The Best Racing weekend read
Waller to make another Group1 statement in Brisbane
CHRIS WALLER, Australia's all conquering 2014-15 Group1 race winning trainer, is well placed to claim each of the three races at this level at Doomben on the big June 6 program, the JJ Atkins 2YO (1600m), Stradbroke Handicap (1350m) and Queensland Derby (2200m). Both the Stradbroke, normally 1400m, and the Derby, 2400m, are shorter this year because their traditional home, neighbouring Eagle Farm, is under reconstruction.
Already the trainer of two Group1 winners at this year's Brisbane Winter Carnival, Boban (the Doomben10,000) and Winx (the Queensland Oaks), Waller had no luck at Group1 level in Brisbane last year.The closest he went was a long head second to the Waterhouse runner Almalad with the Invincible Spirit colt Brazen Beau in the JJ Atkins.
Brazen Beau has moved up a notch since then and is booked to be a glamour runner at this month's Royal Ascot carnival.
One of Waller's good prospects for Group1 success at Doomben's June 6 meeting appears to be Press Statement, a Hinchinbrook first crop 2-year-old who is a prepost favourite for the $500,000 JJ Atkins.
Bred by T. Muollo, NSW and raced by four owners, including A. Muollo and Mrs G.L. Muollo, Press Statement is unbeaten winner of his two outings, appearances at Canterbury on April 29 (1100m, won impressively by 1.5 lengths) and Rosehill Gardens last Saturday (May 30, 1350m). He dominated from the front and won comfortably by a half-length and four lengths.
Success of Press Statement in the JJ Atkins on Saturday would provide solace for last year's second for not only Waller, but also for Arthur and Harry Mitchell of Yarraman Park Stud, Scone. Brazen Beau is a representative of the first crop of their boom Australian bred Invincible Spirit sire I Am Invincible and Press Statement is from the first crop of another of their young sires, the Fastnet Rock quality juvenile and sprinter Hinchinbrook.
If Press Statement lands the first prize of $384,000 in the Doomben event, it would probably give Hinchinbrook the Leading First Crop Sire title, a distinction earned in 2013-14 by I Am Invincible. He is currently the leading two crop sire by wins and second behind the Darley visitor Medaglia d'Oro on earnings.
JJ Atkins aspirant Press Statement is a half-brother to Pressday, the Domesday colt who Waller trained for the Muollos to win the 2010 version of the race, one then ran as the T.J. Smith Stakes.
Pressday won three majors at that year's Brisbane carnival, the others being the Champagne Classic and Sires' Produce Stakes. Later in the year saw him win the Sandown Guineas.
Kaaptive Empress, the dam of Press Statement, Pressday and two other winners, was a nonblack type earner, but winner of nine races to 1600m. She is by the Sir Tristram grandson Kaaptive Edition, a winner of the Ellerslie Sires' Produce Stakes and at Rosehill GardenThe BMW and Phar Lap.
Kaaptive Empress is a half-sister to Quaglino, dam of the Mossman MRC Merson Cooper winner Dinner Date, and to Maybe Yes, producer of The Mighty Lions, a Grosvenor winner in New Zealand of the Group1 Avondale Gold Cup.
Vaquera, a High Chaparral filly who has been a Group 3 winner at Newcastle and a Queensland Oaks third, is out of The Mighty Lions.
Kaaptive Empress is from Nile Empress, an American Listed winner by the Nijinsky sire Upper Nile and from I Assume, a non-winner by the Grey Sovereign sire Young Emperor.
I Assume's sister Irule went to Roberto in America and produced Sookera, a leading 2-year-old in Europe in 1977 and then a very good broodmare. A daughter, Kerali, produced Hasili, the dam of five Danehill Group1 winners, including one of Europe's best sires, Dansili.
Four of Dansili's best sons are Waller trained imports Foreteller (three Group1s here) and Grand Marshall (won this year's Sydney Cup), another import in Dandino (in 2013 second Caulfield Cup and fifth Melbourne Cup) and the Coolmore shuttler Zoffany.
Sookera also appears in Australia through descendants of Kerali as the fourth dam of Sharkbite, a Redoute's Choice sire at Eliza Park in Victoria, and in the pedigree of Animal Kingdom, the Arrowfield Stud, Scone headquartered Kentucky Derby and Dubai World Cup winner coming up to his third season of use. His sire Leroidesanimaux, a Brazilian bred North American Champion Turf performer and good sire, is by Blushing Groom's son Candy Stripes and from Dissemble, an Ahonoora mare out of Kerali
Moriarty in the last race 6th June no 1
Breeders Plate winning Tale of the Cats in Queensland
A GOOD quality transmitted by Tale of the Cat, the Coolmore Storm Cat sire influential for brilliant high level performers in both hemispheres, has been early maturing offspring. The two best examples in Australia have been two sons who were responsible for stakes wins at the May 30 meeting at Doomben.
Both scheduled to be available at stud in Queensland next season, they are the established young sire Real Saga (Glenlogan Park, Fee $15,400) and yet to be used Whittington (Grandview Stud, fee $8,800).
In a tight tussle with another Glenlogan sire, Jet Spur, for the distinction of being Queensland's leading juvenile sire for 2014-15, a title he claimed with his first and second crops, 2012-13 and 2013-14, Real Saga was represented at the Doomben meeting by the Toby Edmonds trained juvenile Sagaronne, an impressive winner of the Listed The Phoenix Stakes over 1350m.
It was Sagaronne's second win in three starts and suggested it would not surprise if she won the Group1 JJ Atkins (1600m) at Doomben. She is one of three new stakes winners supplied by Real Saga in April – May, preceded by Real Good (the Bruce McLachlan Memorial 2YO Classic at the Sunshine Coast on May 16) and Bjorn Baker's good filly Candelara, winner at Randwick of the Adrian Knox and then third in the Australasian Oaks.
Whittington's stakes contribution at the May 30 Doomben meeting was as a runner himself, perhaps his swansong before he lines up to his debut book at the Grandview Stud at Peak Crossing near Ipswich. It saw this handsome 16.0 hands bay confirm his brilliant turn of foot with a dashing two lengths win in the historic Lightning Handicap, a race whose earlier winners included Eye Liner, Time and Tide, Arcadus, Mister Hush, Dalrello, Daybreak Lover and Rancho Ruler.
Whittington's most important win, however, was probably his powerhouse three lengths success on
Debut in the most prestigious spring juvenile in Sydney, the Breeders' Plate, the race that four years earlier once again herald the winner as the best juvenile of his generation, the Tale of the Cat colt Real Saga.
He only ran at two, appearing six times for wins in the Breeders Plate (2.3 lengths), another race at Randwick (1.3 lengths) and Blue Diamond Prelude at Caulfield (3.0 lengths), a second in the Blue Diamond, win in the Todman (2.8 lengths at Randwick) and finally a fourth as favourite in the Golden Slipper.
He is one of an impressive list of good sires who have started their racing careers with a Breeders' Plate win, the others including Sebring, Choisir, Luskin Star, Baguette and Heroic. One of these, Baguette, is the sire of Thaiette, winner in Sydney three times at two and now third dam of Whittington
A son of Maha Chakri, a Beautiful Crown winner of the Tasmanian Oaks and in Melbourne, Whittington besides his wins in the Breeders' Plate and Brisbane's Lightning, has won the $100,000 Lonhro (2yos, Warwick Farm) and $200,000 Magic Millions Sprint), finished a close second at two in the Canonbury at Rosehill Gardens, third in the Heritage at Randwick and fifth in the Challenge-G2 (1.5 lengths) at this track and two weeks later in the Galaxy-G1 (13 starters) at Rosehill Gardens. He also showed his good turn of foot with six trial wins in Sydney.
Story of Melbourne Cup winner's descendants covers 60 years
REMARKABLY, two cousins who clashed in the Octagonal Handicap (1400m) at Rosehill Gardens on Saturday May 30 were each having their 35th start. Both bred and raced by octogenarian Sydney legal identity Don Story, a stalwart of the horse industry for sixty years, they are the Commands geldings Rain Affair and you'll Never.
The Joseph Pride trained 7-year-old Rain Affair, earlier winner 12 times and earner of over $1.5million, as is his usual style, made pace, but ran out of gas half-way up the straight and finished sixth. His loss was mollified for connections when two years younger you'll Never unleashed a strong finish and scored by half a length.
It was the Chris Waller trained You'll Never's seventh win, all in sprints in Sydney, and second in succession as she had returned from a three months spell to win comfortably at Rosehill Gardens on May 9.
These two efforts suggested that like Rain Affair (six stakes wins to Group 2, four Group1 seconds) that like his cousin, You'll Never is good enough for stakes class, something he has never been asked to tackle.
Besides being by Commands, the two are related through their dams, both of which were bred and raced by Don Story. You'll Never's mother is the Honour and Glory (USA) Sydney Listed winner (1400m) Walk Alone and she is a half-sister to I Believe, the Octagonal Sydney winning dam of Rain Affair.
As she is by the Sir Tristram Golden Slipper winner Marauding, Rain In Spain, the Story bred Sydney winning grandam of You'll Never and Rain Affair, is a three-quarter sister to the latter performer.
Two other stakes winners in the immediate family bred and raced by Story have been Deltona (by Commands, eight wins included Parramatta Cup) and the best of them all, been There.
A son of the imported Ribot English St Leger winner Boucher, one like champion sire Wilkes (Fr) and Marauding among sires used at the Kelly's Newhaven Park Stud, Boorowa NSW, Been There won the Silver Slipper, Canonbury Stakes, Illawarra Brambles Classic and Newcastle Penfolds Classic and second placed in the Golden Slipper, Spring Champion Stakes, Hill Stakes and Up and Coming Stakes.
He was a half-brother to Rain Cloud, the unraced Crown Jester third dam of You'll Never and Rain Affair, She was from Little Shower (by Regal Light (Ire), a half-sister to Rainbeam, a Story bred and raced winner of the Silver Slipper and Widden Stakes and a Gimcrack second. They were from Story's Todman mare Rain Shadow.
The epoch of Don Story with representatives of the one family began when, over fifty years ago when the then young solicitor purchased Rain Shadow's dam Rain Mist as a broodmare. She only won one minor race, one over 1000m, but she was a fashionably bred daughter of Helios (GB), a leading sire by Hyperion, and the magnificent staying mare Rainbird.
Bred and raced by the Reid family of South Australia, but by Lyndhurst Stud, Queensland based champion Australian sire The Buzzard (GB), Rainbird won eight races, including the Melbourne Cup in 1945, a spring in which she second placed in the Caulfield Cup.
Her other efforts included wins in the Wakeful Stakes, Port Adelaide Cup and SAJC St Leger, seconds in the Victoria Oaks and Sydney Cup.
Rainbird's three years older half-brother Peter, a son of two times Melbourne Cup winner Peter Pan, finished second in the 1944 Melbourne Cup, seventh in 1943 and twelfth in Rainbird's year.
