Western whirlwind Closing Inn on fifth straight victory
Oakland Park Stud hope to end fruitful week with another stakes win for daughter of Sessions in Belmont Classic
Yet another exciting young galloper building a lengthy winning streak in the west steps out again in stakes grade today as Ihts Closing Inn (Sessions) tackles the Belmont Classic (Listed, 2200m).
If you haven’t been to Perth, you might imagine the place is full of picket fences. About once a season it seems a new star emerges with a string of wins beside their name, with whispers of a trip east building with every run.
The latest has built a sequence not only eye-catching for its wins, but for a sheer number of starts that stamps her as a particularly tough three-year-old filly.
Retained by Oakland Park’s Neville Duncan – the man who bred the greatest West Australian, Northerly (Serheed) – and carrying the same famed colours of gold with a black Maltese cross, Ihts Closing Inn will seek a fifth straight win today, in the 14th run of this, her second preparation, after a one-start first campaign.
“A three-year-old filly having her 14th run of the prep – she holds up pretty well,” said trainer Adam Durrant, while confirming the bay will have a well-earned rest after today.
From the fourth crop of Oakland Park’s $11,000 (inc GST) stallion Sessions (Lohnro), the former Godolphin sprinter who won The Shorts (Gr 2, 1100m) at Randwick and ran third in the Manikato Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m), Ihts Closing Inn had a brief, familiarising, campaign last winter, comprising a sixth-placed finish in a 1300-metre Pinjarra maiden.
Resuming in January, she won a 1400-metre maiden second-up at Geraldton, had two moderate runs in town, and scored again at Geraldton at starts six and eight of the prep, against males over 1600 metres both times. At start ten, Durrant put her in a 1600-metre Class 5 contest at Pinjarra on a Thursday in May, where an emphatic two-length success sealed not only a continuation of the preparation but a return to town.
Ihts Closing Inn then reeled off the Belmont hat-trick which brings us to today, beating the boys in two handicaps over 1600 metres and 2000 metres, the latter on a Heavy 8 surface, then rising to Listed grade for her last-start three-quarter-length victory in the fillies’ Belmont Oaks (2000m), becoming Sessions’ third stakes winner, all of them in Perth.
Now with seven wins and $380,000 in prize-money, she was last night a clear favourite at around the $2.40 mark as she again confronts the males in today’s set-weights Belmont Classic. Second elect was $3.80 shot Upper Limits (Exosphere), who broke through after two Listed placings for his second win in 11 runs last start in the Aquanita Stakes (Listed, 2000m) at Belmont.
While Ihts Closing Inn is building a strong CV, Durrant is not getting ahead of himself at this stage, keeping his focus on Perth’s summer carnival and talk of eastern missions at bay. But he and regular rider William Pike hold no doubts about the filly’s talents, and her courage.
“She was very plain early doors. Nothing jumped out at us,” Durrant told ANZ Bloodstock News. “She was just a nice, neat sort of filly, who didn’t look anything special.
“And nothing’s changed now, except for her raceday performances and prize-money in the bank. She’s still just a nice, neat type, not overly big at about 15-and-a-half hands. She’s got a fair barrel on her but she doesn’t stand out at the races.
“But she’s one of these horses who, you put a saddle on her and leg the rider up, she grows an extra hand high and starts dancing around the place. She looks pretty plain until the serious stuff starts. Willie’s also a big fan, and says she just tries her guts out, which is probably her biggest attribute.”
Ihts Closing Inn is the latest member of a strong Oakland Park family. She’s the fifth foal out of maiden winner Ihtsatune (Ihtiram), herself a sister out of Umatune (Umatilla) to Ihtsahymn – winner of Ascot’s Kingston Town Classic (Gr 1, 1800m) in 2013 and four other stakes races – and a half-sister to stakes-winning sprinter Jestatune (Rory’s Jester).
While Ihtsatune’s sole victory came over 2015 metres, and Ihtsahymn won to 2200 metres, Jestatune only won to 1200 metres, then threw MRC Vain Stakes (Gr 3, 1200m) winner and budding speed sire Jukebox (Snitzel), and the dams of stakes-winning sprinters Bruckner (Snitzel) and Beethoven (Helmet).
Considering also Sessions’ sprinting prowess, it’s not surprising Durrant feels today’s 2200-metre test will be as far as Ihts Closing Inn would want to travel. The question of how far she can go class-wise remains open.
“I think she’ll measure up to fillies and mares stakes’ level over the right distance as an older horse,” said Durrant, who has a spacious training complex midway between Perth and Mandurah.
“It remains to be seen how she’ll perform against males at weight-for-age. And
at this stage, I don’t think we’ll be heading east but I’m happy to be wrong. We’ll see in time.
“You never know. The margin for improvement with her from the start of her prep to now is massive, so who’s to say she can’t go out and improve again.
“It wasn’t the plan to have 14 runs in a campaign, but she just kept hanging in. She started racing in lower grade, and gradually improved, and while she was going well we just kept tinkering away with her. Neville was keen to get her some black type, and the Belmont Oaks was a reasonable goal to achieve that.
“We always had her down as a bread-and-butter type, but in her last few starts in the metro area she’s lifted the bar up higher and put her hand up to being at that next level.”
Duncan, who started this family by boldly buying Umatune after a career of 11 starts for just one win at start two – in Listed class at Ascot – followed by her last nine rather ordinary runs, said he’s been pleasantly surprised by Ihts Closing Inn.
“I haven’t had a filly start 14 times in a prep before. In fact, I haven’t seen one do it. We’d generally give them four starts, not 14,” he said, explaining the lengthy preparation was partly through some slight “mis-management”, and partly through Ihts Closing Inn “determining her own direction”.
“We thought she’d have two or three runs and then go for a spell and reset. She looked like a Saturday horse at best. Then when she started winning well, the Belmont Oaks became a goal, but there wasn’t time to spell her and reset. I asked Adam if he was able to keep her fresh for another three months. That’s what he’s done and he’s done it brilliantly.
“Adam’s in a rural environment where he’s got day yards, so he was able to put that to use, change her habitat and keep her fresh.”
Ihts Closing Inn’s emergence is another feather in the cap for Sessions. He’s about to stand his ninth season at Oakland Park, after a fee rise last year from $8,800 to $11,000, having stood his first four years there while still owned by Darley before Duncan bought him.
From relatively small crops amid the limited West Australian pool, the rising 14-year-old has posted some impressive numbers, with 59 winners from 79 runners at 74.7 percent, and with his three stakes winners at 3.8 percent.
“We’re very happy with him. He’s had limited opportunities. In Western Australia, most opportunities are limited, because you just don’t get enough horses here,” said Duncan, who thus mostly trusts Apex A indices, which “bring relativity into it” when assessing stallion performance.
“Apex A indices, most people say they’re a nonsense, but my view is the normal Australian general sires’ list is a nonsense. It doesn’t really represent your chances of getting a horse at any level; rather, it’s all about opportunity and numbers.
“And if you look on the Apex A indices, Sessions is sitting in the top six Australia-wide. That’s extraordinary.”
Sessions’ emerging star filly could today cap a strong week for the stud near Margaret River.
Oakland Park’s other stallion Shooting To Win (Northern Meteor), who’s still owned by Darley, had an impressive two-year-old debut winner at Canterbury on Wednesday in the Chris Waller-trained McHale, a $160,000 Inglis Classic purchase for Star Thoroughbreds and Randwick Bloodstock.
A day later, three-year-old Art Of Sabrage won his second from four, at Northam, and Glock won at Bendigo, while yesterday, three-year-old Competition won at Scone.
Shooting To Win joined Oakland Park’s roster last year at a fee of $9,000 (inc GST) after seven seasons at Darley’s Kelvinside in the Hunter Valley, and will stand for $11,000 (inc GST) in his second spring in the west.