AM I seeing double? Can a horse qualify twice for the Battle of the Bush series final? Those questions crossed my mind when I wrote this opening paragraph for this week’s column: CAIRNS-based sprinter Man Around Town has added his name to the list of qualifiers for the Battle of the Bush (BOTB) final after victory at Atherton on Saturday, June 2.
Then I thought: “Hang-on – didn’t Man Around Town win a qualifying heat at Gordonvale at his previous start?”
Racing Queensland has supplied the answers:
YES – Man Around Town has now won two Battle of the Bush qualifying heats at Gordonvale (May 12) and Atherton (June 2); and
NO – with Man Around Town having already qualified at Gordonvale, Big Tomee – the runner-up at Atherton – takes the qualifying spot for the final to be held in Brisbane on Saturday, June 23. Furthermore, Man Around Town’s trainer, Cairns-based Trevor Rowe had checked with Racing Queensland that it was OK to start at Atherton having already qualified.
There were four BOTB qualifying heats held across Queensland on Saturday, June 2 – Atherton, Bowen, Cloncurry and Goondiwindi. Having dealt with Man Around Town winning at Atherton, I turned my attention to Bowen where the qualifying race was won by 4YO mare Gingersnap trained by John Manzelmann at Mackay.
Delving further into her lead-up form, I noted that Gingersnap had run second to Man Around Town in a qualifying heat at Gordonvale on May 12. Then the penny dropped! Yes, I had written a story about Man Around Town’s Gordonvale win that appeared in my May 17 column.
Since Gordonvale, Gingersnap has travelled to Home Hill and Thangool seeking to qualify and finally ‘cracked it’ at Bowen on Saturday, June 2 winning the 1100m qualifying sprint. Bred at Raheen Stud, Gladfield, Gingersnap is by Snippetson from the Shovhog mare The Gingermeister and now has five wins and eight placings from 25 starts. A $60,000 yearling at the 2015 Magic Millions yearling sale, Gingersnap was originally trained by Newcastle-based Kris Lees who prepared her for wins at Scone, Kempsey and Cessnock before being on-sold to John Manzelmann.
Snippetson now has another representative in the Battle of the Bush final as Atherton ‘lucky loser’ Big Tomee is also by the dual Listed winning son of Snippets from the Danzero mare Our Whitney. Having begun his racing career in the NSW northern rivers district winning a Lismore maiden, Big Tomee was on-sold to Atherton-based trainer Jeffrey Williams and has since won four of his seven subsequent wins at his local Atherton track.
Cocktails at Cloncurry
“HURRY scurry, here comes the winner at Cloncurry!” – that’s what the connections of 6YO mare Drinking Cocktails are hoping for at Doomben on June 23 after she won a 1000m Battle of the Bush qualifying sprint at Cloncurry in north-west Queensland on Saturday, June 2.
Trained by Henry Forster at Ilfracombe, Drinking Cocktails is by Group 1 winner Mossman and is one four winners produced from the Spinning World (USA) mare Ndereba. She now has six wins and 17 placings from 48 starts. Three of those wins were at Beaudesert and Toowoomba when prepared by Toooomba-based Kevin Kemp while Henry Forster has added the next three at Barcaldine, Emerald and Cloncurry.
Go Get Sum Doomben bound
TOOWOOMBA trainer and great country racing supporter Phyllis Kalinowski will be Brisbane bound come June 23 after her 7YO gelding Go Get Sum won the Battle of the Bush qualifying heat, the 1200m Inglewood Cup, at Gunsynd Park, Goondiwindi on Saturday, June 2.
By Exceedingly Good from the Golan (Ire) mare Helpful Hints, Go Get Sum was ridden by Nathan Evans to give him his second Inglewood Cup winner. Go Get Sum has now raced 38 times for five wins and 14 places.
The next Goondiwindi meeting on Saturday August 4, includes the Boggabilla Cup followed a fortnight later by Talwood Races on August 18 featuring the Talwood Cup.
Egg Tart tastes victory again
TWELVE months ago Queensland-bred 4YO mare Egg Tart as being lauded as a major star with successive Group 1 Oaks wins in South Australia and Queensland.
The much-travelled Egg Tart had won six races in succession from eight career starts with her last four wins recorded in four separate states – NSW (Warwick Farm), Victoria (Flemington), South Australia (Morphettville) and Queensland (Doomben).
Then things went amiss due to injury and other factors so that’s it’s taken her another 12 months to win again – specifically the 2200m Group 2 PJ O’Shea Stakes held at Corbould Park on the Sunshine Coast. In fact, the Chris Waller trained mare had put ‘her foot on the till’ in running a narrow second behind her stablemate Comin’ Through in the Group 1 Doomben Cup (2000m) at her previous start.
Bred at Jorson Farm, Wondai, Egg Tart is the second winner out of Mrs Windsor, a half-sister to Group 1 winners Heart Ruler and Coronation Day and daughter of Metropolitan winner, Born To Be Queen. Named Queensland Broodmare of the Year for 2016/17 for Egg Tart’s achievements, unfortunately Mrs Windsor died two years ago from suspected snake bite.
$9M mares at MM National
"THE epicentre in the Southern Hemisphere for breeding stock" is how Magic Millions managing director Barry Bowditch reacted when nine mares topped the million dollar mark at this year’s Magic Millions Gold Coast National Broodmare sale held from May 29 to June 1.
After the first three days of selling, the National Broodmare Sale Book 1 section gross soared past $102 million for 683 lots – just shy of last year's record figure which came courtesy of a larger catalogue. The average price of $150,558 was up on the 2017 sale while the 84 percent clearance rate was marginally up on last year's record breaking auction.
"We had a strong weanling sale and for Book 1of the Broodmare Sale to round out like this is just fantastic," Bowditch said.
Nine mares topped the million dollars mark – four on Day 1, which featured fillies and maiden mares, two on Day 2 and three on Day 3.
Top price sale honours went to champion 5YO race-mare Jameka who will embark on her next life in the breeding barn after she sold for $2.6 million on Day 1.The triple Group 1 winner of more than $4.8 million could visit exciting freshman sire Merchant Navy after she was bought outright by original part-owners Colin and Janice McKenna of Warrnambool, Victoria.
Offered by Ciaron Maher Racing with her proud trainer watching her go under the hammer, Caulfield Cup winner Jameka (My Boy Charlie (USA)/Mine Game) was the headline act and McKenna said he was delighted to be able to secure his all-time favourite galloper for her breeding career. Last year the McKennas sold their former star gallopers Gregers and Petits Filous for seven figure prices at the National Broodmare Sale.
The frenetic bidding for top quality lots which began on Day 1 extended to the very last lot on Day 3 when Courgette – dam of Golden Slipper winner She Will Reign – sold for $2.1 million. Offered by Yarraman Park Stud, the daughter of Charge Forward offered in foal to I Am Invincible was bought by Evergreen Stud Farm in the Hunter Valley, NSW.
Second top seller on Day 1 was Group 2 winning race filly Omei Sword (High Chaparral (Ire)/Irish Lights) sold for $1.7 million to Dean Hawthorne Bloodstock and Freyer Bloodstock who also paid $1.4 million for Group 1 winner Abbey Marie (Redoute’s Choice/Catshaan) offered by Segenhoe Stud. Hawthorne and Freyer will be hoping for the same future success they achieved when they teamed up to buy The Broken Shore from the National Broodmare Sale – she was carrying the current Group 1winner Shoals at the time.
Popular Melbourne sprinting mare Silent Sedition (War Chant (USA/Fiorentina) was another big seller on Day 1 with Japanese breeder Katsumi Yoshida buying her for $1.5 million. Baystone Farm offered the Group 1 William Reid Stakes winner on behalf of owners who bought her originally from the Perth Yearling Sale for just $45,000.
Silent Sedition is by War Chant (USA) from the unraced Dubai Destination (USA) mare Fiorentina – a half-sister to Dubai World Cup winner Monterosso – who was sold on Day 2 in foal to Fastnet Rock to Mark Pilkington and Tom Magnier for $850,000.
Former outstanding race-mares Diademe and Heatherly were the star sale ring performers on Day 2 when they sold for $1.7 million and $1.6 million respectively.
Offered by Coolmore Australia (as agent), New Zealand-bred Group 1 winner Diademe (Savabeel/Bling) was previously owned in partnership by the China Horse Club, but that operation went to $1.7 million to secure the exciting producer outright. So far Diademe has produced two foals. The first was sold for NZ$1 million as a yearling, while her second, a Fastnet Rock colt sold for $650,000 at last week's National Weanling Sale in the same sale ring.
Presented by Yarran, Seymour, Victoria, on behalf of owners Barrie and Midge Griffiths, Group 2 winning Melbourne sprinter Heatherly (Lohnro/Dancing Heather) was sold in foal to Written Tycoon for $1.6 million to New Zealand based bloodstock agent Paul Moroney acting in partnership with Sir Owen Glenn's Go Bloodstock Australia.
