A living legend
Of the weekend’s three New Zealand stakes one fell to Australian-bred Captured By Love (Written Tycoon) and one fell to Australian-conceived but New Zealand foaled Desert Lightning (Pride Of Dubai). Those were balanced when the venerable Savabeel (Zabeel) and up-and-comer Ardrossan (Redoute’s Choice) countered with Listed wins at Ballarat and Eagle Farm thanks to Captain Envious and Beau Dazzler respectively.
137 and counting
The remarkable Savabeel is maintaining a torrid pace and racked up individual stakes winner number 137 when his Captain Envious bolted away with Saturday’s Ballarat Cup (Listed, 2000m).
Saving ground, Captain Envious gained along the rail rounding into the straight then got off the fence starting the run home. With a strong run he accelerated quickly into third at the 200 metres, grabbed the lead at the 150 and to the line ran away for a big win.
“I was going to stay on the fence but I ended up peeling him out, and he took off and did the rest,” said winning rider Mick Dee.
The Ballarat Cup marks Captain Envious’s fifth win in 16 starts. Two starts back he recorded a Listed second at Morphettville and in November 22 was a fast-finishing third in the Queen’s Cup (Gr 3, 2600m) at Flemington, the race won by recent Melbourne Cup (Gr 1, 3200m) second, Soulcombe (Frankel).
Back in January, when Mazzolino landed the Desert Gold Stakes (Gr 3, 1600m) at Trentham, Savabeel matched his grandsire, Sir Tristram (Sir Ivor), with individual stakes winner number 130.
Five years ago the 2019 New Zealand Bloodstock’s catalogues had Savabeel’s total stakes winners as 79. With the recent release of the 2024 series, his current total has advanced by 58, or approximately one new stakes winner every month. He is, quite simply, a living legend.
Captain Envious is the fourth winner from four to race from My Central (Central Park), a Group 3 winner in UAE and a Listed winner in Italy. She ranks as a half-sister to 2009 champion Italian two-year-old Lui Rei (Reinaldo).
And talking of Waikato Stud, Northerly Stakes (Gr 1, 1800m) last-gasp winner, Dom To Shoot (Shooting To Win), is the seventh Group 1 winner to descend from the stud’s foundation mare, Georgina Belle (Pakistan II).
He is from Princess Rouge (Pins) who was bred by Garry Chittick and joins the likes of Probabeel (Savabeel), Savvy Coup (Savabeel), Steps In Time (Danehill Dancer), Vision And Power (Carnegie) and Glamour Puss (Tale Of The Cat).
All wrong but alright
Beau Dazzler did everything wrong, even in a small field of four, in winning the Phelan Ready Stakes (Listed, 1000m) at Eagle Farm on Saturday.
He was slow away, pocketed in the straight, pulled three wide, stalled, ran about greenly yet found plenty over the last 100 metres for the win, to become the first Australian stakes winner (fourth overall) for Waikato Stud’s Ardrossan.
Kiwi Chronicles contacted agent Bruce Perry whose Dewar syndicate bred Beau Dazzler. “We bred him out of a mare we paid $1,500 for and sold him through the Mapperley draft and have a full brother to sell at Karaka in January.”
Paul Moroney Bloodstock, Catheryne Bruggeman and Sears Racing purchased the colt out of Book 2 for $85,000 from Mapperley Stud and the colt’s yearling brother, offered by Landsdowne Park, is Lot 907 in Book 2 of the NZB 2024 series.
Beau Dazzler was having his second start after a second placing on debut at Toowoomba. His Listed placed great-granddam is a half-sister to champion stayer, Fame And Glory (Montjeu), winner of the Irish Derby (Gr 1, 1m 4f), the Royal Ascot Gold Cup (Gr 1, 2m 4f) and the Coronation Cup (Gr 1, 1m 4f) at Epsom.
Beau Dazzler represents Ardrossan’s second crop and as a graduate of the 2023 NZB Karaka Yearling Sale, the two-year-old may well be present at revamped Ellerslie for the TAB Karaka Million 2YO (Listed, 1200m) next month.
Perry had more to celebrate than Beau Dazzler. As agent, at the 2020 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale, he signed the sale docket for Saturday’s $2 million Ingham (Gr 2, 1600m) winner Loch Eagle (Lonhro) on behalf of a powerful syndicate that includes Garry and Mark Chittick, Lib Petagna and Anthony Mithen. Perry kept a share too.
A $230,000 purchase, Loch Eagle has won six from 25 and has banked $1.7 million. “It was certainly a great result for the team,” said Perry, “and made for a pretty big day while paying for a couple of slow ones.”
As a yearling the colt had a lovely page and ranked as a three–quarter brother to Pierro (Lonhro), Perry adding: “He was just a lovely attractive and athletic yearling. Unfortunately, we never quite got the results we hoped for early in his career, but Kris [Lees] has been adamant he would win a big race with him and he’s certainly done that.”
Interestingly, Pierro’s dam and Loch Eagle’s dam are half-sisters to Prix d’Ispahan (Gr 1, 1850m) winner Laverock who is by Lonhro’s sire Octagonal (Zabeel).
Where to next?
Captured By Love (Written Tycoon) set up a potential reverse situation to Beau Dazzler’s when clearing out for the easiest of wins in Trentham’s Wakefield Challenge Stakes (Gr 2, 1100m).
The impressive filly, unbeaten in two starts, is eligible for the Magic Millions 2YO Classic (Listed, 1200m) to be run on the Gold Coast next month, although that destination is uncertain for Beau Dazzler, judging from co-trainer, Mark Walker’s post-race comment.
“We don’t like making decisions on race day, it’s quite a trip down here so we’ll get her home for a few quiet days and by the middle of next week we should have an idea. I think longer term, she’s got a really bright future so whether that’s the right thing to do [go to the Magic Millions] I’m not sure,” said Walker.
She certainly flew down the 1100 metres Trentham runway, scoring by three lengths in an unpressured 1:02.46.
Captured By Love captured $525,000 at last year’s Magic Millions sale and is the first foal from Flemington two-year-old winner Moldova (Snitzel). Her granddam is a half-sister to dual Group winner Savvy Nature (Savabeel), Ming Dynasty Stakes (Gr 3, 1400m) winner Addictive Nature (Savabeel) and is closely related to New Zealand One Thousand Guineas (Gr 1, 1600m) winner, Hasahalo (Savabeel).
Group 1 debacle
The newly-named TAB Classic (Gr 1, 1600m), which was previously run as the Captain Cook Stakes, got off to an inauspicious start when the auxiliary gates (15, 16 and 17) failed to operate causing a false start.
Significantly, the winner, the second horse and the fourth horse past the post in the re-run were the three that were denied a start, raising the impression that the false start was not at all beneficial to those who had to be pulled up, some having run 400 metres or more.
This is most unfortunate. Our racing doesn’t need Group 1 results to have question marks over them. According to the Stewards’ report, the stalls were tested prior to the race and again for the following race and the malfunction appears to be an as yet unexplained one-off.
Last year’s Avondale Guineas (Gr 2, 2100m) winner, Desert Lightning took a clear lead at the 300 metres and never looked like being headed for his fourth career win in 15 starts.
He sat just back and outside the leader past the 1200 metres and from the 800 gradually edged closer. Rounding into the straight he was almost level with the leader, took over at the top of the straight then slipped away at the 300 metres. Inside the 200-metre mark he was more than two clear then ran to the line without a serious challenge.
Desert Lightning’s rider, Vinnie Colgan, had the right tone: “It was unfortunate that we had the false start, and I imagine some of the other horses have tired legs now. But full credit to my horse. We had an awkward gate and I had to use him up early. He’s a very good horse and was strong right to the line.”
Desert Lightning is the third winner from his unraced dam, Isstoora (High Chaparral) while his grandam Murjana was a Giant’s Causeway (Storm Cat) Adelaide Group 3 winner at two. His great-granddam is a three-quarter sister to Redoute’s Choice (Danehill).
Making an impact
Like Ardrossan, Rich Hill Stud’s Satono Aladdin (Deep Impact) is a welcome recent addition within the New Zealand sire ranks, adding a seventh individual stakes winner in the shape of Bonecrusher Stakes (Gr 3, 1400m) winner, Lupo Solitario.
Assembling and impressive race record of four starts for three wins, the Bonecrusher winner’s only defeat came at the hands of the undefeated Crocetti (Zacinto) and he was far from disgraced when a solid second to the nation’s best in the James and Annie Sarten Memorial (Gr 2, 1400m) at Te Rapa prior to Saturday’s game victory.
Game doesn’t quite capture the manner of Lupo Solitario’s effort at Pukekohe. At the 100-metre mark he looked beaten. At the 50 metres he looked beaten, yet somehow he found enough in the final strides to hold out a very determined Orchestral (Savabeel) to get the nod by a lip.
Ryan Elliot kept him on the fence from the 600 metres and rounded into straight ready to pounce. He drove along the inner at the 400, took over at the 200 metres, was challenged strongly at the 100, was almost caught soon after but would not allow the filly to pass.
Lupo Solitario’s dam is a half-sister to the Listed winners Include (Gallant Guru) and Sharp Princess (Pins). His great-granddam is a sister to the outstanding filly Slight Chance (Centaine), winner of the Flight Stakes (Gr 1, 1600m), the VRC Oaks (Gr 1, 2500m) and Queensland Oaks (Gr 1, 2400m).
His Proisir (Choisir) yearling half-sister, to be offered at Karaka in January, just became a little more valuable.
Can’t beat home cookin’
“It’s such an advantage just to be able to walk over the road to the races. She’s unbeaten here,” said co-trainer Tony McEvoy after Give Giggles (War Decree) strolled away with an 1100-metre Handicap, taking her win tally to four, all at Ballarat.
The four-year-old has raced just six times, her only blemish an unplaced run at Flemington. According to her jockey, Harry Coffey, she is improving all the time. “That was the best feel she’s given me so far,” he said.
Give Giggles was bred by Inglewood Stud who stand her sire War Decree (War Front), a Goodwood Group 2 winner at two and Group 3 winner at three. Give Giggles is one of 26 individual winners and represents the stallion’s first crop, now four-year-olds. His second crop includes Warmonger, a Listed winner at Flemington on Melbourne Cup day.
She was an $85,000 purchase by Mulcaster Bloodstock from the 2021 NZB Karaka Yearling Sale and is from a winning half-sister to triple Group winner Crack Me Up (Mossman) and Keeneland Group 3 winner, Hoofit (Mossman). Her great-granddam is a three-quarter sister to the dam of Blue Diamond Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m) winner Reward For Effort (Exceed And Excel).
Inglewood Stud’s Gus Wigley is pleased to report that Give Giggles’s dam, Giggly (Domesday), is again safely in foal to War Decree.