Here comes the sun
“It’s been a long, cold, lonely winter,” sang George Harrison of The Beatles, but added: “Here comes the sun” and for most, this winter has been the coldest for some time. Harrison also wrote a song called All Things Must Pass. We in New Zealand hope so. To offset the cool season, foals are being born, the breeding season is just around the corner and so is spring racing.
However, it is only the third week of August and sometimes we get false indicators, such as walking in the sun then turning a corner and into a cold southerly. The electricity bill is the best reminder.
Pleasingly, the heavy track for Te Rapa’s Foxbridge Plate (Gr 2, 1200m) was not too bad as the feature was run in a tick over 1:12, which tells us that the sun is coming and the tracks are improving. Even after eight races the Te Rapa track held up especially well.
Scripted
Waikato Stud sponsored the card and the stud had some say in the result of two races. Their Ocean Park (Thorn Park) sired Elle Sourit to win the Super Seth 1500 Handicap (1500m) to remain unbeaten in three starts. Ardrossan (Redoute’s Choice) sired the quinella in the Ardrossan 1200 Handicap (1200m) when Mo Charaid and Sweetazme headed the field. A script writer couldn’t have done any better.
Who better to sponsor the feature than Waikato Stud? Foxbridge (Foxlaw) was a legendary sire. During the 1940s and 1950s he racked up 11 successive New Zealand Sire Premierships. He also headed the Broodmare Sire stats on 11 occasions, although not consecutive. The only stallion to come close to Foxbridge is Waikato’s own Savabeel (Zabeel) who currently owns ten premierships including nine in a row.
The Plate itself went to Sterling Express, a son of Shamexpress, in turn a son of Waikato Stud’s O’Reilly (Last Tycoon). Additionally, Shamexpress sired Dusty Road who was third across the line. That script writer was sure busy.
Winner Sterling Express put up a stellar performance as he was last away and didn’t catch the tail until the end of the back straight. Turning for home he had two behind him but Masa Hashizume pulled him widest and down the middle of the track they quickly gained and with 200 metres remaining had just four to beat. At the 100 metres there were two to pass and only a length to find but travelling best they took over and were a length clear at the post.
This was quite a step for Sterling Express as he had tried stakes class once, at his second start, back when he was a three-year-old, breaking his maiden at start three. Before his three-year-old season was finished he added two more wins then spelled in November last year having added win four from 14 starts.
Last autumn he returned to score back-to-back open handicaps at Ellerslie prior to a lacklustre effort, only to bounce back and land the Winter Championship Final (1400m) at Ruakaka, his final race at four.
Saturday’s success marks win eight from 19 starts and earnings of $286,675. He can race left or right handed, broke his maiden on a Good 4 track but has performed best in soft conditions. Hashizume commented that Sterling Express can only improve on the run prompting trainer Mark Brosnan to add: “We obviously have to go to the Proisir Plate now. That’s going to be a stronger field again, but we’ve got to go there after that run.”
Ellerslie has been the site of two open handicap wins, both when the track was a Soft 6 and Ellerslie is the venue for his next challenge, the Proisir Plate (Gr 1, 1400m), scheduled for September 6.
Sterling Express is the second winner from his dam, On Parole (Keeper). Her only other runner is four-times winner Grace ’N’ Glory, also by Shamexpress. On Parole won six races and is a daughter of the good winter performer Jennibegood (Jahafil) whose best effort took place in Trentham’s Whyte Handicap (Listed, 1600m), finishing strongly from the rear. Jennibegood also finished fourth in the Foxbridge Plate when it was a Listed race over 1400 metres.
Jennibegood’s grandam, Brisbane winner Sentier (Sovereign Edition), is a half-sister to La Cite (Headland II), the great grandam of Caulfield Guineas (Gr 1, 1600m) winner St Covet (Covetous). The next dam is Ruelle (Summertime), a Desert Gold Stakes (Gr 2, 1600m) winner and three-quarter sister to Sobeit (Sobig), a dual Listed winner who ran second in the Auckland Cup (Gr 1, 3200m).
Sobeit is a sister-in-blood to the most famous representative of this extended family, dual Melbourne Cup (Gr 1, 3200m) winner Think Big. He and Sobeit are both by Sobig (Summertime) from the full-sisters Sarcelle (Oman) and Ruve (Oman).
Truly international
Of the four Kiwi-breds to win at Moonee Valley on Saturday, the best form belongs to Jennivamoose (Vadamos) whose staying ability has resulted in three wins in her last four starts, the last two in the same manner. With a stayer’s low head carriage she was content to lob along at the tail until required to quicken at the 400 metres. Once straightened she gathered in the leaders and shoved her head in front at the crucial time to take her earnings to $266,450, a healthy return on the $110,000 she fetched from Book 1 of NZB’s 2021 Karaka Yearling Sale.
Yet to be tried at stakes level, Jennivamoose is a model of consistency. In her 14 career starts, twice she has finished worse than fourth picking up wins at Geelong (her maiden), Sandown and her preferred track, Moonee Valley, where she has succeeded three times. Although now a six-year-old, Jennivamoose has plenty of racing in her future. Due to a tendon injury she was off the scene between March of 2024 and June this year. Provided she stays in work, black-type must surely be close. The Moonee Valley Gold Cup (Gr 2, 2500m) should be right up her alley.
Her family background is quite interesting, beginning with her grandam Breeze Hill (Danehill) who was imported from Ireland to New Zealand as a four-year-old mare in 2004. Breeze Hill broke her maiden at Te Rapa but that was the winning extent of her New Zealand race record of seven starts before a stud career during which she earned lots of travel points. Covered by Zabeel (Sir Tristram) in 2004 she was sent to Australia, returning here in 2006. In 2008 she was back in Australia as an empty mare then returned to New Zealand late in 2009. By June of 2011 she was yet again in Australia. It was during this period that she produced her seventh foal, So Ard (High Chaparral), Jennivamoose’s dam. So Ard, for her part, has foaled four winners from five to race.
However, Breeze Hill’s travelling days were far from over as by 2013 she was back at the place of her birth, Ireland, where she produced four more foals including Even So (Camelot), winner of the 2020 Irish Oaks (Gr 1, 1m 4f).
Being the Danehill (Danzig) half-sister to four stakes winners including Epsom Derby (Gr 1, 1m 4f) winner Dr Devious (Ahonoora), explains why Breeze Hill fetched 150,000gns as a maiden filly in 2003 before she was sent to New Zealand.
Her half-sister Rain Flower (Indian Ridge) maintained the family quality, foaling Epsom Oaks (Gr 1, 1m 4f) winner Dancing Rain (Danehill Dancer) plus Breeze Hill’s stakes-winning three-quarter sister Sumora (Danehill). The latter produced champion two-year-old filly Maybe (Galileo), in turn the dam of English 2,000 Guineas (Gr 1, 1m) winner Saxon Warrior (Deep Impact).
When Jennivamoose retires to stud she will represent an international family that is brim full of quality.
Famous families
As previously mentioned, Mo Charaid took out the Ardrossan 1200 Handicap (1200m). The lightly-raced five-year-old did not race at two or three years and has back-to-back wins in only four starts.
This performance was notable in that he was three-wide with no cover until the top of the straight and maintained a strong run the length of the straight for the fresh-up win, which will not be his last.
His grandam is a half-sister to champion Starcraft (Soviet Star), the son of three-times New Zealand Broodmare of the Year Flying Floozie (Pompeii Court).
The last race on the card, a Benchmark 65 over 1500 metres, went to Tenfoot Tall (Staphanos) whose record now stands at two wins from five starts. The four-year-old mare’s win was not too dissimilar to that of Sterling Express. She was second-last turning for home and also was pulled wide to make her strong run which saw her take the lead in the final strides. Like Sterling Express, she is from a mare by Keeper (Danehill). She too deserves a slot in your blackbook.
Her grandam is a three-quarter sister to Melbourne Cup (Gr 1, 3200m) winner Brew (Sir Tristram) and to Australian Derby (Gr 1, 2400m) winner Fiumicino (Zabeel) while her great-grandam is the champion Horlicks (Three Legs).
With a name like Savvy Hallie (Hellbent) you’d think that perhaps Saturday’s Silver Shadow Stakes (Gr 2, 1200m) winner must be from a Savabeel mare. She is not but her grandam is a half-sister to multiple champion sire Savabeel.
Savvy Hallie has already been twice through the sales ring, purchased by Belmont Bloodstock’s Damon Gabbedy as a weanling then on-sold at the Inglis Classic Yearling Sale, realising $320,000 against her $150,000 sale as a weanling.
The three-year-old filly was twice Group placed at two last season but didn’t score her maiden success until August 14, bolting away by more than five lengths at Newcastle. Stepping up to Group 2 level was no problem and she is another to keep close tabs on.