Tassort’s talented Manaal gets back in the winning groove
Surging young sire Tassort (Brazen Beau) gained an even better result than two weeks ago when he sired the quinella in the Furious Stakes (Gr 2, 1200m) at Randwick on Saturday, when outstanding filly Manaal scored her fourth stakes win from eight starts.
The first leg of Randwick’s three-year-old fillies’ Princess Series – the Silver Shadow Stakes (Gr 2, 1200m) on August 24 – was a superb result for Tassort, with his Melbourne-trained daughter Ameena heading north to score a narrow victory while Manaal took third.
On Saturday the Emirates Park/Newgate stallion went one better as Manaal and trainer Michael Freedman landed a counter punch back on Ameena and another wing of the Freedman dynasty, her trainers Anthony and Sam.
But only just.
Starting $2.25 favourite, Manaal was forced to go back worse than midfield from gate seven of 11 by Jason Collett. Ameena, the $4.80 second elect, went back further still from gate eight for James McDonald, trailing Manaal throughout while a fast pace was set up front.
As the leaders eventually tired, Collett brought Manaal on a long swooping run down the centre of the track to hit the lead at the 100-metre mark, and, while Ameena surged home powerfully to threaten, Manaal held on by 0.14 lengths.
While the quinella was a tale of two Emirates Park homebreds on the rise, Chris Waller’s Lazzura (Snitzel) also hinted at a bright future by taking third in only her third start, following wins in a Kembla Grange maiden and Scone’s Woodlands Stakes (Listed, 1100m) in the autumn. She nosed Godolphin’s Zeitung (Exceed And Excel) into fourth.
“It’s good to get her back in the winner’s circle,” Michael Freedman told Channel 7 of Manaal. “I’m very happy.
“She improved from her first-up run and she paraded a lot better today. She was a bit above herself the other day, which was unlike her. She was sweating up a bit. But she was a lot more composed today.
“It was a bit more like the old Manaal, which was good to see.”
Manaal’s win shot Tassort to the lead on the second season sires’ table. The eight-year-old, owned by Emirates but standing at Newgate – for an increased $38,500 (inc GST) this season – chalked up four winners for the new term thanks to Manaal, and leads the table by stakes-winners (two).
Manaal’s quartet of black type wins – all at Randwick – have come in the Gimcrack Stakes (Gr 3, 1000m), the Sweet Embrace Stakes (Gr 2, 1200m), the Sires’ Produce (Gr 1, 1400m) and now a second Group 2 in the Furious.
The Princess Series now moves to the Tea Rose Stakes (Gr 2, 1400m) on September 21, before culminating in the Flight Stakes (Gr 1, 1600m) on October 5.
“The Tea Rose is going to be an intriguing race, because Chris Waller’s filly [Lazzura] comes into the mix as well,” Michael Freedman said. “And Anthony just said, ‘I guess I’d have to stay here [with Ameena] for the 1400 race as well.”
The imposingly built Manaal is the second foal of the US Listed–winning sprinter Red Lodge (Midshipman). Her year-older half–brother Fightertown (Snitzel) sold to Coolmore’s Tom Magnier for $1.1 million at the Gold Coast Magic Millions last year. He’s won one from six and sold to Cordoba Bloodstock for $150,000 at the Inglis Digital October Sale in 2023, but hasn’t been sighted since.
Red Lodge now has a two-year-old filly by I Am Invincible (Invincible Spirit) and a yearling filly by Zoustar (Northern Meteor), and is due to foal a Justify (Scat Daddy) foal this spring. Emirates Park’s Bryan Carlson on Saturday confirmed to ANZ Bloodstock News the mare was booked to return to Tassort this season.
With Ameena and Manaal homebreds for Emirates Park, the stud has won the first two bonuses for the series put up to the winning breeder by sponsor Darley – free nominations to their $16,500 (inc GST) stallion Golden Mile (Astern), and their $22,000 (inc GST) first season shuttle stallion Triple Time (Frankel).
The Tea Rose rewards the winning breeder with a free nomination to Darley’s $27,500 (inc GST) stallion Native Trail (Oasis Dream), while the Flight offers a cover from $44,000 (inc GST) first–season sire Cylinder (Exceed And Excel).
Epsom plan for Wootton Bassett’s Royal Patronage
Expectations around the first southern crop of Wootton Bassett (Iffraaj) took another leap forward when his French-bred imported son Royal Patronage scored an imperious win on his Australian debut in Saturday’s Tramway Stakes (Gr 2, 1400m) at Randwick.
The buzz around Wootton Bassett in Australasia has been strong this year.
Coolmore’s 16-year-old shuttler was the leading first-season sire by averages at the Magic Millions Gold Coast sale and Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale.
And on the back of his progeny’s results elsewhere, his service fee has grown significantly – from $71,500 (inc GST) in his first two years to $93,500 (inc GST) in 2023 and is standing for a fee of $192,500 (inc GST) in 2024.
And while owners of his first southern crop await their appearances on racetracks in 2024-25, it appears there is a highly promising horse to fill in the blanks in the meantime, in the form of the Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott-trained Royal Patronage.
Having won a 1600 metres Group 2 at Newmarket and a 1400 metres Group 3 at York, the now six-year-old stallion was bought by his trainers and Johnny McKeever Bloodstock at last October’s Autumn Horses in Training Sale at Newmarket for 300,000gns, or around $A620,000.
The widely-travelled entire – won at Keeneland in April last year and ran fifth in the Belmont Derby (Gr 1, 10f) in 2022 – warmed up for his Australian debut with two barrier trials, the latest a 0.69-length win over 1200 metres on August 19, albeit over only three rivals.
But in his first race for 14 months, punters, and even his trainers, were wary of his chances in the Tramway. He drifted from $14 to $16, and had to take on $3.30 favourite Amelia’s Jewel (Siyouni), while Queensland raider Freedom Rally (Rubick) was backed from $4.80 into $3.70.
But helped by his 55 kilograms under the set weights and penalties conditions, Royal Patronage unleashed a classy display to dominate the Tramway. Jumping from gate ten of 14 for Tim Clark, he exploded from the gates, settled third some two lengths off a heady pace, then gave nothing else a chance in the straight in careering away to win by 1.25 lengths.
Amelia’s Jewel pushed home strongly from midfield to take second in her first start for new trainers Annabel Neasham and Rob Archibald. Chris Waller’s oft-backed, oft-disappointing Kovalica (Ocean Park) turned in his best run for a while in taking third, with Freedom Rally managing fourth.
Raced by a large syndicate headed by mammoth South African businessman and breeder Larry Nestadt, Royal Patronage now have five wins from 16 starts, and became Wootton Bassett’s second Australian stakes winner, after another French-bred import Protagonist’s Sky High Stakes (Gr 3, 2000m) victory at Rosehill last year.
And judging by his Tramway success, there could be more wins in his near future. Bookmakers reacted by making him an $8 equal second favourite for the Epsom Handicap (Gr 1, 1600m) at Randwick on October 5.
“We tried not to build up the expectations too much, but we were expecting a nice run from him from what we’ve seen at home,” co-trainer Adrian Bott told Channel 7.
“In the back of your mind, you’re worried about the Europeans in their first start in Australia, even though they’re showing it at home. There’s different conditions here; it’s a fast track.
“But when he showed the gate speed that he did, we thought, ‘Ooh, we’re right on here’.
“He could well be an Epsom horse. Just looking back on the European and American form, they did stretch him out. What he’s shown at home is that he’s a sharper horse but we’ll see how he progresses off the back of today, and we may go on that [Epsom] path.”
With 47 stakes winners worldwide from 560 runners at a robust 8.42 per cent, Wootton Bassett is currently the leading two-year-old sire in France and Ireland.
He rang in two sprinting stakes winners at the Curragh in the last week of August with unbeaten colt Henri Matisse following up his Railway Stakes (Gr 2, 6f) victory with a win in the Futurity Stakes (Gr 2, 7f), while Ides Of March took out the Round Tower Stakes (Gr 3, 6f).
Bred by Emma Capon Bloodstock, Royal Patronage is the first of three foals, and only winner, for Shaloushka (Kahyasi), who won three times in France from seven starts for the Aga Khan and Chantilly-based trainer Mikel Delzangles, who won the 2011 Melbourne Cup (Gr 1, 3200m) with Dunaden (Nicobar).
Clark was also highly impressed by Royal Patronage’s run.
“First-up from a long spell, it’s a pretty good effort from him,” he said. “When he was able to bounce and adjust to that seven-furlong speed so comfortably … if anything he raced a bit keen early, because that was the unknown, how he was going to react to a fast-run seven furlongs.
“But he travelled sweetly and he was really tough. He’ll continue to improve, how far he gets, even in distance is still a bit of an unknown. I think he’s got plenty of options going forward.”
Amelia’s Jewel’s rider Tommy Berry said he “couldn’t have been any more proud of her”.
“For her to be first-up today and to run at that sort of speed it really dragged it out of her a little bit,” he said. “As soon as Kovalica came up on our outside, she was in for the fight. She was strong through the line. She’s in for a great prep.”