Astapor bidding to deliver Hay his biggest day
Unbeaten juvenile son of Tassort aiming to secure first stakes win in Eagle Farm’s BJ McLachlan
Telemon Thoroughbreds’ belief in exciting young stallion Tassort (Brazen Beau) could yield them an early black–type reward when unbeaten country colt Astapor tackles Saturday’s BJ McLachlan Stakes (Gr 3, 1200m) at Eagle Farm.
And if he succeeds, it would bring a first Group win after 40 years in racing for Rodney Hay, the bush trainer who bought him as a yearling for just $38,000, and sent him to Rockhampton’s Clinton Taylor to prepare.
Astapor is from the surging first crop of Tassort, who stands at Newgate Farm under a deal between that stud and Emirates Park, who took the plunge to buy him after his injury-restricted career of just two starts for Godolphin.
Telemon’s Dan Fletcher was another to have his eye taken by Tassort, after his five and a quarter length romp in Rosehill’s Golden Gift (1100m) and his second in the Silver Slipper Stakes (Gr 2, 1100m).
He later pondered seeking to have him join Telemon’s stallion ranks but the idea wasn’t pushed for various reasons. While he may have been suitable budget-wise, a two-start non-stakes winner from Sydney would have been a hard sell among Queensland broodmare owners.
Instead, Fletcher took a different path.
“We were interested in Tassort as a stallion prospect,” Fletcher said. “I’d gone down and had a look at him in training at Warwick Farm. He had enormous ability and a pedigree as good as you’ll see. And if you follow ratings, it’s very rare for a debutant to return the sort of figure he did in that Golden Gift win.
“In the end we couldn’t really proceed with it, because of a few factors at the time. But instead we started targeting mares in foal to Tassort. Black Mink fitted the bill and the budget, so she was the one we landed on.”
Black Mink (Lonhro), was a $50,000 yearling, who won three of ten for Liam Birchley – two of them in Brisbane. She was covered by Tassort for a first foal in his first season at Newgate for $11,000 (inc GST) – which remained his fee for his fourth spring this year, but will likely head upwards next season. Black Mink herself is out of Jasminka (Sakura Seeking), winner of six contests headed by a Listed event at Doomben.
Telemon bought Black Mink carrying the future Astapor from fellow Queensland breeders Tullyard at the Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale of 2021 for $25,000. The resultant colt only made Book 2 at this year’s Magic Millions Gold Coast sale, knocked down to Hay for what now looks like a bargain basement of $38,000.
“I bought a couple by first season sires at that sale,” Hay said. “I didn’t mind Astapor’s pedigree at all. His third dam is by Zeditave, and his fourth dam’s by Bletchingly, so there’s some good old Australian blood in there.
“And I just liked the look of the horse. He might’ve been a bit small at first, though he’s not small now, but there was just something about him.”
Fletcher was, undeniably, disappointed with the sale price, but had to meet the market.
“We thought he was a good colt, but the sale was a bit quiet,” said Fletcher, who runs Telemon with wife Rae. “We actually thought he was a Book 1 horse on type, but Magic Millions know what they’re doing. To be fair, he was by an $11,000 stallion and the first foal of the mare, so I can see why he went Book 2.
“I still thought he went exceptionally cheaply, but I believe what goes around comes around, and so hopefully we’ll get one to make up for that in the future.”
Hay appears to have certainly found a colt who can make up for some slow ones in his past.
Last February, the 63-year-old downsized and moved from his old cattle farm at Taroom to buy a property called Manera 200km south near Chinchilla, to the north-west of Dalby. It’s a farm with a place in recent Queensland racing history, since it’s where star sprinter Rothfire (Rothesay) was bred and reared.
Hay trains around 20 horses at the 160-acre establishment. He travels far and wide around the southern half of Queensland, including regular trips to the Birdsville Cup (1600m).
And he had some prime local success only last Saturday in taking the Chinchilla Cup (1400m) with former Chris Waller-trained galloper Villaden (Tavistock) – who’d also been one of his three winners in six days in November at Dalby, Rockhampton, and the hopeful-sounding Kumbia.
Hay recorded his first black-type success in any of his roles – this time as an owner – when Petronius (Redoute’s Choice), trained by his old friend Barry Lockwood at Eagle Farm, took the Lightning Handicap (Listed, 1000m) at his home track in June. The seven-year-old, who was a $1 million yearling at the Gold Coast in 2018, was bought by Hay for $37,500 on Inglis Digital in June last year.
Most of Hay’s buys have been of the tried variety, but this year he branched out to purchase “a dozen or so” yearlings. And while he’s happy to give the bulk of them time to mature like most young horses who’ve come his way, Astapor is an exception.
“He’d be the first two-year-old I’ve ever raced,” Hay told ANZ Bloodstock News. “I’m not a lover of racing two-year-olds, but Cameron Bond at Kenmore Lodge, where he was prepped, said he should make an early two-year-old.”
There was “no way” Hay would train the colt himself, given his facilities aren’t suitable for a potentially handy two-year-old, so he sent him to Taylor.
“Clinton’s had other horses for me in the past, and he really targets the QTIS bonus races up and down the coast at places like Mackay and Townsville,” Hay said. “They’re a great idea. You don’t have to be as good as south-east Queensland horses to target good money, but if they turn out alright you can always send them down south.”
Thus it transpired with Astapor. After winning a Rockhampton trial, he took his debut at $1.70 at the same track by a Tassort-like five lengths on November 10. Tried in Brisbane, he started a $1.80 favourite in a five-horse field at Doomben over 1110 metres on November 25 and won by three.
The phone duly started ringing from Hong Kong, but Hay was happy to bat the offers away.
“I bought him to race. You go around all your life waiting for a good one,” he said. “And then what would I do with the money? Spend it on half a dozen horses who all turn out no good?
“Plus the other two-year-olds I’ve got haven’t raced yet. I could sell him and then find out they’re no good.
“And, as a colt, if he wins black-type, there’s a good chance he could still be pretty valuable later on as a stallion.”
Astapor has been part of an early mini-boom around Tassort, whose first eight runners have brought three winners, propelling him to second on Australia’s first season sires table, and fourth among two-year-old sires.
Aside from Queensland’s pre-eminent two-year-old, he’s also had black-type success with Manaal in Sydney’s first juvenile fillies’ race of the season, the Gimcrack Stakes (Gr 3, 1000m), and Perth’s dominant two-year-old Onemoretwomany, the gelding who, like Astapor, has won two from two including the lucrative WATC Magic Millions 2YO Plate (1100m).
“I’d be really pleased for Emirates Park and Newgate if Tassort does make the grade,” Fletcher said. “They’d deserve it. He didn’t start with a high service fee, but Emirates in particular put their mares where their mouth was. It wasn’t just lip service – they sent him some spectacular mares. If they can be successful they certainly deserve it.”
Taylor, meanwhile, realises Saturday will present a major rise in grade for Astapor, who’s currently around the $6.50 mark, and is a $17 shot for the Magic Millions 2YO Classic (RL, 1200m) at the Gold Coast on January 13.
His McLachlan opposition are headed by the early $1.35 favourite – the Waterhouse-Bott colt Storm Boy (Justify), an impressive all-the-way debut winner over 1100 metres at Rosehill on December 2. Storm Boy is also the current $3.50 favourite for the $3 million Gold Coast feature.
Godolphin’s Pisces (Frosted, $9) who narrowly took his first start over 1000 metres at Kembla Grange on December 9, also lines up on Saturday, as does Customized (Capitalist, $17), a well-regarded Team Snowden-trained runner who’s debuting after a Randwick trial win for the in-form James Harron colts’ syndicate.
There’s also Poster Girl (Alabama Express, $9.5), who has a win and a second at the Sunshine Coast in two starts for Chris Munce, and will be out to also further her first-season sire’s impressive start.
“I’m really happy with him,” Taylor, who’s been training for five years, said of Astapor. “I feel he’s improved from his last run in Brisbane, which he’d need to going into this grade, but I’m really happy with where he’s at.
“He showed above average ability right from the start. In his first two starts, he missed the start but finished on well. He’s starting to learn what it’s all about now, and hopefully he’ll put it all together on Saturday.
“Hopefully he can draw a barrier. Gai’s horse has got good speed. Hopefully we can come off his back and see what we can do.”