Showcause’s courageous win in today’s Group 3 New Zealand Cup was a watershed achievement for Cloughmore in a variety of ways.
To start with, it marked yet another success for one of my major clients, Northland breeder Terry Archer. Showcause’s dam, the Lord Ballina mare Showella, was rated the top filly in our inaugural Yearling Sales buyers’ guide. After Terry had purchased Showella, I contacted him via trainer Frank Ritchie and let him know that I’d rated the filly very highly. With Showella’s ability becoming apparent, Terry asked me to advise him as regards both yearling purchases and mating advice. Showcause is the fifth black type performer resulting from this arrangement.
Showcause is Cloughmore’s twentieth stakeswinner and our third individual SW this year. His win is also our 43rd victory this calendar year – a new record.
The opening race on today’s Riccarton programme was also won by a Cloughmore product, the promising All In Tempo. The Shinko King gelding hasn’t been the luckiest horse in commission this season, but top jockey Opie Bosson made a significant difference, piloting the backrunner to a narrow win in the R90 1800m event. I’ll admit to being biased, but I rate the son of Grosvenor mare All In Tune as being a serious prospect for major handicap events in the not too distant future
If life was perfect, our homebred Jungle Pocket 5YO would have won the final event on the Riccarton card. However, it was hard to be disappointed with his game effort to finish second in the R90 2500m race. The half-brother to the 2003 Auckland Cup winner Bodie appears to have inherited a fair amount of the family’s staying ability; he looks well suited to the maximum distance.
