Maher and Eustace buy Bali Beach to target Cup glory beyond today’s four-pronged attack
Training partnership secure half-sister to Cross Counter on eve of bidding for a first Melbourne Cup success at Flemington
Ciaron Maher and David Eustace will seek their first Melbourne Cup (Gr 1, 3200m) triumph today with four runners in the showpiece event at Flemington, but already the training Goliath is looking at least five years ahead in search of another potential candidate for Australia’s greatest race.
Yesterday, Maher’s bloodstock manager Will Bourne went to $355,000 to purchase five-year-old mare Bali Beach (Farhh), the half-sister to 2018 Melbourne Cup winner Cross Counter (Teofilo), who is also closely related to one of the stable’s quartet in today’s running, Floating Artist (Nathaniel).
Bali Beach, sold through a bespoke Magic Millions Online auction, is in foal to Rosemont Stud’s Shamus Award (Snitzel), the sire of this year’s short-priced Cup favourite Incentivise.
She was offered for sale to dissolve a partnership, which included Darren Thomas’ Seymour Bloodstock.
“We spend so much money on horses overseas trying to buy these types of horses, even buying yearlings over in Europe, and this is what we are looking for,” Bourne told ANZ Bloodstock News yesterday.
“We’ve got a few clients committed but I spoke to Ciaron who was keen to get involved.”
Maher and Eustace, along with partners, expended almost $500,000 at the recent Tattersalls Horses in Training Sale, while securing Cup runner Floating Artist for 95,000gns with Blandford Bloodstock and Saturday’s Hotham Stakes (Gr 3, 2500m) runner-up Mankayan (Intello) for the same price in conjunction with Australian Bloodstock at last year’s flagship tried horse sale.
“We obviously look at English, Irish and French sales looking for tried horses in Europe, and over in New Zealand, and she fits that bill being in foal to Shamus Award,” Bourne continued.
“It is wrapped up in a package for you. Ciaron is really going early, but she fits our profile. There’s opportunities everywhere in the market and everything is so expensive getting these horses landed in Australia as yearlings costs $350,000 to $400,000 and tried horses are around the $500,000 mark, so you always have to be thinking outside the box and Ciaron’s a big one for that. A mare like this we thought we’d have a little bit of a crack.
“Ciaron and Dave love the staying races so, again, that’s why this is an opportunity they took up. We looked at the mare and thought about what she’s worth and we looked at what European yearlings cost to land here, so we were thinking between $350,000 to $400,000, so I had a few extra bids left in me. To secure her at that, we were very happy.”
Bali Beach, who placed twice in Spain during a four-start career, was purchased as a yearling in 2017 by Alvaro Soto for just 3,500gns and was later acquired by Seymour Bloodstock.
Out of the stakes-placed, US-bred, Kingmambo (Mr. Prospector) mare Waitress, Bali Beach is a half-sister to Godolphin’s Melbourne Cup hero Cross Counter, as well as two-time UK winner Right Direction (Cape Cross), who foaled a New Approach (Dawn Approach) colt in 2020 and this year produced one of just 17 last-crop foals by the late Shamardal (Giant’s Causeway).
Her granddam, Do The Honours (Highest Honor), was a Champion Three-Year-Old Sprinter in France, whose daughter Miss Kenton (Pivotal) is the dam of Moonee Valley Gold Cup (Gr 2, 2500m) runner-up Floating Artist, as well as Japanese Grade 3 winner Darlington Hall (New Approach).
“I am thinking we will syndicate the mare amongst our clients and we will race everything out of her. It is the perfect page for what we are trying to achieve,” Bourne said.
“There’s not that many mares in Australia with that sort of page, bred that way for distance races. We are rapt to get her. It’s a long-term play but Ciaron’s a patient guy and he’s not going anywhere. I am curious to see who calls me and wants to get involved.”
The training partnership’s immediate attention now turns to landing a first Melbourne Cup and denying Shamus Award’s three-time Group 1 winner and $2.80 favourite Incentivise, who will be targeting a tenth straight victory today.
He spearheads the recent rapid rise of Rosemont Stud’s Shamus Award who, largely due to the exploits of Incentivise, currently sits second on the general sires premiership this season behind Nicconi (Bianconi), sire of Everest (1200m) winner Nature Strip.
Floating Artist claimed a hat-trick of Melbourne handicaps this spring before running third in the Coongy Cup (Gr 3, 2000m) and second in the Moonee Valley Cup, narrowly earning his place in the 24-runner field following final acceptances on Saturday, and Bourne said his berth in the race has perhaps taken the team by surprise.
“We are really excited that he got the run (in the field). He’s getting there a bit quickly but he’s got the ability and we’re thrilled to see him go around,” he said of the five-year-old, who will race in Seymour Bloodstock’s blue silks with white sash.
Maher and Eustace will also saddle three-time Derby hero Explosive Jack (Jakkalberry), as well as last year’s Melbourne Cup fifth Persan (Pierro), who arrives off the back of a third-placed finish in the Caulfield Cup behind Incentivise.
Stablemate Grand Promenade (Champs Elysees) will have to overcome barrier 21 if he is to successfully back up from his last-start Bart Cummings (Gr 3, 2500m) success on October 2.