Entries Tagged 'Horse Racing' ↓
May 9th, 2020 — Choosing A Stallion, Horse Racing, Value For Money
Readers of this page will be well aware that I’m a fan of Pure Champion. In an era where young stallion prospects are hustled off to stud after a few starts, the son of Footstepsinthesand and the Danehill mare Castara Beach is in another league.
Starting 50 times over seven seasons and winning eight times in four different countries and amassing well over NZ$1 million is a combined achievement that few horses can match. Throw in a range of black type wins and placings, culminating in a Group 1 victory in the Windsor Park Plate (1600) as a 7YO and you’ve got a very special thoroughbred.
Unfortunately, our breeders haven’t seen Pure Champion in anything like the same light. He has 15 3YOs 26 2YOs and just 11 yearlings so it’s going to be a challenge for him to make his mark as a stallion. There’s also no doubt that his progeny are imposing types who are taking their time to mature.
However, today was break-through day with the stallion recording his first winner. The interestingly-named Manhattan Spector (ex Red Opal by Red Clubs) sat outside the leader in a well-contested $31,500 maiden at Ballarat, hit the front at the 300 and fought gamely to gradually ease away from the opposition.
Having run second at his previous start, today’s victory was no surprise. Whilst not seeming entirely at home on the Heavy 8 surface, this tough performance was strongly reminiscent of his sire’s will to win. You’d also have to think that Manhattan Spector would be well suited by distances beyond 1500.
The other surprising thing about the comparative lack of patronage Pure Champion has received is that he has an excellent pedigree which complements several of our most significant bloodlines.
Last Spring I supported him with a couple of my own mares: Chambon (Jimmy Choux – Glam Girl by Galileo) and Zayzay (Fast ‘n’ Famous – Cielo by Stravinsky).
If you’re thinking of using this stallion, do feel free to get in touch. This season’s mating advice is entirely free of charge.
March 21st, 2020 — Horse Racing, News
We live in trying times. If there’s an upside, it occurs when something special occurs.
Siam Blue Vanda’s brilliant win in Friday night’s Stewards Cup (Sgp Group2) was just such an event. When the well-performed and red-hot favourite Top Knight hit the front with 150 to go, the result appeared to be a formality; however, SBV found an extra gear and edged in front on the line.
As we all know, it’s the ability to accelerate when it really matters that distinguishes top-class thoroughbreds and the son of Echoes of Heaven and the Lahib (Riverman) mare I’m A Wag has acceleration aplenty. The close relative of iron horse Istidaad, whose dam is I’m A Wag’s grand-dam, is reportedly being aimed at the Singapore Derby (15 April) and must now be well-favoured for this prestigious event.
From a pedigree point of view, Siam Blue Vanda features inbreeding to Northern Dancer, Lalun and Best In Show (5×5). I can see no reason why repeating this pedigree pattern should not work well as this is not the first time this genetic combination has produced a superior racehorse.
Echoes of Heaven now has a winners to starters ratio of around 57%. Given that many of his early crops were from mares with little to recommend them, he has done very well indeed.
February 2nd, 2020 — Horse Racing, Value For Money
Well, that’s never happened before. It’s rare enough to have two representatives in a black type event but a one-two finish is pretty much the stuff of dreams.
El Gladiador has looked like a good horse in the making since his 2YO days but until yesterday appeared to be indicating that more time and more distance would be required for him to show his best form. The long-striding Ghibellines – Querella gelding cruised over the 1500 metres of the Listed event for a dominant victory and there appears to be plenty more in store for him if he continues to be ridden in such a positive style.
I’ve always liked Querella’s pedigree as she has three lines of Cinna. (Her grand-dam Quorn Vale is 2 x 5 to that great mare). She was a speedy racemare and, although her sire Haafiz was of little account (69 foals in 10 seasons), he had two significant pedigree advantages. He was by that excellent source of speed, Green Desert, and his dam was inbred to Ribot via Alleged and His Majesty.
When considering Ghibellines, it was his Danehill line which really appealed. The inbreeding to His Majesty had already worked well (Keeper being a case in point) and I reasoned that yet another line of Cinna would be no bad thing. Another factor in his favour was that he appeared to be an exceptionally well-made horse who would suit Querella very well from a conformational point of view.
Runner-up Tears of an Angel is by the under-rated Echoes of Heaven out of the Storm Creek mare Trickle. She is yet to finish out of the money and will hopefully pick up some bold black type in the remaining events in the South Island Filly of the Year series.
January 19th, 2020 — Horse Racing, News
We can all trace our love for racing to a special event or set of circumstances. For me it was listening to the radio as a small boy some 60 years ago and being enchanted by the magic of words. Blonde Sprite, Quite Able, Melodic, Isfahan, Fountainhead, Cadiz, Commanding, Minglow.. are names which resonate over the years.
Just yesterday I thought of those radio commentaries as Minglow’s descendant Showbeel won the Group 3 Desert Gold Stakes at Trentham. I’ve been privileged to have been involved in the recent fortunes of the family, being asked to advise on the matings which produced both Showbeel and her dam, the Galileo mare Showileo.
And all this happened because of Minglow’s daughter, the immortal Show Gate, the most memorable thoroughbred I’ve ever seen. Her performances at the 1974 New Zealand Cup carnival are the stuff of legend. On day one she wins the Stewards Handicap beating top sprinter Soliloquy over 1200 whilst giving her 11.5kg. The following Wednesday it’s the time-honoured Canterbury Gold Cup over 2000, beating the good mare Sobeit after getting into a remarkable amount of trouble in the running. Three days later there’s the Churchill Stakes over 1600. She carries 56.5 kg and comfortably beats top sprinter-miler Auditor who’s in receipt of 5.5kg.
Fast forward to 1997. I’d been having some success recommending matings to clients and decided that the time was right to publish an analysis of the yearling sale catalogues, the aim being to identify youngsters with the pedigrees to win good races. 1997 was a trial. My top selection was a chestnut filly by Lord Ballina out of the Balmerino mare, Show Queen, herself a daughter of Show Gate. When the sale results were posted I contacted Frank Ritchie who had signed for the filly and he passed on the contact details of Terry Archer, her purchaser.
The filly was named Showella. She didn’t look much like Show Gate but was good enough to win two Group 1 events and over $500,000. She’s also turned out to be an outstanding broodmare, leaving three SWs from five foals.
One of her non-winners is the Galileo mare Showileo. Not short on ability, she was seriously field-shy and soon retired to stud. After beginning her career with some promising offspring, she’s now made a significant contribution to her illustrious family.
Nowadays I yell at the TV set rather than listen to the radio, but the thill is just the same.
November 16th, 2019 — Horse Racing, News
That was quite a day. It’s always memorable to win a race on a Premier Day, but to win two, including a marquee event, at what I’ve always considered to be New Zealand’s leading racecourse, is more than a little special.
Our homebred Riviera Rock (5g Road to Rock – Sheezashotseye by Cicerao) prevailed in Race 3, a R85 2500 event, by an admittedly diminishing margin. Superbly ridden by Leah Hemi, he’s an on-pace runner who lumped 58.5kg to victory in the respectable time of 2:35.97. He’s not the easiest horse to train, having a more than impatient mindset, but Graham and Michael Eade have once again worked their magic with a Cloughmore horse, following in the hoofprints of La Nouvelle Vague, Comanche Gold, Tuscany Rose and the ill-fated Amigo.
The Dee and Gee saga has been thoroughly documented elsewhere on this site. Suffice it to say that our Cloughmore Racing Partnership still retains a minority share in the Darci Brahma mare, currently raced on lease by the Corbett-Charles partnership. Yes, there is a ROP clause in the lease agreement and yes, we are resigned to losing our interest in her for what now appears to be a paltry sum, but at least we can congratulate ourselves on selecting a very good stayer who just won the New Zealand Cup and… No. there aren’t too many more positives to add. Racing is nothing if not character-building.
It’s worth noting that Leah Hemi also piloted Dee and Gee to victory. She’s one under-rated rider.
Let’s hope that both horses continue on their winning way.
March 9th, 2019 — Horse Racing, News
Sometimes you feel that the fates spend most of their time concocting cunning plans with the sole aim of preventing your horses winning important races.
Such was the case at Ellerslie yesterday when the rains came and destroyed the chances of Dee and Gee and Rikki Tikki Tavi winning their respective events. Both mares need good ground to show their best form and I had no hope that they would finish as close as they did.
The upside of all this is that RTT will be easier to place in the future, especially as she won’t gain more than a couple of rating points for her efforts. As for Dee and Gee, she’s the sort of mare who, with an ounce of luck, will one day win one of our major staying events. (Fingers crossed everyone, please).
To cheer myself up, I thought I’d do a little addition. To date our racing partnership has contained pretty much the same membership, with just the occasional variation. To date we have owned 12 thoroughbreds of racing age; eight have been retired and four are still in action. Seven of the twelve have been winners, accumulating 36 victories between them.
There are a couple of statistics which do provide a warm glow when the fates do their worst. Firstly, of the seven winners, six have gained black type. Secondly, the twelve horses have accumulated $996,533.38 in stakemoney. Just $3466.62 to go.
Getting back to RTT for a moment, I’m really looking forward to breeding from her. Although Tavistock has gone off the boil in a reasonably spectacular way, she’s got an awful lot of her damsire Volksraad in her, so I’m not too worried. Furthermore, several aspects of her pedigree cross really well with Danehill, so she won’t be difficult to mate.
The lessees of Dee and Gee have a right of purchase on her; I can’t imagine them not exercising it. For the sad, sad story of the circumstances leading to the lease have a look elsewhere on this site. The search facility usually works quite well.
January 1st, 2019 — Horse Racing, News, Winners
Yesterday’s win by the son of Super Easy was one of my biggest thrills in racing. As many readers will know, when you are convinced that you’ve got a really good horse the anxiety levels go through the roof. You worry about his inexperience, his ability to handle the Ellerslie noise and the sheer bad luck that can defeat any animal. You think about his previous start when he bumped the smart Spring Bouquet just short of the line and got himself relegated. Would he find another way to lose a race he really should win?
Thank goodness all went well. After being tightened for room at the 1200 and losing his position, he was steadied by Cameron Lammas and encouraged to relax and keep rolling along. In the straight he had to move sideways to take advantage of a gap – and looked more than a little awkward in doing so – but when through the gap off he went to the winning post in the style of a horse who is clearly looking for more ground.
Chris Gibbs, Michelle Bradley and their staff have done an outstanding job educating Ed. In his early days he showed a marked preference for doing things his way and he’s still very much a work in progress. However, their patience and persistence has paid off and I’m sure all my fellow owners are equally grateful.
Super Gee’s win was Cloughmore’s eighth success from just twenty starters over the last eighteen days. Also noteworthy was All In Mana’s explosive victory at Awapuni. The son of Rip Van Winkle and All In Black showed too much class for his R65 rivals and appears to have a bright future. Our homebred Riviera Rock also showed improvement with a four-length win over 2000 at Gore. Trained by Graham and Michael Eade, he cruised away from his opponents over the concluding stages and gave the impression that going over more ground was not going to concern him.
Best wishes to all readers for a happy and successful New Year
October 21st, 2018 — Horse Racing, News
He had won his first two starts but stepping up from Novice grade to a well-contested Class 3 event against older horses was always going to be a challenge for Siam Blue Vanda.
However, yesterday at Kranji the son of Echoes of Heaven did just that. I don’t usually stay up late to watch a horse I’ve done the mating for but the experience turned out to be well worth the lost sleep. Glen Boss settled the 3YO well back in the field. As the race progressed, I couldn’t imagine how he could win from being last on the turn. However, that’s exactly what he did with an impressive display of acceleration. It wasn’t just a case of finding a huge gap and bursting through unimpeded: the horse needed the courage to squeeze through a minuscule space to get into contention and then the agility to be hauled sideways 50 metres from the post to continue his run to a most improbable victory.
From a pedigree point of view, I’ll happily confess that he’s somewhat different to how I expected him to be. He comes from a family of milers, more or less, with his most impressive close relative being the teak-tough Istidaad. His dam, the Lahib mare, I’m A Wag, failed to win but had managed to produce three minor winners by good stallions. I discovered that Lahib had won a couple of Group 1 miles in the early 1990s but had been only a modest success at stud, leaving 11 SWs from 220 winners. Nevertheless, as he was by Riverman, he offered some hope as a broodmare sire and Encosta de Lago appealed as an influence worth trying with one of his daughters.
However, what I really liked about her pedigree was that she was out of a mare by the brilliant El Gran Senor, a grandson of the wonderful Best In Show. Using Echoes of Heaven produced a 5 x 5 cross to this phenomenal animal and it didn’t hurt that the mating also featured a Northern Dancer triple. I hoped that these two factors would generate enough speed to offset the stamina which Echoes had shown during his racing career.
I’m off to watch the video again.
September 22nd, 2018 — Horse Racing, Winners
One of the joys of doing what I do is to be involved with winning a significant race on more than one occasion.
Recommended matings All In Fun, Bodie and Tinseltown all won the Rotorua Cup and I was hoping that today’s edition of the Listed Canterbury Belle Stakes would produce a third success in the race for Cloughmore. Brown Eyed Grace had been successful in 2009 and La Diosa in 2016; this year Emily Margaret (Pins-Seven Schillings) faced the starter and, after her effortless victory a fortnight ago, those hopes were high.
However, as befits a black type event, today’s field was much stronger. It featured impressive Showcasing filly Wekaforce and a number of other winners. Equally daunting was the fact that Emily Margaret had drawn the ace – never an advantage if you’re a back-runner in a capacity field.
I need not have worried. Jasmine Fawcett kicked the Kevin Hughes – trained filly out of the gates. Soon Wekaforce was outside her and the two three-year olds measured strides. At the top of the straight it appeared that Wekaforce was travelling more easily but when the pressure went on it was the Pins filly that finished the stronger to record a half-length victory.
Emily Margaret is clearly anything but a one-dimensional racehorse and appears likely to be well suited by the rigours of the 1600 metres of the Group 1 1000 Guineas. You’d suspect that she’d be happier settling back and saving energy before unleashing her powerful finishing burst, but it’s a relief to know that if she has to race on-pace (and how often do on-pace runners win Guineas races at Riccarton?) she is well capable of doing just that.
Let’s hope that she can emulate La Diosa and give her trainer that elusive Group 1 prize.
September 9th, 2018 — Horse Racing, News
It’s been a quiet year to date but recent victories by La Diosa at Caulfield, Siam Blue Vanda at Kranji and Emily Margaret at Riccarton have all been top class performances.
The deeds of La Diosa are well documented and after a quiet 4YO season she resumed with a barnstorming victory over 1100 last month. She appears to have regained that brilliant finishing burst which characterised her classic year.
Siam Blue Vanda is a gelded 3YO son of Echoes of Heaven and the Lahib mare I’m A Wag. He made the headlines last month with an effortless maiden victory at his first start and looks to have a bright future.
Yesterday, long-time client Kevin Hughes was extremely bullish about the chances of his grey Pins filly Emily Margaret in the 3YO event at Riccarton. His confidence proved to be entirely justified as she came from the back of a useful field to win by a widening two lengths. A $55,000 Select Sale purchase, she had strongly appealed to me when I analysed that catalogue. She was an obvious choice, being by a highly successful stallion out of a Group 3 winning O’Reilly mare from a speedy and consistent family. Her grey colouring comes from one of my favourite horses, the under-rated Three Legs stallion, Shannon.
Don’t be surprised if Emily Margaret is a factor in the forthcoming Canterbury Belle Stakes – won by La Diosa a couple of years ago.
Hold the phone. Siam Blue Vanda has just won a Novice 1200 at Kranji. Starting at New Zealand odds of $2.00 in a strong field he was handy all the way, hit the front with 300 to go and just lasted. It will be interesting to read Glen Boss’ comments but it does look as if 1200 is already too short a distance for him. From a pedigree point of view he’s an interesting individual as he comes from the female family of the super-tough Istidaad and is inbred to Best In Show.
