Ringo: Fitting the Mould

In it's short history, the Group 2 Couplands Mile has uncovered some serious weight for age talent. Ringo (Fastnet Rock - Akris by Zabeel) a leading contender for this years event has shown in just five career starts that he is developing a similar profile to the likes of Wall Street and Nashville, who both scored their breakthrough win in the Riccarton feature before going onto Group 1 WFA success.

Although to the naked eye in his most recent start, the 1400m rating 75 on the last day of the recent Hawkes Bay Spring Carnival, Ringo looked a tad dour, the rangy four-year-old only ever does what he needs to win and was going away again towards the line. Add the fact he carried clear topweight of 60.5kgs; had not started for five weeks, and the true merit of the performance becomes clearer.

On type Ringo resembles the 2009 Kitt Ormond Spring Classic winner Wall Street at the same age and the similarities don't stop there.

Wall Street first came to prominence during the 2008 Hawkes Bay Spring Carnival winning on all three days before going onto win the Couplands Mile, while Ringo with a bit better luck from the weather gods should conceivably be unbeaten in three starts on the Hastings circuit. A winner over 1600m on Hawkes Bay Cup day earlier this year, he was a gallant second fresh-up over 1400m on the first day of this years carnival on a heavy 10 track.

As far as styles of racing are concerned Ringo has yet to display the same turn of foot as Wall Street and Nashville can produce. Whether this counts against him at Christchurch over 1600m remains to be seen and his best chance of success may lie in him drawing sufficiently well enough to sit close to the speed from where he will be hard to run down with his low weight.

Wall Street developed significantly physically from a four-year-old to a five-year-old when he won the Spring Classic. Ringo will need to do the same if he is to step to the next level of WFA racing.

With natural strengthening Ringo looks a leading contender for next season's Spring Classic. He won't win it running sub 34 last 600ms like Excellent and Princess Coup, neither is he likely to suddenly inherit the push button speed of Jimmy Choux or Cent Home, for he looks more in the tough, relentless combatant mode of a Distinctly Secret or The Message. 





  

Royal Academy: Don't Put it Past Him

Last weekends results at Hastings and Flemington highlighted the influence Royal Academy (Nijinsky - Crimson Saint by Crimson Satan) continues to exert in black-type races despite being retired from stallion service in 2009.

At Hastings, he came within a nose of claiming a unique double as a broodmare stallion when Nashville (Darci Brahma - Royal Kiss by Royal Academy) was touched out on the line in the 2000m Group 1 Turks Spring Classic. Two hours earlier at the same venue, Sir Andrew (Sir Percy - Biennale by Royal Academy)won the semi-classic 1400m Group 2 Hawkes Bay Guineas.

The same afternoon his four-year-old daughter Molto Bene (Royal Academy - Benevolent by Generous)produced an outstanding last 200m to land the 1410m Listed Headquarters Stakes at Flemington. A beaten favourite in last seasons Group 1 MRC 1000 Guineas, Molto Bene is one of eight live foals from her sire's final crop.

Rightly or wrongly sire sons of Nijinsky were often criticised as being slightly coarse on type and there was corresponding opinions that the great racehorse, despite a successful stallion career, was largely unable to transmit his own speed and verve through his sons and grandsons. An outstanding physical type, Royal Academy flew directly in the face of such perceptions with an ability to transmit the same speed and class he displayed when winning the July Cup and Breeders Cup Mile into his stock.

As the damsire of the champion stallion Fastnet Rock and having his son Bel Esprit sire the immortal Black Caviar, Royal Academy's greatness in these parts is forever assured, however if there is ever a stallion capable of leaving a further legacy despite reducing representation, it is the unique Royal Academy.

Ellerslie 3 Year-Old Features: Impressive Quinella

Although contrasting performances, the winners of both three-year-old features at Ellerslie earlier today look set to be leading players in Pattern company this season.

A comprehensive Taupo winner on debut earlier this month, Spellbinder (O'Reilly - Scenic Sprint by Scenic)was even more impressive today in the Listed Soliloquy Stakes over 1400m, idling outside the leader till the turn before quickening away effortlessly, dashing away to win by six lengths, which could have been substantially more had rider Mathew Cameron not taken hold of her over the closing stages.

A tall, long barrelled filly with a decent dindquarter and plenty of scope, the scary thought for her counterparts is that physically she is far from the finished article.

Spellbinder continues the tremendous run of her sire who has gone to a new level over the last couple of seasons. With the first progeny of his very large books of mares just reaching racing age there is unlikely to be any slowing of the O'Reilly juggernaut.

Although the scratching of Gobi Ranger robbed the race of some interest, a field of promising three-year-olds lined-up in the 1400m Group 3 Bonecrusher Stakes. While the race was run nearly two seconds slower than the Soliloquy there was still plenty of merit in the winning performance of Sacred Park (Thorn Park - Dosh by Danske).

Despite being hampered in the early stages by Kings Rock and racing greenly near the 600m, the impressive looking Thorn Park colt showed a turn of foot to put a length and a half on his rivals turning for home, and although appearing under pressure with 200m to go he drew away again near the line for a three quarter length win. The Tony Pike/Mark Donoghue trained colt carried some condition in the parade ring prior to the race which gives connections plenty of options leading into more important engagements.

There was some nice runs in behind Sacred Park off a slow early pace. Burnt Orange made ground well over the closing stages and third place getter Pajaro, a good looking Align gelding, looks an early winner back in maiden company.

King's Rock (Fastnet Rock - Nureyev's Girl by Nureyev) should not be dropped on his run. He appears a bit of a handful judging by the headgear he displayed in the parade ring, then he threw his head around in the opening stages of the race but ran home well enough when appearing like he was not entirely comfortable coming between horses, to suggest the step to 1600m is going to suit him.

Both winners look genuine candidates for their respective Guineas assignments in Christchurch.

Maiden Performance of The Week: I'mdaone

Franking his debut second to the well regarded Sir Andrew, the impressive looking I'mdaone (Fully Fledged-Cape Merlot by Cape Cross) ran out a narrow but impressive winner of a 1200m maiden event at Avondale on Monday.

Slowly away, the leggy, long striding gelding was inclined to race a little greenly in the early stages, although some of this may have been due to feeling uncertain of his footing on the Heavy 10 surface. Still well back on the point of the home turn, once balanced by rider Mark Du Plessis he was switched back to the centre of the track and despite giving the leaders a conservative 5 lengths with 200m to go and having to come between tiring horses, he hit the front just short of the line to post a strong win.

Although brown in colour and not the chestnut of his sire, I'mdaone is a tall, long barrelled type who bears a strong physical resemblance to his father.

Stole My Thunder's (Fully Fledged-Copious by Racing Is Fun) debut win on Thursday at Gisborne franked a good week for the Fairdale Stud sire. With last season's promising two-year-olds Constellation and Dufellforte due to return to the race track shortly, Fully Fledged has some nice prospects for the spring and beyond.

I'mdaone was bought from Masterton's Ardsley Stud 2012 Karaka Select draft for $75,000 by his trainers Keith and Brendan Hawtin. His younger half sister by two years is the dual juvenile stakesplaced filly Elusive Red, and they hail from the black-type laden Bourbon Lass family whose latest headline horse is last season's Group 1 2000 Guineas and Doncaster Handicap winner Sacred Falls.

There is sufficient scope in I'mdaone's profile to suggest that this weeks win will not be his last.

I Am Invincible: Quickly Into Stride

There would have been a large number of investors with differing reasons for being excited about the all the way win of Vinnie Eagle (I Am Invincible-Sweet Maggie by Danehill Dancer) in the two-year-old event at Ruakaka on Saturday.

Vinnie Eagle is the first runner to the races by freshman stallion I Am Invincible (Invincible Spirit - Cannarelle by Canny Lad), an Adelaide Group 3 winning sprinter who has been well supported by punters to win the Australian First Season Sires Title and by breeders who have already sent over 400 mares to the impressive looking grandson of Green Desert.

Another encouraging sign for his supporters is Vinnie Eagle's female pedigree which suggests he may well be more than just a jump and run type. His maternal family is a black-type European family which is covered off in more depth in an article written on this blog earlier this year on his close relation Nashville.

Vinnie Eagle is the second foal of an unraced Danehill Dancer half sister to last season's Group 1 WFA Haunui Classic winner Nashville who showed he is on track for next month's Group 1 WFA Spring classic (Formerly the Kelt) with an authortaive fresh-up win at Wanganui recently.

This display of precocity should not be a surprise because I Am Invincible was forward enough to win his debut as a summer two-year-old at Warwick Farm over 1000m in 57.6. He ran third to the eventual Golden Slipper winner Forensics at his next start in the Listed Kindergarten Stakes after crossing to the lead from a wide draw.

Unfortunately the leg problems that ultimately restricted his career to 13 starts began to flare up after the Kindergarten run and he did not return to the races until the spring of his four-year-old season. His most significant performance came that season when he finished second to the champion Takeover Target in the 1200m Group 1 Goodwood Handicap.

I Am Invincible is the best performed male representative from the 256 live foals left by the champion Irish stallion Invincible Spirit during his four seasons shuttling to Victoria. Triple Group 1 winner Yosei is his only Group 1 winner from that sojourn.

The female family of I Am Invincible is a tough and fast Woodlands Stud family that has produced Mamzelle Pedrille and O'Lohnro amongst others.

Vinnie Eagle looks a nice sort to kick-start the business end of the stallion career of his sire I Am Invincible.

Three-Year-Old's: In Perspective

A well known racing website forum last week contained a post lamenting the lack of talent in our male three-year-old ranks. This seems a rather misplaced statement given the number of impressive performances already witnessed this season, the latest of these coming at this weeks Taupo meeting.

Justification for the post centered on last seasons Two-Year-old Free Handicap and the fact that there were four fillies ranked above the highest male, Al Strada - since sold to Hong Kong.

Aside from the fact that Rudd Awakening, Recite and Bounding happened to be as good a bunch of juvenile fillies as we have seen in years, the poster overlooks that there is rarely any relevance between those handicaps and three-year-old performance.

Last season's top rated three-year-old filly and colt, Habibi and Sacred Falls, had one raceday start between them as juveniles for a back-end season Te Rapa win for the O'Reilly colt.

Ironically this seasons male three-year-old ranks look to have more depth than they have had in some time.

Unfortunately Cauthen may have gone by the wayside, for a while at least, but the likes of the unbeaten Cosmic Cube, All Decked Out, Lord Turbo and El Roca, along with Salamanca, Franzac, Orion and Beauty's Beast, have all shown real potential.

The Taupo meeting may have uncovered some more contenders. Wolfwhistle (O'Reilly - Legs by Pins)who had some private reputation prior to two disappointing runs last season, showed that earlier confidence was not misplaced with a strong win over 1300m.

In contrast to Wolfwhistle, Sacred Park came into the new season with his reputation squarely intact following a very impressive win at his only run at two. And while he only managed third on Monday there was sufficient merit in his performance to suggest he can still figure in some of the better races this spring.

The Thorn Park colt seemed a little at sea around the undulating Taupo home bend, then he ducked to the inside rail after the leader and subsequent winner started racing greenly shortly into the home straight, before doing his best work over the last 50m.

This weekends three-year-old event at Ruakaka has the depth of quality to determine favouritism for the semi-classic the Group 2 Hawkes Bay Guineas which will be run on the last day of the Hastings Carnival. Last years Ruakaka quinella of the winner Sacred Falls and Southern Lord went onto quinella the Guineas in the same finishing order.

While form from Ruakaka is sure to again be relevant at Hastings, it is worth remembering that Tell A Tale when he won the Hawkes Bay Guineas in 2007 defeating Fully Fledged and subsequent Group 1 winner Altered Image, was coming off a single lead-in race, a second place finish in a Rating 70 1100m at Taupo. Very good trainers work to a program and form lines are about as relevant to many of them as a Free Handicap.

Guillotine: Building Momentum

The flashing light that flicked on the Montjeu stallion Guillotine late last season has continued to brighten with impressive wins to start the new season from two members of his oldest crop three-year-olds - Daniel (Guillotine - Tina by Danasinga) in Singapore and Beauty's Beast (Guillotine - Black Beauty by Black Minnaloushe) at Ruakaka.

And he looks to have another promising type in an unnamed gelding from the Volksraad mare Alleyrun who won easily at the Te Teko trials a fortnight ago.

It may only have been a 800m Catchweight trial conducted on a heavy track but there was something about the belligerent manner in which the three-year-old dealt to his eight rivals that indicated he is well above average. The strongly made gelding from a moderate female family cost his co trainer Tony Pike $50,000 from the Mapperley draft at the 2012 Karaka Select Sale.

Brilliant Terror (Guillotine - by Brilliance), who was the inaugural winner for his sire when successful over 1350m at Rosehill in June has since been sold to continue his racing in Hong Kong, while Guillotine's other two-year winner Daniel franked that seven length debut win in Singapore with an almost equally comprehensive win at the same venue at his next start in late August.

This relatively early show of form for a son of Montjeu shouldn't be a complete surprise because Guillotine was very prominent in pre post betting markets for the Golden Slipper of his year following an impressive debut win at Canterbury in January 2007.

Luck deserted Guillotine when fifth in the traditional Slipper lead up the Group 2 Pago Pago Stakes, which instead saw connections target the Group 1 Champagne Stakes, where after getting back and suffering interference, he made ground strongly to finish fourth behind the winner, the ill fated Meurice.

Subsequently the aftermarth of EI and injury saw his career total just 14 starts however he was able to show his juvenile form was no flash in the pan when in his final season of racing as a four-year-old he defeated a high class field to win the 1600m Group 2 Dato Tin Chin Nam Stakes at Moonee Valley.

Interestingly Guillotine has thrown more on type to his maternal sireline through Defensive Play and Fappiano. He is not as upright and is slightly longer through the barrel than many of the Montjeu stock and his deep shoulder and strong front end are characteristic traits of his maternal sireline.

Guillotine and his half brother the outstanding VRC Derby and Melbourne Cup winner Efficient are two of our four live foals left by their dam the stakesplaced Refused The Dance.

The promising start made by Guillotine will have encouraged supporters of Montjeu's two other commercially domiciled sons at stud in N.Z - Windsor Park's shuttler Pour Moi and Fairdale's Nom Du Jeu. While both also won at two years they did not have the precocity of their paternal full brother so it will be an interesting exercise in a couple of years time to line-up the relative records of all three stallions.

With many breeders still to finalise their matings the momentum generated by Guillotine of late could hardly have been more opportune for Windsor Park and one imagines it won't be long before the book full sign goes up on Kaipaki Road.

Jeu De Cartes: Double Blow

Jeu De Cartes(Stravinsky-Prized Gem by Prized)looks set to join the exodus of our better racemares to a foreign based breeding career, with news this week that her sale is close to being finalised to an undisclosed off shore buyer.

A certain stallion called Danehill helped, and it was probably inevitable with global economics, but our Australian neighbours really got a jump on us when they started picking off our better racemares in the late 1980's. The trend has continued with the likes of Coolmore, Jim Fleming, Paul Makin and co picking the eyes out of our best fillies and mares in more recent times.

Just shy of top class Jeu De Cartes is nonetheless an athletic mare who has proven herself a consistent and versatile performer at open handicap and Pattern level over three seasons of racing. Her best win came in the 2012 Group 2 Counties Cup over 2100m.

Jeu De Cartes is half sister to dual group 1 winning stallion Nom Du Jeu from the Group 1 Kelt Stakes winner Prized Gem. The roots of the family lie in the deep south and it's the kind of tough, staying family that has underpinned our industry for so long and that needs to be nurtured if the industry wants to continue to be taken seriously as a breeder of high class staying horses .

Hopefully the connections of Rudd Awakening, Bounding, Recite, Fix, Xanadu, Final Touch and co can be convinced in the future of the local breeding industry. I hope so.

Karla Brunei: Another One For The Ugly Ducklings

It was difficult going trying to drum up interest in Saturday's Group 3 Winter Cup winner Karla Brunei (Pins-Cantante by Centaine) as a yearling. Part of the Little Avondale Stud draft at the 2009 Karaka Select Yearling Sale, she was on the small side and didn't have the most fluid of walks.

Passed in at $35,000, the filly returned to LA for a deserved break. LA's affable studmaster Sam Williams has some well honed salesmanship skills and a few months later they were used to good effect - helped no doubt by a glass or two of local Martinborough pinot noir - to convince his luncheon guest, trainer Roydon Bergerson, to take the little filly home to Awapuni and put a syndicate together to lease her from William's and local breeder Lorraine Jameson.

Anyone struggling with a successful yearling buying strategy could be well advised to wait until the Karaka Sales are complete and inspect the lots passed in by LA. In a unique set of circumstances, Karla Brunei joins Group 2 Brisbane Cup winner Tullamore (Savabeel - Trocair by Flying Spur), N.Z Oaks runner-up Can't Keeper Down (Keeper - Ashley Downs by Grosvenor) and last season's Listed winner Kekova (Elusive City - Racing Waters by Racing Is Fun) in a growing list of stakesperformers taken home by the Masterton nursery from Karaka in recent years.

LA were set to offer a Savabeel half brother to Karla Brunei in their Select draft at Karaka this year but he was withdrawn on sale eve with an injury. He was a physical standout, confidentially predicted to top LA's Select draft and well and truly exceed the best previous price for Cantante's offspring at Karaka, the $57,500 received for her Pentire colt at the 2005 Select Sale.

The colt has since been retained by Lorriane Jameson to race and recently began his first training preparation with Roydon Bergerson.

Co incidentally, the colt may need all of his physical prowess and more to overcome the extremely poor record his damsire Centaine has with his daughters bred to Savabeel. Given plenty of opportunity via Waikato Stud's enviable band of Centaine broodmares, the cross has only produced one of Savabeel's 20 plus stakeswinners, Group 3 winner Floria.

It remains to be seen what her good looking half brother may get up too but Karla Brunei is yet another reminder of the unpredictability associated with buying thoroughbreds. Often we curse it, but without it our wonderful pastime would not be the "box of chocolates" that delivers it's richness.

Candle In The Wind: Horse To Follow

History shows that it pays not to get too carried away with Ruakaka form, especially that of horses trained on it's unique sandy surface. But the nature of back to back wins there from the Logan trained three-year-old filly Candle In The Wind (Darci Brahma - Prefer Blondes by Gentlemen), especially her latest performance on 29 June, point to her being far from one dimensional.

One could not fail to have been impressed by her maiden win there on 12 June when despite racing wide without cover she surged away over the closing stages of the 1200m event to win by two and a half lengths.

At her next start over 1400m, she again had an excuse to start feeling the pinch over the concluding stages, racing wide and then hanging down the straight, yet she powered away late for a three length win.

She is yet another promising type by her sire whose record has gone to a new level this season thanks largely to Nashville and Recite who have confirmed Darci Brahma’s ability to leave a genuine top level performer. Both have the scope to go on and with the likes of the unbeaten pair Cauthen and All Decked Out, his service fee increase to $40,000 will be looking a lot more palatable for breeders.
  
Candle In The Wind has an interesting female pedigree and one that highlights the global nature of today's bloodstock industry.

Prefer Blondes, the American bred dam of Candle In The Wind, is a placed daughter of Gentleman, an Argentinian bred grandson of Nureyev, who was Champion three-year-colt in his native country before an American campaign which saw him win three important grade 1 middle distance races.

Let's Sgor, the dam of Prefer Blondes, was joint 1990-91Wrightson Filly of the Year with Plume on the back of wins in the Group 1 N.Z Oaks and Group 1 ARC Championship. Sold to America at the conclusion of her three-year-old season, she was twice stakesplaced from her new digs before embarking on a broodmare career which has seen her leave an American stakeswinner by Clever Trick and a stakesplaced daughter of Irish River who in turn has left a dual stakesplaced filly by Galileo.

Those of you old enough to remember Let's Sgor will recall a lengthy, powerful girl who threw more on type to her maternal sire the great Oncidium, than her sire, the Group 1 Middle Park Stakes winner Creag An Sgor.

Co incidentally I had extra incentive to recall Let's Sgor as one of her owners happened to be my then college geography teacher who was married to the daughter of the proprietor of Masterton's Riddlesworth Stud who bred the filly and stood her sire.

Candle in the Win is another bargain basement purchase by the Logan posse at Karaka, costing them just $2,500 from the 2011 Select Sale. Dean and Donna Logan and their team of advisers which includes noted form analyst Gary Cossey clearly have a knack of finding bargains at Karaka, amongst them Group 1 winners Victory Smile (by Victory Dance) and Zabeat (by Rhythm), plus the ill fated Group 3 winner Ring of Fire (by Anziyan), for cumulatively around $30,000.

Still inclined to some greenness, with time, Candle In The Wind looks capable of joining an increasingly longer list of black-type winners by her sire and enhancing even further her trainers reputation for having an eye that even Warren Buffet would be proud to call his own.

Skilled: Surprisingly Good Value

Looking for value in Australia's saturated stallion market can sometimes feel like searching for a needle in a haystack. One farm with a better reputation than most for delivering breeders value is Darley and their second season sire Skilled (Commands - Dextrous by Quest For Fame) looks well priced this year at a service fee of AUS $6,600.

For a stallion with the record of Commands it's surprising to realise that Skilled is his first group 1 winning son to retire to stud. The winner of the Group 1 AJC Champagne Stakes defeating four group 1 winners; only a nose and a half head seperated Skilled from further group 1 success in the AJC Sires Produce and the Randwick Guineas respectively.

Skilled was retired at the end of his three-year-old season with a record of three wins and seven minor placings from 18 starts for career earnings of AUS $581,000.

Dextrous, the dam of Skilled is a group 2 winning daughter of Quest For Fame. From just five foals of racing age, Dextrous has already left Ambidexter, a full brother to Skilled, who won the Group 2 Theo Marks Stakes and finished runner-up to Fat Al in last year's Group 1 Epsom Handicap. And her two-year-old Exceed And Excell colt Sidestep won this season's Group 2 Pago Pago Stakes and was runner-up in the Group 1 Golden Slipper to Overreach.

Skilled's third dam is a half sister to the great racemare Emancipation. Other prominent members of the family include group one winners Virage De Fortune, Rumya and Railings, as well as recent Group 2 Travis Stakes winner Pimms Time.

Skilled's performances in the proven stallion making cauldron of Australia's two-year-old Triple Crown, combined with a pedigree containing the male line power of Danehill and a quality stakes producing distaff tracing to Emancipation, make him one of the better value for money options in the Australian stallion market this season.

To put it into perspective: what would a winner of a leg of Australia's two-year-old Triple Crown with a commercial pedigree such as Skilled's stand for in N.Z.?

A good friend has acquired a service to Skilled and is interested in doing a foal share for the new season. If anyone would like more information they can email me on john.duncan@ihug.co.nz

More to Come

With the clouds rapidly closing in on another racing season it's timely to reflect on some untapped talent set for brighter lights.

This selection tends to steer away from the obvious exposed horses. Whether it can identify a Mosse, Fix or a Nashville like a similar article last year is a steep challenge, but hopefully one it is up to. 

Ringo (Fastnet Rock - Akris by Zabeel): Considerably more backward than his full sister Planet Rock as a yearling, the three-year-old gelding has sensibly been given plenty of time to mature. That patience looks set to reap real reward next season going by his four start autumn campaign which produced a second on debut to a talented type, followed by three comfortable victories, the second and third wins coming on slow going that he did not look entirely suited by. Should get a strong 2000m.

Sacred Park (Thorn Park - Dosh by Danske): Lovely type not seen since winning impressively on debut at Te Rapa in May on a Heavy 10. Highly regarded by the stable who know a thing or two about preparing young talent. Despite not looking completely at home in the conditions there was a lot to like about the way he applied himself to the task, especially the way he attacked the line late. Could be a genuine guineas candidate.

Remise (Reset - Arlanda by Straight Strike): Franked her second placing to Mosse at her only start last season by beating Diademe when resuming at Tauranga in October. Struck interference at her next two starts, before bolting away with a 1400m contest at Ellerslie in early December. Not seen since. Has a real turn of foot and a pedigree to suggest she can make the transition to stakes company next season.

Thunderbird One (Storm Creek-Lowan Behold by Umatilla): Gifted but headstrong four-year-old gelding who clearly has the ability to win a nice race if he can mature mentally. Unbeaten in four starts for the season despite racing greenly on each occasion. He injured himself when having a brief let-up after winning his last start in November at Te Rapa over 1600m, but is back in training for a new preparation.

Waterford (Darci Brahma - Crystal Hailey by Greinton): Half sister to the talented Veronica Franco, the three-year-old filly may have failed to win this season but placings in the Gold Trail Stakes and 1000 Guineas are testimony to her class and as a tall, leggy individual she gives the impression she maybe subject to greater physical improvement next season than many of her contemporaries. Although she looks and races like a middle distance type, her breeding tends to suggest that she is more comfortable at around 1600m.

Ambitious Champion (Zed - Simply Sally by Sackford): Responsible for two of the better performances on northern tracks during the season, the three-year-old has serious untapped potential. He races like a real stayer and, when ridden accordingly he has shown he can generate a sustained finishing burst which he rolls into rather than noticably changing stride. Exciting staying prospect at 2000m and further who maybe up to a decent Australian handicap in time.

Dillinger (Pins - Raining by Centaine): South Island trained three-year-old who campaigned extensively up north over the summer months. Didn't have the maturity to settle sufficiently when tried over ground, presumably with the Derby in mind, but excelled when reverted to 1400-1600m. Victorious at Ellerslie on Cup day despite sitting three wide for a greater part of the 1600m event, then rounded off season with a strong finishing second at Trentham on Oaks day. Game, athletic son of Pins with the physical scope to improve further at four.

Albany Reunion (Fastnet Rock - Secret Silence by Fusiachi Pegasus): A comfortable winner on debut over 1200m against the older horses despite losing a plate during the running, the three-year-old then defied his 18-1 price with a staggering performance at his second and final start for the season. After racing three wide throughout the entire set weight group 3 1200m event, he only failed by a half a length to run down the pacemaker So Wotif who ended the season our highest rated three-year-old sprinter. Up to winning a Railway or Telegraph in time.

Salamanca (Alamosa - Anca by Howbaddowantit): First season sire Alamosa has made a promising start with five of his eight N.Z starters winning including this colt who is the first foal the former leading sprinting mare Anca. Debuted in early April  and showed good speed to lead from a wide draw and after momentarily looking under pressure on the turn, he came away over the final 200m to record a comfortable win in good time. Taken to Riccarton for the Listed Champagne Stakes at Riccarton, a race which often produces a quality three-year-old, he again showed a lot of courage to win on a very heavy track, defeating amongst others the well regarded Franzac.  From the same family as Ambitious Dragon he adds further depth to an intriguing mix of guineas talent.

Orion (O'Reilly - Alzira by Bertolini): Whether it was the Opie Bosson factor that made the two-year-old colt favourite, but the stable actually favoured their other first starter Genus when both youngsters debuted at Te Rapa in late April. Despite a slow start and interference in the home straight, Orion quickened like a good horse over the final stages to record a comfortable win. Not seen since the current plan is to take the colt to Melbourne this spring with stablemate It's A Dundeel.

Beauty Perception (Zabeel by Sadlers Home by Sadlers Wells):  Full brother to Kelt runner-up Zarius who debuted this season as a four-year-old finishing his first campaign with an encouraging two wins and two placings from seven starts. Not the big type of Zabeel but still looks to have plenty of scope for maturing, so with natural improvement and our older staying ranks low on quality it would be no surprise to see him take a nice handicap from a low position in the weights next season.

Close to making the cut were Fantastic Honour, Esquina, Neena Rock, Dubai Shuffle and Inishmaan.

Reliable Man: Ticks All The Boxes

Kiwi breeders with aspirations to breed classic middle distance type thoroughbreds should be buoyed by news that leviathan Australian breeder Gerry Harvey is close to sealing a deal to stand the Group 1 Prix Du Jockey Club (French Derby) and 2013 Group 1 AJC Queen Elizabeth Stakes winner Reliable Man at his New Zealand base, Westbury Stud at Karaka just south of Auckland.

The son of Dalakhani (Darshaan) also won the Group 2 Prix Niel at 2400m to be the leading French three-year-old stayer of his year. Placed at group 1 and 3 level in France last year as a four-year-old, his best effort came in the Group 1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes over 2400m at Ascot when nosed out of third and less than two lengths from the winner, champion mare Danedream.

Defeated only once in nine starts and Champion Racehorse of Europe as a three-year-old in 2003 when his wins included the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe and the Prix Du Jockey Club, Dalakhani has already built an enviable reputation as a sire, particularly of classic stamina and middle distance types. His five group winners to date include Breeders Cup Turf and King George VI and Queen Elizabeth victor Conduit..

Dalakhani is completely free of Northern Dancer blood. He is a great grandson of Mill Reef through his son Shirley Heights, while his dam is a daughter of Mr Prospectors son Miswaki, also the damsire of Galileo.

Reliable Man's pedigree is a great recipe for classic stamina. His first four male line sires were Derby winners and his granddam Fair Salina, a daughter of Petingo, while winning three Oaks also had the precocity to be Group One-placed at two.

Local breeders may remember Petingo as the sire of the fine stallion Three Legs who did such sterling service, albeit too briefly, at Okawa Stud in the Hawkes Bay during the 1980's. 

A couple of interesting points may help allay any breeders concerned that Reliable Man could fail to impart the essential ingredient of tactical speed in his progeny. His winning Queen Elizabeth time of 2.01.87 was the fastest since 1997 and more significantly, Chris Waller, who clearly is not a graduate of the Coolmore School of Marketing, is apparently on record as saying that with hindsight he feels he could have trained him differently and won his only other Australian start - his lead-in to the Queen Elizabeth - in the Group One George Ryder Stakes over 1500m, instead of running sixth, 1.5 lengths from the winner Pierro.

While Reliable Man may have broken local hearts when he defeated our superstar It's A Dundeel at the recent Sydney Autumn Carnival, the sight of the grey stallion hard held at the top of the Randwick rise before unleashing his relentless driving finish should still be fresh in the minds of local breeders searching for the kind of stallion capable of correcting our increasingly vulnerable reputation for breeding Derby, Oaks and Cup winners.

Footnote: Reliable Man paraded at Karaka on 2 August prior to the Winter Sale. It was difficult to get too much of a feel for him as he paraded rather light having arrived from Australia only a couple of days earlier. He is taller than I imagined him to be, athletic with a prominent wither and intelligent head. Mares with good bone, particularly beneath the knee should suit him well on type.

With just one line of Northern Dancer and one line of Mr Prospector, he is a natural pedigree fit for mares carrying Danehill/Danzig.

Treasure in Te Aroha

A Te Aroha breeder is likely to pay more attention than most to the blossoming Australian career of  imported galloper Index Linked (Danasili-Fully Invested by Irish River). The five-year-old gelding, who won impressively at Rosehill last Saturday to record his third consecutive Australian win, is a relation of the broodmare Snazzy Lass(Viscount - Na-Ayim by Shirley Heights) whom the Te Aroha breeder purchased for just $4,500 at the National Weanling and Broodmare Sale which concluded the day before the Rosehill race.

The background of Snazzy Lass is contained in a posting on this blog back in December 2012.

Index Linked, whose best effort in five starts over three seasons in France was a fourth placing over 1600m at Deauville, cost agents for Sydney trainer Chris Waller 26,000 Euros at the 2012 July Sale at Newmarket, England. Once again Waller's tutelage looks to have worked the oracle with an imported galloper; placings at his first two starts have been followed by wins at Newcastle, Sandown in Melbourne and then the Rosehill effort over 1500m, where he showed a turn of foot associated with a decent stakes horse, and not what you usually expect to find in a benchmark 75 event.

Shirley Valentine, a Shirley Heights mare and the mother of Index Linked's dam Fully Invested,  is a three-quarter sister to Na-Ayim, the dam of Snazzy Lass. The common denominator is the Raise a Native mare Where You Lead, the third dam of Fully Invested and Snazzy Lass.

The latest sale price for Snazzy Lass is an interesting reflection on how our industry has become so shaped by the yearling sale market.

When Snazzy Lass sold at the same sale four years ago for $70,000, she was a four-year-old maiden mare from an international black-type family in foal to One Cool Cat. Given the disappointing career of her sire it should be a reflection of the mares ability that the resulting foal, a now three-year-old filly named Flower Bomb, can actually gallop - two wins from three starts to date.

Allowing for the promising start with her first runner, by rights better things should be in store for the mare, especially when you consider she has an O'Reilly two-year-old filly and a yearling Savabeel colt, both of whom have been retained by the breeder, to race. She is without a weanling but was sold with a late service to Nadeem.

Apparently, to date anyway, Snazzy Lass has not left a type of yearling sale quality, at least not one to do their pedigree justice. This may have had something to do with none of her progeny been offered for sale and the latest decision to quit her.

While her progeny may lack the yearling sale touch, Snazzy Lass still looks an inspired purchase. It's not everyday a young mare from one of Juddmonte's better families with potential for direct and indirect pedigree upside can be bought for $4,500. The expression one mans junk is another mans treasure has never been more appropriate. 

Keyarna Blue: Last But No Means Least

Hawkes Bay breeder Alan Jackson no longer owns any of the family to generate any commercial upside however he will have gained an immense deal of personal satisfaction as the breeder of last Saturday's impressive Adelaide listed winner Keyarna Blue (O'Reilly-Oh Blue Angel by Semipalatinsk); the first stakes winner he has bred.

A $66,000 purchase by Kieran Moore Bloodstock from the Little Avondale draft at the 2011 Karaka Select Sale, Keyarna Blue produced an impressive turn of foot to switch ground and run down the favourite Hazard in the closing stages of the Listed Darley Laelia Stakes over 1600m at Morphetville.

Post race sectionals confirmed the visual impression with the strongly built three-year-old daughter of O’Reilly timed to run her last 600m in 34.1 and 200m in 11.27. Platelet who came with a powerful finishing burst to win the Group 1 Goodwood Handicap a few races later ran her last 600m in 33.56 and 200m in 11.36.     

Although jumping significantly in class from her last start maiden win at Kilmore – her third start and first of a new preparation - the merit of the performance at the Victorian provincial when she quickened impressively to win by nearly four lengths, was obviously not lost on punters who kept her very safe in the market at 9-1.

Keyarna Blue was an attractive yearling whom good judges expected to make a little more than $66,000. She was still the highest priced O'Reilly filly of that sale, a time when the stallion was going through a rare quiet patch. Although a November foal, Keyarna Blue was a strong, well balanced yearling with a particularly pronounced shoulder and forearm.

Acting on advice from Randwick Bloodstock’s Brett Howard, Jackson purchased Oh Blue Angel, the dam of Keyarna Blue, for AUS$80,000 at the 2007 Sydney Easter Broodmare Sale. She had won four races and AUS$170,000, including a listed event over 1400m at Flemington. The mare to that stage had left four foals and was carrying a service to first season sire Fastnet Rock.

The resulting Fastnet Rock filly sold for $85,000 at the 2009 Karaka Premier Sale, while the following year her Fast N Famous colt sold for $120,000 - some idea of his quality lies in the fact that he was the highest priced of 44 lots by his sire that year at Karaka, including 15 in the Premier session.

Ramiel (Fastnet Rock-Oh Blue Angel), a spectacular looking weanling who didn't retain quite the same athleticism as a yearling, has won two races to date for David Hayes. The Fast N Famous colt, a more lithe, athletic yearling than Ramiel, will not race after developing a serious fetlock issue as a two-year-old when reputedly showing a lot of promise for Roger James.

Sadly Oh Blue Angel died from complications just hours after foaling Keyarna Blue - the third and final foal from the mare for Jackson. She had a booking that season to Iffraaj.

Keyarna Blue is O'Reilly's 66^th individual stakeswinner and his 13th so far this season including Australian group one winners Shamexpress and Sacred Falls.

Semipalatinsk, the dam sire of Keyarna Blue, was in a way, Australia's answer to Centaine. An American bred but Italian raced grandson of Star Kingdom, Semipalatinsk sired 26 stakeswinners including sprinters, Oaks winners and Australian Grand National victors but his comparative record as a broodmare stallion is almost without peer. His daughters have left group one winners the calibre of Private Steer, Savannah Success (damsire of Savabeel), All Silent, Star Shiraz and Blue Diamond Stakes winner Danelagh.

Interestingly there are some reasonably prominent physical similarities between Semipalatinsk and Keyarna Blue, far more than he had with Ramiel and the Fast N Famous colt.

Many breeders remark that their first stakeswinner is a lifetime moment and for a kiwi breeder these days to achieve the feat in Australia is real achievement. Alan Jackson will have found plenty of desirable spots on the Ahuriri foreshore this week to celebrate with a locally brewed pilsner or one of the regions great syrahs and with Keyarna Blue's repertoire it would come as little surprise if he finds himself repeating the dose in Melbourne this spring around Southbank or St Kilda.

Ambitious Champion: Stakeswinning Potential

On a red letter day for his sire courtesy of Usainity's (Zed - Day Tripper by Bin Ajwaad) courgaeous win in the Group 3 Frank Packer Plate at Randwick in Sydney, Ambitious Champion (Zed - Simply Sally by Sackford) clearly flagged himself as Zed's next stakeswinner with an astonishing performance to land the NZ Bloodstock Insurance Premier 3 Year Old over 2000m at Te Rapa.

Ridden with typical patience by Oppie Bosson, the gelding moved sweetly into the race with cover from the 600m, and as they approached the turn it only looked a matter of how far given the way he was travelling compared to his counterparts. In his brief career though Ambitious Champion has a history of doing things the hard way and as the field swung wide on the point of the turn the long striding gelding cannoned into the runner inside him, losing conservatively three to four lengths, not to mention considerable momentum.

Despite his task looking forlorn he gathered himself and although running in on a couple of occassions, the gelding drove relentlessly down the outside, getting up right on the line. In many respects this was a similar tale to his effort at Te Rapa on 16 March when he lost around eight lengths at the start and rattled home, but on that occasion though just failing to pick-up pick up the winner.

Ambitious Champion has been responsible for two of the most impressive performances on a northern racecourse this season, one in narrow defeat and one in victory, and although the calibre of horses he has met are not great and there is an inclination to get caught in the current hype surrounding his sire, he does look a most exciting type for next season and better than a real chance to become Zed's third individual stakeswinner.

Zed: Two Swallows Make a Summer

Rumours are rife in breeding circles that the stallion Zed (Zabeel - Emerald Dream by Danehill) is on the move from his exiled home for the last year, Erewhorn Station in South Canterbury. A return to a mainstream farm for the ten-year-old would be a rare u turn in an industry where the slope to oblivion is an extremely slippery surface.

Zed's renewed popularity has been built on a steady stream of winners since just before Xmas with the icing on the cake coming at Awapuni last Saturday when his three-year-old sons Survived ( Zed - Liberal by Generous) and Usainity (Zed - Day Tripper by Bin Ajwaad) quinelled the Group 3 Manawatu Challenge Stakes over 2000m.

Interestingly most of his better winners have come from his second oldest crop which are three-year-olds this season - he had 49 live foals in his second crop compared to 90 in his first. As well as the afore mentioned stakes performers, the Baker/Forsman stable's Ambitious Champion (Zed - Simply Sally by Sackford), whilst still a maiden after four seconds from four starts, is another promising type in the same age group.

While Zed is from racings aristocracy, his sole win, a maiden 1600m at Hastings on a wet surface was not going to inspire breeders when he retired to Little Avondale Stud in Masterton in 2007. An inventive piece of marketing by studmaster Sam Williams saw the stallion serve 199 mares in his first two seasons courtesy of a non refundable $500 service the first year followed by tweak to $1,000 for the second. While most of his harem had little in the way of credentials with many coming out of retirement and from farmers back paddocks, numbers on the ground at least gave the lithe son of Zabeel an outside fighting chance.

One imagines it would not have been a difficult decision for LA last May to relocate Zed. With less than a single handful of individual winners from his oldest crop who were three rising four at that stage, Zed's stallion box must have looked the perfect fit for their new stallion Nadeem.

If the rumours are true and Zed returns from the wilderness, his fee and patronage will be fascinating. This year's Karaka results highlighted the lack of genuine staying options within our stallion ranks so the timing could not have been more apt for Zed to show breeders he can leave horses with genuine staying talent. He will undoubtedly stand for a significantly increased fee which will move him into a different market. It remains to be seen whether those breeders will support him or will they look at the more fashionable yet unproven imported options.

Nashville: Pedigree of the Week

With his oldest progeny four, Darci Brahma has made a very encouraging start to his stallion career, however as his recent Karaka results atest, until a sire can produce a genuine group one performer under Australasian conditions and preferably at WFA level, their sale results will suffer. That missing piece of his resume was completed in emphatic fashion on Saturday when Nashville (Darci Brahma-Royal Kiss by Royal Academy), beat a small but select field of our best WFA talent, including Cox Plate winner Ocean Park, in the Group One Haunui Farm WFA Classic over 1600m at Otaki, an hours drive north of Wellington.

Ever since his outstanding win in a competitive Group Two Couplands Mile last year Nashville had looked a group one winner in waiting. But for missing the start badly in the Group One Thorndon Mile and running into more dead ends than the Kahui twins murder enquiry in the Group One Telegraph Handicap, that goal would have been achieved. However both those contests at the recent Wellington Cup Carnival were handicaps and WFA racing is a significant transition; one that many group one handicap winners find beyond them.

On Saturday, rider Kelly Myers allowed the long striding four-year-old to settle last in the clear as Veyron set an even tempo in front. As they rounded the final turn Myers understandably rode for luck, looking for a gap on the inside of Ocean Park, before realising that her mount was travelling considerably better than last year's Cox Plate winner she hooked him outside the Thorn Park four-year-old, where once gathered, he unleashed a strong finishing burst to pick-up Veyron and former Singapore Champion Better Than Ever.

In fact it was some afternoon for Darci Brahma. Earlier on the Otaki card his son Deliciano won the St Leger trial and half an hour before Nashville's success, Recite (Darci Brahma-Chant by Traditionally) had ran down a gallant Bounding (Lohnro-Believe N Succeed by Exceed and Excel) to win the prestigious Group Two Matamata Breeders Stakes and remain unbeaten in three starts.

Nashville becomes the second group one winner for his sire following Artistic's win in last year's New Zealand Oaks. Darci Brahma's six other individual stakeswinners include Champion Singaporean sprinter/miler Super Easy and recent Group Two Avondale Guineas winner Valbuena.

Typical of his sires stock, Nashville is a well balanced individual with an attractive head and eye. Significantly he has a little more width and strength through the chest and girth than one tends to associate with the Darci Brahma progeny.

Royal Kiss, the dam of Nashville, is an Irish bred placed daughter of Royal Academy, a fine racehorse and stallion whose status downunder is forever assured thanks to his group one winning son Bel Esprit siring Black Caviar and his daughter Piccadilly Circus leaving Fastnet Rock.

Nashville is Royal Kiss's fifth foal and her first stakeswinner. Her first four foals were to Australian sires and resulted in $100,000 earner China Causeway and an Al Maher gelding who won twice in Hong Kong.

The mare was then offered at the 2006 Sydney Broodmare Sale where she was bought by former Olympic gold medalist Blyth Tait, who bred Nashville selling him at the 2010 Karaka Ready To Run Sale for $40,000 to Paul Beamish acting on behalf of Hunterville owner/trainer Adrian Bull. Royal Kiss then produced a Pins colt for Tait, which is now in Hong Kong but unraced, after which he sold the mare in foal to Stravinsky at the 2010 Sydney Broodmare Sale to Masterton bloodstock agent Bruce Perry on behalf of Wellington breeder Lib Petagna.

Little Avondale Stud offered the Stravinsky filly on behalf of Petagna at last years Karaka Premier Yearling Sale. A lovely, well balanced filly with plenty of leg, she was bought for $110,000 by the Block Partnership of Wellington, owners of the high class racemare Xanadu. Named Coco Chanel, she ran a close third at her only trial back last spring and is set to debut before the end of her two-year-old season.

Royal Kiss has not had a foal since Coco Chanel but is back in foal to Darci Brahma.

Features of Nashville's female family are the presence of leading broodmare stallions Royal Academy, Kris and Mill Reef. His second dam by Kris won at group two level and was placed in both the Irish and English Oaks while his third dam by Mill Reef placed in the important Group One Chevely Park Stud Stakes as a two-year-old. Both dams have left Northern Hemisphere winners however of note is the number of their daughters that have found their way to Australia and left stakeswinners - at last count three stakeswinners and two stakesplaced performers.

Nashville's latest performance should have silenced a lot of his sires local critics. It remains to be seen whether Australian and Hong Kong buyers will be convinced of the form, although beating Ocean Park will have meant they will have given the race a good deal more than their usual cursory glance. At least it is a big step in the right direction for Darci.

Bin Ajwaad: Not a Complete Turkey

Bin Ajwaad, who had a brief flirtation with the local broodmare population in the mid 1990’s is not a name you expect to see in the race results these days. Therefore it was quite a surprise to see him figure as the dam sire of two Australasian metropolitan winners last weekend.

As an interesting little aside; in the case of Flemington winner Perfectly Stunning (Perfectly Ready-Swallow by Bin Ajwaad), it is just the kind of result Brighthill Farm's affable owners Nick and Anne-Marie King will be hoping for more of if Perfectly Ready is to remain marketable in the cut throat stallion business. Unfortunately for Ellerslie winner Usainity (Zed-Day Tripper by Bin Ajwaad), the success has come to late to save Zed who was banished from the Little Avondale roster last year to the breeding mecca of Central Otago.

The 16.1 hand son of the influential Rainbow Quest shuttled from England to stand the 1996 and 1997 seasons at Matamata’s Wedgewood Stud, leaving 67 live foals. After serving 57 mares in his first season the number dropped to 37 the following year which one imagines was insufficient to justify his return.

Based on race performance and pedigree it is difficult to fathom why he was not more popular with local breeders. A dual Irish group three winner at 1400m and a mile, in almost any regular year Bin Ajwaad would have been a Classic winner instead of running second to the champion miler and sire Kingmambo in the French 2000 Guineas and third in the English equivalent to Zafonic and Barathea - two other enormously talented performers who both fashioned successful stallion careers.

Bin Ajwaad was extremely well bred. On his female side he traced to Pretty Polly, one of the great taproot mare of the English Stud Book, while his dam Salidar was a half sister to three individual group one winners. Some of the families more recent alumni include leading stallions Cape Cross - whose dam Park Appeal is a half sister to Salidar - Diktat, and Iffraaj.

Rainbow Quest should not have put breeders off either, in fact quite the contrary as the Blushing Groom sireline was really hitting it’s straps down under at the time courtesy of Nassipour and Rainbow Quest’s son Quest For Fame.

Bin Ajwaad left four individual stakeswinners from his brief Southern Hemisphere sojourn, the best of which clearly was Group One New Zealand Stakes and Group Two Counties Cup winning mare Deebee Belle.

Things never got any better for Bin Ajwaad back in England and in 2001 he was sold to stand at stud in Turkey.

While his actively breeding broodmare population across Australasia now numbers just a handful, the strength of Bin Ajwaad’s pedigree should see his influence maintained in our female lines for a little while longer.

Trentham Pick 6 26 January

 It doesn't get any easier. Anyone getting a piece of the jackpot will deserve it.

 Leg 1: Find it difficult to separate the first four, who rate clearly ahead of the remainder. Soriano disappointed me at little at Auckland; I thought the tracks would be to her liking. In saying that there is no Fix today although she likely strikes a very firm track which I suspect she is vulnerable on. High Fashion, who can really let down, is the emerging horse and deserves consideration. Omana maybe the blowout but her lack of experience will count against her.

 Leg 2: Probably perceived as the toughest leg by a lot of punters although some of the better fancied runners may struggle to get a genuine 2400m at Trentham. The race maps to have some speed so Don Domingo and Phantom Storm are proven stayers, well weighted and need to go in. Lady Platinum is an improving type who has a good preparation and Our Milly Smith should run the trip although she is weighted poorly. Monachee was competitive in a better field on Monday and whacks away at the one pace; she is the blowout.

 Leg 3: Viadana, Nashville and Miss Pelear are clearly on top here. Viadana always runs time and although beaten into tenth at her latest effort, it was meritorious given the passage she received and my only concern is that it may have knocked her. Full Of Spirit had a lot more in her favour than Viadana and Miss Pelear at Ellerslie last start and is unlikely to get the same breaks this time with the draws. Historian is the unknown: a class act as a three-year-old before going to Hong Kong, he's had no real luck since been home and is the blowout.

 Leg 4: A good horse's race this, often won by something carrying plenty of weight. You can feel comfortable enough with just Classcoroc and Patrimonium on a ticket. The former is not badly weighted for a last start winner in Open company while Patrimonium won a particularly strong race more comfortably than the margin suggests at her last start. The Irish bred mare's coat is acclimatising all the time and her raceday efforts substantiate that. Zumba and Moneytree deserve consideration.

 Leg 5: Ransomed and O'Fille are clearly on top. Ransomed looked in need of the run in the Marton Cup and the race was not run to suit, yet still won. He is one of the most improved horses in training but continues to step up each time he goes to the races. O'Fille seems to be the horse that has beaten the handicapper, often a great pointer in the big Cup races, and with the Trentham Stakes usually such a good guide, only bad luck stops her figuring in the finish.

 Leg 6:  I confess to not knowing much about the formlines here. Workingclass is one I have followed and form in a strong Saturday Rating 65 field warrants her consideration. La Clairette and Aloe go in more on pedigree than anything else. I clearly need to do some more study.

A cheaper ticket option maybe: Lucky Country, Lovetessa and High Fashion/Don Domingo and Phantom Storm/Viadana, Nashville and Miss Pelear/Classcoroc and Patrimonium/Ransommed and O'Fille/Workingclass, La Clairette and Aloe.

Best of luck.

Crested Wave: Like a Phoenix

Successful stallions are like ragwort or Winston Peters; they keep popping up long after you have given them up for dead. In the case of Crested Wave, whose passing in 2006 was merely a belated memorial to a commercial career that effectively ended in 1996 when he left Haunui Farm for the South Island, a  posthumous encore performance has come via the progeny of two of his broodmare daughters.

American Grade One winner Unusual Suspect (Unusual Heat - Penpont (NZ) by Crested Wave), 9th and 21st in the last two Melbourne Cups, broke through for his first win on Australian soil when successful in the Listed Werribee Cup on December 16. Unfortunatelyy the nine-year-old entire broke down at his following start in the Listed Bagot Handicap and is currently being advertised for sale as a stallion prospect.

While it was not a stakes performance the win by Don't Dilly Dally (Howbaddouwantit - Plume by Crested Wave) - the ninth and final foal of her multiple group winning mother - over 1600m at Trentham last Saturday held some merit. The five-year-old mare steps up markedly in class this weekend to tackle the Group One Thorndon Mile.

Crested Wave was purchased by a syndicate of New Zealand's leading farms for a reported NZ $1 million and commenced stud duties in 1982 at Haunui Farm in Brookby, South Auckland. A group one winning two-year-old who accomplished little in three seasons of racing after his juvenile year, the son of the little known Crozier immediately proved popular with local breeders, no doubt encouraged by the early stud success of the Canadian sprinter miler One Pound Sterling, which had "broken the ice"so to speak regarding the negative stigma that had existed towards American bred dirt track performers to that time.

In an era of considerable depth in our stallion ranks Crested Wave fashioned an excellent record as his eleven individual group one winners as both a sire and broodmare sire testify. To place in it perspective, Zabeel is the only New Zealand based stallion with progeny at Karaka next week to have sired more group one winners.

Crested Wave's stock excelled at 1600m - six of his progeny won group one contests at the distance - and they were particularly proficient when kept on the fresh side. As types they were generally only of medium build but very athletic and not endowed with too much condition which helped them race well in a fresh state. He left a number of good WFA performers including Cox Plate winner Surfers Paradise, Surface and the enigmatic Drought..

Although sharing the 1990/91 Filly of The Year title with Let's Sgor, Plume was clearly the best three-year-old filly of her year. The Paddy Bussutin trained filly won her first six starts that season, five of those in stakes races including the Group One 1000 Guineas, before tasting defeat at her last run for the season in the New Zealand Oaks, where after sitting three-wide for almost the entire journey, she was run down late by Let's Sgor.

Plume returned at four to win three listed sprints and the competitive Group Two Bluebird Foods Trophy (now the Rich Hill Mile) at Ellerslie. She failed to win in five starts the following season and retired with a record of 12 wins from 22 starts and earnings of $350,000.

Like many top racemares Plume's progeny never managed to attain the same heights on the racetrack as their mother. To a variety of stallions including Zabeel, Pins and Last Tycoon she left nine live foals, five of which have won. Her only stakesperformer to date is Mount Kosciusko (Zabeel), a $450,000 Karaka yearling who was stakesplaced in Adelaide.

Fairdale Stud and partners are breeding from Plume's second last foal, Revere, a two time winning daughter by Fairdale's disappointing former stallion Riveria. Revere's first foal an Ifraaj colt fetched $25,000 at last year's Karaka Select Sale.

The recent performances of Unusual Suspect and Don't Dilly Dally have served as a belated reminder of a stallion whose record at stud probably did not get the accolades it deserved. How fitting it would be if the final foal of one of his best performers could manage black-type success.

Trentham: Pick Six

If you are anything like me you can probably relate to Trentham's reputation as a punters graveyard and picking winners this weekend will be even tougher than usual with some open fields and an anticipated genuine dead surface. Reports that the inside maybe off adds to the puzzle.

The first leg looks Abraham Lincoln's but the lack of pace is a slight concern. It may only have been Wairarapa but Benzini won well; he showed a lot of speed to circle them and was going away from the second place-getter Corporal Lincoln - who has won since - on the line. Weissmuller is a lovely cut of a thoroughbred and in time he'll be competitive in stakes company. The progressive filly Blanket Bay maybe the blowout; I tend to forgive horses their second-up run in a first preparation so don't be put off by the fact that it was on a Dead surface - the stock of Darci Brahma generally like the cut out.

2nd Leg: A small mare, Glad will appreciate the light weight and all she needs is an economical trip close to the speed to win this. Savour the Moment won a strong race last time and drops to a winnable weight. A course and distance winner of the Wellington Stakes on a soft track, Joey Massino should be be getting near peak fitness after such a long time out and with the anticipated dead track he looks well placed. Sangster turned in a super effort in the Rich Hill and while the 1600m will probably be too short now, if the track is playing to those coming down the outside he is a winning chance.

3rd Leg: Spiro looks a weight special and goes particularly well here. So far the signs are that On The Level is close to recapturing the form he showed at three and while he looked a little dour last start I wonder whether the step to 2100m third-up after two years out is too bigger hurdle. On his best form and this weight he wins this comfortably, so you need to include him. Floria looks nicely placed to dictate a soft speed and her record past 1600m is better than it reads, but it's imperative that the track surface is on the better side of Dead. Patiently handled, The Solitaire has always looked a mare who would get over ground with maturity and she was doing her best work late at Timaru.

4th Leg: The Knight has a strong record and looks nicely placed here. The biggest dangers look to be Have No Mercy who goes well left handed and is a solid type capable of carrying weight, and so long as the track gets back to a Dead 4, Arietta, who looks well suited to the step to 1400m. If the cut is out of the track, Scarlet O'Hara can figure.

5th Leg: Fascinating open race with so many classy milers taking on the pure sprinters. I'm planning on taking a spread and putting in Durham Town, Xanadu, Nashville and Sir Lovesalot. There looks enough speed for the likes of Nashville in particular to get home strongly - remember Mufhasa won this race at his next start after winning the Couplands Mile.

Final Leg: London Dream and Prepared were stiff at their last starts both of which will be strong form races. Jonathan Riddell jumping on Don't Dilly Dally is a big plus for her chances and she drops a rating band and she also had no luck last start.

A cheaper ticket option maybe: Abraham Lincoln and Weismuller/Savour The Moment, Joey Massino and Glad/Spiro and On The Level/ The Knight/Durham Town, Xanadu, Nashville and Sir Lovesalot/London Dream and Don't Dilly Dally.

Best of luck.

Pedigree of the Week: Omana

It is debatable whether a better bred horse raced anywhere in the southern hemisphere on Saturday - or all week for that matter - than Omana (Bernadinni-Gussy Godiva). The John Bary trained three-year-old filly won her maiden over 1600m at Woodville, at her third career start.

Settling third on the rails for jockey Kelly Myers, the filly seemed to lack the confidence to take the gaps as they presented in the straight, but once urged through by Myers with 100m to go, she quickened like a good horse to race away and win by a length and a quarter from No Change (Shinko King). The race may have some depth to it as the runner-up was beaten two lengths by the promising Abraham Lincoln (O'Reilly) at his previous start.

Omana is the only filly foal to date from the 2009 New Zealand Broodmare of the Year Gussy Godiva (Last Tycoon-Sneetch). Sensibly she has been retained by her breeders, the Ormond family from Waipukurau in Southern Hawkes Bay.

Omana's distaff has Hurricane country roots deeper than Tui beer. The instigator is the wonderful Te Parae matron Sanderae (Oncidium-Nell by Knight's Romance) who has been quietly establishing her own dynasty as a taproot mare. The likes of recent Hong Kong Group One winner Glorious Days, American Group One winner Black Mamba (a half sister to Gussy Godiva), and Australian Group Two winner Torrio's Quest, all trace to her.

Gussy Godiva, whose first two foals were the Group Two Wellington Guineas winner Rios (Hussonet) and Group One AJC Derby winner Roman Emperor (Montjeu), had her fifth live foal, a Redoute's Choice colt, sell for $400,000 at last years Sydney Easter Yearling Sale. She delivered her sixth live foal, a colt by Medaglia D'Oro last September before been served by Redoute's Choice.

Gussy Godiva is an Australian metropolitan winning daughter of the outstanding broodmare influence Last Tycoon, while her second and third dams are daughters of leading broodmare stallions Grosvenor and Sound Reason respectively. Her fourth dam is Sanderae.

Omana's sire the Darley shuttler Bernadinni has made a spectacular start to his stallion career in the Northern Hemisphere with five group one winners in his first group, including one in England. While his impact downunder has been more subdued he does have a number of promising types headed by the Snowden pair of Meidung and Solemn, and Ruud Awakening, the current pre post favourite for the Karaka Million.

Omana is nominated for the New Zealand Oaks and while she will probably need at least another win or at least some stakes form to make the field, one would be game to bet against either outcome judging by her impressive win earlier today. While her connections will unquestionably seek black -type for her, Omana's pedigree already has sufficient depth and construction to guarantee her a place in any broodmare band.

Sultry Assassin: Keeping up a Trend

Since the New Zealand Oaks shifted to March, the Group Two Royal Stakes over 2000m on New Years Day at Ellerslie has become significantly less of a guide to the result of the Trentham Classic. However Sultry Assassin (Keeper-Blackrock College), who made ground stylishly from last at the turn to finish sixth in Tuesday's renewal, looks an improving type ideally suited to the timing and distance of the Oaks.

The rescheduling of the Oaks has made it an extremely difficult race for a filly who has targeted the competitive Filly of the Year series, to win. Nowadays the best Oaks form tends to come from those fillies who have either had a mid season break from the rigours of the series, or simply from an improving filly such as Sultry Assassin.

Success at Trentham for Sultry Assassin would maintain an astonishing record for her sire Keeper, whose daughters Keep The Peace and Midnight Oil were back to back winners in 2010 and 2011 respectively - astonishingly, another Keeper filly Can't Keeper Down was narrowly beaten by Jungle Rocket in 2009.

Sultry Assassin is clearly the most talented of the five foals of racing age left by her dam, Blackrock College (Volksraad-Marscade), herself an outstanding three-year of her time, winning twice at group three level and running second to Final Destination in the Group One New Zealand Two Thousand Guineas. Her other four foals to race have won just once, a maiden at Wanganui, from north of 50 accumulated starts.

While Sultry Assasin is the first show of form from her dam, the female family of Sultry Assassin has undergone significant rejuvenation over the last couple of years thanks to the broodmare prowress of Cashcade (Anziyan-Marscade), a half sister to Blackrock College.

Cashacde is yet another example of the wonderful ambiguities of breeding. Significantly inferior in racetrack
ability to her half sister and by Danehill's much maligned brother Anziyan, Cashcade has defied the odds and become a wonderful propagator of talent since her bargain basement purchase by Newmarket Lodge proprietor John O'Brien at the 2007 National Broodmare Sale. Her breeding record is well documented on this site but as an update, her unraced two-year-old Pentire filly Sabatini shows all the family ability on the training track, working the final 600m of a gallop in 35.5 last Saturday morning.

Unraced at two, Sultry Assassin debuted in September over 1200m at Taupo, finishing fourth after a tough run. She gave her first real hint of ability at her third start, when after sitting three and four wide throughout a 1600m maiden on Matamata Cup Day, she still had the audacity to hit the lead shortly after turning for home, before wilting to finish sixth, beaten less than three lengths. After that run the odds were never going to be fancy for her next start, again over 1600m, this time at Pukekohe where she waltzed home by over five lengths.

Next up, she settled a long way from the lead in a 1600m event at Te Rapa, before finishing strongly for third to the handy mare Classcoroc. Her final start before the Royal Stakes was the Group Three Eulogy Stakes over 1600m, where she finished solidly from midfield on the turn, beaten four lengths by the winner Soriano.

Despite a 28 November birthday, Sultry Assassin was a very well developed yearling when inspected as part of her breeder and vendor Cambridge Stud's 2011 Karaka Select Sale draft. Other prominent features noted on her catalogue page by my pen were her "ears", which were extremely big I recall, and an "excellent temperament". Paul Moroney - openly an advocate for big ears on a filly - purchased her for $80,000.

While a little shorter in the cannons and more upright through the shoulder than her relations Ekstreme and Pellegrini, she exhibited that same "rugged " type of strength that these days is often camouflaged at the yearling sale by muscle and condition.

While the superstitious are unlikely to look optimistically at Sultry Assassin's chances of adding further to the New Zealand Oaks record of her sire, she has the racing and pedigree profile to be a serious player in the Trentham Classic. Regardless of the outcome at Trentham, Sultry Assassin has exhibited sufficient ability in her short racing career to indicate black-type success should be just around the corner, which will make her a very valuable broodmare proposition, especially with the renaissance of her female family.

Footnote: Lot 494 in the upcoming Karaka Select Sale is a half sister to Sultry Assassin by first season sire Tavistock.