New South Wales bred horses take Top Honours at the NZ Mercedes Thoroughbred Racing Awards

At the Mercedes Thoroughbred Racing Awards in Auckland on 20 August, 2004, the NSW bred Lashed was presented with the Champion Weight for Age Performer Award. Congratulations to TBNSW member Mrs C M Upjohn the breeder of Lashed.  Lashed (Encosta de Lago-Traffic Watch) recorded three Group 1 wins for the season in the Auckland Classic, the International Stakes and the New Zealand Stakes.

The NSW bred King’s Chapel (King of Kings(IRE)-Lower Chapel(GB)) was named New Zealand Horse of the Year.  King's Chapel has faced the starter 16 times for nine wins, eight in New Zealand and one in Australia, the Gold Coast Guineas, and has $742,771 in career earnings to date. He was successful in five races in New Zealand in the past season.  The complete list of award winners are as follows:

  Darley Duo record First Stakes Winners

Darley Stud’s shuttle stallions King’s Best and Xaar have both recorded their first stakes winners this week in the northern hemisphere.  King’s Best(USA) (Kingmambo-Allegretta) first stakes winner was Ellliot’s World in the Acomb Stakes at York, a race which was also won by King’s Best himself in 1999.  Xaar(GB) (Zafonic-Monroe) first success came from Tony James who was successful in the Group 2 Gimcrack Stakes at York.  Both stallions will stand their southern hemisphere season at Darley Stud at Aberbeen in New South Wales.  For further information on the Darley Stallions visit their website at www.darleystallions.com.au.

  A new giant stirring in world sire ranks

A new giant is stirring in the world sire ranks and he is the awesome European galloper of 2000, Coolmore's powerhouse 16.1 hands chestnut Storm Cat product Giant's Causeway. He is currently cutting a swathe through European juvenile racing and his first crop youngsters already includes ten winners, one of which, the unbeaten Shamardal, is being heralded as next year's classic hero.  

Admired by the top end of racing to such an extent he has had at the sales a world record priced weanling filly, a first crop yearling filly who realised over A$2.6million and the sale topper at over A$2million at last week's American sales, the Saratoga select series, Giant's Causeway followed up being unbeaten in three starts at two by picking up Group1 cheques in all his nine appearances at three.  In the latter year he wracked up five Group 1 wins in successive outings, the St James' Palace mile at Ascot, the Eclipse Stakes at Sandown, Sussex Stakes at Goodwood, the Juddmonte International Stakes at York and the Irish Champion Stakes.  In addition he was second in four Group1s, appearances in the English Two Thousand Guineas - behind Darley shuttle sire King's Best - Irish Two Thousand Guineas, the Queen Elizabeth 11 Stakes at Ascot and then in the American Breeders' Cup Classic.  

Currently leading European first crop sire by money, quite an achievement as he stands at Coolmore's Ashford stud in Kentucky, Giant's Causeway is coming up to his third season at their Hunter Valley complex, commanding a fee of $77,000. He has over 80 first crop yearlings here and many are expected to sell for big prices at 2005 sales.  Giant's Causeway is one of five Storm Cat sires in use at Coolmore's Kentucky Stud who are to be available in Australia this year. Two of the others, High Yield and the already successful dual hemisphere source of winners, Tale of the Cat, are at Coolmore, Hunter Valley, while the others, Hold That Tiger (Collingrove) and Statue of Liberty (Blue Gum Farm), are at Victorian Studs.  Giant's Causeway is also one of four visiting sires to Australia who are prominent on the European first season sires list, the others being the Darley sires Xaar and Lujain and Monashee Mountain, a Coolmore sire in use at Willowbend, Beaudesert, Queensland.  At the end of July, Lujain was the leading European first season sire by winners with 12 on the score board. 

Like the Emirates Park sire Secret Savings, a son of Mr Prospector's American Super Derby winner Seeking the Gold, Lujain only ran in six races but he won three of these including England's historic juvenile sprint the Middle Park Stakes.  It is a race which has been taken out in the past by the celebrated Australian sires Pipe of Peace and Showdown and far more recently by the Danzig grandson Hayil, a sire who stands at the Lyndhurst Stud at Warwick and who is expected to do well with his first two-year-olds this year.  Lujain, current Australian fee $7700, is also to have members of his first Australian crop run in 2004-05 and it won’t be surprising if there are some very smart horses among them.

 (This article courtesy of Brian Russell’s Racing and Breeding News)

  Miswaki retired from service

One of the best sons of Mr Prospector to stand at stud, Miswaki, has been retired from service by Walmac International due to declining fertility.  Miswaki (Mr Prospector-Hopespringseternal) is 26 years of age.  Miswaki was a Group 1 winner having been successful in the Prix de la Salamandre and was also placed in the Group 1 Prixy Morny and the Dewhurst Stakes.  Miswaki’s best progeny include the Group 1 winners, Black Tie Affair, Urban Sea, Misil, Etoile Montante, Kistena, Waki River, Papal Power, Umatilla and Bachelor Duke.

  Vale – Indigenous

Former Hong Kong Horse of the Year (1998-99) Indigenous has passed away at the age of 11 years.  Indigenous (IRE) (Marju(IRE)-Sea Port(GB)) had career earnings of HK $45,125,289 which included wins in Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates and Ireland and to date the amount is the highest recorded by a Hong Kong trained horse.  As well as Horse of the Year honours, Indigenous was also voted the Most Popular Horse in Hong Kong by the racing public.  Included among Indigenous’ many wins were the Group 2 Hong Kong International Vase, the Hong Kong Gold Cup (twice) and the Hong Kong Champions and Chater Cup (twice).  He also finished second in the Group 1 Japan Cup and was listed in the International Classifications on five consecutive occasions.

  Smarty Jones Retired To Stud

It has been announced that Smarty Jones, the dual-Classic winner has been retired to Three Chimneys Farm in Kentucky due to “chronic bruising of the bottom cannon bone in all 4 fetlock joints.  Smarty Jones (Elusive Quality-I’ll Get Along) was the winner of the Group 1 Kentucky Derby and the Group 1 Preakness Stakes.  He also placed second in the third leg of the elusive triple crown series the Group 1 Belmont Stakes going under by one length to Birdstone (Grindstone-Dear Birdie).  Smarty Jones joined Real Quiet, Silver Charm, Sunday Silence, Majestic Prince, Forward Pass, Tim Tam and Pensive as being a winner of the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes and a runner-up in the Belmont Stakes.  The service fee for Smarty Jones has yet to be determined.

  Paul Gatt Granted Singapore Licence

Paul Gatt, the winner of 2003/2004 South Australian Jockey’s Premiership, has been granted a freelance permit to ride in Singapore and will commence riding at Kranji immediately.  Gatt has ridden over 570 winners since he began riding in 1995.

Friday the 30th of July 2004

  Sire of world record priced foal related to Australian sires

Shuttle sires Arazi(USA) and Noverre(USA) and Wattle Brae Stud's new importation Joyeux Danseur(USA), are all relations to Dance In The Dark, the Japanese Sunday Silence sire who caused a stir last week when one of his youngsters sold for a new world record price equivalent to about Aust$6.3million at the Japanese foal sales.  Possessing an American pedigree, former Japanese champion three-year-old Dance In The Dark was got by Sunday Silence from the unraced Nijinsky mare Dancing Key, a half-sister to the Group1 winners Ajdal (a champion European sprinter), Flying Partner (American Group1 winner and Kentucky Oaks second), Formidable (a top English 2yo and miler), and Fabuleux Jane (dual stakes winner and French Oaks).  Fabuleux Jane is the dam of Joyeux Danseur (8 wins in14 starts, Churchill Downs Classic-Gr.1 by 3.25 lengths; sire in America of stakes winners) and the grandam of Arazi (9 wins in 14 outings; champion at two and four Group 1 successes; also sire of good winners) and Noverre (five wins up to Group1 level and placed in 10 other Group1 races).  Air Groove, the dam of the record priced foal, is a daughter of another top Japanese sire in1987 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe winner Tony Bin. He was by Kampala, a Grey Sovereign male line sire used in Europe, New Zealand, the Hunter Valley and finally Japan.  Four of the Japanese foals including two others by Dance In The Dark each sold in excess of Aust$2million. However, the second highest price, Aust$3,590,000, was for a colt by one of the star Mr Prospector sires, Gone West, and out of Weekend in Seattle, a mare by Widden Stud's successful American shuttle sire Belong to Me.  Weekend in Seattle is a Coaching Club American Oaks third and a sister to American Horse of the Year and champion sire A.P. Indy and a half-sister to Preakness Stakes winner Summer Squall and to his brother Saithor (Larneuk Stud, Euroa,Victoria).They are from Weekend Surprise, a half-sister to Spectacular Spy(USA) (stood Clearvale Stud, Bylong Valley, NSW) and to the dam of Bite the Bullet(USA) (available at Baramul Stud, Widden Valley).  This is also the immediate family of the quality English 2yo and miler Statue of Liberty(USA) (Storm Cat - Charming Lassie, by Seattle Slew), a visitor this year to Blue Gum Farm Euroa, Victoria.

(This article courtesy of Brian Russell’s Racing and Breeding News)

  Danzig Retired

Champion Stallion Danzig has been retired from stud duties.  Danzig (Northern Dancer-Pas de Nom) has been suffering declining fertility due to old age.  Danzig is 27 years of age.  He is the sire of 18% stakes winners to foals.  His 181 stakes winners include 105 at graded/group level and 21 champions.  Amongst his best progeny, either on the track or at stud, are Anabaa, Chief’s Crown, Danehill, Dayjur, Golden Snake, Green Desert and Polish Precedent as well as Group 1 winning fillies Dance Smartly, Pas de Response and Yashmak.

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