Beauty’s award has origins in a century-old generation
The Hong Kong Jockey Club champion awards judging panel has decided to present a Lifetime Achievement Award to Beauty Generation (Road To Rock) in recognition of his great contribution to Hong Kong racing.
If ever such an award was warranted, this one was self-evident.
Twice Hong Kong’s Horse of the Year, Beauty Generation was crowned Hong Kong Champion Miler three times; a first. The New Zealand-bred gelding won 18 races from 34 starts in Hong Kong and earned HK$106,233,750, making him the highest-ever prize-money earner in Hong Kong history.
In 2018 and 2019 he was allotted a rating of 127 on the Longines World’s Best Racehorse rankings, equalling the highest for a Hong Kong-trained galloper. Those same two years he was honoured as the world’s leading specialist turf miler.
When in front, Beauty Generation was relentless. His bold running style often destroyed his opponents. He was exciting to watch and ran brilliant times, as evidenced by a slashing 1:32.64 in the 2018 Jockey Club Mile (Gr 2, 1600m). His 2018 Celebration Cup (Gr 3, 1400m) victory took just 1:20.62 for the seven furlongs.
The Sha Tin specialist’s slowest winning time for the 1400 metres was 1:21.80 and over his favoured 1600 metres his slowest winning time was 1:33.72.
His career earnings surpassed Viva Pataca (Marju) but his 2017-18 season goes down in Hong Kong racing history. He was undefeated in eight starts. All eight were Group races and four were at the prestigious Group 1 level, an unprecedented feat.
Those eight victories were bookended with a win at the end of the previous season and another to start the following season, a ten-race winning streak.
He was bred in New Zealand by Nearco Stud, near Palmerston North, and prior to his amazing Hong Kong form, he had seven starts in Australia racing under the name of Montaigne. He twice won in Sydney and was twice Group-placed: second to Tarzino (Tavistock) in the Rosehill Guineas (Gr 1, 2000m) and third to Press Statement (Hinchinbrook) in the Hobartville Stakes (Gr 2, 1400m).
Interestingly, Tarzino was mated with Beauty Generation’s dam Stylish Bel (Bel Esprit) in 2017, producing a colt in 2018.
In his final Australian start he finished fourth to Preferment (Zabeel) in the BMW (Gr 1, 2400m) but in Hong Kong his trainer John Moore tried him just four times beyond 1600 metres, quickly judging that the gelding was no stayer.
The next three seasons, Moore set Beauty Generation on the exact same eight-start program. He would bag 16 of those 24 races and only finished out of the top three on two occasions.
| 2017-18 | 2018-19 | 2019-20 | |
| Celebration Cup (Gr 3, 1400m) | Won | Won | Won |
| Sha Tin Trophy (Gr 2, 1600m) | Won | Won | 3rd |
| Jockey Club Mile (Gr 1, 1600m) | 3rd | Won | Won |
| Hong Kong Mile (Gr 1, 1600m) | Won | Won | 3rd |
| Stewards’ Cup (Gr 1, 1600m) | 7th | Won | 2nd |
| Queen’s Silver Jubilee Cup (Gr 1, 1400m) | Won | Won | Won |
| Chairman’s Trophy (Gr 2, 1600m) | 5th | Won | Won |
| Champion’s Mile (Gr 1, 1600m) | Won | Won | 2nd |
Following his undefeated 2018-19 season, Beauty Generation made an excellent fist of defending all eight titles, winning three, was twice second as well as three-times third.
He retired with a total of 20 career wins including eight Group 1s, five Group 2s, plus three Group 3s and is now in Victoria, Australia, at Living Legends, entertaining his many fans and visitors.
Eulogy Horses of the Year
Beauty Generation is linked (albeit, distantly) to two former Hong Kong Horses of the Year, namely Sacred Kingdom (Encosta De Lago) and Ambitious Dragon (Pins).
Sacred Kingdom, Champion Hong Kong Sprinter for four successive seasons, achieved his Horse of the Year title in 2010, followed immediately by Ambitious Dragon’s back-to-back titles in 2011 and 2012.
All three trace directly to New Zealand Hall of Fame Broodmare and breed-shaper Eulogy (Cicero).
Eulogy was imported to New Zealand a little more than 100 years ago in foal to Coriander (Spearmint). The resultant foal, Pennon, was the first of 14 foals, 13 of which were winners, including six stakes winners. Residing at G M Currie’s Koatanui Stud near Wanganui, Eulogy began a legacy that is still going strong more than a century later.
Legend Bonecrusher (Pag Asa) and his great rival Vo Rogue (Ivor Prince) are direct descendants. So, too, is the outstanding New Zealand stayer Il Tempo (Time And Again) plus “The Black Flash”, Zephyr Bay (Biscay), not forgetting the two great mares Show Gate (Gate Keeper) and Lowland (Agricola).
Since the turn of the century, through her descendents Eulogy has been represented by Dundeel (High Chaparral), Starspangledbanner (Choisir), Elvstroem (Danehill), Private Steer (Danehill Dancer), Singapore champion Stepitup (Hussonet), Gingernuts (Iffraaj) and international traveller Highland Reel (Galileo).
Some 600 plus stakes winners descend from the great matriarch and more than 100 of those in Group 1 (or historical equivalent) races.
Whereas both Sacred Kingdom and Ambitious Dragon trace to Eulogy via the Pennon branch, Beauty Generation is from the Homage (Absurd) branch, Eulogy being his tenth dam.
His dam, Stylish Bel is an unraced half-sister to two Listed stakes winners and, prior to Beauty Generation, the best performers from this branch are Lowland, Private Steer, Landsighting (Greig), Burletta (Three Legs), Bridie (Beau le Havre) and Mannix (Gigantic). Homage herself was also an outstanding producer of six stakes winners.
Super producer
It has been a notable week for Beauty Generation’s breeders Nearco Stud, because they also bred last week’s Ramornie Handicap (Listed, 1200m) winner Southern Lad (Ocean Park).
With the number of stakes races dwindling at this time of year, highlighting Kiwi-breds is slightly more challenging, however, even though he was conceived in New Zealand, Southern Lad was foaled in Australia.
He showed up at Grafton with four stakes-placings to his name before breaking through for his maiden stakes victory and was in form, having finished second in the Hinkler Handicap (Listed, 1200m) at Eagle Farm at his previous start.
Four of his six wins have been in Sydney including two at Randwick where, in February, he ran second in the Southern Cross Stakes (Gr 3, 1200m) behind the top-class sprinter Masked Crusader (Toronado), who would win the William Reid Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m) the following month.
Last week we featured Belmont Oaks (Listed, 2000m) winner Chili Is Hot, even though she was Australian-bred. Her family (of the last fifty years) was all Kiwi but Southern Lad is much the opposite. His super-producing dam Distinctive Lass (Orientate) first came to New Zealand in 2011 but her family is clearly Australian, at least back to the early 1980s.
Any mare that produces four stakes winners deserves to be recognised and Distinctive Lass fits that category ably. She is six for six re winners by five different sires during her various trips across the Tasman.
To Darci Brahma (Danehill) in 2017, she has foaled classic winner Kahma Lass, winner of the 2020 New Zealand One Thousand Guineas (Gr 1, 1600m).
From the Jamie Richards stable and owned by the Lindsays of Cambridge Stud, Kahma Lass started just four times in New Zealand late last year, winning twice then was tried once in Sydney but had a rough time in the Light Fingers Stakes (Gr 2, 1200m). She has not been sighted since but is an exciting filly.
The other mating with Darci Brahma produced Distinctive Darci, a Listed winner of the Merlion Trophy (1200m) in Singapore, one of his ten wins. His earnings were just shy of $S1 million.
Distinctive Lass’s fourth stakes winner is Kuro (Denman) who was conceived in Australia but foaled in New Zealand. A very good sprinter, Kuro’s career included eight wins, five of which are Listed races. Kuro’s best placings were to run second to Sweet Idea (Snitzel) in The Galaxy (Gr 1, 1100m) and third behind Brazen Beau (I Am Invincible) in the Coolmore Stud Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m) at Flemington.
The family’s Australian branch began with the importation of Distinctive Lass’s third dam Sal II (Sallust), a winner at two at the Curragh in her native Ireland. Sal II produced five winners from six foals but one was special. Her name is, actually, Special (Habituate).
A million-dollar earner, Special’s ten wins included three at the highest level, and all were at Flemington: the Newmarket Handicap (Gr 1, 1200m), the Lightning Stakes (Gr 1, 1000m) and the Gadsden Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m). Her win in the Lightning resulted in a new track record, a race in which she twice finished second.
At stud, Special produced 14 foals, ten raced and nine were winners. Two won Listed stakes: Stavka (Xaar) won his at Flemington while Specialize (Bluebird) won his at Randwick.
The only other top liner to represent the family is Special’s grandson Bomber Bill (Air de France), a remarkable sprinter who began his career in Perth, scoring seven wins in his first season of racing. One was the first of three career Group 1s, the Karrakatta Plate (Gr 1, 1200m).
The old warrior raced on for nine more seasons, totalling 98 starts for 23 wins. The last of those wins was at age ten in the Rubiton Stakes (Gr 3, 1000m) preceded by his previous start, a win in the Kevin Heffernan Stakes (Listed, 1300m).
Along the way he bagged Moonee Valley’s Australia Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m) and the Goodwood Handicap (Gr 1, 1200m) in Adelaide. His winning tally included 12 Group races and five Listed races.
Bomber Bill’s dam Lady Special (Alzao) also foaled his sister, Camargue, a Group 3 and Listed winner plus Special Song (Song of Tara), a winner of eleven including the Tatt’s Club Members Cup (Listed, 1600m) at Eagle Farm.
A total of 13 stakes winners and eight stakes-placed performers descend from Sal II and sprinting is their forte. Distinctive Lass falls into that second group as she won twice in Melbourne and achieved her stakes placing in the Dermody Stakes (Listed, 1000m) at Morphettville.
Is this the model?
The amalgamation of Ellerslie’s Auckland Racing Club and Pukekohe’s Counties Racing Club was the biggest story from last week and was covered in great detail in an excellent report by ANZ Bloodstock News’ Tim Rowe in Friday’s edition.
Two separate special meetings, Counties’ on Tuesday and Ellerslie’s on Thursday, determined their future in a clear vote and has resulted in the forming of a new club which will be known as Auckland Thoroughbred Racing Incorporated.
Within the merger there are three standout factors, beginning with the sale of land along the back straight at Ellerslie, widely known as The Hill, which currently forms part of the steeplechase course.
The Counties club will also sell some land parcels as part of their agreement.
The resultant funds from the sales will be the foundation of the second factor, an investment portfolio which will act as the means to considerably increase stakes monies.
The third factor is the upgrading of the Ellerslie track to a Strathayr surface so that the club can stage more and higher quality racing on a more consistent basis and in front of the country’s biggest potential audience.
The merger is a bold and innovative move but also somewhat necessary. The industry has been in decline for a large part of the current century and government (read: taxpayer) handouts usually involve both attached strings and compromise.
A private sector solution such as this merger avoids both, yet at the same time involves a certain amount of risk. However, as they say, you can’t make an omelette without breaking a few eggs.
The eggs, in this case, is the sale of land beyond the back straight of the Ellerslie track. On balance, there might be no better time than now to sell The Hill.
Hurdles and steeplechase racing has been in the doldrums for the same period of time that racing has and hurdles racing does not include The Hill. It really does not get used very much at all.
The land’s value is enormous as it lies in the heart of one the most desirable and wealthy suburbs in New Zealand.
The ‘no’ voters may well be those who yearn for racing in its heyday. The days when, on the Queen’s Birthday, tens of thousands of spectators would be on hand to witness the gruelling Great Northern Steeplechase’s three-times-over the famous hilltop part of the track.
Sad, but true, describes the lack of participation and interest in jumps racing but Flat racing, too, has suffered in much the same way.
Doing nothing is not a solution and relying on the taxpayer for funding dissolves autonomous power and decision making. Let’s hope the two historic votes and the now single club have answered the question and arrived at a successful solution.
Should this bold move play out as planned, might other clubs, which are geographically relatively close together, also form similar amalgamations.
In many instances the upkeep of tracks and amenities that are used once, twice or three times a season, make sustainability less likely and unjustifiable.
The Ellerslie-Counties merger also dispels any hint of parochialism, another factor which can hinder progress.
And, in conclusion, when and if this and future mergers do prove successful, perhaps the industry might be in a position to get behind jumps racing and turn one of the lesser-used tracks into New Zealand’s version of Cheltenham?
New Zealand horsemen and horsewomen, and especially those involved in jumps racing, are world-class. A venue specifically for hurdles and steeplechasing may be their savior.
Shameless plug
Sunday’s Caloundra Cup (Listed, 2400m) winner, Stockman (Tavistock), provides the perfect segway into next week’s Kiwi Chronicles.
Although given the perfect trip then gifted a rails run into the straight, he had to fight off a determined challenge in this back-to-back stakes win.
Stockman and his family were covered in detail in the June 22 edition of ANZ Bloodstock News.
Tavistock (Montjeu) has sired more than 150 individual Australasian winners this season, including a dozen individual stakes winners and with more to follow.
Stockman’s fight is present in many of the Tavistocks and next week we will take an in-depth look at the late stallion’s history, a background story that warms the heart, plus a glimpse into the future.