Bon Aurum Emulates His Sire By Winning The Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes
This was Bon Aurum’s most important win, as it was for his father, successful in the same race nine years earlier in 2007 when he defeated Niconero (Danzero) and Wonderful World (Agnes World).
To add to the similarities, both stallions are chestnuts, raced for syndicates formed by Ken King and carried the same colours in their victories in this Group One contest previously won by such successful sires as Encosta De Lago (Fairy King), Exceed And Excel (Danehill), Canny Lad (Bletchingly) and Testa Rossa (Perugino).
Ken King’s Parador Park Thoroughbreds, Victoria, is the breeder of Bon Aurum who should now find a place at stud when retired from racing.
Parador Park Thoroughbreds also bred Bon Aurum’s dam Goldsmobile (Promontory Gold), winner of two country sprint races whose little known, US-bred sire Promontory Gold (Gone West) received scant opportunity at stud in Victoria before being exported to Malaysia in 2009.
Winner in the United States of the Hill Prince Stakes (Gr 3, 9f), Promontory Gold’s sole stakes winner in Australia is Ollie’s Gold who captured the TRC Tasmanian Derby (Listed, 2200m).
Since foaling Bon Aurum’s half-brother Golden State (Domesday) in 2013, Goldsmobile has slipped and missed four times and breeding plans for her this season are not known.
Last Saturday at Caulfield jockey Kerrin Mc Evoy had Bon Aurum well placed on the rails early in the race, came around the leaders on the home turn to hit the front 200 metres out before fighting off the challenge of Voodoo Lad (I Am Invincible) to score by a long neck with third placed Fast ‘N’ Rocking (Fastnet Rock) another long neck away. Race time was 1:23.49.
Four-year-old Bon Aurum has now won five races, one as a two-year-old, at 1200 metres and the rest at 1400m to earn $586,550. Last spring he won the Caulfield Guineas Prelude (Gr 3, 1400m) with two other stakes successes coming at Flemington in the Pin And Win Stakes (registered as Exford Plate) (Listed, 1400m) and Sofitel Handicap (registered as Tontonan Handicap) (Listed, 1400m).
Bon Aurum’s well-bred sire Bon Hoffa is from the powerful Danzig (Northern Dancer) male line. He retired to John and Helen North’s Bowness Stud at Young, NSW, in 2009 where he has received good numbers of mares each season.
His other stakes winner is Deiheros, winner of the Magic Millions 3YO Guineas (RL, 1400m) for earnings of more than $750,000 but also among his 88 winners to date are a number of others who have been successful in metropolitan company in Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide and Hong Kong such as Sweet Emily, Top Sight, Ample On Offa, Bon Rocket and Good Offa. Bon Hoffa’s service fee this season is $4,400 (inc GST).
From a successful European family, Bon Aurum has as his third dam British import Mauritania (The Brianstan) whose two stakes winners include Young Runaway (Young Generation), a dual Group Two winner and a leading two-year-old of his generation in Britain who later went on to make some mark as a sire.
Mauritania’s dam Maurine (Worden) was a noted producer, leaving nine winners headed by stakes winners Belper (Busted), winner of 14 races, and Lover’s Lane (Twilight Alley) while her daughters Mary Murphy (Aureole) and Nelion (Grey Sovereign) also bred stakes winners.
Mary Murphy’s son Irish Eyes (Double Jump) became a champion in Norway, his brother Double First (Double Jump) became a sire in Britain while another of her talented racing sons, Wolverton (Wolver Hollow), went to stud in New Zealand, leaving eight stakes winners, among them Marmalitre, winner of the 1987 South Australian Oaks (Gr 1, 2400m). Nelion’s best product was Recupere (Reliance II), winner of the 1974 Prix du Cadran (Gr 1, 4000m) and later a sire.
Bon Aurum’s well balanced pedigree features three crosses of Northern Dancer (Nearctic), three of Bold Ruler (Nasrullah), two of Raise A Native (Native Dancer) and more remote duplications of influential mares Somethingroyal (Princequillo) and the sisters Big Hurry (Black Toney) and Black Helen (Black Toney), daughters of the celebrated La Troienne (Teddy).