Celebrating a treble of stakes winners on one of Australia's biggest racedays, Blue Gum Farm owner Philip Campbell attributes the run of successful results on Cox Plate day at Moonee Valley to the people and processes that the Farm has in place to breed, raise and sell quality racehorses.
Ideas Man (Brazen Beau), bred by long-term Blue Gum clients the Pope family and raised and sold by the farm, kicked things off in the R. Listed Inglis Banner before La Falaise (Canford Cliffs {Ire}) claimed a dead-heat win in the G2 Antler Luggage Fillies Classic and Sartorial Splendor (Brazen Beau) led all-the-way in the G3 1300 Australia S.
Campbell, who bred both La Falaise and Sartorial Splendor with his wife Patti, said it was an immensely satisfying day.
Sartorial Splendor wins the G3 Australia S. at The Valley
"It’s all well and good to sell these high-priced horses but it’s important you see them go to the races and perform. I think we’ve got a really, really good framework in place here at the farm for raising the horses and taking them through, prepping them and selling them," Campbell told TDN AusNZ .
"The end piece of the puzzle is seeing them perform and when you look at those three yesterday, one was $5000 and the highest priced was $575,000. Every one of them that wins is just fantastic for us and what we are trying to do. That's what was so satisfying about the whole day."
"Every one of them that wins is just fantastic for us and what we are trying to do. That's what was so satisfying about the whole day." - Philip Campbell
What was particularly gratifying for Campbell was the joy such a run of successes on such a big day gave those who work on the farm, in particular Yearling Manager Wendy Smith and Horse Operations Manager Chris Kent.
"These horses, you are working on them from conception onwards. Those guys and the team they assemble here at the farm do a wonderful job and I know they got a lot of satisfaction out of the day as well."
Ideas Man win a tribute to 'sweet' mare
The most poignant win of the day came from 2-year-old Ideas Man, whose dam Innovation Girl (Rubiton), a long-term resident on the Euroa property, died only last week.
Ideas Man
"We lost her ten days ago, which was terribly sad. She was starting to get up in age a little bit, but I know how special she was for Des Pope and his family and she had been here for some years and was very special to us. She was a sweet old girl and it all happened very quickly," he said.
"We lost her ten days ago, which was terribly sad... She was a sweet old girl and it all happened very quickly." - Philip Campbell
"We were able to gain something from the wreck yesterday and hopefully this boy, who was her last foal, will be able to keep her name up in lights for a few years to come."
The expectations were always strong for Ideas Man, being from the second crop of Darley's Brazen Beau out of a multiple stakes-winner who had already produced the Listed winner Chloe In Paris (Exceed And Excel).
Ideas Man as a yearling
It was Ciaron Maher who went to $575,000 for the colt on behalf of his major backer Colin McKenna at this year's Inglis Melbourne Premier Sale, hardly a surprise given he had trained the half-sister.
Des Pope stayed in the colt and was there to celebrate with McKenna and Maher and his co-trainer David Eustace at Moonee Valley on Saturday.
Campbell thinks the narrow debut win is a sign of bigger and better things to come from Ideas Man.
Ideas Man after winning the Inglis Banner at Moonee Valley
"He didn’t quite look like he knew what he was doing to me. He was very casual behind the barriers and he missed the kick. He's obviously got natural ability and that's no surprise because he's such a good looking horse," he said.
"He's got great strength, he's from a good family and the stallion is getting runners. It was fun to watch him go to the races and do what he did first-up.
"Listening to Ciaron interviewed after the race yesterday, I got that impression that he feels the same way. Innovation Girl was able to train on as a 3-year-old and this colt looks like he will as well."
Splendor for Beau and Sadler
It was also a banner day for Darley's Northwood Park-based stallion Brazen Beau, who took his stakes winner count from three to five in the space of a couple of hours when Sartorial Splendor showed supreme speed over the 1200 metres to win the G3 1300 Australia S. for trainer John Sadler, who paid $130,000 for him at the 2018 Melbourne Premier Sale.
"Sads has always said that if he could get the horse to be a racehorse, he knows he's got untold ability," Campbell said. "Once the penny drops and he does what he's out there to do full time and becomes more professional, he could be a very exciting prospect."
Sartorial Splendor as a yearling
Campbell remembers as a yearling, he was a colt who had all the quality to fetch a significant price, only to have a couple of small x-ray issues.
"I'm just glad that John Sadler bit the bullet and said I like the horse too much to pass up on him. I know he and his connections are having a lot of fun with that colt," he said.
"I know he and his connections are having a lot of fun with that colt." - Philip Campbell
Sartorial Splendor certainly doesn’t want on the pedigree page, being out of stakes-winning mare Personal Ensign (Rubiton), making him a half-brother to multiple Group winning filly Fontiton (Turffontein), who won the Inglis Banner on the same day five years ago.
Personal Ensign's yearling filly by resident stallion Manhattan Rain will go through the Inglis Melbourne Premier Sale next year while she has just had a colt to that stallion and will head back to Brazen Beau in the next couple of weeks.
$5000 filly now a Group 2 winner
La Falaise (Canford Cliffs {Ire}) cost Darren Weir just $5000 at the 2018 Inglis Melbourne Vobis Gold Sale and has proven a terrific filly for her trainer Henry Dwyer and her connections headed by Roll The Dice Racing, taking her prizemoney to $220,000 with two wins from six starts.
She also has significant residual value as a possible broodmare having now won a Group 2 race, albeit in a dead-heat with Fascino (NZ) (Charm Spirit {Ire}), and being out of a stakes-winning Exceed And Excel mare in Exceedingly French.
La Falaise as a yearling
"I bought that mare carrying La Falaise off a client of ours, she was about $24,000," Campbell said.
"I took that filly to the VOBIS Gold Yearling Sale and Canford Cliffs wasn't so in fashion and this filly was back at the knee. She could definitely move, but she didn’t give us any great feeling at the sale of having much competition on her.
"She could definitely move, but she didn’t give us any great feeling at the sale of having much competition on her. " - Philip Campbell
"I remember seeing Darren Weir watching her walk around in the back ring and when she left to go into the sale ring, he followed her in. I remember saying to Simon Vivian from Inglis, I hope Weiry has followed this thing in to buy it and he did.
"It's a shame because of everything that has happened with him, but the guy deserves credit for his eye for a horse. Henry (Dwyer) has been the benefactor of that since then and the Roll The Dice group is a great group."
Fascino and La Falaise battle to the line for a dead-heat
Blue Gum Farm sold La Falaise's half-sister by Street Boss (USA) to Shane Nichols earlier this year for $100,000, while Campbell intends to retain the yearling filly half-sister by Manhattan Rain.
"When La Falaise won the Elvstroem Classic impressively at Swan Hill, I had it in my head, if she can become a stakes winner, that filly would be worth keeping, so we will keep her," he said.
Exceedingly French missed to Manhattan Rain last year but is in foal to him again this season.
