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Charm Stone impressive in Manikato Stakes romp
By Lydia Symonds
@ANZ_News
Charm Stone (I Am Invincible) advertised her spring credentials when she returned from a spell with a brilliant victory in Friday’s Manikato Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m) at The Valley, her second taste of Group 1 honours.
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Having won the Sangster Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m) against her own sex in Adelaide last season, the daughter of I Am Invincible (Invincible Spirit) took the leap into open company in her stride, defeating last-start Moir Stakes (Gr 1, 1000m) winner Baraqiel (Snitzel) by a cosy two lengths. Magic Time (Hellbent) was another 0.3 lengths further away in third.
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Price said he was left scratching his head after Charm Stone made a second trip to Adelaide after her Sangster win when finishing in the second-half of the field in the Group 1 The Goodwood (Gr 1, 1200m).
"She's a mare that needs the edge on her," Price said. "I thought she was pretty right when we ran her in The Goodwood last preparation, but she said 'no I'm not very right' and got out the back.
"She's not a mare that I would back up [again]."
Price resorted to preparing the mare from his stables without the usual process of sending the mare to a pre-trainer.
He said Charm Stone had not put a foot wrong throughout her entire preparation.
"I've got to thank all the staff, we've got the East farm, the West farm," Price said. "They're all fantastic people.
"There was a little bit of speed in front of her, Blake got off the fence at the right time.
"She's a beautiful mare and it's so great to see her win another Group 1."
Shinn was celebrating his birthday on Friday and to win a Group 1 made it all the more special.
He said seeing former jockey Gary Willetts, who was associated with Manikato in the presentation area brought back a lot of memories.
"She was dominant," Shinn said. "She pinged the lids, got a great trail, and got out at the turn. She put the race to bed, and it was a phenomenal win."
From barrier two, Shinn said he went into Friday night's race with an open mind.
"We had a discussion pre-race to jump positive, have a little bit of intent for the first 50 [metres], and then just play it by ear," Shinn said.
"Looking at her replays, she's got very good gate speed and we wanted to utilise that, but then just ride the horse to run well."
A ten per cent share in Charm Stone was sold during the week for $310,000 at the Inglis Digital September Sale which valued the mare at $3.1 million.
After Friday night's success, that value is sure to have increased.
"You couldn't put a figure on what she'd be worth as a broodmare," Shinn said.
"But it's great for the breeding industry. It's great for people who are investing in the game."
Bred by Emirates Park, Charm Stone was bought by Seamus Mills Bloodstock for $1.55 million at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale in 2022, making her highest priced filly sold at the auction that year.
The five-year-old mare is the third living foal of the brilliant dual Group 3 winner Najoom (Northern Meteor), who hails from the same family as Group 1 winners Criterion (Sebring), Comin’ Through (Fastnet Rock) and four other stakes winners.
Now with two Group 1s to her name, Charm Stone is Najoom’s second stakes victor, having emphatically eclipsed Listed-winning older sister Najmaty.
Najoom’s yearling sister to Charm Stone fetched $425,000 for Emirates Park when bought at Magic Millions Gold Coast this year by trainer Peter Snowden with Trilogy Racing and Suman Hedge Bloodstock.
A half-sister by Capitalist (Written Tycoon) was retained by Emirates Park after being passed in at Inglis Easter last year. Now named Nazwah, the filly broke her maiden at Gosford in July.
Najoom produced a colt by Emirates’s co-owned stallion Tassort (Brazen Beau), who stands at Newgate Farm.
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West Of Swindon hands Coolmore’s star-crossed stallion Wootton Bassett his first Australian stakes winner
The void Wootton Bassett’s (Iffraaj) untimely death leaves in the global industry was drawn into stark focus on Friday when the stallion scored his first southern hemisphere-bred stakes winner courtesy of West Of Swindon’s victory in the Stutt Stakes (Gr 2, 1600m) at The Valley.
The global industry was rocked on Tuesday when Coolmore’s star recruit was euthanised while on shuttle duty in the Hunter Valley after the horse suffered from “acute pneumonia which deteriorated rapidly”.
Wootton Bassett’s impact in Australia has been a slow burner with the stallion siring ten winners in his first term, but was unlucky not to gain Group 1 laurels when his star son, Wodeton, finished a narrow second in the Golden Slipper (Gr 1, 1200m), while one of his other sons, State Visit, also finished runner-up in the highest company.
Despite being winless before Friday, West Of Swindon was also stakes-placed as a juvenile, finishing second in the Silver Slipper Stakes (Gr 2, 1100m) last February when trained by Team Hawkes.
Switched to Ciaron Maher by his owner/breeders Qatar Racing this season, the colt placed again at stakes level in Listed company on his second start this preparation.
Ridden by Ben Melham and trained by Ciaron Maher, West Of Swindon unleashed a potent turn of foot to beat Romantic Encounter (Ghaiyyath) by 0.4 lengths with Highvol (Microphone) another 2.3 lengths back to Hillier (Zoustar).
Maher believed the colt would be hard to beat on Friday and said he would now bid for Group 1 glory in the Caulfield Guineas (Gr 1, 1600m) on October 11.
“I was very confident, he’s a high quality colt and he’s beautifully bred. He might have been a maiden going into tonight, but I can’t think of a better way to break that maiden,” the trainer said.
“Onwards to the Guineas [Caulfield Group 1] now and I can’t thank my team enough as they’ve done a great job with him and Ben Melham gave him a beautiful ride and took the race by the horns, made every post a winner and backed the horse, so fair play to him.”
Melham added: “He's a pretty well-credentialed horse. He's been running in some better races in Sydney, around the best three-year-olds in Australia,” he said.
“He's strong at the mile, he's got a great attitude, he's got a good will to win for a colt, and he's got a good action, so that'll hold him in good stead."
Meanwhile, Matt Laurie’s star colt Vinrock (I Am Invincible) suffered the second defeat of his career when he finished fifth in the Group 2, having been sent off the $1.65 favourite.
His trainer Matt Laurie described the way the race panned out as a 'disaster'.
“He was meant to be forward and kind of blundered the start. It was pretty much a disaster. We will put a line through it and hopefully we can redeem ourselves in a couple of weeks," Laurie said.
The colt’s rider Mark Zahra assessed the overall performance of Vinrock as “okay”.
Zahra told RV stewards that it was his stated intention to lead or settle outside the leader but Vinrock dropped his head as the start was affected, losing ground.
He then said Vinrock over-raced and came close to clipping the heels of Bingi.
Zahra stated that Vinrock was under pressure from the 400m and he was reluctant to take him wide on the turn, instead he tried to improve on the inside of Bingi.
He said he was satisfied with the way Vinrock finished the race off.
Zahra told RV stewards that Vinrock raced at his best when he could settle closer to the lead.
Stewards later noted Vinrock was lame in the off foreleg.
Purchased by his former trainers for $350,000 at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling from the Widden Stud draft, West Of Swindon is out of the winning Starcraft (Soviet Star), a half-sister Caulfield Cup (Gr 1, 2400m) winner Fawkner (Reset) and Tanby (Galileo), whose 11 wins were headed by two Group 2s.
Wootton Bassett’s global stakes winner now stands at 72 and they are headed by 16 Group 1 winners.
Freewheeling Jenni romps to Feehan Stakes victory
Pride Of Jenni (Pride Of Dubai) silenced any doubters that her best years were behind her when she defeated a small but select field of seasoned Group winners to retain her Feehan Stakes (Gr 2, 1600m) crown at The Valley on Friday night.
Having been retired and then returned to the racetrack, rumours of a second return to paddocks had been swirling around the Ciaron Maher-trained mare following her tenth-placed finish in the Doomben 10,000 (Gr 1, 2000m) last May. But she showed she was still worthy of being part of the conversation for the many of the big mile races this spring.
Ridden by regular partner Declan Bates, the eight-year-old took up her usual position at the front of proceedings, setting decent fractions on the lead.
When Matt Laurie’s multiple Group 1-winning star Treasurethe Moment (Alabama Express) drew closer in the straight, Pride Of Jenni found more to gallop away with a 1.8-length victory over the daughter of Alabama Express (Redoute’s Choice). Group 1 winner Attrition (Churchill) was another 3.7 lengths away in third.
“She’s an amazing horse and Dec Bates knows her so well. Full credit to Tony for having the courage to race her on. She’s 100 per cent sound. She’s enjoying her racing,” Maher said, who enjoyed a stakes-race double on the night.
“She just amazes me to do what she can do. Treasurethe Moment is such an elite horse and she can test the best of them on her day and she just amazes me.”
The mare’s owner Tony Ottobre described the mare as “just a champion”.
"She’s just a champion and we have great people around her to guide her to this. Ciaron is a superstar. To do this with an eight-year-old mare is unbelievable. The accolades must go to Ciaron for presenting the horse like this and Jenni is just a marvel,” he said.
A $100,000 Inglis Classic purchase from the Segenhoe Stud draft for Tony and Lynn Ottobre’s Cape Schanck Stud, Pride of Jenni was bred by Trelawney Stud and is the best of two winners from winning O’Reilly (Last Tycoon) mare Sancerre, a daughter of Queensland Oaks (Gr 1, 2400m) winner Vouvray.
Snow Mercy takes big leap to win the Scarborough Stakes
