Guineas contender Sepals is a Singaporean success story
A heavy Singaporean influence could help Cliff Brown snare his first Group 1 since returning from the Lion City after Sepals (Calyx) shot to equal favouritism for the Australian Guineas (Gr 1, 1600m) courtesy of his runaway success in Saturday’s CS Hayes Stakes (Gr 3, 1400m).
The CS Hayes Stakes has produced some very notable champions in recent seasons, with Group 1 winners Riff Rocket (American Pharoah), Pinstriped (Street Boss), Tagaloa (Lord Kanaloa), Alligator Blood (All Too Hard) and Grunt (O’Reilly) all adding their names to the honour roll.
Judging by the assertive manner of his 3.3-length cruise at Flemington last Saturday, which saw him catapulted into joint Guineas favouritism with Angel Capital (Harry Angel), Sepals would now appear primed and ready to follow their lead.
Sepals, co-owned by Brown’s “racing mad” son Harvey and the Singapore-based Imperial Racing Stable, is the first foal out of What’s New, whose sire Casino Prince (Flying Spur) won the 2008 Chipping Norton Stakes (Gr 1, 1600m).
What’s New was a very handy racemare herself during Brown’s sojourn in Singapore, claiming both the Silver Bowl (Listed, 1400m) and Stewards’ Cup (Listed, 1600m) before coming up just short in the Singapore Derby (Listed, 1800m), eventually finishing a luckless fourth under Ben Thompson.
Given her ability to get over ground, What’s New’s breeder Greg Perry believes Sepals – whom he (through his previous association with Vinery Stud) sold to Brown for $80,000 – will have no trouble running out a strong mile at Flemington in a fortnight’s time, with Blake Shinn is booked to resume the partnership having been on board for the first time on the weekend.
A prior commitment to attend a wedding means Perry, who first shot to prominence as the breeder of four-time Group 1 winner Atlantic Jewel (Fastnet Rock), is unable to attend the Guineas. However, the 71-year-old will be keeping a very keen eye on events from afar – fortunately the ceremony does not coincide with the running of the race – as he bids to take the tally of Group 1 winners bred under his Greenwich Stud banner to eight.
“His win in the CS Hayes was very exciting to see,” Perry told ANZ Bloodstock News.
“The way he travelled with his head on his chest and raced away from them, you couldn’t help but be impressed. I’m not surprised he’s now one of the favourites for the Guineas based on that performance.
“A few people have said that the track may have worked in his favour and gone against some of the other horses, but I’m not so sure about that.
“I just thought he looked like he had the makings of a very good horse, and he ran good times on a deteriorating track to back it up. He looks very untapped, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he can improve again in the Guineas – which he would obviously need to.
“I don’t think the mile will be any issue for him, his mum won over a mile and ran fourth in the Derby over 1800 metres, and she probably should have won that day. She was a lovely relaxed filly, not overly big but she had a sharp turn of foot at the end of her races and it looks like this guy has that same trait.”
That sharp acceleration is derived primarily from Calyx (Kingman), whose career was brought to an end after just four starts in the famous Juddmonte silks when he suffered an injury ahead of his intended run in the 2019 Commonwealth Cup (Gr 1, 6f) at Royal Ascot.
He was subsequently retired to stud at Coolmore Ireland, and although he has sired six stakes winners – including a pair from his two seasons shuttling to Australia – Group 1 success has so far eluded him.
Perry is hoping that will change after the emergence of Sepals, who has made the quantum leap from a maiden win at Sale to a Group 3 triumph at Flemington in the space of just 37 days.
“When I first heard Calyx was coming out here I looked up all the replays, and he was electric on his day,” said Perry.
“His last win at Ascot was absolutely sensational so he was clearly built for speed, and I really liked the mating with What’s New. Sepals was her first foal so it’s pretty exciting, because he looks very promising. She’s got a nice colt by Star Turn on the ground and she’s in foal to Exceedance, so hopefully they’ve got a bit of this bloke’s ability.
“He was always a nice foal but when we took him to the sales, only Cliff was really interested given his association with the mum. Maybe Australians didn’t know much about Calyx and they probably didn’t want to take a punt on him, so it was Cliff’s lucky day and now it looks like he got a bargain.”
Brown admits his association with the mare encouraged him to take a close look at Lot 198 at the 2023 Inglis Classic Yearling Sale, but a sentimental attachment was by no means the prevailing reason for bringing the colt home. Put simply, if he hadn’t inspected and paraded as well as he did, Brown was fully prepared to walk away – but is now extremely pleased that he didn’t.
“He was always a great sort, we initially took a look because I trained his mum but even if I hadn’t, for me he was a real standout on type,” Brown told ANZ Bloodstock News.
“But he was a fairly immature horse, so we had to take our time with him and we’re now reaping the rewards for that patient approach. I couldn’t have imagined him winning like he did on Saturday, so it certainly exceeded our expectations and he came through the run really well.
“He had a nice trot and canter on Monday morning and he seems bright and well, so we’ll definitely be pushing onto the Guineas at this stage.
“This week will just be about his recovery and then we’ll start to increase his workload again next week to get him ready for the Guineas.
“Given Calyx was an out and out sprinter the mile might be a question mark, but he did sire the winner of the Tasmanian Derby [Likeakalix] so that gives us confidence that Sepals will get over further ground.
“He’s got a great temperament which he got from his mum, who was a really lovely mare. She wasn’t overly big, but she was very brave and a real professional. Sepals has taken a bit more time to figure it all out, but the penny certainly seems to be dropping with him now.
“It’s his first prep and he’s only had four career starts, so it’s not hard to find negatives with the horse when you’re competing in a Group 1. But he’s now won on firm and soft tracks, so he’s shown he’s pretty versatile and can handle most conditions.
“He’s there on merit, so hopefully he can continue to improve and run another good race at Flemington in two weeks’ time.”
Brown trained two Group 1 winners in Australia before departing for Singapore, where he enjoyed sustained stakes success, but the 55-year-old is yet to add to his tally of elite–level victories since returning to the ultra-competitive training ranks in Victoria.
The Inferno (Holy Roman Emperor), who blazed a trail through Singapore’s sprinting ranks before continuing his association with Brown on Australian shores, came closest when he went within a flared nostril of denying Wild Ruler (Snitzel) in the 2021 Moir Stakes (1000m) at The Valley.
However, Brown is prepared to apply the same patient approach to realising his ambitions as he does to preparing his horses, acknowledging that overnight success in any industry – and particularly horseracing – is generally an illusion.
“It would be lovely to get my first Group 1 winner since coming back to Australia, especially with Sepals given our connection with his mum,” said Brown, whose superstitious nature dictates that he will watch the Australian Guineas in the same place as he did the CS Hayes Stakes – from the comfort of his living room on the Mornington Peninsula.
“We came pretty close with The Inferno, and he put us back on the map to an extent, but I always knew it would take time to build up the stable and get some momentum. We’ve been back three-and-a-half years now, and things are starting to fall into place.
“John O’Shea told me that it would take four or five years to get to we’re we wanted to be, and he was probably right. We brought a few horses over with us from Singapore, but basically had to start the stable from scratch. When you’re buying yearlings at the sale, even with the good ones you need to wait a year to 18 months before they’re racing, so it’s been a gradual process.
“But we had a bit of success with [Shaftesbury Avenue winner] Von Hauke, who was one of our early buys when we moved back to Australia. Winning city races gets you noticed and helps build a bit of momentum, and hopefully we can keep it going with Sepals.”