IT is amazing to see that after all the hoop and hoopla surrounding young sires Pierro and All Too Hard that it took until last Saturday of the current season before one of these high profile horses took the top spot in this season’s Australian first season sire list.
The win of Tulip in the ATC Magic Night Stakes-G3 at Rosehill last Saturday pushed Pierro’s progeny earnings over $300,000 and to take the lead.
Now to line up this Saturday for the world’s richest juvenile event the Golden Slipper Stakes-G1 at Rosehill, Tulip is one of two winners from 12 runners sired by Pierro, a former champion Australian two-year-old and also winner of the 2012 Golden Slipper who stands at Coolmore Stud, Jerrys Plains.
From early season talk around the traps it was supposed to be a race of two – Pierro and the Scone-based All Too Hard, from Vinery Stud, who was a champion three-year-old colt and is by Flying Spur’s Casino Prince.
While Pierro has hit the top on the Australian first crop sire list for earnings, All Too Hard is lying third thanks to his 11 placed horses including a stakes placed horse Mystic Empire, from 23 starters.
In defence, progeny by the handsome All Too Hard should prove – like himself – better as three-year-olds next season.
Leading the two-year-old sire list until last Saturday was Western Australian-based Gingerbread Man, a champion two- and three-year-old when racing in Singapore who had 11 wins from 1200 to 1600 metres. An Australian-bred son of Godolphin’s high profile Shamardal, Gingerbread Man has sired two winners – Achernar Star and Very Angry Gal – from only four starters.
While progeny earnings can change daily depending on a sire’s runners, Instinction, who stands at Sun Stud near Beaudesert, Queensland, has moved into fourth spot. A grey stakes winning son of Danehill’s Exceed And Excel, Instinction has had seven runners for one winner – Paradis Imperial, winner of her first five starts.
Widden Stud’s Fastnet Rock stallion Your Song closely follows in fourth, and has sired the most number of individual winners at four.
Sutherland cleans up with six wins at Carrathool
Tulip is one of two winners from 12 runners sired by Pierro, a former champion Australian two-year-old and also winner of the 2012 Golden Slipper.
WAGGA Wagga conditioner Trevor Sutherland and apprentice hoop Megan Taylor had a day to remember at the recent once-a-year Carrathool races, a non-TAB meet about 650 kilometres south west of Sydney.
All six race winners on the card was trained by Sutherland, while Megan, who is indentured to Kerry Weir at Tumut, rode five of the winners – Yawkey Way, by Zariz, Spare Parts, by Krupt, Benno’s Boy, by Dane Shadow, Dream On Sam, by Starcraft and Mr Sommerville, a seven-year-old Danzero gelding who won the feature Carrathool Cup.
By Magic Albert, My Friend Albert was Sutherland’s other winner. He was ridden by young Stacey Metcalfe who is apprenticed to George Dimitropoulos at Cootamundra.
International interest for Karaka Sales
AN INTERNATIONAL buying bench pushed along New Zealand Bloodstock’s prestigious Karaka Sales last month with its two-day Premier Sale sessions holding steady off the back of last year’s record breaking sale.
Its 2017 edition saw buyers spend $NZ58.40 million for the 338 lots sold, for a $NZ172,803 average.
The top-priced horse of the sale was a full-brother to Shamexpress, a VRC Newmarket Handicap-G1 winner now a young sire who is represented with his first yearlings. The bay colt by champion New Zealand sire O’Reilly, by champion Australian sire Last Tycoon from Volkrose, may land himself as a future stallion at Newgate Farm, as the Aberdeen property was among the joint purchasers at $NZ825,000.
Home of O’Reilly, Windsor Park Stud, Cambridge, North Island, was responsible for selling the most unique yearling when New Zealand agent, Michael Wallace went to $NZ510,000 for a rare white coloured colt by first season sire Shamexpress. The colt was produced from winning Zabeel mare The Opera House, whose High Chaparral daughter, also white in colour and now named Casta Diva, was sold to Japanese interests at last year’s Karaka sales for $450,000.
Industry loses veteran jockeys
TWO legendary jockeys and members of the Australian Racing Hall Of Fame, Jack Purtell and Edgar Britt OAM, recently passed away at ages 95 and 103 respectively.
Edgar Britt won more than 2000 races on four continents, taking his first win at the age of 16 at Canterbury.
The champion jockey also won the 1934 Sydney Cup aboard Broad Arrow. He also had successful stints competing in North America, India, and England, where he was selected as the royal jockey for King George VI. He won the St Leger twice, as well as the Oaks, the 1000 Guineas, and 2000 Guineas, as well as the Irish Derby.
Beginning his career in 1936, Mr Purcell won his first Melbourne Cup in 1947 on Hiraji, followed by another aboard Wodalla in 1953, then Rising Fast in 1954.
Mr Purcell’s other Australian achievements included four W.S. Cox Plate wins, and a Caulfield Cup, as well as claiming seven Melbourne jockeys’ premierships 1946 and 1962.
