Tough slog
“Only the strong survive” is a fitting category to be applied to lightly raced Joshua Brown (Dalghar) who slogged it out best in Saturday’s Opunake Cup (Listed, 1400m). Running a similar time to a normal 1600 metres suggests that “slog” is the appropriate description.
Carrying the minimum weight of 53 kilograms he was the least experienced regarding career wins. Nonetheless, he had the right form for the slog as two of his three wins were achieved in similar conditions but nowhere near as testing as this most recent win, his fourth in just 13 starts and maiden stakes success.
Rider Lynsey Satherley should know the gelding as well as anyone. She has ridden him in every start but one and her initiative was the deciding factor behind the win when she pushed the five-year-old four–deep from the 800 metres to sit alongside the pacemaker into the home straight. They had the lead at the 250 metres, lost it near the 100 metres but, in a brave effort, Joshua Brown lifted and went to the line a length in front.
Joshua Brown turns six next month yet didn’t face the starter until April of 2024 as a late four-year-old, breaking his maiden at Rotorua in May at his second start. A short let up saw him record win two at Te Rapa over 1200 metres last September. This preparation has taken four more starts to bag win three, also at Te Rapa a month ago followed in the meantime by a game second in the Te Awamutu Cup (1600m).
On this performance, connections might be tempted to look at next month’s Riccarton Winter Cup (Gr 3, 1600m). Joshua Brown certainly looks tough enough.
Digging into his family shows that his dam, Midnight Mistress (Savabeel), a $26,000 purchase from the NZB 2013 Select Yearling Sale, won twice in her first three starts then lost form. Joshua Brown is one of two winning foals. She died after producing a Satono Aladdin (Deep Impact) filly in 2023.
Joshua Brown’s grandam, twice winner Vero Pro Gratis (O’Reilly), was Listed placed in the Castletown Stakes (1200m), which is raced at Foxton in winter. A sister to dual Group 3 winner Pump Up The Volume (Savabeel), she produced five winners and is a daughter of Nat The Brat (Racing Is Fun), who provides a further clue as to Joshua Bown’s preference for winter tracks.
Nat The Brat’s nine career wins are headed by Ellerslie’s Cornwall Handicap (Gr 3, 2200m), the club’s time–honoured winter feature. Another of Nat The Brat’s wins was Riccarton’s Winter Classic (Listed, 2000m).
Further back in the family is Vite Cheval (Vice Regal), the brother to Nat The Brat’s dam Vite Princess. Vite Cheval won four Group 1s, namely Randwick’s Doncaster Handicap (Gr 1, 1600m) and the All Aged Stakes (Gr 1, 1600m), plus the Ellerslie Sires’ Produce Stakes (Gr 1, 1400m) and Caulfield’s Futurity Stakes (Gr 1, 1400m), four of his 11 wins.
Vite Fillette (Arragon) is the next dam and ranks as a sister or half–sister to three stakes winners including Wellington Cup (Gr 1, 3200) victor Timon (Oakville), the winner of 15 races. The line was largely managed by the Meyers and many of the family were trained by Avondale trainer Brightson (Barney) Meyer. The Meyers bred ten winners from their mare Catalan (Oman), also dam of Listed winners Tuam (Arragon) and St Crispian (Arragon).
Unfulfilled promise
It is only natural for stallion owners to be enthusiastic about the prospects of new stallions and no doubt the same existed for Joshua Brown’s sire Dalghar (Anabaa), an attractive grey who scored at Group 3 level at Longchamp.
Dalghar sired a small crop in France before his import to New Zealand and while that crop’s performances were unknown at that time, with hindsight, we now know that the results were not earth shattering. His first New Zealand crop included dual Listed winner Astara and his second crop featured Scott Base, winner of the $1 million Karaka 3YO Classic (Listed, 1600m) as well as the Wellington Guineas (Gr 2, 1600m) causing a flurry of bookings. Later as a five-year-old, Scott Base landed the Japan-Bay of Plenty Trophy (Gr 2, 1600m).
Since then, Dalghar’s fortunes have continued to slide. Joshua Brown is his sixth individual stakes winner. His first six seasons resulted in an average of 70 mares per season. Over the last seven seasons he has attracted 70 mares in total and his fee is a bargain basement $2000 (plus GST), or reality.
Dalghar is not alone. Another to fall by the wayside is Time Test (Dubawi) who now stands in Turkey. He too started out promisingly, especially in the northern hemisphere, but was not able to sustain the quality needed to extend his record. Two of his nine stakes winners were foaled in New Zealand where he averaged 115 mares for six seasons but in his last season attracted just 47, or more reality. In terms of numbers, Time Test is on a bit of a tear lately. In the last month he has sired 28 winners, six of them in Australasia.
From Time Test’s 2021 crop is Without Parallel who remains unbeaten in three starts. Yes, it’s quite a long way from Murwillumbah where, from the front, she broke her maiden back in February. She followed that by again leading all the way at Lismore. Nevertheless, after a short spell she brought her form to town on Saturday at Eagle Farm and looked to score easily before holding on over 1200 metres in the XXXX Handicap.
Without Parallel was foaled in New Zealand but exported, along with her dam, Special Asset (The Factor) in 2021. The latter produced current performer Milton Road (Darci Brahma) whose four wins include two at Ipswich. Special Asset is an unraced half-sister to Tuscan Sling (Danehill Dancer), a dual Group 3 winner in Melbourne. Two further half-sisters have produced Coongy Handicap (Gr 3, 2000m) and twice Ballarat Cup (Listed, 2000m) winner Kiwia (Reset) and dual Listed winner Assertive Approach (Akeed Mofeed). Special Asset’s dam Firenza (Kenny’s Best Pal) was an Adelaide Listed winner at two.
Without Parallel was found for $7000 at an online sale, is well above average and may well extend her record but too late to help Time Test.
No more
Two more stallions that are no longer available are Vadamos (Monsun) and Belardo (Lope De Vega) and both sired metropolitan winners in Brisbane and Adelaide over the weekend.
Caboche (Vadamos), from Chris Waller’s stable, added his second open handicap at Eagle Farm within his last four stats and took his record to seven wins for earnings in excess of $720,000, a decent return on the $180,000 outlayed for him at the 2020 NZB Karaka Yearling Sale (Book 1).
He has been successful at 2400 metres in Victoria and placed in Melbourne but Queensland is his preferred environment where he has managed six of his career wins. His best placing was when finishing third in the 2022 Queensland Derby (Gr 1, 2400m).
Vadamos was very popular in 2020 at Karaka when he was crowned the leading first season sire and in his first six seasons averaged more than 100 mares. However, in 2023 that number fell to 27. The stallion is no longer shuttling to New Zealand and is covering National Hunt mares in Ireland.
More successful, in terms of individual stakes winners, is Belardo who has sired 15 but he too is no longer shuttling. In his final trip south in 2022 he attracted just 13 mares. He gets plenty of winners. So far in July alone he has sired 16 individual winners including in Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide. He scored a double at Avondale, Otaki and Ashburton and in the northern hemisphere sired winners in England, Ireland, Scotland, Germany and Sweden.
His Adelaide winner was Super Alana who added her first city win to four provincial wins when taking out a Benchmark 70 1000–metre race at Morphettville. Lots of winners but when the chips are down broodmare owners have the final say.
Broodmare honours
This coming Saturday New Zealand Breeders will gather in Cambridge to celebrate the annual NZTBA Awards, the most prestigious being the Broodmare of the Year.
This year, producing a Group 1 winner is not sufficient to gain a nomination. Such a mare needs to have at least produced a dual Group 1 winner. However, even that criteria won’t bag the award which has a history of more than 70 years.
The three broodmares in contention are:
Lilahjay (Tavistock): Defending her title as 2024 Broodmare of the Year, Lilahjay is the dam of Mr Brightside (Bullbars). Last season Mr Brightside landed four Group 1s and has backed that up with a further three during the 2024-25 season.
Missy Moo (Per Incanto): Dam of the exciting Ka Ying Rising (Shamexpress) whose season included an unbroken sequence of eight wins in Hong Kong including four Group 1s.
Sombreuil (Flying Spur): Dam of two stakes winners including dual Group 1 mare Provence (Savabeel) as well as Damask Rose (Savabeel), winner of the inaugural NZB Kiwi (Listed, 1500m).
In 2019 the award went to Stylish Bel (Bel Espirit), dam of Beauty Generation (Road To Rock) whose record in Hong Kong is remarkably similar to Ka Ying Rising’s. He too was unbeaten for the season and scored eight wins of which four were Group 1s.
Which mare gets your vote?
Fun fact: Mr Brightside’s great grandam Delia’s Choice is by Sir Tristram from Taiona while Ka Ying Rising’s great grandam Her Dynasty is also by Sir Tristram from Taiona, making them full sisters. Taiona (Sovereign Edition) was twice Broodmare of the Year, in 1983, and in 1981 as joint winner with The Pixie (Mellay).