Cover image courtesy of Georgia Young Photography
The first of the new season’s midweek juvenile races in Sydney occurred in reasonable conditions on Wednesday, the Warwick Farm meeting posting a Soft 6 surface and decent fields.
The opening race on the card, the Ranvet Plate over 1000 metres for 2-year-olds, was a tough affair with Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott trained filly Enchanted By (Written By) hugging the rail into the straight for jockey Adam Hyeronimus. In the centre, Godolphin’s colt Burma Star (Exceed And Excel), ridden by James McDonald, put his neck in front for most of the straight while on the outside Ciaron Maher trained filly Icarian Dream (Blue Point {Ire}) kept lifting for jockey Tim Clark.
Icarian Dream kept finding and hit the line 0.25l in front of Burma Star, with Enchanted By showing good toughness to finish in third only 0.5l from the winner.
“Yes, my first ride on her. She’s an impressive young filly. She was there for everyone to see her at the official trials. Unfortunately she missed the Gimcrack, but they’ve been patient and got the result today,” said jockey Tim Clark.
Trainer Ciaron Maher immediately announced that Icarian Dream would head to the R. Listed Magic Millions 2YO Classic in January. “The team have done a great job. There’s a host of owners, it’s a ladies horse, this one. (The win is) a really good start and she can now map a path towards the Magic Millions,” said Maher.
“Usually that’s the path (to spell then return). I try to get them up there (Queensland) early and give them a run up there. Get her acclimatised and target a stakes race first. She’s started the right way.”
“Usually that’s the path (to spell then return). I try to get them up there (Queensland) early and give them a run up there. Get her (Icarian Dream) acclimatised and target a stakes race first. She’s started the right way.” - Ciaron Maher
A trial winner at the very first NSW official trials on September 23, Icarian Dream is owned by a big group of owners, who are: Mrs CMR Ladies, Mrs G C Psaltis, Grand Parkview Stud, Mrs M T Greenhalgh, Ms S M Fitzgerald, Miss T H Carmont, Ms J Crewes, Miss S Budisa, Mrs J McKenna, Mrs M Rossdale, Ms M Catoggio, Mrs S Eddy, Mrs D R Kyriazis, Mrs R Scanlon, Mrs L M Sewgoolam, Ms Z K Meredith, Mrs B K Crouch.
Ciaron Maher | Image courtesy of Ashlea Brennan
Second generation for Three Bridges Thoroughbreds
Victorian farm Three Bridges Thoroughbreds have been established for a long time with many wonderful graduates from their picturesque property. In conjunction with G Johnson, they bred Icarian Dream, selling her as a weanling at the Magic Millions National Weanling Sale for $310,000 to Ciaron Maher.
“She’s a lovely filly and the mare is like a pet. We haven’t won the Magic Millions (2YO Classic) yet, so hopefully she’s a first for us. The mare was born dead and we revived her. We ended up buying her back after she raced because she’s such a nice natured animal. It turns out she can leave fast horses, which is a bonus,” said Three Bridges' Toby Liston.
“She’s a lovely filly (Icarian Dream) and the mare (Teebo) is like a pet. The mare was born dead and we revived her... We ended up buying her back after she raced because she’s such a nice natured animal. It turns out she can leave fast horses...” - Toby Liston
In 2012, Three Bridges purchased G1 NZ Railway winner Recurring (NZ) (Pentire {GB}) for $135,000, via Paul Willetts and the Stryker Fund, as a proven older mare to go their young sire Stryker. Her first foal for Three Bridges was the winner Candela (Stryker), followed by a year off, then Teebo (Stryker).
Teebo was sold as a yearling for $140,000 to Ciaron Maher and Waterford Bloodstock in 2017 at the Inglis Premier Yearling Sale. As a racehorse, Teebo ran third on debut at two, but didn’t win until she was four when she won twice.
Toby Liston | Image courtesy of Magic Millions
“We bought Recurring to go to Stryker and bred Teebo. She was no star, but was a stable favourite. Everyone learned to ride on her, and we bought her back (when she retired) to protect her. Thankfully she’s left a good one and it’s good to see Ciaron get the reward. It’s a ladies syndicate too so they should have lots of fun.”
Teebo’s first foal, Rare Moon (Shalaa {Ire}) is a 3-year-old filly with trainer Matthew Smith who placed two starts ago in August. Icarian Dream is Teebo’s second foal, and then she missed two years running.
Blue Point: brilliant beginnings
Blue Point (Ire) had a sensational start to his Northern Hemisphere stud career with Group 1 winners Big Evs (Ire) and Rosallion (Ire) in his first crop. All up, he has 12 stakes winners and of note, all are in the Northern Hemisphere to date.
He does have five stakes placed horses in his first Australian crop, who have just turned three, and with Icarian Dream in his second crop, it would appear that he's going to produce quality runners here too.
Blue Point (Ire) | Standing at Darley
“As a foal, (Icarian Dream) was a star. We took her to the weanling sale to cash in on Blue Point being hot. And then Blue Point went from super sexy to not that sexy, as stallions sometimes do, and Ciaron ended up buying her back as a yearling. She was the best weanling at the sale and now they are being rewarded. Teebo missed a couple of times but she’s gone to Blue Point again and hopefully she’s in foal this time.”
Sold twice to the same buyer (as agent)
Interestingly, Icarian Dream was on-sold as a yearling, at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale through the Sledmere Stud draft and bought (again) by Ciaron Maher, this time for $300,000. “Her sales record looks a bit odd, but Ciaron bought her for two different clients at two different times,” said Sledmere Stud’s Catriona Murphy.
Icarian Dream as a yearling | Image courtesy of Magic Millions
“He liked what he saw and liked how she kept improving. She just kept going in the right direction, and he backed his opinion on her as a type. When the horse is right there under your nose, I guess you see that change. Ciaron was confident that she’d make a nice filly, and today proved that. She was very professional today.
“She was a beautiful moving filly, with lots of quality and a good temperament, very easy to work with. Half the battle with 2-year-olds is temperament and she’s got all of that. She was really sharp looking, with an incredible action, and used herself well. She never put a foot wrong in the preparation.”
Who were the rest?
The field of six horses had a mix of interesting pedigrees. Second placed Burma Star (Exceed And Excel) is a homebred for Godolphin out of G2 Silver Slipper S.-placed Gongs (Dawn Approach {Ire}). Burma Star is her second foal, with her first being city winner Mural Crown (Epaulette) who won on debut as a July 2-year-old. Gongs won her first two starts at two, then at her third start, she ran third in the G2 Silver Slipper to future Champion 3-Year-Old Filly Sunlight (Zoustar) and G1 Golden Slipper winner Estijaab (Snitzel), making it a decent sort of form race. She retired with four wins from 17 starts and earnings over $340,000.
Icarian Dream (pink and blue cap) won the Ranvet 2YO Plate at Warwick Farm on Wednesday | Image courtesy of Georgia Young Photography
Third placed Enchanted By (Written By) was a $60,000 yearling purchase by Tricolours Racing and Syndications from Stonehouse Thoroughbreds at the Inglis Premier Yearling Sale. She is the fourth foal of city winner The Seductress (Snitzel) whose first three foals are all winners. The Seductress won twice at two.
In fourth place, 3l from the winner was Stormy Reign (Time To Reign), the third runner for her first season sire, after Crown The King and Kings Court, who both ran second on debut in the last ten days. Trained by Bjorn Baker, Stormy Reign was a $10,500 purchase by Darby Racing from Cornerstone Stud at the 2023 Magic Millions August Online Sale. She is the second foal of unraced mare Polemos (Declaration Of War {USA}) who is a half-sister to Group 3 winner Dawnie Perfect (Big Brown {USA}).
The other two runners were Had It All (Zoustar) and Saveur (Ole Kirk).
