Hello
Hello
June has been a good month for Cambridge Stud’s Hello Youmzain (Kodiac). It began with the Chantilly Group 2 winner Godspeed who landed the Prix de Sandringham (1600m). A further eight northern hemisphere winners saluted also, including a second Chantilly winner plus winners at Saint-Cloud and Lingfield.
All three of Hello Youmzain’s northern hemisphere stakes winners have succeeded at Group level and his first crop are three-year-olds. In the southern hemisphere his first crop are at the back end of their two-year-old season and last Friday’s Castletown Stakes (Listed, 1200m) winner, Platinum Diamond, was his second stakes winner yet first to score on turf. This was due to Lucy In The Sky’s Champagne Stakes (Listed, 1200m) transfer to Riccarton’s synthetic track because of heavy flooding in the Canterbury region early last month.
Platinum Diamond was a promising fourth on debut then was too smart at Wanganui to break her maiden. Friday’s win was even better as the filly accelerated from well back only to be locked up on the fence soon after the field straightened. At the 150 metres, space opened up two lanes out and she grabbed the bit and stormed through. Inside the last 75 metres it was all over and she won with plenty in hand to make it two from three.
Given she is a December foal, trainer Lisa Latta paid a healthy $90,000 for her out of Book 2 of the 2024 NZB Karaka Yearling Sale. The filly was offered via the Beaufort Downs draft. By some coincidence, her half-brother is named Healthy Healthy (Per Incanto), a five-time winner in Hong Kong.
Platinum Diamond and Healthy Healthy are the only two foals from Spritz (Thorn Park) to race, the latter one of ten winners from their grandam Spray (Entrepreneur). Spritz’s sister Miss Thorn (Thorn Park) was third in the Matamata Breeders’ Stakes (Gr 2, 1200m). Her half-sister, Corsage (Volksraad), placed third in the Diamond Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m) and like her half-sister also ran third in the Matamata Breeders’ Stakes. Corsage has since foaled Group 2-winning juvenile Aotea Lad (Savabeel).
Spray’s half-brother Torlesse (Volkrsraad) included the New Zealand Cup (Gr 2, 3200m) among his 12 wins and their dam Seamist (Beaufort Sea) also scored 12 wins (ten stakes) including Ellerslie’s New Zealand Stakes (Gr 1, 2000m).
Corker
Tough mare Cork (Complacent) likes heavy tracks and likes Tauranga and that combination, despite a break since last October, played into her hands with a breakthrough stakes success in Saturday’s Tauranga Stakes (Listed, 1400m), her sixth career win and third at the Bay of Plenty track.
Samantha Collett took the mare four and five deep from the 600 metres and once into the straight kept up a solid run all the way to the post, accelerating from the 100 metres to gain the advantage and score by a half-length.
Cork was perhaps overdue her stakes win as she’d finished a tough second in the 2023 Winter Cup (Gr 3, 1600m) but to finally land bold caps will be good reward for her owners who have persevered through five seasons after investing $30,000 for her at the 2019 NZB Karaka Yearling Sale (Book 2). Her bank account stands at $188,068.
Blandford Lodge’s Bax family bred Cork from their unraced O’Reilly (Last Tycoon) mare Little Bit Irish. The latter was catalogued in the 2014 NZB Karaka Yearling sale and the 2014 NZB Ready to Run Sale but was withdrawn both times and reserved for stud where she has foaled four winners from four to race. Hers is an international family as her dam, Whiffle (Red Ransom), a half-sister to two stakes-placed performers, won in Great Britain. Whiffle’s half-sister, Trick Taker (Capote) won in the USA yet produced Australian-foaled Mission Critical (Fantastic Light), winner of Te Rapa’s International Stakes (Gr 1, 2000m).
Breeding quinella
Runner-up in the Tauranga Stakes (Listed, 1400m) was Lux Libertas (Almanzor), also bred by the Bax family (in conjunction with JML Bloodstock). Lux Libertas was a withdrawal from the delayed 2022 NZB Karaka Yearling Sales (Book 1) and retained by her breeders. The five-year-old has won five of her 17 starts and has earned $198,220.
At the back end of last season and the beginning of the current season Lux Libertas racked up four successive wins. In the meantime she has placed second (beaten a head) in the Auckland Thoroughbred Breeders’ Stakes (Gr 2, 1400m) and third in the Rotorua Stakes (Gr 3, 1400m). Surely, her reward must be soon.
When breeders have multiple success on the same day or in the same race it is often from the sameliney so for the Bax family to quinella the Tauranga Stakes with two mares from completely different families is worthy of mention.
Take it away
The New Zealand Stud Book drew a blank in the five black-type races run in Australia over the weekend but at Flemington provided three of the nine winners, none more impressive than Taken (Ardrossan). Last spring Taken placed second twice and third twice in four starts then returned in the autumn to rack up yet another placing fresh up at Pakenham.
His breakthrough, also at Pakenham, looked workmanlike but with experience the rising four-year-old is only getting better and better. At Sandown a month ago he had to dig deep to get the upper hand but his last two wins, both at Flemington, have stamped him as something a little out of the ordinary. The gelding puts himself in the race early, can lead or sit just off the pace but when shaken up keeps finding. Four from his last four indicates a bright future.
Withdrawn from Riversley Park’s 2024 NZB Ready to Run Sale, Taken wound up with Sam Mynott from whose stable Taken won a trial for juveniles at Tauranga, punched out under a hands and heels ride to win comfortably.
Ardrossan (Redoute’s Choice) mixes well with this family. Taken’s dam, Katherine Wright (Henrythenavigator), is a half-sister to Pwerfect (Pentire), dam of recent Grand Prix Stakes (Gr 3, 1800m) winner Beau Dazzler (Ardrossan), making the latter and Taken three-quarter brothers.
NZB weanlings
New Zealand Bloodstock’s annual weanling sale takes place this Thursday, the 26th and the one day sale will be all over in about five hours. However, the occasion is more than selling, trading and pinhooking. If previous sales at this time of year are any guide it is also the last opportunity for industry people to to meet in person and conduct possible business for the fast approaching breeding season. In some ways, it’s a reunion.
Between the main sale and the supplementary sale, four weanlings by champion sire Savabeel (Zabeel) are to be offered. Proisir (Choisir) has one lot and up and coming sire Super Seth (Dundeel) will see five lots through the ring.
Other established sires include Per Incanto (Street Cry) with two lots, Satono Aladdin (Deep Impact) with three, underrated Shocking (Street Cry) three, Redwood (High Chaparral) one and Ardrossan with nine lots.
Noverre (Savabeel) and Sword Of State (Snitzel), whose first crops will head to races next season, are the most represented with 11 and ten lots respectively. Profondo (Deep Impact), whose oldest are foals, is the only such sire in this category and is represented by six lots.
Possible highlights as well as potential pinhooking opportunities include: Lot 6, an Ardrossan half-sister to Sydney Group 3 winner Semari (Sebring). Lot 8 is an Ocean Park (Thorn Park) son of Matamata Breeders’ Stakes (Gr 2, 1200m) winner Lady Royale (Captain Rio). Lot 11 is a Proisir daughter of Group 2-placed Le Sablier (Tavistock), a seven race winner. Lot 13 is a Per Incanto son of Listed winner London Express (Shamexpress), a seven times winner.
Lot 16 is a Strasbourg (I Am Invincible) son of Group 3 and Listed winner Lovemelikearock (Fastnet Rock). Lot 25 is a Savabeel son of Group 3-placed Meghan (So You Think). Lot 35 is a U S Navy Flag (War Front) half-sister to Group 3 winner King Louis (Equiano). Lot 29 is a Noverre (Savabeel) son of Listed winner Misstrum (Stratum). Lot 44 is an Almanzor (Wootton Bassett) half-brother to Pop Star Princess (Makfi), winner of ten races including at Group 3 and Listed level. Lot 45 is a Staphanos (Deep Impact) son of Queensland Oaks (Gr 1, 2400m) winner Quintessential (Fast ‘N’ Famous). Lot 52 is a Savabeel son of a winning half-sister to dual Listed winner All About Magic (Showcasing).
Lot 69 is a Sword Of State (Snitzel) son of a Street Cry (Machiavellian) half-sister to three Group winners including triple Group 1 winner Sunlight (Zoustar), winner of 11 races and $6.58 million. Lot 78 is a Hello Youmzain (Kodiac) daughter of Group 3 winner Tinkalicious (Nadeem). Lot 116 is a Profondo half-brother to Group 3 winner Denby Road (Shamexpress). Lot 129 is a Sword Of State half-brother to recent Melbourne Group 3 winner Torranzino (Tarzino). Lot 141 is a Savabeel three-quarter brother to Hong Kong Group 1 performer Victory Magic (Savabeel) and a son of six-race winner West Wind (Pins). Lot 143 is a Turn Me Loose (Iffraaj) three-quarter brother to Sistema Sakes (Gr 1, 1200m) winner Lickety Split (Turn Me Loose).