Stars aligning
Cambridge Stud’s colours and stallions cannot be denied. Almanzor (Wootton Bassett) is on fire. In Adelaide, associate sire Embellish (Savabeel) received his biggest boost yet while the stud’s owners, Brendan and Jo Lindsay, saw their gold and black colours twice first past the post at Saturday’s Te Rapa meeting including in the Easter Handicap (Gr 3, 1600m).
Up and comer Snazzytavi (Tavistock) was impressive in the Easter Handicap. The mare was racing for just the tenth time but this win, her fifth, was clearly her premier performance so far.
She was never on the track throughout the race and sat third last and widest early. Three-wide to the end of the back straight she went widest into the home straight and put in a huge run down the centre of the track before running away by three and three-quarter lengths. Her rivals had no excuses.
Snazzytavi was withdrawn from the 2021 NZB Ready to Run Sale and purchased after an effortless trial win. At three, she broke her maiden by more than five lengths. Four starts and 13 months after that she won again at Pukekohe, last December. Win three, also at Pukekohe on Boxing Day was in the Stella Artois Championship Final and win four was at Matamata in late February.
From the second last crop by Tavistock (Montjeu) Snazzytavi is the fifth winner from five to race from New Zealand St Leger (Listed, 2500m) winner Ritzy Lady (Zabeel), a six-times winner who ran second in the Counties Cup (Gr 2, 2100m). She is also Tavistock’s 51st stakes winner. Her granddam, Ever Clever (Centaine), is a half-sister to three stakes winners and produced a remarkable ten winners.
Snazzytavi’s future remains to be seen but it is difficult to imagine that she won’t be bigger and stronger next season. As breeders, the Lindsays will surely look to enhance her black-type record, either at Hastings in the spring, or, at the Melbourne spring carnival. Perhaps both, depending on her next round of form.
The Lindsays were also represented by first start two-year-old Thooza, appropriately a daughter of Almanzor, in the Cambridge Raceway Two-Year-Old (1200m). Thooza arrived at Te Rapa with a trial win at Pukekohe and on debut didn’t reach the lead until the end of the back straight and led them in. Challenged strongly at the 200m she was headed but fought back resolutely and went to the line in command by three-quarters of a length. This was a super effort.
A $155,000 purchase from The Oaks Stud draft of the 2023 NZB Karaka Yearling Sale, Thooza is very well related being from Sea Goddess (Darci Brahma), a Moonee Valley winner and daughter of twice New Zealand Horse of the Year and champion sprinter Seachange (Cape Cross). Seachange and Group 1 winner Keepa Cruisin (Keeper) were both from Just Cruising (Broad Reach), the 2008 New Zealand Broodmare of the Year.
Value plus
Tiz the season for stud fee announcements and some might be scratching their heads regarding Cambridge Stud’s $20,000 reduction to the 2024 fee for Almanzor, from $50,000 to $30,000 (plus GST). Similar adjustments are taking place in Australia which may be a reflection of the stallion industry.
Almanzor’s recent results have brought his number of stakes winners to 17 and Ahuriri’s VRC St Leger (Listed, 2800m) win last Thursday is his ninth bred in the southern hemisphere versus eight bred in the northern hemisphere.
For the second time in a few weeks the son of Wootton Bassett (Iffraaj) has sired a stakes quinella. In the Sydney Cup (Gr 1, 3200m) at Randwick on April 13th his two northern hemisphere breds, Circle Of Fire and Athabascan started the recent run of stakes results for the shuttler. In the VRC St Leger, he repeated that effort when Alma Rise (Almanzor) was runner-up to Ahuriri.
Ahuriri landed her second win in eight starts with a sound staying effort, pulling four wide into the straight but issuing her challenge from the 350m. The closer she was to the line the further in front she went and won very convincingly.
Her dam is a half-sister to the champion mare Lucia Valentina (Savabeel), a three-time Group 1 winner. This family was recently represented by Good Banter (Tavistock), winner of the Adrian Knox Stakes (Gr 3, 2000m). Ahuriri’s granddam, Staryn Glenn (Montjeu) and Good Banter’s third dam, Gretchen (Bahhare) are half-sisters.
More value
The stud’s value sire, Embellish, has sired a well above average three-year-old in Bold Soul, a dual Listed winner in Tasmania a couple of months back who has taken things up a notch when scoring the Chairman’s Stakes (Gr 3, 2000m), a natural lead up to the South Australian Derby (Gr 1, 2500m), set for this coming Saturday.
In just eight starts Bold Soul has scored five wins and has placed third in the other three, making him an honest and consistent sort. He was a canny purchase by Hamish Auret from Book 2 of the 2022 NZB Karaka Yearling Sale for $20,000 but found his way to Victoria before he turned three.
A winner on debut last November, Bold Soul took three more starts to win again, at Flemington this past January then headed to Tasmania where he scored back-to-back Listed wins in the Launceston Guineas (2100m) and the Tasmanian Derby (2200m).
A short spell saw him third in the Port Adelaide Guineas (Listed, 1800m) leading up to Saturday’s Chairman’s Stakes in which he was hard ridden before they reached the home straight. Six deep into line he showed real toughness with a gutsy finishing run to wear down the leader short of the post.
He is the first winner from his imported dam, Twin Soul (Singspiel). She won three times before her export to Australia and was unlucky not to achieve black type with three Listed fourth placings including at Ascot and Goodwood. Bold Soul’s granddam was a half-sister to UAE Group 1 winner Right Approach (Machiavellian) from the family of Church Parade (Queen’s Hussar) who stood in New Zealand during the mid 1980s.
Embellish is also very good value and his fee remains unchanged for the next season at $5,000 (plus GST). From the outset the plan for Embellish was to get as many foals on the ground as possible then see what happened. His oldest are three-year-olds and apart from Bold Soul he has sired a further five stakes placed performers including Talisker, second in the 2023 New Zealand Two Thousand Guineas (Gr 1, 1600m).
Next phase
Another mare by Tavistock, Apostrophe, has probably run her last race yet ended her career, not only on a winning note, but also heads to the broodmare paddock with back-to-back stakes. She will be a welcome addition to the New Zealand Stud Book as the winner of seven races in a light career of 21 starts.
Trainer Roger James explained, post race, that Apostrophe has been “high maintenance and has suffered soundness issues throughout her career.” James was highly complementary to his staff’s great care to get the mare to the races. That she is a dual Group winner might be a partial miracle based on James’ comments so the mare can now look forward to the next phase of her career.
The now six-year old won her maiden at four, adding two more wins that season. At five she won once and this season has been her best with three wins including the Manawatu Breeders’ Stakes (Gr 3, 2100m) at Trentham on April 6th. She goes out a Group 2-winner of the Travis Stakes (2000m). It was last gasp win as the mare had to maintain a straight-long finishing run from well back, getting up in the last stride to score by a nose.
Her dam, Cape South (Cape Cross) was a Melbourne winner and ranks as a half-sister to Moonee Valley Classic Oaks (Gr 2, 1500m) winner Pure Harmony (Stravinsky) and to Polyantha (Encosta de Lago), dam of recent dual Group 2 and Group 3 winner Polygon (Highly Recommended).
Waiting a long time
Cambridge Breeder’s Stakes (Gr 3, 1200m) victress, I’munstoppable (Charm Spirit) is the first stakes winner in her family, going back six generations to a mare named Gerenuk (Coronation Year) who was imported to New Zealand in 1971.
Past Keeper of the New Zealand stud Book, Glyn Tucker was involved with the importation of Gerenuk. The mare had a filly foal at foot by Kalydon (Alycidon). That filly, named Dark Top, would go on to win seven races including two open handicaps and because she was by Kalydon from Generuk, that made her a three-quarter sister to the champion mare Park Top whose dam Nellie Park (Arctic Prince) is also Generuk’s dam.
Park Top was an outstanding mare. Her fabulous form of 13 wins included wins in the Ascot King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes (Gr 1, 1½m) and Epsom Coronation Cup (Gr 1, 1½m). To purchase such quality was considered something of a coup at the time, however, it has taken 54 years to add a stakes winner to this New Zealand branch of the family.
In a mild upset, I’munstoppable led all the way and dented a few reputations in taking out the Te Rapa Group 3. It was her third win in eight starts and for her sire, Charm Spirit (Invincible Spirit), is stakes winner number 19.
I’munstoppable’s dam, Sisterella (Rip Van Winkle) won twice and her granddam, Arabian Nights (Almutuwakel), won four times and was Group and Listed placed.
Inching closer
Waikato Girl (Savabeel), winner of the Princess Stakes (Listed, 1600m) at Eagle Farm on Saturday, is Savabeel’s 145th stakes winner which inches him closer to the New Zealand record of 166 set by his sire Zabeel (Sir Tristram).
Waikato Girl had to thread between runners soon after turning for home and Vlad Duric was forced to switch back to the rail half way down the straight. To the filly’s credit, her chances didn’t look good at the 100m but she was tenacious over the last 50m and just got her nose in front a stride from the line to record her second win in seven starts.
The win took her earnings to $178,275 but she has her work cut out to recoup her purchase price of $600,000 from Book 1 of the NZB 2022 Karaka Yearling Sale. The filly is the fourth winner from four to race from Scintilulla (Galileo), a mare raced by Sir Peter Vela before she was imported to New Zealand.
Scintillula was a Group 3 winner at Leopardstown, ran second in the Moyglare Stud Stakes (Gr 1,7f) and is now proving her worth as a broodmare.