Storm Boy and Straight Charge continue Tulloch Lodge’s juvenile dominance
Waterhouse and Bott further tightened their grip on upcoming two-year-old features as exciting duo post impressive dual-state double
Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott flexed their Magic Millions muscle with a scintillating dual-state double yesterday that again showed off their rare draft of two-year-old talent this season.
Storm Boy (Justify) and Straight Charge (Written By) were made joint favourites for next month’s Magic Millions 2YO Classic (RL, 1200m) after slashing wins, both at long odds-on, in Brisbane and Sydney respectively.
At Eagle Farm, Storm Boy became Coolmore shuttler Justify’s (Scat Daddy) first Australian two-year-old black type winner of the season – and fourth overall, when he landed the BJ McLachlan Stakes (Gr 3, 1200m) by an imposing two and and a quarter lengths after firming late to start at $1.45.
And at Randwick, Yulong colt Straight Charge led throughout, before blowing away his rivals to take the meeting opener, the set-weights Drinkwise Plate (1100m) by three and three quarter lengths, at $1.60.
Though both only beat five rivals, bookmakers reacted by making them $3.50 equal favourites for the Gold Coast’s $3 million two-year-old feature on January 13.
After yesterday’s success, Tulloch Lodge now boast seven of the top 17 horses in betting for the $5 million Golden Slipper (Gr 1, 1200m) at Rosehill on March 23, with the stable now having scored seven two-year-old wins this season.
Shangri La Express (Alabama Express) is the current $7 Slipper favourite after winning his first two starts, first in Randwick’s Kirkham Plate (1000m) and Rosehill’s $1 million Golden Gift (1100m).
As in the Magic Millions, Storm Boy and Straight Charge share the same price in Slipper betting, and have been introduced as $13 co-second favourites.
And their stable has four more Slipper fancies in Sovereign Hill (Written Tycoon, $21), Espionage (Zoustar, $26), Anode (I Am Invincible, $26) and Celestial Bling (Capitalist, $26).
Espionage took out Randwick’s Breeders’ Plate (Gr 3, 1000m) on September 30 in his only start thus far. Sovereign Hill won his sole appearance, in a 1000-metre Warwick Farm maiden on October 11, by two and a quarter lengths, while Anode debuted with a three and a quarter length stroll in an 1100-metre two-year-old handicap at Randwick last Saturday.
Celestial Bling is one of only two members of the septet to have tasted defeat, and even that was by a mere bob of the head, when second behind Manaal (Tassort) at her only start in the Gimcrack Stakes (Gr 3, 1000m).
The other is Straight Charge, who ran a narrow second to Espionage in the Breeders’ Plate on the same day, and franked that form yesterday leading throughout to street his rivals.
Storm Boy’s victory in yesterday’s $300,000 McLachlan was most impressive. After being trapped three wide around the first corner despite the small field, he travelled outside the leader Mishani Aloha (Kobayashi), but had enough in reserve to win by a gaping margin from the filly Poster Girl (Alabama Express). James Harron colts syndicate first-starter Customized (Capitalist) was half a length further back in third, while Rockhampton colt Astapor (Tassort) was fourth.
“It was a little bit awkward there out of the gates, whether he stumbled or got a bit of a check, we were on the back foot early,” said Bott, who was on hand at Eagle Farm yesterday.
“It’s to be expected coming up here, it is never easy and you don’t take anything for granted with a short-priced favourite in a small field. You always respect the locals up here on their home turf.
“He overcame a bit of difficulty and was still strong late.”
One person well placed to compare the two Magic Millions joint-favourites is jockey Tim Clark, who rode Straight Charge yesterday – and in his two comfortable lead-up barrier trial wins – and steered Storm Boy to his first win, in an 1100-metre Rosehill two-year-old handicap on December 2, before Adam Hyeronimus took the ride in Brisbane yesterday.
“I think this horse [Straight Charge] is faster, but Storm Boy has got a lot of depth to him. They’re both extremely talented,” Clark said yesterday.
Storm Boy, a $460,000 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale purchase bred by Coolmore’s Katom concern, is the first foal of two-time winner Pelican (Fastnet Rock), whose dam was the outstanding Seachange (Cape Cross), the winner of seven Group 1s in New Zealand and Caulfield’s Mannerism Stakes (Gr 3, 1400m) in 2007.
Being out of a daughter of Fastnet Rock (Danehill), Storm Boy becomes the fourth stakes winner bred on the cross, joining Group 2 winner and southern hemisphere-bred Learning To Fly, New Zealand Group 3 scorer Star Of Justice, who also hails from the first southern hemisphere crop of the stallion, and US Listed winner Just Steel, who is a son of 2009 Thousand Guineas (Gr 1, 1600m) winner Irish Lights.
Coolmore will present Pelican’s second foal, a colt by Pierro (Lonhro), at next month’s Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale and he is catalogued as Lot 33. Meanwhile, the mare now has a filly foal by Coolmore shuttler St Mark’s Basilica (Siyouni) and was covered again by Justify in November.
US Triple Crown winner Justify (Scat Daddy) now has four stakes-winners in Australia from two crops running, with 21 winners from 43 runners. The US Triple Crown hero’s worldwide stakes winners count now sits at 25 black-type victors, which have come from 238 runners, which fires at an incredible 10.5 per cent.
Bott was also naturally delighted after Straight Charge resumed to beat Ciaron Maher and David Eustace’s Erno’s Cube (Rubick) and Godolphin’s Pisces (Frosted) yesterday.
“It was really good, and that is what we were hoping to see from him,” the trainer said post-race. “The way he came back, he’s showing good improvement off that last preparation.
“He still has that great tactical speed which is a big asset to him.
“It was good to see him take that improvement though because last prep he was still a bit new and didn’t quite know how to put them away where he was able to quicken up nicely on Saturday.
“He will go straight to the Magic Millions now. That should see him qualified and ready to go.”
Bott was also pleased to see the Breeders’ Plate form stack up.
“A few of those horses behind him have had recent runs which were good but there is no doubt that the Breeders’ Plate form that we have seen stand up already,” Bott said. “Traditionally it is a good form race going forward.
Aside from Straight Charge, the sixth-placegetter from the Breeders’ Plate, Highness (Snitzel), has subsequently won Wyong’s Magic Millions 2YO Classic (1100m) and is on the second line of betting for the Gold Coast “grand final” at $8.
With his Randwick romp yesterday, Straight Charge became the first winner among four runners from the second crop of Widden resident Written By (Written By), who recently completed his fifth season at the breeding barn, covering mares at a fee of $27,500 (inc GST). Overall, the Blue Diamond Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m)–winning eight-year-old has 20 winners and two at stakes level from 54 runners.
Straight Charge was bought by Yulong for $270,000 from the Lime Country Thoroughbreds draft at last year’s Magic Millions Gold Coast sale, and the colt races in the stud’s green and white checks with a slight twist: he has a pink cap, since he races in the ownership of April Zhang, Yulong’s finance director and daughter of the stud’s billionaire Chinese owner, Zhang Yuesheng.
Bred by Scott and Kathy Robertson, Straight Charge is the second foal of Matryoshka (I Am Invincible), a half-sister to Group 2 winner and now Grandview Stud-based sire Winning Rupert (Written Tycoon) and Group 2 scorer Tycoon Evie (Written Tycoon). Matryoshka’s first foal, four-year-old gelding Staroshka (Star Witness) recently broke through to win the last two of his five starts, at Kyneton and – after a stable change – Toowoomba.
Matryoshka was sent back to Written By soon after Straight Charge’s birth, but slipped. However, she now has a yearling colt on the ground by the same stallion and was covered by Written By’s barnmate, Zoustar (Northern Meteor), in October.
Clark has been confirmed as Straight Charge’s rider in the Magic Millions 2YO Classic, with Hyeronimus set to stick with Storm Boy.