Paydirt for Breeder

Hawkes Bay's Alan Jackson fashioned a successful business career from backing his hunches, so when he went on last year's Manawatu Stallion Parade and liked what he saw in a stable box at John O'Brien's Newmarket Lodge property, he didn't muck around.

Jackson had taken an instant fancy to a weanling colt by Mr Nancho from the Anziyan mare Cashcade. A keen follower of the races again since selling up his business interests about 12 months previous, he had been impressed with the potential of the filly Ekstreme whose resume at that stage included a win the Group Three Lowland Stakes win and a group two placing from a just concluded Brisbane winter campaign.

Recognising that Cashcade was the dam of Ekstreme, and after establishing that Newmarket Lodge in fact owned Cashcade, Jackson negotiated a package to acquire the mare and her weanling colt. Once Jackson had the seal of approval on confirmation from his bloodstock advisor Cambridge agent Michael Wallace, the deal was done and the fun started.

About the time Ekstreme returned to the racetrack for her new season campaign, Jackson was getting wind that Opaki trainer Andrew Campbell had quite an opinion of unraced two-year-old colt in his stable. The link for Jackson was that the colt happened to be Cashcade's second foal, by Mr Nancho and a full brother to the younger brother he had acquired a few months earlier.

By this stage Jackson was keen to track down the whereabouts of Cashcade's second foal - an unraced year younger full sister to Ekstreme - and his hunt resulted in a call to Matamata trainer Paul Jenkins who had the Ekraar filly and a pretty fair opinion of her too. Lining up for her racecourse debut in mid November last year at Rotorua, the well backed filly, by then named De Colletage, unfortunately injured herself in the running and wasn't a factor in the race, however Jackson's disappointment was quickly tempered when just a few weeks later Ekstreme confirmed the potential he had seen in her all along and then some, by taking the Group One Captain Cook Stakes at Trentham.

Boarding his mares at Masterton's Little Avondale Stud, Jackson gets down regularly to see his flock so started making a point of stopping in at the Opaki track to keep up with the progress of the Andrew Campbell charge. After a number of growing pains the colt -by then named Maradona - finally debuted in a two-year-old race at Foxton in July this year and despite the wet track, which he detested according to jockey Jonathan Riddell, battled on very gamely for second.

The three-year-old open event on the first day of this years Hawkes Bay Spring Carnival was Maradona's next start and despite another wet track, connections persevered with a start knowing that any chance of making the Hawkes Bay Guineas rested on a good performance. Producing one of the better efforts of the day, from a wide draw Maradona had to do a fair bit of work to get a position on the outer, challenged the leader wide on the home turn before surrendering second late in the race.

Meanwhile De Colletage was back in training after her long injury induced layoff and a trials win at Cambridge in July preceded a very much under wraps second place finish at the Te Teko trials on 12 August. De Colletage is down to make her second career start at Counties this Sunday in a maiden 1300m and while she doesn't have the same wet track inclination as her full sister her class should still have her in the finish.

So what s happened to Maradona's full brother that Jackson bought in the package deal? Recently turned two and still unnamed, he s just about to commence a second preparation with Hastings trainer Patrick Campbell and has done everything asked of him to date although it s too early to say if he s inherited the family genes.

Two weeks ago the jewel in the crown Cashcade delivered her owner the Pentire filly shown in the top photo of this blog and the mare is currently at Darley Stud in Victoria where she ll be served by Domesday anyday. With her genes the Pentire filly is one very valuable girl but one imagines her insurable value and that of her mum, can only get bigger and it may start that climb as soon as this weekend.