eagle Farm was rated only a Soft 5 last night and has fine weather in its forecast, Coolmore were hopeful the No.22 saddle cloth could gain a start through morning scratchings, chiefly among runners drawn wide. One emergency ahead of Political Debate – the John Sargent-trained Owen County (Dundeel) was also an acceptor for today’s Randwick meeting.
“We won’t know till the morning, but we’re very hopeful of a start, because he’s a horse we’re pretty excited about,” Coolmore’s racing manager Rob Archibald told ANZ.
“So You Think’s stock typically improves with a bit more age, and this horse will probably improve at three, but he’s obviously talented. He’s taken a little bit of time to mature, but James and Chris both feel he’s just improving with each run. He’s come through his last run very well and he’s thriving in his work.”
Archibald said should he miss a run, Political Debate would run at Doomben on Monday ahead of hopefully gaining a start in the JJ Atkins (Gr 1, 1600m) at Eagle Farm on June 11.
Robusto will carry another set of familiar silks – the all-cerise – as he pursues a second win from five starts in today’s Sires’ Produce. The Ingham Racing homebred colt was a solid fourth last start in the Gold Coast’s Ken Russell Memorial Classic (Gr 3, 1200m). He’s the second winner – after stablemate and Kensington victor Conqueror – from 12 Australian runners for Churchill, the quadruple Group 1-winning miler.
It’s by no means D-Day for Churchill. Coolmore would in fact count the landing of black type now as a bonus.
“I’d say Churchill is set for a big spring down here,” the stud’s nominations and sales manager Colm Santry said. “He’s got a lot of horses in big stables, his yearling sale average is very high, and there’s been a big response to the horse this year for his fifth season. All of that tells me there’s a lot of nice horses out there and that the reports are good around the place, so I think he’ll have a big spring.
“Robusto looks like being a smart horse but he’ll probably need a mile. Churchill’s in good shape in Europe, and he’s obviously great value for money here.”
Churchill rose to his biggest book of 160 mares last spring, after averaging 120 through his first four Australian seasons.
“An awful lot of people think he’s suited to the Australian broodmare band. We just need him to go and do it now,” Santry said.
“I think he’ll revert back to his sire line. A lot of stallions might have shown good form as two-year-olds, but Churchill’s going to revert back to being a son of Galileo as a sire, like Pierro, a Golden Slipper winner, reverted back to Lonhro in leaving a lot of middle-distance horses. Churchill will be a perfect example of that and I think he’ll do very well with his three-year-olds here in the spring.”
Santry said he was “thrilled” for breeders who’d made an average of $108,000 from Churchill yearlings sold this year off his $22,000 (inc GST) service fee. He was even more delighted by So You Think. The 15-year-old’s recent stud success has helped boost his 2022 service fee to $93,500 (inc GST), but breeders who paid just $38,500 in 2019 have celebrated average yearling prices through 86 lots sold this year of $163,000. Some of those who paid the same fee in 2020, will also be delighted that his 14 weanlings sold this year have gone at an average of $196,000.
“Everyone who sold yearlings by him this year and foals by him this year made a fortune, and at Coolmore we’re delighted with that,” Santry said. “I’ve seen that before through careers of High Chaparral and Fastnet Rock, and even Encosta De Lago when we stood him his first season at $100,000, and his service fee went to $250,000.”
The Sires’ Produce market was headed last night by the Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott-trained gelding Resonator (Brazen Beau) at around $4.50 ahead of Annabel Neasham’s Swiss Exile, who could put his sire Pariah (Redoute’s Choice) level among first-season sires with Russian Revolution (Snitzel) on the score of two stakes wins. Zoustar (Northern Meteor) has strong representation from South Australian Sires’ Produce Stakes (Gr 3, 1400m) winner Twin Stars and Peter Moody’s Brereton.
The tight three-way battle at the top of Australia’s three-year-old sires’ table – with less than $500,000 separating Maurice (Screen Hero), I Am Invincible and Snitzel (Redoute’s Choice) – is unlikely to be altered greatly by the day’s highlight for that age group, the Queensland Derby (Gr 1, 2400m). The market is dominated by Kiwi raiders, with the $1 million contest reading like a benefit for New Zealand sires, more testament to that country’s knacks of producing stayers.
Rich Hill Stud’s Proisir (Choisir) has the $4 favourite Dark Destroyer, while Chris Waller’s second favourite Paternal is by Waikato behemoth Savabeel (Zabeel). Cambridge’s late star Tavistock (Montjeu) is represented by four solid chances in Pinarello ($8), Southern Stock ($17), Villaden ($19), Tutukaka ($21), and Waller’s $9 chance Caboche is by another Rich Hill stallion in Vadamos (Monsun).
Maurice, sire of VRC-ATC Derby double winner Hitotsu, does have two hopes in Global Ausbred ($15), a possible smokey from the stable of astute Hawkesbury trainer Brad Widdup, and longshot Balmaurice ($81). So You Think has three chances, headed by Bjorn Baker’s Sea Treasures ($19).
Elsewhere on the programme, French stallion Equiano (Acclamation) has a chance to finally add a second Australian stakes winner with the Joe Pride-trained six-year-old Taksu lining up as favourite in the BRC Sprint (Gr 3, 1300m).
Equiano (Acclamation), the dual King’s Stand Stakes (Gr 1, 5f) winner who stood at Victoria’s Swettenham Stud, shuttled to Australia for five seasons until 2015, with Taksu emerging from his penultimate southern crop. While he’s best known for siring British triple Group 1 winner The Tin Man as one of two northern hemisphere top-tier victors, Equiano’s only Australian stakes winner so far is 2018 Blue Diamond Preview (Gr 3, 1000m) winner Lady Horseowner.
Taksu, winner of two of past three in Sydney benchmark 88 class, was last night a $4.80 favourite ahead of last-start Brisbane Listed winner Soxagon (Rocker) at $6.