Cover image courtesy of Ashlea Brennan
Race-Day Recap
Trainer John O’Shea enjoyed a great day at Randwick which kicked off with Saltaire's (Star Turn) victory in the R. Listed Inglis Nursery,
O’Shea’s Kirwan’s Lane (NZ) (Charm Spirit {Ire}) soon followed up when he delivered a stable quinella in the G2 The Ingham, with Lion’s Roar running second.
Seven-figure colt Godfather (I Am Invincible) lived up to his lofty reputation with an ultra-impressive win in the Listed Phelan Ready at Eagle Farm.
Also at Eagle Farm, Malaboom (Spirit Of Boom) bounced back from her sixth on debut to shrug her maiden status at the second time of asking when she dug deep to hold on in the Listed Calaway Gal.
The Robbie Griffiths and Mat de Kock-trained Serasana (Snitzel) entered the reckoning for the G1 Blue Diamond S. in February as she sauntered to an impressive debut victory at Sandown-Hillside.
Te Akau and Mark Walker look to have a very smart prospect on their hands in 2-year-old colt Trobriand (Kermadec {NZ}), who retained his unbeaten record when posting an easy victory in the Fashion S. at Te Rapa.
First-season sires Harry Angel (Ire) and Widden Stud’s Written By also chalked up impressive winners over the afternoon.
Saltaire causes upset in Inglis Nursery
Having been narrowly defeated by Blanc De Blanc (I Am Invincible) on debut at Newcastle last month, the John O’Shea-trained Saltaire (Star Turn) extracted her revenge when she shocked her rivals in the R. Listed Inglis Nursery at Randwick on Saturday.
As the field entered the straight, Facile (Trapeze Artist), who came into the race off the back of a pair of glittering trials, looked to have the contest in the bag, but Saltaire showed an explosive turn of foot to get up in the dying strides, eventually beating Facile by 0.06l. The winner’s last-start conqueror, Blanc De Blanc, finished another 0.81l away in third.
Saltaire runs down the favourite to win the R. Listed Inglis Nursery at Randwick | Image courtesy of Ashlea Brennan
O’Shea said after the victory the filly would now head for a short break before being prepared for autumn targets.
“She has just coped with it all so very well. I worked her with Waihaha Falls on Tuesday. It was indicative of how much confidence we had in her. I said to Kerrin (McEvoy, jockey) today she is ready to rock and roll. He rode her beautifully, as he always does,” said O’Shea.
“Look at her. She is a tough, resilient filly; nothing phases her. She’ll have a little break now and come back in the autumn. You never know where she will end up.
“Look at her (Saltaire). She is a tough, resilient filly; nothing phases her. She’ll have a little break now and come back in the autumn. You never know where she will end up.” - John O'Shea
Saltaire was purchased by Mick Malone of Kitchwin Hills for $140,000 at the Inglis Classic Yearling Sale in 2022 and is owned by a syndicate which includes Max Whitby and Neil Werrett.
Out of the unraced Testa Rossa mare Testa Sarah, Saltaire’s brother by Vinery Stud's All Too Hard was purchased by Bella Jane Lodge for $26,000 at the Inglis Weanling Sale in 2022 and he was re-offered via Thursday’s Magic Millions Online December Sale and sold to Racing Club No. 4 for $75,000. This season, Testa Sarah was covered by Headwater.
The filly’s victory provided the Vinery Stud-based sire Star Turn with his sixth stakes winner and the sextet are headed by Group 1-winning filly Startantes and Hong Kong Group 3 scorer Cordyceps Six.
Saltaire as a yearling | Image courtesy of Inglis
Star Turn enjoyed a red-letter afternoon with Saltaire one of his four winners, with 3-year-old fillies Our Shining Star and Turnaquid and 4-year-old mare Avolonte, the others.
Later on at Randwick, Saltaire’s stablemate, Kirwan’s Lane (NZ) (Charm Spirit {Ire}) handed O’Shea a stakes double and his owners a big pay cheque as he landed the G2 The Ingham.
The son of Charm Spirit (Ire) stayed on strongly to beat his Group 1-winning stablemate Lion’s Roar (NZ) (Contributer {Ire}) by 0.2l who was impressive as runner-up, while the Chris Waller-trained Atishu (NZ) (Savabeel) finished third in the $2 million race.
Star Turn | Standing at Vinery Stud
Godfather shines in Phelan Ready
Godfather (I Am Invincible) was one of the headline acts at last year’s Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale when he was bought by James Harron for $1.1 million and on Saturday, he put his name up in lights once again as he raced to a facile debut win in the Listed Phelan Ready at Eagle Farm.
A son of Yarraman Park’s resident Champion Sire I Am Invincible, the 2-year-old gave his supporters little to worry about, scampering away to defeat Cifrado (Encryption) by 2.3l. Capitalist Chase (Capitalist) was a further 0.5l adrift in third.
Co-trainer Paul Snowden said they were quietly confident heading into Saturday’s contest and would now take their time deciding on the next targets for the colt.
Godfather shows his class to win the Listed Phelan Ready at Eagle Farm | Image courtesy of Michael McInally
“He showed his immaturity when rolling about under pressure and will come on a hell of a lot,” said Snowden.
“He is a lovely horse who put his hand up early, and hopefully, he can continue that way.
“Once we get him home, we will assess where he is from the trip up here and back. We have some time up our sleeves if we want to give him another run.”
“He (Godfather) is a lovely horse who put his hand up early, and hopefully, he can continue that way.” - Paul Snowden
Bred by Yarraman Park, the colt is out of Group 2 winner Meliora (Ad Valorem {USA}), meaning he is a brother to Group 3 winner and now Swettenham Stud-based resident I Am Immortal.
Meliora is a half-sister to Listed scorer Whypeeo (I Am Invincible), with the pair both out of Sunset Boulevard (Fasliyev {USA}).
In 2021 and 2022, Meliora produced two sisters to Godfather and she was covered by I Am Invincible’s son and barnmate Hellbent in October.
I Am Invincible | Standing at Yarraman Park Stud
The victory handed I Am Invincible an 87th overall stakes winner and sees his total tally of juvenile black-type winners move to 38.
The colt also becomes the stallion’s fourth 2-year-old winner for the season, joining Group 3 winner Charm Stone and fellow Listed winner King’s Gambit, while his other winner Blanc De Blanc ran well to finish third in the R. Listed Inglis Nursery at Randwick.
Malaboom set on Magic Millions path
Talented filly Malaboom (Spirit Of Boom) bounced back from her sixth on debut to shrug her maiden status at the second time of asking when she dug deep to hold on in the Listed Calaway Gal at Eagle Farm.
Malaboom digs deep to win the Listed Calaway Gal at Eagle Farm | Image courtesy of Michael McInally
Trained by Matthew Dale and ridden by Ben Thompson, the filly led all the way and was able to keep the fast-finishing Annabel Neasham-trained Empress Of Wonder (Choisir) at bay, beating her by 0.21l. The runner-up’s stablemate Excel D’Or (Exceed And Excel) was a further 0.4l adrift in third.
“Matt Dale always races his horses in their grade,” Thompson said. “He wouldn't travel a horse to Queensland from Goulburn for the sake of it. He got it spot on today (Saturday) and she's a lovely filly. She beat what looks to be a really nice group of fillies.”
“Matt Dale always races his horses in their grade. He got it spot on today (Saturday) and she's (Malaboom) a lovely filly. She beat what looks to be a really nice group of fillies.” - Ben Thompson
An $80,000 buy for Sean Driver of Kurrinda Bloodstock at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale earlier this year, Malaboom became the second filly by Spirit Of Boom to win the Listed race with his first winner coming in 2017 courtesy of Outback Barbie’s victory in the 1000-metre race.
The 2-year-old herself is a daughter of Listed Blue Diamond Preview (Fillies) winner Malasun (Red Ransom {USA}), whose four winners are headed by stakes-placed gelding Hard To Say (Exceed And Excel).
Malasun herself is a half-sister G2 Autumn Classic winner Stokehouse (Anabaa {USA}) and also hails from the same family Listed winner Regardsmaree (So You Think {NZ}).
Malaboom as a yearling | Image courtesy of Magic Millions
With this win, Spirit Of Boom’s total haul of stakes winners swells to 19 and he stands at Eureka Stud for a fee of $33,000 (inc GST).
Blue Diamond target for Serasana
The Robbie Griffiths and Mat de Kock-trained Serasana (Snitzel) entered the reckoning for the G1 Blue Diamond S. in February as she sauntered to an impressive debut victory at Sandown-Hillside on Saturday.
The daughter of Arrowfield Stud-based sire Snitzel scooted clear in the final stages to post an eye-catching 3.25l victory over Ouroboros (Harry Angel {Ire}), while Mislead (Shamexpress {NZ}) was another 1.1l away in third.
“She's a good filly and she's been a good filly from the get-go,” Griffiths said.
“She was a quality filly at the Easter Sales and for the $400,000 it makes her very cheap now and she's kicked off her career the right way.”
The filly was purchased by Griffiths de Kock Racing, and de Kock's father, Mike's MDK International and Peter Ford Thoroughbreds (FBAA) for $400,000 at the 2022 Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale.
“She (Serasana) was a quality filly at the Easter Sales and for the $400,000 it makes her very cheap now and she's kicked off her career the right way.” - Robbie Griffiths
Serasana is out of G2 VRC Sires’ Produce winner Twilight Royale (Testa Rossa) meaning she is a sister to stakes-placed gelding Royal Hale, while she is also a sister to Royal Banquet and counts fellow winner Montenegro (I Am Invincible) among her half-siblings.
Twilight Royale herself is half-sister to stakes-placed duo Superhard (All Too Hard) and Mio Roiale (Tale Of The Cat {USA}).
In 2021, Twilight Royale produced a colt by I Am Invincible, while this season she was covered by Darley’s Exceed And Excel with a filly by Farnan at foot.
Serasana as a yearling | Image courtesy of Inglis
With the victory, the filly becomes Snitzel’s second juvenile winner of the campaign, which also includes G3 Breeders’ Plate winner Empire Of Japan, while in New Zealand he has also sired a pair of 2-year-old winners in the shape of stakes scorer Ethereal Star and stakes-placed filly Rhetorical (NZ).
Serasana was also one of two stakes winners for Testa Rossa as a broodmare sire, with the stallion also being provided a winner in that metric by R. Listed Inglis Nursery winner Saltaire.
Trobriand remains unbeaten
Te Akau and Mark Walker look to have a very smart prospect on their hands in 2-year-old colt Trobriand (Kermadec {NZ}), who retained his unbeaten record when posting an easy victory in the Fashion S. at Te Rapa.
The son of Kermadec (NZ) came into the race off the back of a last-start win at New Plymouth and he built on that debut performance with another equally impressive triumph, beating the Mike Moroney and Pam Gerard-trained Shoes (Derryn) by 0.3l.
Te Akau’s David Ellis outlaid NZ$260,000 for Trobriand at the New Zealand Bloodstock National Yearling Sale at Karaka earlier this year from the draft of Windsor Park Stud and the colt is form the placed Lonhro mare Arboreal, who is herself a daughter of Listed SAJC Cinderella S. scorer Koala Bear (Exceed And Excel).
Further back this is the same family as dual Group 3 winner Flying Mascot (NZ) (Tavistock {NZ}) and Te Akau’s G1 New Zealand 2000 Guineas winner Xtravagant (NZ), who now stands at Newhaven Park Stud.
Trobriand as a yearling | Image courtesy of New Zealand Bloodstock
First winner for Written By
Widden Stud’s first-season sire Written By chalked up his first winner on Saturday as his aptly named son The Novelist broke the ice at the first time of asking at Kembla Grange.
Trained by Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott, the colt barely saw another rival as he cleared away in the final 200 metres to post a spectacular 5l victory over Runwiththetide (Headwater).
Bred by Glenlogan Park, the colt is from the dual-winning Snitzel mare Sunlit and she is a half-sister to G2 BRC Champagne Classic winner Vo Heart (Show A Heart). Further back this is the same family as dual Group 1 winner Magical Miss (Danehill {USA}).
The Novelist was purchased by Tricolours Racing and Syndications and his trainers for $110,000 at this year’s edition of the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale.
The G1 Blue Diamond S. winner Written By has just completed his fourth season at Widden where he stood for a fee of $27,500 (inc GST) and his first crop already includes a stakes placegetter in the shape of Gangitano, who finished third in the Listed Merson Cooper S. earlier in the season.
Written By | Standing at Widden Stud
Harry Angel chalks up second Australian-bred winner
Darley’s talented shuttler Harry Angel (Ire) added a second Australian winner to his CV as Angelique played a starring role in the juvenile event at Morphettville.
Trained by Shane Nicols, the 2-year-old filly surged powerfully clear to defeat Te Pani (Better Than Ready) by 2.8l, while Kalasec (Brave Smash {Jpn}) was a further 2.2l adrift in third.
Angelique was bought by her trainer for $80,000 from the Telemon Thoroughbreds draft the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale earlier this year and she is out of dual-winning mare Tinjirarni, who is by Harry Angel’s Southern Hemisphere barnmate Exceed And Excel and this is incidentally the same cross as the shuttler’s first Australian winner and stakes winner, Arkansaw Kid, was bred on.
In fact, while Harry Angel is in the early stages of his stud career, the Exceed And Excel cross is emerging as a successful one for the stallion; all three of his runners out of daughters of the Darley stalwart are winners.
Harry Angel (Ire) | Standing at Darley
Harry Angel’s global winners count now stands at 27 and he is due to stand his fifth season at Darley’s Dalham Hall base in Newmarket for a fee of £10,000 (AU$18,000).
