Polymnia or Cinch hone in Oaks glory at Morphettville
Two contrasting daughters of Dundeel (High Chaparral) will take different routes as they strive to bring their Arrowfield sire’s first female elite success in Saturday’s Australasian Oaks (Gr 1, 2000m) at Morphettville.
The John O’Shea and Tom Charlton–trained Polymnia will set out to go one better than her 0.35–length second in the Adrian Knox Stakes (Gr 3, 2000m), having bypassed the Australian Oaks (Gr 1, 2400m) for Saturday’s shorter assignment.
And the Hayes brothers’ Cinch will seek to add another three-year-old fillies’ Classic title after her three-length romp in the Tasmanian Oaks (Listed, 2100m), coming in off her next-star victory in Adelaide’s Auraria Stakes (Gr 3, 1800m).
The pair were on Friday rated $5 and $9 chances respectively behind Glen Thompson’s Benagil (Manhattan Rain), who was second to star filly Treasurethe Moment (Alabama Express) in the recent Vinery Stud Stakes (Gr 1, 2000m), and Waterhouse-Bott’s Too Darn Lizzie (Too Darn Hot), at $4.80.
If Polymnia or Cinch can prevail they will continue some strong form in the race for Arrowfield. Indeed, a quinella might even be the pass mark after the stud’s The Autumn Sun (Redoute’s Choice) famously scored a Group 1 trifecta in the race last year, through Vibrant Sun, Private Legacy and Coco Sun – who a week later won the South Australian Derby (Gr 1, 2500m).
Dundeel in fact does have a chance at a trifecta, with a third runner in the race, albeit a longshot, in the shape of Phillip Stokes’s Femminile. She may be at $41 but did make ground from 11th on the turn when a 2.66–length sixth in Cinch’s Auraria.
And if those three don’t work, an Arrowfield son of Dundeel in Castelvecchio has sired two further runners in the race – also trained by Stokes – in Commanche Miss, at $26 after blotting her copybook when tenth in the Auraria, and $61 hope Pelevecchio.
The Autumn Sun is also there again with two runners in Horizons and Giorgi, but bookmakers are firmly of the view their sire had his fun last year.
The main Dundeel pair, while having poor barrier luck in common from the tricky 2000-metre start on Saturday, are opposites in various ways.
Polymnia will doubtless go back from gate 14 of 16 for Jamie Melham. She came from near last on the turn when runner-up to Belle Detelle (Zed) in the Knox, peaking on her run slightly at the death after coming seven-wide on the bend.
Franking the form, third home You Wahng (So You Think) finished in the same placing in the Australian Oaks a week later, behind the filly who beat Benagil home in Vinery, Treasurethe Moment.
Cinch will go forward from gate 15 for Celine Gaudray, in the on-pace style that has given her black type wins in her past two starts, and three on end after her 1732-metre Sale maiden success.
Aside from that race pattern reality, the pair contrast in terms of perception – of Dundeel fillies.
The cliche holds that daughters of the 15-year-old tend to be a hot handful. It receives some backing from statistics.
Dundeel’s eight Group 1 winners have all been male, though Hope In Your Heart, Aquacade and She’s Ideal were placed at the top-level, She’s Ideel three times.
Of Dundeel’s 36 stakes winners, 25 have been male. The boys also hold the advantage on winners-to-runners, though more slightly, at 64.8 per cent to 59.2 per cent.
Charlton is warm on the chances of Dundeel’s Group 1 gender imbalance being redressed today by Polymnia, a filly he must admit fits the adage about the sire’s fizzy daughters.
“I think they’re definitely that way inclined. They’re highly strung fillies, but to be fair they handle everything pretty well,” he told ANZ Bloodstock News.
“We haven’t had a load of them, but I think they’re nice horses, the Dundeels. They’re horses we enjoy training, and they like the Classic distances. Polymnia is the best one we’ve had, and Captain Amelia has been successful as well,” he said, of that triple city-winning four-year-old.
Amid reports the heat is going out of Dundeel fillies’ reputations, perhaps as breeders learn more about which mares to put to him, Cinch presents as a vote for the alternative view.
“I know that’s the word on the street about Dundeel fillies,” said co-trainer JD Hayes, “but Cinch seems to buck that trend. She’s nice and calm and pretty straightforward. She might change everyone’s tune about Dundeel fillies.
“She’s our best Dundeel by far. We don’t have that many, to be fair. Wouldn’t mind more. He’s a sire who can certainly get a runner.”
With four Classics winners among his eight Group 1 victors, Dundeel certainly appears to have put the stamina into his two Australasian Oaks chances, both of whom were bought at Inglis Easter.
Polymnia, purchased from Vinery Stud’s draft for $250,000 by O’Shea and bloodstock agent Suman Hedge, is the third foal out of Mousai (Fastnet Rock), a 1200-metre winner who’s a half-sister to Starspangledbanner (Choisir), so good over the short course he was Champion Sprinter in Europe and Australia.
Cinch, who was passed in, is out of an unraced daughter of speed-centric Snitzel (Redoute’s Choice), and is a half-sister to Golden Slipper (Gr 1, 1200m) winner Mossfun (Mossman) and Mawahibb (Magic Albert), who was Singapore’s Champion Sprinter of 2019, racing as Aramco.
“Polymnia’s not short of speed,” Charlton said of the filly who’s run second once over 1200m and twice over 1400 metres. “She’s been effective over shorter trips and she’s got a good turn of foot.
“She’s a nice, neat style of filly. She was definitely a little immature before, but from spring to autumn she came back a lot more furnished and grown-out.
“She’s got a lovely pedigree, a really nice page, and Dundeel has put a bit of stamina into her.”
Raced by a syndicate headed by co-breeder Neil Werrett and fellow mega owner Frank Cook, Polymnia arrived in Adelaide on Thursday morning and was in fine order, Charlton said.
“She was excellent in the Adrian Knox. We got a bit further back than we initially thought we’d be, and she just found the other one a little stronger on the day,” Charlton said. “The form has stood up well in the Oaks after that.
“We didn’t go to the (ATC) Oaks because we feel at this stage she’s better suited staying at 2000 metres than stretching to 2400 metres. On paper this Adelaide race was the better race to target, and being three weeks after the Knox, we felt she’d appreciate that.
“We’re confident she’ll run well, and be effective over this distance. Benagil probably has the best form, coming out of the Vinery, but a few formlines are tying in well for us.”
Cinch was passed in short of a $400,000 reserve and is now raced by breeder Ian Duckworth of Fairview Park and, under a lease agreement, with the “Giddy Up” syndicate comprising staff at sports radio network SEN, including well known broadcaster Gerard Whateley.
“Those boys are having a really good ride and she’s got a great pedigree behind her that we’re looking forward to adding to,” Hayes said of Cinch, who’s stayed in Adelaide since the Auraria.
“She put the writing on the wall in the Tassie Oaks. Although it wasn’t the strongest field, the way she put paid to them was when we really set our sights on this race.
“She’s was freshened up for a bit more than a month before the Auraria, and it was always targeted that she’d peak for this race, so hopefully it comes off.
“She bounced out of the Auraria, and I can’t fault her. We’re confident. We’d be more confident if we had an alley, but she’ll roll forward so it should be fine. If we have to do not too much work getting across and get a nice smooth run, she should come up nicely.”
Darley’s returning shuttler Too Darn Hot (Dubawi) also has two in the race in Too Darn Lizzie – another with abundant speed in her female side being out of Blue Diamond Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m) runner-up Enbihaar (Magnus) – and Trent Busuttin and Natalie Young’s longshot Sweltering.
The Blue Gum Farm-bred Benagil looked impressive in her strong-finishing second in the Vinery, after winning Caulfield’s $500,000 Vobis Guineas (1500m), but is another with a wide barrier to overcome in the short run to the first bend, with gate 13 for Mark Zahra.