November 13th, 2010 — Winners
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.
September 27th, 2010 — News
Observant readers of this site will notice a sudden mini-surge of winners listed on the sidebar – and another SW on the tally.
The explanation lies in the work I did for Stoney Bridge back in 2006 and for a short time in 2007. If you had contacted the stud back then and asked for pedigree advice it is highly probable that the advice would have come directly from me. Clearly, as I was contracted to Stoney Bridge, the vast majority of queries related to the stud’s stallions so I have decided to annotate winners resulting from such advice as “Stoney Bridge Recommendation”.
To date two winners have come from my work for the stud: the Castletown Stakes winner Extra Explosive (Ekraar – Explosive) and the Korean import Donggwangilchul (Postponed – Vettori Tycoon). The former looks especially promising.
A milestone of a different sort has been the retirement of our homebred Sunshine One (Chinese Gold – Sult by Creese). The veteran of 136 Macau starts, the gelding was successful on 15 occasions from 1300m to 1600m and was notable for having only one spell necessitated by injury.
It was a real thrill to watch his career on the net.
As I’ve mentioned before, I rate durability and consistency very highly on my list of thoroughbred virtues and there’s a stallion out there that is beginning to impress me quite a lot in this respect. He’s Handsome Ransom. After a quiet start he’s beginning to leave winners all over the Southern Hemisphere: if you check out his recent performance on www.arion.co.nz you’ll see what I mean. At $4000 +GST he’s great value – and you get half the fee back if your mare produces a filly!
September 12th, 2010 — News
Aussieaussieaussie’s game win in today’s Geraldine Cup took the gallant grey’s stakeswinnings to over NZ$100,000 and made him Cloughmore’s twentieth representative to achieve this feat.
2010 has so far been notable for our second $1 million winner – Race Ahead joining All In Fun in this category – but in this business consistency is just as important as producing stars. $100,000 in stakes is the measure of an above average galloper; with stakes the way they are, a horse needs to stay sound and competitive to be able to attain a six figure income.
Aussieaussieaussie has often been remarked on for the races he should have won but hasn’t, so it was great to see Kylie Williams take the D’Cash gelding to the lead, rate him nicely and then push him on strongly to defeat the race favourite, the classy Don’t Say Clang.
The Geraldine Cup winner is out of the useful sprinter Tio Iris. Mating this mare with D’Cash produces a pedigree with many positive factors: Aussie’s full sister Udiditagain was a SW as a 2YO and was Group 2 placed at that age. It will be very interesting to follow the progress of the third sibling, Bad News Browne – now a 3YO and also in the Kevin Hughes stable. In a handful of 2YO starts he seemed to be a more settled individual than his relatives; hopefully he will strengthen up to be another good winner from the family.
This season’s recommendation was for Tio Iris to visit boom sire Keeper.
July 11th, 2010 — News
Aided by a top class ride by Opie Bosson, Race Ahead capped off an unforgettable weekend for Cloughmore Pedigrees with a courageous win in yesterday’s Singapore Derby.
The previous weekend had been one of frustration, with Galileo’s Galaxy recording another Group 1 second in the Clairwood Champions Cup and Tinseltown having no luck at all in the Caloundra Cup (LR).
However, this time luck went our way with Race Ahead (Al Akbar – Mertie Love by Spectacular Love) jumping well, taking a prominent position and being far too strong for his opposition down the long Kranji straight. The win was his ninth from 20 Singapore starts and took his prizemoney to over S$1.1 million.
Sunday’s Singapore win was certainly exciting but the previous day had also brought a real thrill. The Marton JC meeting at Awapuni is a long way from the prestige of one of Singapore’s major racing days, but Rising Tide’s victory in a 1600 maiden was also memorable. The Shinko King – Ballina Wave three year old barged through a narrow gap to win going away and marked another milestone for his dam in the process. Now retired from breeding, Ballina Wave has now achieved a 100% record with her male progeny, the star being Bodie, winner of the 2003 Auckland Cup. Bodie was bred by Kevin Mischefski as a Cloughmore recommended mating but Rising Tide is even closer to home, being the result of a breeding partnership put together by Cloughmore.
Whilst on the subject of Shinko King, his success as a sire is a timely reminder for New Zealand breeders of the strength of Japanese racing and breeding. I have been especially impressed by the credentials of the freshman sire, Roc de Cambes. A top class competitor in Japan, this son of Red Ransom distinguished himself in a career cut short by a racing accident by his ability to accelerate off a strong pace – something I always look for as a predictor of stallion success. He stands at The Oaks at a very reasonable $7000 +GST; this year’s group of first – season sires appears to be exceptionally promising but Roc de Cambes does seem to represent outstanding value.
June 1st, 2010 — How To
Keeping up with all the latest thoroughbred racing news both locally and abroad can be a challenge, but there are plenty of free online resources out there to help you get informed, stay informed and perhaps even pick up a bargain or two.
NZ Racing is the official site for New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing and comes complete with a beginners guide to racing, an online studbook, and an online thoroughbred marketplace. Newcomers to thoroughbred racing in New Zealand are highly advised to pay NZ Racing a visit.
Thoroughbred News is an excellent resource providing daily thoroughbred racing and breeding news from Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, and international racing from Hong Kong, South Africa, England, Japan and Dubai with raceday previews, reviews, changing wagering markets and industry commentary.
New Zealand Herald Thoroughbred Racing Headlines If you want the (mildly) important news quickly, the New Zealand Herald runs a thoroughbred headlines column featuring news and opinion from the world of thoroughbred racing.
New Zealand Bloodstock Those who wish to breed thoroughbreds in New Zealand will quickly become acquainted with New Zealand Bloodstock. New Zealand Bloodstock is New Zealand’s premier thoroughbred auction house, and one of the leading thoroughbred auction houses in the world boasting the famous Karaka sale complex in Papakura, Auckland.
New Zealand Racing Board The New Zealand Racing Board is the organisation behind all New Zealand racing and betting.
May 15th, 2010 — News
The breeding season is still over three months away but there certainly seems to be considerable confidence out there as to the health and well-being of the thoroughbred industry.
In particular, the importation of some highly-credentialled stallion prospects – all of which will be standing at very reasonable fees – is a great boost for breeders looking to improve the quality of their stock and their profitability. Four stallions which have caught my eye are Eagle Mountain, Red Giant, Swiss Ace and TheWayYouAre. All were top class on the track and all have rock-solid pedigrees. Moreover, it’s not difficult to see that compatibility with the local broodmare band is unlikely to be an issue.
Another indicator of confidence is the May Weanling and Broodmare Sale. Traditionally, it has been very much a bargain basement sale but this year seems to have been quite different. For example, I had a client with some $30,000 to spend and together we identified two mares that appeared to be buyable for around $8000 and $15-20,000 respectively. They sold for slightly under $50,000 in total. We did manage to find a passed-in lot with some minor question marks but it certainly wasn’t a simple process since this mare was also being sought after by other interests.
On the home front, results from horses Cloughmore has been involved with are most encouraging. Our flag-bearer to date this year is Race Ahead (4g Al Akbar – Mertie Love by Spectacular Love). Unbeaten in his current four-start campaign in Singapore, he was recently successful in the Group 2 Queen Elizabeth II Cup and plans are for him to contest the Four Year Old Triple Crown which culminates in the Singapore Derby (Group 1). Other black type performers include Galileo’s Galaxy, four times Group placed in South Africa, Tinseltown, All In Tempo and Professional Man. In total we have been associated with 15 individual winners of 23 races worldwide since the beginning of January.
February 20th, 2010 — News
All six Premier and Select yealings mentioned in my last article have found new homes – at an average price of $226,917.
The O’Reilly – Star Affair filly led the way ($600,000), closely followed by the Redoute’s Choice – Surprize Surprize colt ($460,000). The Pentire – Sheza Gem colt ($170,000) led our Select candidates; the Pentire – Centalla filly ($47,500), the Thorn Park – Maranta Star colt ($47,000) and the Golan – Golden Lights colt ($37,000) also achieved very respectable results.
On the other side of the ledger, clients using our Buyers’ Guides made six purchases: the Gold Centre – Robinson Girl colt ($31,000),the King’s Chapel Sting Leica Bee filly ($16,000), the Thorn Park – Sunlaw filly ($40,000), the Ishiguru – Poacher’s Prize filly ($9000) and the Falkirk – Summer Nymph filly ($15,000). In addition, the Pentire – Centalla filly mentioned above was also purchased by clients.
Overall, the sale series raised some questions, the most interesting one being why was the Festival Sale so poor?
Reports suggest that there were not enough nice well-conformed colts to go round and that no-one wants to buy fillies without K2 or better pedigrees. You also have to wonder whether the growth of successful syndicates has meant that people with limited budgets would rather have a small share of expensive horse as opposed to a large share of a cheap one. Anyway, there’s no doubt that our trainers still need to on-sell stock in order to make a decent living and that fillies just don’t cut it as capital gain prospects.
In reply to queries as to what stallions I have personally supported in the last breeding season, the answer is Mr Nancho (All In Memory), Bachelor Duke (Sakura Cluden) and St Reims (Balladane). Bachelor Duke’s progress is especially heartening; he seems to throw quality and is likely to be especially effective with our traditional staying-bred families. St Reims continues to sell quite well but I suspect that many breeeders fear that he will produce numbers of one-paced plodders, a fear which may well prove unfounded, in my opinion. It’s worth remembering that his sister, Champagne, had impressive acceleration. I haven’t seen many of the progeny of Mr Nancho but he certainly complements the physique and pedigree of All In Memory very well.
On the subject of the latter mare, her close relative All In Tempo won impressively again yesterday and her own daughter Apologize found another way to get beaten at the Riccarton meeting last week. Both horses appear to have the potential to become good stayers, with All In Tempo perhaps having a touch of class about him.
January 10th, 2010 — News
2009 has ended in a most positive way with a record number of winners (42) and also of stakemoney won ($1.15m). The prospects for 2010 also appear bright with a number of horses seeming to have the potential to go further in their careers. Galileo’s Galaxy (SAF), Race Ahead (SIN), The Jungle Boy, Leica Scotch and All In Tempo look especially promising. However, 2010 could also be a watershed year in terms of salering success; for the first time two of our recommended matings have been accepted into the Premier Session at Karaka and both are likely to be to be keenly sought after.
Firstly there is Lot 189, the filly by O’Reilly out of the Group 2 winner Star Affair, already the dam of Solid Billing (G3) and of Galileo’s Galaxy. The latter has had four starts to date for two wins and second placings in both the BSA Cape Guineas (G1) and the Dingaans (G2). The filly is an outstanding individual from a family which traditionally sells well.
Lot 202 is a colt by Redoute’s Choice out of the Group 1 winner Surprize Surprize. He is reported to be a real athlete with an excellent temperament and must appeal to buyers looking for potential stallions. His dam has already left a high-priced Zabeel colt currently being prepared for a racing career in Hong Kong and has a stunning colt by Street Sense at foot.
In the Select Session there are four Cloughmore representatives. In catalogue order they are: the Thorn Park – Maranta Star colt (Lot 527), the Pentire – Sheza Gem colt (Lot 692), the Pentire – Centalla filly (Lot 903) and the Golan – Golden Lights colt (Lot 1024). Reports indicate that they are all good physical types.
Finally, the Viking Ruler – Prangelica filly has been placed in the Festival Sale as Lot 1234. The dam was a recommended purchase as a weanling and won her first three starts; she had above average ability. This yearling is an attractive individual.
If you would like any information as to the thinking behind the matings which have produced these yearlings, please feel free to get in touch.
September 19th, 2009 — News
The tough Van Nistelrooy filly Brown Eyed Grace became Cloughmore’s 17th individual stakeswinner with a courageous victory in yesterday’s Listed event for 3YO fillies. Despite her success in the CJC’s prep race a fortnight previously, she was largely ignored in the betting – especially in comparison with Te Akau Rose, last season’s Matamata Breeders Stakes (G2) winner.
Purchased by trainer Kevin Hughes at the 2008 NZB Select Sale, Brown Eyed Grace is out of Lycsis, a half-sister by Final Card to former Champion 2YO, Lycra. Kevin was much taken with her as an individual and phoned me from the salering as she had not been on my original list of likely value for money fillies. Some urgent work with the computer showed up some interesting facts about her pedigree, not least of which was the fact that Van Nistelrooy had already left smart Singapore galloper Onceuponatime from a daughter of Kingdom Bay, like Final Card a typical Biscay-line stallion. As Lycra’s sire, Tights, was by Nijinsky, a close genetic relative to Van Nistelrooy’s grandsire Storm Bird, it seemed that as the cross had worked spectacularly well once it could well be worth trying again.
From my perspective, the really interesting question relates as to how far Brown Eyed Grace will stay. Her style of racing might suggest that 1600m could be beyond her; however, Lycra ran third in the VATC One Thousand Guineas and fourth in the VRC Derby, and I would not be surprised if her close relative were to be competitive in the forthcoming Guineas races.
Another exciting recent development for Cloughmore has been the stunning debut of Hussonet gelding Honest Truth at Newcastle last week. After a 11 – length trial win, the Patinack owned 3YO romped to victory by nearly 6 lengths without being touched by jockey Peter Robl. Reports from over the Tasman indicate that the horse will be set for the G1 3YO 1200 event on VRC Derby Day. The Cloughmore connection is that Honest Truth’s dam, the USA mare Straight Lake, went through the NZB August Sale and was purchased by a Palmerston North client. I had rated her the best value for money mare in the catalogue and was thrilled at her quick increase in value.
On the subject of broodmare purchases, I recently put together a small partnership to purchase the Yamanin Vital mare Sakura Cluden at the South Island Sale. The sister to Wellington Cup winner Cluden Creek will visit Bachelor Duke this season.
Best wishes to all readers for the breeding season. If you’d like to get involved in breeding thoroughbreds and would like some advice, do get in touch. For once, I agree with the marketing messages out there; stud fees are, in general, very reasonable indeed.
July 7th, 2009 — News
Firstly, many thanks to subscribers for reminding me that an update is indeed due, if not overdue. I’d hoped that Tinseltown would win the Brisbane Cup and hence provide a headline but a meritorious third after not the best of runs doesn’t quite cut it in terms of snappy headlines. I’d also hoped that Sunshine One would win his fourteenth race in Macau, but with advancing age he appears to have turned into a consisent placegetter and although you’d have to be pleased with his steady advance towards NZ$500,000 in stakemoney, “consistent progress” is hardly likely to grab too much attention out there.
Anyway, the recession does offer an opportunity for comment, largely because it doesn’t seem to have had as much impact on the thoroughbred industry as one might have supposed – at least insofar as New Zealand is concerned. The demand for nice colts at the Festival Sale has to be compelling evidence of this. However, stud fees have come down and that can’t be bad news for breeders who aren’t stallion owners.
In this article, I’d like to focus on four first-season stallions which seem to offer outstanding value: Sir Percy, Librettist, Danfive and Mettre En Jeu. I’m not arguing that these are the best value stallions on the market but it seems difficult to argue that they aren’t worth very serious consideration.
Sir Percy didn’t just win the Derby; he was also a top-class 2YO and in his career beat several horses currently standing at significantly more than NZ$15,000. He’s also got a good pedigree and, most importantly, a pedigree which should suit many of our leading bloodlines. He may well perform better than those shuttle horses which have not had this advantage.
Librettist has a superb pedigree, especially for mares with a strong Mr Prospector influence. It’s rare that a stallion comes back to form after missing his 3YO season and this speaks volumes for his enthusiasm for racing, in my opinion. I’ll be extremely surprized if this horse doesn’t make it; at $13,500 he’s huge value.
Danfive was very, very fast and very fast sons of Danehill out of strong families tend to succeed. Danehill x Sadler’s Wells is doing very nicely and the Lalun duplication in Danfive’s dam should reinforce this bloodline which is present in so many of our mares. Incidentally, linebreeding to Riverman has been successful – especially in France, where racing conditions are similar to ours.
Finally, Mettre En Jeu. If you think he was a one-paced stayer, forget it! He was happy racing on the pace but he was certainly capable of settling back and unleashing a powerful finish. Montjeu is one of the best stallions on the planet and this horse has been successful in New Zealand and Australian conditions. He’s also from a brilliant female family.
I’d be happy to develop my ideas on the above stallions; just drop me an email or give me a call (after 14 May).
