Newnham hoping for Oaks breakthrough with Bargain
The Roses runner-up bids to end stable’s streak of near misses
In just five years of training, Mark Newnham has saddled six Oaks runners for four top–three placings and he is hoping that Bargain (Ocean Park) can finally win him one today.
A leading contender in today’s Queensland Oaks (Gr 1, 2200m), Bargain races in the famed colours of one of New Zealand’s leading thoroughbred nurseries Waikato Stud, where she was bred.
A daughter of in-form stallion Ocean Park (Thorn Park), who stands on the Waikato roster, she is the first horse Newnham has ever trained for the farm’s owners, the Chittick family.
Newnham said the relationship came out of the blue when he received a phone call from Waikato principal Mark Chittick.
“I got a phone call saying ‘would you like to train a horse for us’ and then they sent her over. She’s the first horse I’ve had for them and it’s been a good result,” said Newnham.
“I have bought a horse from them and have since. They are very good breeders and good owners to get.”
The Chitticks like to try and support trainers who invest in their stock by sending them horses and the decision to back Newnham just over 12 months ago has paid dividends.
Bargain emerged as a class act when she ran second in the Adrian Knox Stakes (Gr 3, 2000m) at Randwick in April and followed it up with a third placing in the Australian Oaks (Gr 1, 2400m).
“She’s always shown ability but needed a bit of time to mature,” he added. “She’s been at her best at 2000 metres and beyond so she’s found the right trip now.”
Last start Bargain ran second behind Only Words (Sweynesse) in The Roses (Gr 2, 2000m) at Doomben, and on the strength of that performance Newnham believes she is a genuine winning chance in today’s Group 1 feature at Eagle Farm.
“I think she will run top three and she’s a great chance of winning. She’s trained on well, is up in distance on a bigger track, and has a good gate. I would be disappointed if she couldn’t run top three,” he said.
Like Newnham, the Chitticks are hoping for their first Queensland Oaks victory which would cap off what has been a stellar season for them. Last weekend, Kukeracha (Night Of Thunder), a graduate of Waikato Stud’s 2019 New Zealand Bloodstock Karaka Yearling Sale draft, won the Queensland Derby (Gr 1, 2400m).
“We have had 20 winners of 31 stakes races and five Group 1 winners have come off the farm, four of which we bred ourselves,” said Chittick.
“It’s a season we are incredibly proud of. There’s a lot of hard work and investment and something is heading in the right direction. This year has been something special.”
Bargain was born and raised on Waikato Stud and is out of Shopaholic (Pins), who herself was a sprinting mare winning several Group races including the Angus Armanasco Stakes (Gr 2, 1400m) at Caulfield.
Bargain was passed in at the NZB Karaka Yearling Sale after failing to meet her reserve of $200,000, so the Chitticks decided to try their luck racing her.
“She’s been very consistent and the Ocean Parks are tough and consistent so it’s very exciting,” he said.
While she doesn’t possess the movie star looks of her former stablemate Greysful Glamour (Stratum), who was recently sold at the Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale for $1.5 million, Newnham is hoping Bargain will continue to establish herself as a suitable replacement.
“If you get a genuine Group horse and they retire or are sold, they are hard to replace. She (Bargain) is a bit plain to look at so she goes a little unnoticed, but that’s not a bad thing,” said Newnham.
Newnham, who currently has 70 horses in work at his Warwick Farm and Randwick stables, has bold plans for Bargain come the spring.
“She will spell for a few weeks up in Queensland and we will get her ready for a race like the Matriarch Stakes,” he said. “That’s a realistic target for a mare like her who needs a big trip and track.”