A MASSIVE trackside crowd turned out to see former champion and much-loved jockey Darren Beadman thrust back into the limelight when Irish-bred Du Valentinois won the $200,000 Darley Scone Cup-LR last Friday.
While elevated to interim head trainer for the Australian arm of the Godolphin stable, following the recent exit of John O’Shea, Darren is doing what he is supposed to do – get results, with Du Valentinois being his first stakes winner for the world organisation, and race sponsors.
Ridden by Kiwi hoop Michael Dee, Du Valentinois is by Danehill sire Holy Roman Emperor, who stands at Aquis Farm, Queensland, and who defeated God’s Own seven-year-old God’s In Him, and New Zealand bred Pajaro, by Align.
A large group of owners from Newcastle, Lake Macquarie and the Hunter Valley were cheering hard for Excelamour who won the $100,000 Inglis Two-Year-Old Challenge, a race restricted to horses offered at the 2016 Inglis Scone Yearling Sale.
Following two seconds at her initial starts, Excelamour is a first-crop daughter of Coolmore Stud’s former shuttler Excelebration, by Exceed And Excel.
Trained at Newcastle by Kris Lees, Excelamour was bought by Luke Murrell and Jamie Lovett of Australian Bloodstock for $26,000 from the Edinglassie Stud, Muswellbrook, draft.
Five-year-old Excites gelding Exitozo took the $80,000 Pryde’s Easifeed Noel Leckie Country Cup.
Exitozo, who had his fifth win from 19 starts, is trained at Quirindi by Scott Thompson with his father and former trainer Bill Thompson excitedly looking on during the race.
In the happy mix was owner, Liverpool Plains farmer Charles Hill of “Karapiti” Quirindi, who paid tribute to his late father Theo who bred the horse, produced from Marwina mare Diamond Day.
Diamond Day is currently one of the few mares in foal to ill-fated young Snitzel lookalike horse Time For War.
While training a winning double on cup day, Kris Lees prepared hometown bred and hugely popular galloper Clearly Innocent to take his second successive $150,000 Yarraman Park/Horsepower Luskin Star Stakes-LR.
Now unbeaten at Scone from six starts, the five-year-old Not A Single Doubt gelding was cheered home by the crowd, as well as his connections of local breeder, Cressfield.
The Scone Cup Carnival finished on a high note for leading Murwillumbah conditioner Matt Dunn who pinched the last race with Quatronic winning the Arrowfield Ortensia Stakes-LR.
Quatronic was bred and is owned by former Hawkesbury general practitioner Rob Sheahan and wife Jenny – now of Lennox Head – who were cheering hard, along with daughter and Inglis employee, Claire.
Quatronic adds a new stakes winner for his Widden Stud sire Nicconi, and also a stakes winning addition to the broodmare record of the four-year-old galloper’s stakes winning County dam Suzy Grey, a winner of 10 wins and $664,105.
Albury trainer Andrew Dale makes Scone trip worthwhile with a win from Lautaro
THE 10-hour trip from Albury to Scone was made worthwhile for small stable southern border trainer Andrew Dale when Lautaro defeated the more fancied city staying horses to win the $100,000 Kia Ora Benchmark 78 Handicap on the second day of the Scone Cup Carnival last Saturday.
Lautaro defeated the Godolphin Stable favourite Interlocuter, a US-bred son of Medaglia d’Oro, with Chris Waller’s Sebring gelding Wu Gok third.
“He is my best horse, and we are on our way to Queensland,” Andrew said after the event.
It may pay to watch Lautaro in upcoming staying events, the five-year-old being a New Zealand-bred son of Australian Derby winner Don Eduardo, by Zabeel.
Meanwhile, a record average was achieved for the average price sold at $19,747 – from 172 lots sold – on day one of the Inglis Scone Yearling Sale conducted at White Park, Scone, on Sunday.
Newcastle trainer Paul Perry paid the top price of the sale at $120,000, for the colt by hot sire I Am Invincible, from Strategic mare Kiss Me Sophie.
The colt was sold via Yarrandi Farm, Scone.
One hundred more yearlings plus some mixed stock were offered the following day.
