Mason’s Chance is bush champion

Racing Queensland introduced the Battle of the Bush to promote country racing and it was an outstanding success with a capacity field of 16 horses from all over the state.

One of two runners saddled by Mackay trainer Olivia Cairns, Mason’s Chance flashed home to edge out Bush Caviar by a short half head with Go Get Sum third, a further short neck away.

Racing Queensland webnews reports the win was Mason’s Chance’s ninth of the season which surpassed Winx and former West Australian Trap For Fools who each had eight wins for season 2017-2018 before the Battle Of The Bush Final.

Mason’s Chance now has an excellent strike-rate of nine wins and 15 placings from just 27 starts which includes a purple-patch of form of five wins in succession at Rockhampton, Mackay and Townsville in February and early-March this year. Mason’s Chance began his racing career with Chris Munce in Brisbane before being sent to John Manzelmann at Mackay who won a maiden from 11 starts.

Cairns, who also saddled up Stellar Knight, heaped praise on jockey Justin Stanley whom she has shared a successful partnership in recent times. “Justin won the Townsville Cup (Forest Pride 2003) for me and he won on Sporting Page at Doomben for me last year. But this was a great thrill. I can’t explain what we went through to get here. I never expected to be here on a Group 1 day winning a race like this at Doomben,” she said.

Mason’s Chance covered more than 3000 kilometres to qualify for the Battle Of The Bush final after being edged out by stablemate Stellar Knight at Home Hill in May. He had also been to Emerald, Thangool and Bowen before finally securing the final qualifying spot by winning at Barcaldine.

BY Pressday from the winning Elusive Quality (USA) mare Sheer Opulence, Battle of the Bush winner Mason’s Chance is one of 13 winners from the only foal crop sired by Group 1 winner Pressday prior to an untimely death.

Euthanized after succumbing to a tumour on his spleen in January 2013, Pressday was retired to Eliza Park's Queensland operation as a foundation sire in 2012 covering 52 mares after a career highlighted in 2010 by winning Brisbane's two-year-old triple crown – the Group 2 Champagne Classic, Group 2 Sires' Produce Stakes and the Group 1 The TJ Smith Classic. He subsequently won the Group 2 Sandown Guineas before being sent to the USA which resulted in a placing at Listed level at Santa Anita before retiring to Eliza Park's Queensland operation.

Foaled in  2005, Sheer Opulence was sold to Mark Pilkington Bloodstock for $100,000 at the 2007 Magic Millions yearling sale at the Gold Coast. However, she could only fetch $11,500 two years later when re-offered by Lindsay Park Racing at the 2009 Inglis Great Southern Bloodstock sale at Melbourne after David Hayes trained her for a solitary win at Balaclava in South Australia plus four placings. She subsequently raced in NSW for one placing from five starts before finally ending up with Bundaberg trainer Darryl Gardiner who coaxed a further placing with her from her final three starts.

Her record as a broodmare is also very sparse with just two foals to race – Mason’s Chance  and an older half-sibling Mervyndave who raced seven times for a win at Thangool and two placings.

TWO series down – one to go. With the second segment of the inaugural regional state-wide showcase of country racing for season 2017/18 ‘done and dusted’ in north-west Queensland, attention now turns to the Race to the Reef Series.

Separate to the Battle of the Bush series, Racing Queensland also organised three regional series. They were:

Three Race to the Reef heats have now been held. Six year old mare No Biting trained by Cairns-based Steve Massingham won at Innisfail on May 26, followed by 5YO gelding Platinum Tycoon trained by Michael Lee, Atherton, winning at Cairns on June 11. Steve Massingham now has a second qualifier following the heat win by 6YO gelding Tuscan Falls at Atherton on Saturday, June 23.

By dual Group 1 winner Nicconi from the winning General Nediym mare Queen Of The Falls, Tuscan Falls sold for $80,000 at the 2013 Inglis Australian Easter Yearling sale and won twice at Newcastle and Kembla Grange for Sydney trainer Gary Portelli. He was then on-sold to Brisbane trainer Liam Birchley who started him five times for a win at Caloundra before a further move north to Cairns where Steve Massingham has trained him for four more wins.

Queen Of The Falls is from the Group 3 winning Danehill mare Niagara Falls which makes her a half-sister to Group 2 Reisling Stakes winner Elite Falls and her three matings to Nicconi have produced three winners.  

QUEENSLAND-bred is the tag local owners can proudly show following international and local Group 1 victories held last Saturday, June 23. 

The first came in Brisbane when 4YO mare Prompt Response (Beneteau/Prompt) won the Tattersall’s Tiara (1350m) – the last of 73 Group 1s held throughout Australia in the 2017/18 season. Then several hours later Australian-bred 3YO colt Merchant Navy (Fastnet Rock/Legally Bay) won the prestigious Group 1 Diamond Jubilee Stakes (1200m) on the fifth and final day of the Royal Ascot carnival in England.

Merchant Navy is the fourth Australian-bred horse to win Royal Ascot’s premier sprint following in the hoofprints of Choisir (2003), Starspangledbanner (by Choisir) (2010) and Black Caviar (2012).  

While Merchant Navy was foaled at Segenhoe Stud, the Australian Stud Book lists Toowoomba chiropractor Chris Barham as his breeder. In fact, Chris and wife Jane who kept a share in Merchant Navy after selling him for $350,000 at the 2016 Inglis Sydney Easter yearling sale bought his dam Legally Bay for $220,000 at the 2002 Inglis Easter Yearling sale. She then repaid their faith by earning $628,050 in prizemoney with major highlights being a win in the Group 3 Sweet Embrace Stakes and two Group 1 placings. Since then, at least five of her foals have sold for more $1.7 million at Magic Millions and Sydney Easter yearling sales while her Group 2 winning daughter Jolie Bay – a full sister to Merchant Navy retained by the Barhams – has had two yearlings sell for $310,000 and $530,000 at Magic Millions and Sydney Easter in 2017 and 2018 respectively.

The Queensland connection extends back even further as Legally Bay was bred at Highgrove Stud, Westbrook while Queensland legendary sire Grand Chaudiere is the maternal grandsire of her sire Snippets.

ALTHOUGH Tattersall’s Tiara winner Prompt Response was foaled and raised at Newgate Farm, Scone, NSW,  her breeder is listed as Gold Coast-based Ron Hamer. With Prompt, the dam of Prompt Response, being secured by Blue Sky Bloodstock's Julian Blaxland and Newgate Farm's Henry Field at the 2011 Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale for $45,000, long term Blue Sky client Ron Hamer needed a mare for his share in the then recently retired colt Beneteau whom he had raced with Blue Sky.

The first foal Hamer bred from Prompt from was a colt by Beneteau but had X-ray issues so was passed in at Magic Millions in 2014. Another Blue Sky client Mark Sowerby bought into him for 50 percent  and they raced him as Prompt Return – a Group 3 Maribyrnong Plate winner at his second start.

Prompt Response was the second foal which Hamer kept and now races with Mark Sowerby. Trained by Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott, Prompt Response has now earned more than $1.4 million with six wins to her credit including the Tatt’s Tiara and three Group 2s in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne while her 10 placings include being runner-up in last year’s Tatt’s Tiara.

One of Blue Sky's first clients, Hamer’s first yearling was an Anabaa filly bought at Magic Millions in partnership with BBA Ireland’s Adrian Nicoll that raced as Diana's Secret (ex Palace Scandal). She was stakes performed with trainer David Hayes and upon retirement Ron stayed in her to breed with. She didn't disappoint, producing Horse of The Year Dissident with her second foal with Hamer keeping 10 percent of Dissident as a yearling.

Prompt is now in the ownership of SF Bloodstock and her yearling colt by Dissident sold for $525,000 at Magic Millions in January this year. 

COOLMORE'S former Group 1-winning Champion Australian Sire Fastnet Rock celebrated an elite race success when top-class 3YO Australian-bred colt Merchant Navy (Fastnet Rock-Legally Bay) surged home under Ryan Moore to score a narrow short head victory in an action-packed renewal of the Group 1 Diamond Jubilee Stakes (1200m) on the fifth and final day of the Royal Ascot carnival in England.

Bought for $350,000 by Ciaron Maher Racing at the 2016 Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale, Merchant Navy improved his record to seven wins (including the Group 1 Coolmore Stud Stakes) and two placings (including the Group 1 Newmarket Handicap) from 10 starts for $1,658,291 in earnings.

A winner of last year's stallion-making Group 1 Coolmore Stud Stakes at Flemington, Merchant Navy was transferred to the famous Ballydoyle stable of Aidan O'Brien earlier this year to be prepared for the Diamond Jubilee. He is scheduled to return to Australia next month to stand his first season at Coolmore in the NSW Hunter Valley, but O'Brien is keen to delay his flight so he can bid for the big sprint double in the July Stakes at Newmarket in three-weeks time. "We thought it was an impossible task for Merchant Navy as he was meeting the other horse from Australia (Redkirk Warrior) 12lb wrong compared to when they met there. He's only a three-year-old (bred to southern hemisphere time) but being treated like a four-year-old,” O'Brien told Racing Post.