Having confirmed his class with a record-breaking win in the G2 Roman Consul S. at Randwick, Cosmic Force (Deep Field) is set to follow the destiny of his sireline down the Flemington straight in the G1 Coolmore Stud S. on November 2.
Cosmic Force's grandsire, Northern Meteor, won the Coolmore Stud S. in 2008, following in the footsteps of his own sire, Encosta De Lago, who won the equivalent race in 1996. Deep Field didn’t contest the Coolmore but did win the 1200 metre G2 Linlithgow S. on Derby Day five years ago.
It is that rich straight-track heritage which gives Newgate Managing Director Henry Field the confidence the colt Newgate, China Horse Club and WinStar Farm paid $160,000 for at the 2018 Inglis Classic Sale, is ready to take on one of the feature races at Flemington.
Cosmic Force lead all the way against a quality field
"The whole sireline is a very fast sireline that has been exceptionally good up the straight - Encosta, Northern Meteor and Deep Field. That's why I feel Cosmic Force is a tailor-made straight horse. He is built that way and he gallops that way," Field told TDN AusNZ.
"It takes really talented horses to break race and track records and the sireline seems to be able to do that."
"It takes really talented horses to break race and track records and the sireline seems to be able to do that." - Henry Field
Cosmic Force was dominant in Saturday's win at Randwick, leading all the way against a quality field, which included the previously unbeaten Standout (Exceed And Excel) and Group 1 winner Microphone (Exceed And Excel), to win by 1.3l in a scorching race record time of 1:08.14 for the 1200 metres.
Social media lit up with vision of Field cheering Cosmic Force home in the race, a sign of how much it meant in terms of not only the colt's prospects on the racing track but also to his longer-term prospects as a stallion.
"It's a very prestigious, stallion-making race and it’s been won by a lot of the top sires in this country. To do it in race record time, just showed Peter and Paul Snowden's opinion of the horse has been vindicated. He's a really, really talented colt and we are delighted to have him as part of our colts' partnership," Field said.
With such a strong sireline and being from a damline which has already produced stakes-winners such as his half-sister Onemorezeta (Onemorenomore), Cosmic Force always loomed as a possible stallion prospect, hence why he attracted the interest of the colts' fund.
"He might be as good looking a horse as you will ever see," Field said.
In terms of his racetrack resume, he was a Group 2 placegetter on debut, splitting two subsequent Group 1 winners, which was followed by a 7l win in the G3 Pago Pago S., which saw him then run favourite in the G1 Golden Slipper S., where he finished eighth on a heavy track.
"He had a setback at the start of this preparation, which derailed things a bit," Field said, when asked about his 3-year-old campaign. "Rather than going to the Run To The Rose and the Golden Rose, we ended up heading towards this race.
"We had to run him first-up (when second in the Listed Heritage S.), where he just got knocked off by a very good colt (Standout). He was dominant yesterday, smashing the clock and there is definitely more upside in him and he's a horse that will handle the straight.
"He won with real authority. You just don’t win races like that in race record time unless you are a bloody good horse."
Setback puts Force on course for Coolmore
The slight setback which delayed his 3-year-old campaign may end up playing into Cosmic Force's favour as he will head to the G1 Coolmore Stud S. third-up. At the same stage of his first campaign, he produced that brilliant performance in the Pago Pago S.
"He beat two colts yesterday, who I have great respect for in Standout and Microphone. We certainly think the horse has more improvement to come. He's a horse that peaked third-up last preparation and we hope he does that in the Coolmore in a couple of weeks' time," Field said.
"He beat two colts yesterday, who I have great respect for." - Henry Field
Saturday's success was another feather in the cap of Newgate's partnerships with China Horse Club, as well as WinStar Farm, which is also an investor in Brutal (NZ) (O'Reilly {NZ}), who won the G2 Premiere S. in similar fashion last week.
It is also another milestone for Newgate, who of course stand Deep Field, as well as racing his best performed son.
Deep Field | Standing at Newgate Farm
"We are very fortunate to have the support of the partners in Newgate in Matthew Sandblom and Gavin Murphy. They have really helped guide me to build Newgate as we have," he said.
It’s that shared success which was behind Field's passion when cheering Cosmic Force home in the Roman Consul S.
"It’s a huge effort from the entire team. And it means a lot to all of us, not just me. It’s a hard game and we started from scratch and it means a lot to have success. Certainly, those things can look a little embarrassing, but the bottom line is it means a lot, and we love our horses," he said.
"It’s a huge effort from the entire team... the bottom line is it means a lot, and we love our horses." - Henry Field
The win also meant a lot to breeder Bob Hannon, who remains a shareholder in Cosmic Force.
“He’s a magnificent colt. It was a big win against some very, very good horses," Hannon said. “He went through the line strongly and we’re very pleased.
“Peter and Paul Snowden will work out what happens next but I’d hope he would go to the Coolmore. It’s a good horse’s race and this bloke is a good horse."
