MONEY TALKS
$1.05 million buy High Octane heads the betting for intriguing Blue Diamond Preview
Newgate Farm will be hoping money talks when two of the highest-priced yearlings by their stallions Deep Field (Northern Meteor) and Capitalist (Written Tycoon) go on show in the Blue Diamond Preview (C&G) (Listed, 1000m) at Caulfield today.
Bred and sold by Segenhoe Stud, High Octane (Deep Field) fetched $1.05 million last Easter when Newgate helped make him their workmanlike stallion’s record priced lot, along with partners the China Horse Club, Go Bloodstock and Trilogy.
The same quartet paid $850,000 at the Gold Coast three months earlier for the colt now known as Holmes A Court (Capitalist), making him his sire’s fourth most expensive yearling.
Following a long list of runners to bear the China Horse Club colours for Team Snowden, High Octane and Holmes A Court are among eight first-starters who today will be trying to stop the only experienced runner, Blue Stratum (Blue Point), becoming the first Australian winner for his Darley shuttle sire, on his third outing.
After three impressive barrier trials, High Octane was last night a $2.40 favourite, ahead of Team McEvoy’s Blue Stratum at $4.60.
And with Deep Field having been retired due to fertility issues only a week after High Octane became his personal best at a yearling sale – confirming him as part of the stallion’s third-last crop – connections will be hoping the sire has saved his best until near-last.
“High Octane’s always had a bit of a profile about him, as you’d imagine from his sale price,” Peter Snowden told ANZ Bloodstock News.
“He’s always trialled well and does look a nice horse. The Deep Fields tend to have big barrels on them, but he doesn’t look that type. He’s pretty scopey and pretty rangy. In saying that, he does have a lot of quality about him.”
The second foal out of the dual Listed winner Granny Red Shoes (Not A Single Doubt), High Octane opened up with two 900-metre Rosehill barrier trials in October, running third in the first and winning the second by almost half a length.
After a let-up he reappeared on January 9 to win a Canterbury trial over the same trip by a neck, beating a previous first start winner in Sovereign Hill (Written Tycoon) into third.
One of only two Deep Fields to have fetched seven figures, High Octane, who’ll jump from gate seven under Mark Zahra, is already well in the market for the Blue Diamond Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m) on February 24, at $11.
The lucratively-named Holmes A Court, who has gate six for Jye McNeil, is the first foal out of the 1400-metre winner Menagerie (Zoustar), a half-sister to New Zealand Group 1 winner Il Quello Veloce (Captain Rio). The colt has also had three barrier trials for a win, over 812 metres at Warwick Farm, and two thirds.
With his sire Capitalist in a similar boat to Deep Field in that he’s had two million-dollar yearlings so far, Holmes A Court was last night a $26 chance for his debut. Snowden concurs with the market’s rankings of his two colts, but not the prices.
“It’s probably the right way to go, but there’s not much between them,” he said. “Holmes A Court won his first trial this time in, then ran third when the wet track didn’t suit him. He’ll run well. He’ll probably be in front of High Octane early in the race, and it’ll be a matter of whether High Octane can round him up.
“They’re both nice horses, they’ve been showing a fair bit at home, so we’re testing the water to see if they’re Blue Diamond material.”
High Octane will be striving to provide Deep Field’s third two-year-old winner from six starters this season. His first-season son Cosmic Force, meanwhile, is off to a flyer with three winners.
Capitalist has had one juvenile winner from 14 runners this season in King Of Roseau, who was second to the promising Fully Lit (Hellbent) at Rosehill last Saturday.
Trainers Tony and Calvin McEvoy, meanwhile, have added blinkers in a bid to help Blue Stratum fulfil the promise that has him a $15 chance for the Blue Diamond.
After the trainers were left frustrated the colt’s strong jump-out form wasn’t enough to make him more than an unused emergency for the Inglis Banner (RL, 1000m) on Cox Plate Day, Blue Stratum debuted as second–favourite in the Maribyrnong Plate (Gr 3, 1000m) on Melbourne Cup day. While looking a strong chance to win at the 300 metres, the colt blew his chance through waywardness towards the end of the Flemington straight, going down by a neck to stablemate Dublin Down (Exceedance).
Taken to Sydney, he was an easing favourite on a hot day for Randwick’s Inglis Nursery (RL, 1000m) on December 9, and ran fourth after taking the lead on straightening. A case of the thumps was found to have impeded his chances, but the colt was also wayward again in the final stages, leading to this week’s gear change.
“He threw his first race away at Flemington down the straight,” Tony McEvoy said. “Then he got the thumps in Sydney, which was diagnosed by the vet. But also his rider Chad Schofield said he was wandering around a fair bit in the run.
“It was a really hot day as well. He did have excuses, but at the same time I was disappointed he didn’t finish the race off.
“That was six weeks ago, and we’ve given him a bit of a freshen up, a bit of a mental break, where he’s had some time on the water walker, and he’s really well. He had a jump-out in blinkers at Caulfield last week and looked really sharp in winning it, so hopefully they’ll help sharpen him for this race as well.”
Blue Point (Shamardal) was the star yearling sale debutant last year in topping the first-season averages at the Gold Coast and Easter. However, in the quest for winners he’s been slow out of the gates, and has been outshone by his fellow Darley shuttler Too Darn Hot (Dubawi).
While Too Darn Hot has four winners from seven runners to sit second among the first season sires and fourth on the two-year-old table, Blue Point still awaits his first Australian success, after 11 starters.
Another debutant of note in the colts and geldings Blue Diamond Preview is $700,000 Gold Coast yearling Innervisions (I Am Invincible), a son of the Listed-winning Modern Wonder (Snitzel), who’s a sister to Australia’s Champion 2YO Filly of 2019-20, Away Game.
Bought by Tony Fung, Annabel Neasham and Dermot Farrington Bloodstock from Kia Ora Stud’s draft, the colt was a $5 third–favourite last night after winning his two barrier trials this time in, the latest by three and a quarter lengths over 900 metres at Rosehill on January 9.
Also debuting will be $950,000 Gold Coast buy Espinho (Written Tycoon), bought from Arrowfield by a team headed by Yulong Stud and trainers Anthony and Sam Freedman.
The colt was a $16 chance last night after a sixth and a third from two jump-outs.