Halvorsen delivers another first for Griffiths

Cover image courtesy of Bronwen Healy

There is no horse in the Cranbourne stables that means more to Robbie Griffiths than Halvorsen (Magnus), who delivered a second victory in the feature Flemington sprint, having won the race back in 2020 before Mathew de Kock joined the stable.

Griffiths bred the son of Magnus from Flourishing (Not A Single Doubt), who he also bred himself, and while that itself has forged a strong connection, it is the sense of timing of his racetrack victories which have put him in the good books of the experienced horseman.

"He's a very special horse to us for the obvious heritage of his genetics and the people that have been involved with him all the way through, but for me, on a personal level, he has been a horse of firsts," he told TDN AusNZ.

"When I had brain surgery, I was in rehab when he won down the Flemington straight two seasons ago, while coming out of hospital. Then the first day returning to the races, Flemington put on a big hoohaa that it was my first day and he won that day, December 2019. That was a wonderful moment.

"He then gave Mat and I our first winner as a training partnership at the Flemington carnival, when winning with Dean Yendall in the spring. Now he has won the Standish, our first Standish together. For him to do all of those things and create all of those emotions, he has been a wonderful horse in so many ways."

The win in the Standish H. has booked Halvorsen a trip to the G1 Newmarket H. over the same track and distance in March. That race was on his agenda two years ago, until an injury in the G1 Oakleigh Plate put an end to his chances. He did run in the Group 1 handicap last year, finishing down the field when not in his best form.

A straight shooter

The straight-track specialist has run his last 10 starts down the Flemington straight, winning two of his past three and Griffiths is contemplating freshening him up to tackle the Newmarket H. without another run.

"We will stick to the straight racing and we will definitely be running in the Newmarket. It is just a question of whether we run him before then. Realistically, we don’t think he could win a Lightning against Nature Strip and those horses at the weight for age, coming back to the 1000 metres," he said.

"To manage him physically, keeping him in a straight line when building his speed is something really good for his management. I think we will stick to the straight tracks and potentially go straight into the Newmarket at his next run.

"If we change plans, it would be trying to run a place in the Lightning."

Back at home, Griffiths has a trio of Magnus colts out of Flourishing to come through, an equine production line of horses in the image of their multiple-stakes winning brother. There is a 2-year-old colt called Mr Magnus, plus a yearling and a foal. All are bay.

"We keep going back to the same genetics that work. It's a wonderful cross that Peter Ford, who has been a great asset to the stable in terms of his understanding of those genetic mixes, has worked through," he said.

"They are like twins all of them. When they walk in the yard and you think 'wow it’s Halvorsen', they are deadset like peas in pod. That's great, we are very excited about."

Gold Coast ambitions

Breeding his own future stars is a great passion for Griffiths but working with Ford and de Kock to secure potential stable stars from the sales is also something he enjoys immensely.

This week at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale, working with Ford and Heywood Bloodstock, the training partnership spent $1.32 million across seven yearlings.

They paid a top price of $400,000 for a colt by The Autumn Sun, Lot 601, while they purchased two colts by Shalaa (Ire) (Lots 527 and 103), fillies by Saxon Warrior (Jpn) (Lot 274) and Impending (Lot 540) and colts by Written Tycoon (Lot 823) and More Than Ready (USA) (Lot 17).

Gallery: Griffiths de Kock Racing, Peter Ford Thoroughbreds (FBAA) and Heywood Bloodstock Magic Millions purchases, images courtesy of Magic Millions

"We are delighted. Mat, myself and Peter go around the complex and we feel we have got above average tastes, so with the Sale having a $300,000 average, you expect to be over that when you buy," Griffiths said.

"We spent under that on every lot except for one. We feel we spent really well.

Griffiths said the grey The Autumn Sun colt, who was offered by Arrowfield and is out of Tapit (USA) mare Tap This was a compelling offering.

"We loved him. He's so light on his feet, you can hardly hear him coming. He's just a magical horse," he said.

"We loved his dad at the Easter sales as a yearling. We couldn't afford him and the rest is history with how he developed as a racehorse. He has such great genetics, being a son of Redoute's Choice out of a Galileo mare from the Aga Khan family, and he as a superstar. His progeny are beautiful.

"When this colt stepped out of the box, he paraded so beautifully. He was just a must-buy for us. We were scared he might bring more than that, but we were pleased to get him at what we believe was very affordable."

The Impending filly, (Lot 540), who cost $200,000 from Kia Ora Stud and hails from the same family as Lonhro's Group 1-winning son Kementari, was another one Griffiths was particularly pleased with securing.

"The underbidder on that was Neville Begg. He's a legend and has been one of the best judges of fillies and trainers of fillies when you think of Emancipation and those horses," he said.

"That's a great endorsement, so we were happy to outbid Grahame and his dad Neville there."

That filly will be part of an all-female syndicate that the stable is putting together.