BUYERS whose “shopping” lists are still yet to be fulfilled, should consider a trip to the Upper Hunter Valley town of Scone to inspect prospective racehorses, at the long-established Scone Yearling Sale scheduled for May 12 and 13.
Conducted by Inglis and supported by the Hunter Thoroughbred Breeders Association, the sale consists of 202 catalogued lots of book one, followed by 90 lots listed for book two for Monday’s session which begins an hour later at 11am.
Following book two yearling session there is the 55 lot catalogue of the Scone Weanling and Thoroughbred Sale. Yearlings sold at Scone have had a long history of being successful, none more notable that a former Sydney favourite $2.3 million earning mare Hot Danish, a $32,000 yearling graduate sold via Julie Harris’ Holbrook Thoroughbreds, Scone.
Yearlings sold at Scone have had a long history of being successful.
This year Holbrook will offer two fillies, one by Widden Stud’s prolific winner-getting sire Nicconi, and produced from the triple winning mare Brookton Flare, who is closely related to $1.7m track earner and Inglis yearling graduate Sincero.
All yearlings offered at the sale are eligible for the $100,000 Scone Inglis Challenge for two-year-olds at Scone in May 2019, as well as the $8m Inglis Race Series.
A total of 14 stallions will be represented with their first crop progeny including the ill-fated Time For War, which stood at Kitchwin Hills, near Gundy. Interestingly Time For War, a dual two-year-old Group winning son of Snitzel, was an Inglis Scone Yearling Sale graduate. Time For War will have four yearlings on offer, including two from Kitchwin Hills.
Murrumbidgee today Scone next
THE racing scene today and tomorrow features the Murrumbidgee Turf Club’s Wagga Wagga Cup Carnival two-day meets. A minimum prizemoney of $30,000 per race underline’s tomorrow’s Country Showcase meeting which is highlighted by the $165,000 Listed Wagga Wagga Gold Cup.
Following on the prominent country racing scene is the Scone Cup Carnival, another two-day extravaganza scheduled for Friday and Saturday May 11 and 12.
While the $200,000 Scone Cup-LR and the $100,000 Inglis Two-Year-Old Challenge (for Scone Yearling Sale graduates) is the feature on the Friday, the following day’s races are Sydney’s stand-alone Saturday city meeting with a difference of it being held at Scone.
Booming along
SPIRIT Of Boom, who stands at Eureka Stud in Queensland, scored another high when his second crop colt son fetched $120,000 the highest priced horse ever sold at an Inglis VOBIS Gold Yearling Sale, at Oaklands Junction in outer Melbourne last week.
Part of the 29-strong supplementary session, the colt was produced from the non-winning Mossman mare Moxie Doll. Spirit Of Boom is now up to 14 winners from his first crop juveniles.
The top priced filly at the sale – at $85,000, was by Swettenham Stud’s high profile Irish bred shuttler Toronado (by High Chaparral) and sold via Tasmania’s leading nursery Armidale Stud.
A total of 200 lots sold for a gross of $3.853m and an average $19,265.
Helen Happy for her Helmet
HELMET, a triple Group 1 winning two and three-year-old, who stands at Godolphin’s Victorian base Northwood Park near Seymour, struck on both sides of the equator recently.
Owner, Helen Hart of Heldon Park, Lochinvar near Maitland, cheered her home-bred bay galloper Destiny’s Hero to the line when convincingly winning the Class One Handicap over 1500 metres at Kembla Grange.
A Helmet three-year-old, and now a winner of two, Destiny’s Hero is prepared at Warwick Farm by Jason Coyle.
At Meydan, Thunder Snow cruised to the line winning the $US10m Dubai World Cup. Four-year-old bay Thunder Snow belongs to the northern hemisphere breed by Helmet, from shuttle stud duties to England and Ireland since 2012.
News of Destiny’s Hero and Thunder Snow is a welcome boost for the Exceed And Excel flashy chestnut stallion as his popularity has waned somewhat in Australia, Helmet serving 43 mares last spring. However, connections of Destiny’s Hero have high hopes of future success in Sydney.
Known stallion deaths
WHILE Testa Rossa is getting ready for the 2018 stud season at Vinery Stud, Scone, his young sire son Unencumbered died in Victoria following a reportedly post-surgical complications after being diagnosed with chondrites, a progressive inflammatory condition of the throat.
Bred by Newhaven Park, Boorowa, the six-year-old horse had served over 100 mares at each of his four stud seasons when standing at the Liston family’s Three Bridges Thoroughbreds at Eddington.
A $1.9m earner, Unencumbered put his new Sydney trainer Bjorn Baker in the headlines, particularly after the colt won the Magic Millions Two-Year-Old Classic at the Gold Coast, and with the late Nathan Berry in the saddle.
In the northern hemisphere, Thunder Gulch died due to infirmities of old age at Coolmore Stud US base at Ashford Stud, Kentucky.
Aged 26, the Mr Prospector linesire spent seven shuttle seasons at Coolmore Stud at Jerrys Plains from 1996.
While siring three Australian Group 1 winners, Thunder Gulch has also made his name as an outstanding broodmare sire, being the damsire of 2017 ATC Vinery Stud Stakes-G1 winner Montoya’s Secret.