Staying the distance
Apart from Entriviere (Tavistock), whose spirited finish from last to be just a half length away third in the Doomben 10,000 (Gr 1, 1200m), the Kiwis and Kiwi-breds again found their niche in two of Saturday’s longer races for the three-year-olds.
Time and patience was evident in the South Australian Derby (Gr 1, 2500m) in which the winner, Jungle Magnate (Tarzino), lobbed along in third last place to the 600 metres before mounting a wide run.
His acceleration prior to straightening and sustaining that speed to inside the 200 metres was the winning of the race, reminiscent of the turn of foot shown by his grandsire Tavistock (Montjeu).
In his lead up to the Derby Jungle Magnate used similar tactics, only wider, yet from the same 600 metres mark, in the Chairman’s Stakes (Gr 3, 2000m).
Which takes us back to Entriviere, who is bred to be a 2400-metre runner, yet can sprint with the best of them.
It makes one wonder, is blood predictable?
Either way, the loss of Tavistock continues to haunt the New Zealand stallion roster. He is currently second on the New Zealand sire earnings list and has a sizeable margin between himself and third placed Burgundy (Redoute’s Choice). They were both lost to the industry within weeks of each other.
Tavistock sits 18th on the current Australian earnings list.
A glimmer of light, however, is that son, Tarzino, is on the right path to keep Tavistock’s memory going for another generation at least.
Jungle Magnate represents his first crop and was also his first winner, since added to by a further 14 winners including the very talented same-crop filly, Gypsy Queen, who may well double her sire’s Group 1 tally when she competes in the Queensland Oaks (Gr 1, 2400m).
Front and centre of Tarzino’s success is trainer Mick Price, who not only trained the stallion, but also is responsible for guiding the burgeoning career of Jungle Magnate. A spring target of the Caulfield Cup (Gr 1, 2400m) will follow a deserved spell.
As the Cranbourne arm of Westbury Stud, Price is gung-ho about the stallion and in post-Derby comments hinted that he has a few more Tarzinos in his stable and is equally gung-ho about them.
The stallion has all the right blood, being from a Zabeel (Sir Tristram) mare and is closely related to one of New Zealand’s best colonially-bred sires, Vice Regal (Bismark II).
Vice Regal was a professional racehorse, with the emphasis being on ‘racehorse’ as he showed up 60 times over four seasons, suggesting that he was totally sound.
At two he won the Ellerslie Sires’ Produce Stakes (Gr 1, 1400m) by eight lengths and ran third to the great La Mer (Copenhagen II) in the Manawatu Sires’ Produce Stakes (Gr 1, 1400m). At three he bagged the New Zealand Two Thousand Guineas (Gr 1, 1600m).
In the autumn of his three-year-old season he lined up in what turned out to be perhaps the best New Zealand mile field of the latter half of the century, that being the 1977 running of Ellerslie’s Easter Handicap (Gr 1, 1600m).
Only the mastery of the great Bob Skelton, aboard Grey Way (Grey William), who somehow squeezed the 51-race winner through an impossible gap very late in proceedings, denied Vice Regal, going down by a neck. If you don’t believe me, check out the YouTube video of the great race.
Soon after, he was off to Morphettville where he took out the South Australian St Leger (Gr 3, 2600m), returning to Australia at four where he was victorious in the JJ Liston Stakes (Gr 2, 1400m).
Group 1s aside, without a doubt, the highlight of his race career was a four-length drubbing of champion Surround (Sovereign Edition) in the Feehan Stakes (Gr 2, 1600m). That was followed by the Underwood Stakes (Gr 1, 1800m), losing by a head when third behind Family Of Man (Lots Of Man) in the 1977 Cox Plate (Gr 1, 2040m).
At five, Vice Regal made another spring trip to Melbourne, securing the Freeway Stakes (Gr 2, 1200m) and in the autumn got his revenge over La Mer in the Hawkes Bay Challenge Stakes (Gr 3, 1400m).
His 21 wins included 16 stakes races, retiring sound and ultimately siring 33 stakes winners.
Yes, that Sunday Silence
Tarzino and Vice Regal are not the only sires from this family, the two best, by a country mile being the greatly influential Beau Pere (Son-In-Law) as well as Sunday Silence (Halo). Yes, that Sunday Silence.
Beau Pere stood two seasons in England and sired just five foals. Bought by New Zealand studmaster John Donald of Westmere Stud near Wanganui for 100 guineas, the stallion was a fabulous success and was twice Champion Sire here.
When Westmere Stud dispersed due to Donald’s ill-health Beau Pere was quickly snared by the Australians for 3,300 guineas and stood three seasons in New South Wales at St Aubins Stud in Scone. He enjoyed the same great success, with three successive sire premierships. This caught the attention of Louis B Mayer, of Metro Goldwyn Mayer, who reportedly paid an unheard of $100,000 for him to stand in California. His service fee of $2,500 in 1946 was the highest fee in the US at that time.
Four half-brothers to Beau Pere would ultimately follow the champion sire to Australasia: Balloch (Obliterate), Dink (Nothing Venture), Gay Shield (Gay Crusader) and Mr Standfast (Buchan). The unraced Balloch would also become Champion New Zealand Sire.
The Bruce Lowe #3 family descending from Cinna (Polymelus), the dam of the five stallions above, thrives in New Zealand and Australia, so much so that daughters and granddaughters of Cinna followed.
The two daughters that stand out are Celebrity (Nothing Venture) and Belle Mere (Son-In-Law), the former being the branch that connects Tarzino to Cinna. Fifty stakes winners (13 Group 1 winners) descend from Celebrity including Triton (Pakistan II), Show A Heart (Brave Warrior), and Sky Chase (Star Way), the brother to Tarzino’s grandam Kindness.
Celebrity’s half-sister Belle Mere is responsible for 125 stakes winners of which 17 are Group 1 winners. In New Zealand, her daughter Sugar Kandy (Colombo) produced the fabulous sisters Sweet Spray (Neptune) and Sweet Nymph (Neptune), the latter being the fourth dam of the great Dulcify (Decies).
One of Belle Mere’s daughters, Marcellina (Figaro), found her way to the US and is the fifth dam of Sunday Silence (Halo) who, from his base in Japan and as sire of Deep Impact, has reshaped the world’s bloodlines.
To my readers, some of whom share my fascination with bloodlines, might be interested to learn that Tarzino’s fifth dam, Waft (Whistling Wind), is bred 3×3 to Cinna. Whistling Wind is a grandson of Cinna while Waft’s grandam, Illustrious (Neptune) is a granddaughter.
Classic winner of the English 1,000 Guineas (Gr 1, 1m), Cinna herself is also in-bred, her two grandams being half-sisters.
Jungle Magnate is the only named foal of his dam, The Love Of Money (Casino Prince), herself a half-sister to Questing New (Romarin), a Group 1 winner in Brazil as well as a Group 1 producer there. Another half relation is Grafton Cup (Listed, 2350m) winner First Crush (Husson).
Their dam, Loving New (Choctaw Ridge) was the champion three-year-old filly of her crop in Brazil, claiming two Group 1s. Jungle Magnate’s third dam, Decorpoealma (Benefice) is a half-sister to a fourth Brazilian Group 1 winner, Hyrat (Tsunami Slew).
In the “not only, but also” category, Tarzino wasn’t the only Westbury Stud stallion to enjoy a good day on Saturday. Barn mate Swiss Ace (Secret Savings) also sired a Benchmark 82 Morphettville winner (Munster) and sired two more, back-to-back, at Rotorua, namely Calpurnia and Valetti.
One Derby left
It might be a good thing that Mick Price believes that a rest is in order for Jungle Magnate. That will be one less threat to Dark Destroyer (Proisir) whose chances of achieving a Group 1 were enhanced with a resolute stayers’ performance in Saturday’s Rough Habit Plate (Gr 3, 2143m).
“It was a really good tough effort because the weather was so bad and the track is as heavy as it was. But he was really game, he stuck on well,” said co-trainer Andrew Scott. “We’re so pleased he can stay because this was his first attempt over a bit of ground. He had to sustain a long run. That was encouraging. He’s going the right way and he has come over here and thrived.”
Settling well back early, he improved from the 800 metres and kept improving to be second into the straight, yet wide. Leading at the 300 metres, he had to dig deep over the concluding stages but never relented.
Dark Destroyer’s sire Proisir (Choisir) was effective up to 2000 metres and Choisir’s best son, the brilliant Starspangledbanner, is the sire of last year’s Cox Plate (Gr 1, 2040m) victor, State Of Rest.
His dam’s sire, All American (Red Ransom) was a dual Group 1 miler at Flemington. His grandam’s sire, champion Zeditave (The Judge) was an outstanding sprinter who, against his own age group, managed 1600 metres at two.
Other than the above, the female family is chock full of sprinters. Grandam Zeparty is a half-sister to two Group 1 sprinters, Masked Party (Marscay) and Festal (Vain).
Dark Destroyer’s blood suggests sprinter-miler, or, the reverse of Entriviere, as she should be a middle distance type. Then again, horses make a habit of proving us wrong.
Stud book injection
On the heels of the retirement of Two Illicit (Jimmy Choux) are two more well performed mares to add to the New Zealand Stud Book, and they will be most welcome.
Bowing out on winning notes were close relatives Sinarahma (Darci Brahma) and Our Hail Mary (Ocean Park), the former a dominant winner of the Group 3 Rotorua Cup (2200m) and the latter, the open handicap winner at Hawera, the two races run just 90 minutes apart.
“I don’t think I could have asked for a better result with both mares winning on their last day of racing,” said their trainer Allan Sharrock.
For Sinarahma it was her second Group 3 to add to two Listed wins, plus she recorded a Group 1 second in the Thorndon Mile (1600m). She retires with a total of eight wins but, according to Sharrock, a mate is yet to be selected for her this coming spring.
One the other hand, Our Hail Mary has a spring date with Savabeel (Zabeel). Her dam and Sinarahma’s dam are sisters and she retires with nine wins, her premier performance being the Trentham Stakes (Gr 3, 2100m).
It would not be surprising to learn that House Of Cartier (Alamosa), Sinarahma’s half-sister, will join them later this year. All three won at stakes level in the current season.
On a catalogue page, this family will be attractive to buyers. Sinarahma and House of Cartier are daughters of the champion stayer and four-time Group 1 winner Shez Sinsational (Ekraar). It is a strong filly family.
Good pattern
Impressive winner of the Rotorua Stakes (Gr 3, 1400m), Francesca (Iffraaj) overcame a major setback prior to her quality win in Saturday’s feature sprint. Last October, at Rotorua, the mare was forced to take a mandatory break from racing due to a bleeding attack after finishing at the rear of the field.
Prior to that she had captured four wins in seven starts but after the Group 3, her maiden stakes win, her trainer Andrew Forsman was very pleased to report that all is well with the rising five-year-old mare.
Although she led very soon after leaving the stalls she was not left alone, yet once into the straight slipped clear and had her opponents on the ropes quite a long way out.
“Francesca is a mare we have always had an opinion of but she had a bleed last time,” said Forsman. “We had to put her away for a good long spell. She has come back really well, with no signs of any problems and she was ready to run a good race.”
For breeder Greg McCarthy, her breeding is a case of sticking with a formula. McCarthy also bred Ayrton (Iffraaj), one of Mick Price’s stable stars and twice a Group 3 winner including the Victoria Handicap (1400m) last month at Flemington.
Whereas Ayton, a winner of six of his nine starts, is by Iffraaj (Zafonic) from a daughter of Canterbury Belle Stakes (Listed, 1200m) winner Sabbatical (Bakharoff), Francesca is from a granddaughter of Sabbatical.
The cross is successful and the only issue for McCarthy is that Iffraaj no longer shuttles to New Zealand. Being a good client of Windsor Park Stud, he has a very good alternative given that Turn Me Loose (Iffraaj) is firing on all cylinders.
Sabbatical’s fifth dam is Sweet Nymph (Neptune), referred to above in Tarzino’s female family. The Cinna family is golden.