Australian-bred 3YOs sweep the Classics

Aushorse webnews reports Ace High got the ball rolling with his victory in the Victoria Derby in the spring at Flemington, followed five days later by the locally-bred, North American owned Pinot who won the VRC Oaks.

Levendi (Australian Derby), Unforgotten (Australian Oaks), Sopressa (Schweppes Oaks), Leicester (SA Derby) and Youngstar (Queensland Oaks) all chimed in too, leading into Dark Dream’s Derby.

Each of the eight has indicated that a profitable spring campaign (as 4YOs) is in the offing, especially in races like the $3.1 million Group 1 Caulfield Cup in October.

Importantly, six of the eight winners were offered at Australian sales, while a seventh – Dark Dream – was retained to race by his breeder.

The clean sweep of Classics also shows the diversity of the Australian thoroughbred industry. Pinot, for instance, was bought for $200,000 at the Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale by a prominent North American syndicator and is trained by the ‘first lady of racing’ in Gai Waterhouse, while Dark Dream is from a mare snapped up for just $800 at the Inglis Australian Broodmare Sale and trained by Kerry Parker, who saddled up his first Group 1 winner at Doomben.

With the Australian-bred World Champion Winx aimed at winning her fourth straight Cox Plate and a $13 million The Everest, it’s certainly shaping to be an exciting spring.

Derby/Oaks winners:

Ace High (c High Chaparral (Ire)/Come Sunday): $130,000 Gold Coast Magic Millions Yearling Sale – won $1,853,075.

Pinot (f Pierro/Dizelle): $200,000 Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale, Sydney – won $733,275.

Levendi (c Pierro/Lapari): $140,000 Gold Coast Magic Millions Yearling Sale – won $1,653,950.

Unforgotten (f Fastnet Rock/Memories Of You (Ire): $360,000, New Zealand Premier Yearling Sale – won $1,089,270. 

Leicester (g Wanted/Defy The Odds): $10,000 Inglis Easter Weanling Sale, Sydney – won $535,730.

Sopressa (f So You Think (NZ)/Hidden Strings): $70,000 Inglis Great Southern Weanling Sale, Melbourne – won $433,420.

Youngstar (f High Chaparral (Ire)/Starspangled (Ire): $200,000 Inglis Melbourne Premier Yearling Sale – won $478,562.

Dark Dream (g All American/Buchanan Girl): Retained by breeder – won $594,643.

IT seems entirely appropriate that the winner of the inaugural Outback Racing Showcase series final (1400m) held at Richmond in north-west Queensland on Saturday, June 16, should be a horse named Far North.

Equally intriguing is the fact that Far North didn’t start in any of the series heats. However, Racing Queensland’s website shows that – subject to balloting conditions – a horse that has not started in a series heat may start in the final of the series.

The Outback Showcase series is part of an inaugural regional state-wide showcase of country for season 2017/18. The initial three series are:

The Roads to Roma was held in July last year. The Outback Showcase began at Julia Creek on April 14 and finished on June 16 while the Race to the Reef began on May 26 and culminates in the final at Townsville on Saturday, July 21. Each series final carries $30,000 prize money.

A 5YO gelding by Domesday from the Rock Of Gibraltar (Ire) mare Edge Of The World, Far North is trained by Mackay-based John Manzelmann and now has seven wins and eight placings from 36 starts.

Sold at the 2014 Magic Millions national yearling sale for $5000 to John Foote Bloodstock, Far North began his racing career in Victoria winning a Stawell Maiden for Darren Weir. Next stop was Toowoomba where Richie Stephenson also had a solitary win. Now under the care of John Manzelmann at Mackay, he’s had a further five wins in central and north Queensland at Clermont, Pentland, Rockhampton, Townsville and now Richmond.

ALPHA Race Club president Kevin Wiltshire is hoping for another massive turnout for the club’s 2018 Alpha Community Cup meeting at Fordham Park on Saturday, June 30.  

All Central Highlands and Central Western race goers should save the date for what has  become a yearly reunion for locals and ex-locals. It coincides with a big weekend of activities  starting off with the Alpha Cup calcutta on Friday night at the Alpha Golf Club.

More than $77,500 worth of prize money is on offer on the six-race program making Alpha one of the Central Highlands’ richest race days. This should ensure high calibre racing with the leading Central Queensland trainers Todd Austin, Glenda Bell, Tom Button and Bevan Johnson being represented.

Feature race is the $20,000 Alpha Cup Open Handicap (1700m) supported by the $12,500  Belyando Bracelet (1000m) for top tier sprinters and a $15,000 QTIS maiden handicap (1000m) with a $5000 QTIS bonus on offer. The showpiece day of country racing and entertainment also includes a highly competitive fashions of the field competition with more than $10,000 worth of cash and prizes available.

SUN Stud's multiple Group-winning and Group 1-placed stallion Love Conquers All (Mossman/She's a Meanie) added a black-type success when 4YO gelding I'm A Rippa became the latest member of the millionaires club when scoring a narrow front-running victory in the $175,000 Listed Eye Liner Stakes (1350m) at Ipswich on Saturday, June 16.

I'm A Rippa – bought by Brisbane trainer Tony Gollan for $55,000 at the 2015 Magic Millions March Yearling Sale – improved his record to seven wins (including the Group 3 BRC Sprint) and 11 placings from 26 starts for $1,039,507 in earnings.

I'm A Rippa joins an illustrious club in becoming a Tony Gollan-trained millionaire, with Spirit Of Boom (Sequalo) and Temple Of Boom (Piccolo) the two to have previous achieved the feat and the trainer was full of praise for his latest stable star. "He's such an unassuming little bloke who’s gone from winning a maiden at Rocky (Rockhampton) to winning the Eye Liner," he said.

ANZ Bloodstock News reports I’m A Rippa is the first foal and only winner for his dam Derippa  – a winning daughter of recently deceased Group 1 Blue Diamond runner-up Seidnazar –  who was covered by Spirit Of Boom last spring after being picked up by Eureka Stud at the 2016 Magic Millions Broodmare Sale for $20,000. Indeed, the sister to I’m A Rippa was sold for $80,000 at this year’s Magic Millions Yearling Sale, with Gollan Racing and John Foote Bloodstock purchasing the filly.

QUEENSLAND-bred and Widden-based dual Group1-winning stallion Star Witness (Starcraft/Leone Chiara) acquired his thirteenth black-type winner when 5YO mare Magic Alibi (Star Witness/This Magic Moment) opened her stakes account when storming home in the $100,000 Listed Gai Waterhouse Classic (1350m) for fillies and mares at Ipswich on Saturday, June 16.

Passed in for $55,000 at the 2014 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale from the draft of Widden Stud (as agent), Magic Alibi improved her record to five wins and six placings from 28 starts.

RECORDS have fallen as the curtain came down on what officials have declared as a ‘phenomenal’ 2018 Magic Millions Gold Coast National Sale.

The final day of selling on Thursday, June 7, comprising Book Two Yearlings and Racehorses grossed more than $2.3 million helping push the overall sale average price and clearance rate to record levels.

The total sale gross reached more than  $140 million – just the second time in history such a figure has been reached. The average price for a lot sold over the past three weeks was a record $89,039 and the clearance rate across all sales was an impressive 83 per cent – another improvement on last year's record unprecedented results.

"To again gross more than $140 million is a phenomenal result. The National Breeding Stock Sale has once again proven itself as the number one sale of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere," Magic Millions managing director Barry Bowditch said.