Wish List
We thoroughbred followers have two opportunities annually to start afresh, New Year’s Day and August 1, the horses’ birthday, and with the old season behind us Kiwi Chronicles has several hopes and wishes for the new season.
From purely a breeding standpoint, let’s hope that the one-way traffic of our better-performed and better-bred fillies and mares begins to slow.
A sad reality is that big-money offers are virtually impossible to ignore and both owners and breeders need cash flow to keep their hobbies and businesses afloat.
Brendan and Jo Lindsay, of Cambridge Stud, are an exception and are to be applauded for not only investing in fillies but also retaining them when their racing days are over.
The traffic is not limited to fillies and young racemares either. Good producers are in strong demand as the Australian breeding industry continues its huge thirst for quality.
Maintaining our potential breeding stock is essential. There are signs that stakes increases are on the way which will hopefully encourage locals to invest in fillies but the huge dollars being injected into Australian racing makes our increases look, frankly, rather puny.
Nevertheless, we need to start somewhere and at the NZTBA Breeders’ Awards last week the industry recognised the efforts, particularly, of Mark Chitty, who, when accepting the Personality of the Year trophy explained that the industry needs to change.
Chitty has been instrumental in the merger between Ellerslie and Counties, the upshot being an injection of monies (derived from a land sale) which will not only improve both tracks but also lay the base for increased prize–money.
Surely, this is music for breeders’ ears. With broodmares and foal crop numbers falling, we can only hope that Kiwi spirit will kick in. If it doesn’t, our fabulous grass-growing ability will mean little.
Part of this long-term recovery process is in the hands of local syndicators and trainers. One of their jobs will be to highlight the proposed prize–money increases, maintain and expand the activity of their existing clients and, obviously, find new ones.
Their task is not that simple, however, because across the Tasman, they are several years and maybe even a decade ahead of us.
Australia’s stakes levels could be used to the Kiwis’ advantage as our racehorses are more than competitive there, as can be seen from the results of two-and-three-race winners in New Zealand able to compete at Australian metropolitan level.
That’s the carrot. Make owning more attractive here, pay the bills, build up some funds then have a crack at Sydney and Melbourne.
One proviso: Bring back the fillies and mares.
Auckland Thoroughbred Racing’s recent move is key. Dramatic improvements to their tracks will lead to more racing in front of the country’s biggest potential audience. More racing will lead to bigger fields. Bigger fields will lead to bigger betting turnovers. Bigger turnover will increase stakes money, and so the cycle continues.
Another benefit of the merger is that the new racing surfaces will mean drier tracks, in turn eliminating or reducing the chances of abandonments.
Increasing breeding stock numbers will, inevitably, lead to an increase in stallions. Their numbers have receded too.
The above is not going to be a walk in the park. Countering the importance of increased local ownership is the need to maintain and grow interest from overseas buyers. A balancing act if ever there was one.
Australian sales are where syndicators use the numbers game, buying well-bred colts in the hope that one or two become Group 1 winners and therefore, valuable potential sires. Perhaps our focus could be on purchasing well bred fillies?
There has already been a recent precedent for such a focus when the country was essentially closed to overseas buyers. At the 2021 Karaka Yearling Sale a number of local studmasters were inspecting fillies from other drafts. One comment at the time was that with severely reduced Australian buying activity, the opportunity existed to buy into some of our best families.
The writer is reminded of a caricature/cartoon which hung on Michael Floyd’s office wall when Floyd was general manager of Wrightson Bloodstock. It depicted an old man, bent over, using a cane to reduce his stooping and the caption read: This is the young man who is still waiting for quality broodmares prices to come down.
Our strength is in our growing conditions and our ability to breed strong, sound racehorses, impossible without good breeding stock.
Not just a mudder
Riccarton’s Winter Cup (Gr 3, 1600m) turned into a virtual procession late in the race after Lord Darci (Darci Brahma) took over approaching the 200 metres. Once he shook off Summer Festival (Poet’s Voice) the lightly-raced five-year-old splashed through the rain for his fourth win and maiden stakes success from just 13 starts.
Fending off a hardened veteran such as Summer Festival, the 2018 Italian Derby (Gr 2, 2200m), suggests that Lord Darci is destined for bigger things
The first two home were in a race of their own, there being six and half lengths back to a Verry Flash (Zed) who finished strongly from well back but much too late.
Although the 1600 metres was run and won in 1:44.58, Lord Darci is no mudder. He is quite adept on top of the ground having also won at Riccarton on a Good 3 track, his second win, in which he ran the last 600 metres in 34.06 seconds in a Benchmark 65 race.
That was in May and after an eight–week letup he returned to win on a soft Ashburton track, proving his versatility.
In between Ashburton and the Winter Cup the gelding finished second in the heavy and was the subject of a stewards’ report regarding his tendency to throw his head around, essentially fighting his rider. He showed some of that on Saturday also but clearly has bags of talent when allowed to run.
Winning jockey Terry Moseley agrees: “I thought the older, more seasoned horses might have it but there is no doubt about it, he is a talent.”
Owner-trainer Bevan Wilson added: “He was his own worst enemy there for a while and wanted to win his races at the start. It took a couple of runs to get the recipe right, and now he has, it is all good.”
Lord Darci becomes the 57th stakes winner for The Oaks Stud’s Darci Brahma (Danehill). Darci Brahma has been a most consistent sire throughout his career and, except for Savabeel (Zabeel), might have at least a couple of New Zealand Sire Premierships to his name.
Lord Darci may have inherited some of his ability from his dam, Madam Victoria, a High Chaparral (Sadler’s Wells) mare who was also owned and trained by Wilson. She scored in eight of her 20 starts including four Listed stakes, two of them back-to-back at Riccarton. The mare could run and, like her son, could handle all track conditions. Her successive stakes victories at Riccarton were on a Good 3 then a Heavy 10 surface, just a week apart.
At stud she has produced two foals to the races for two winners. Lord Darci is her first foal. Her second, foaled in 2018, is the winner Victor Rouge (Burgundy). In 2019 she produced a colt by Charm Spirit (Invincible Spirit) and in 2020 a filly by Belardo (Lope De Vega). She was not served in 2021 and was covered by Darci Brahma last spring. The Wilsons will no doubt be hoping for a filly.
Wilson commented on the gelding’s family: “He is the seventh or eighth generation out of this family and it is just great to get a good horse again.”
Within the seven generations referred to by Wilson there have been nine stakes winners and eight stakes–placed performers. Fazzle (Johar), whose grandam is a half-sister to Lord Darci’s third dam Queen’s Style (Cautious Style), won the Auckland Thoroughbred Breeders’ Stakes (Gr 2, 1400m), one of her eight wins.
Queen’s Style is a half-sister to two stakes winners, namely Group 3 winner Nearly Pal’s (Palatable) and Fazzle’s Listed-winning grandam Bashful Lady (Imperial Guard). A sister to Bashful Lady is Queen’s Guard who has the distinction of foaling Laguna Queen (Sir Session), a Listed stakes winner in Yakima, in Washington State, USA.
Dating back to the mid and late sixties is the very speedy racemare named Shewetta (Byland). Shewetta won 14 times including Riccarton’s Stewards’ Handicap (Gr 3, 6f) and Great Easter Handicap (Listed, 7f).
Shewetta’s half-brother, Raspadora (Rapier II) also won 14 times, his premier performance being the Eclipse Stakes (Listed, 2000m). They are from Economise (Landacre), Lord Darci’s seventh dam.
Stars return
Taking advantage of Ruakaka’s better track conditions, Te Akau Racing’s Mark Walker took three of stable stars for their first runs ahead of what is likely to be a busy season for each.
The 1100-metre open handicap saw Imperatriz (I Am Invincible), Entriviere (Tavistock) and On The Bubbles (Brazen Beau) compete against each other, readying for their respective spring campaigns.
Walker was keen to give each runner the best possible start to the season. “Originally, we thought we would kick them off in the Foxbridge Plate at Te Rapa later this month but if they strike a heavy track there it might just take the edge off them for Hastings,” the trainer said.
In a quality performance, Imperatriz found more when needed to get her four-year-old season off to a winning start. This can only be good for our local racing as the mare is clearly a star, having won back-to-back Group 1s in the autumn, including against the older mares in the New Zealand Thoroughbred Breeders’ Stakes (1600m).
Under a steady 60 kilograms, Opie Bosson settled her back of midfield and waited until near the top of the straight to move her off the fence. Once straightened, she moved out into the centre of the course before accelerating nicely to level up at the 200 metres. To the line, Bosson merely kept her up to her work, running a deceptively smart 1:03.12 for the journey and breaking 34 seconds for the last 600 metres.
In 11 starts the mare has eight victories, a second, a third and a fourth, and has banked just shy of $520,000.
Walker was, understandably, very pleased with her win. “She showed today just what a competitor she is and that was very pleasing to see. It was a good effort by a mare to carry 60 kilograms at this stage of her four-year-old season,” he said.
Walker gave Entriviere a pass but will wait until after the Foxbridge Plate before deciding where she will head. A short break may be on the cards then a fresh up attempt to defend her 2022 Railway Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m) title on January 1.
A feature of the race was the finishing run from Dragon Leap (Pierro) who shared last, down against the fence in the worst of the going when they turned for home. He got out approaching the 200 metres, went wider than the winner, then powered home strongly, going down by a short neck.
Such a performance can only be good news for his connections especially when his pet distance is probably 1600 to 2000 metres, yet he was sharp enough to dead-heat for fourth in Entriviere’s Railway Stakes back in January.
It proves he is close to his best, which included wins in the Auckland Guineas (Gr 2, 1600m) and the Waikato Guineas (Gr 2, 2100m) at three. He too will likely head to Hastings for one or more of the Triple Crown races.
Back-to-back times three
A trio of Kiwi-breds, Lord Ardmore (Reliable Man), Horrifying (Shocking) and Grand Impact (Satono Aladdin), landed consecutive wins over the weekend, and perfect timing for the upcoming serving season.
Lord Ardmore, a maiden winner in New Zealand, added win five from 19 starts and is in the best form of his life. Since his transfer to Sydney, the five-year-old has notched three Benchmark races at Rosehill and, stepping up to open company for the first time, ran out a nice winner of the Premier’s Cup Prelude (1800m) at Randwick.
Monday morning tea and muffins at Rich Hill Stud would have been the place to be after Grand Impact’s impressive all-the-way win over 1200 metres at Sandown on Sunday. The colt is unbeaten in two starts and bolted clear at the 200 metres to win as he liked. Along with Trelawney Stud’s Koshu (in Sydney), Rich Hill’s Satono Aladdin (Deep Impact) has two potential stars on the horizon.
Also in great form is Horrifying, a son of the stud’s Shocking (Street Cry) who has strung together three wins in his last four starts. The five-year-old saves his best for Flemington, the site of three of his five career wins, Saturday’s The Rose Room Handicap (2530m) taking place three weeks after the Flemington Cup Handicap (2800m), both open distance races.
Racing’s turn
With the breeding industry having wrapped up their awards season it is now New Zealand racing’s turn to celebrate their industry when the New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing Awards for the 2021-22 season are handed out next month.
To be held at Claudelands Showgrounds in Hamilton on September 4 it features a number of categories, the high point being the prestigious Horse of the Year title.
Over the next few weeks Kiwi Chronicles will include details of the contenders. The nominees make for a great contest.