Cover image courtesy of Ashlea Brennan
Sir Owen Glenn and his Go Bloodstock team are certainly enjoying a purple patch, with homebred Rise Of The Masses (Russian Revolution) rising to the occasion in the G3 Pago Pago S. on Saturday giving him both a boost for his mare and an added bonus as a stakeholder in the exciting sire.
Sir Owen Glenn | Image courtesy of sirowenglenn.com
And a Black Opal win for Queen Of The Ball (I Am Invincible) late on Sunday for the filly Sir Owen races with his grandson, Adrian, was some pretty sweet icing to be thickly layered on the cake.
“It’s fantastic for the boss,’’ said Go Bloodstock manager Steve O’Connor of the win by Rise Of The Masses ahead of Queen Of The Ball capping off a magical weekend with her Canberra win.
“Our aim has been to try to get his homebred colts into a race like the Golden Slipper and give us a chance to get a big-ticket stallion. He’s a top horse and he’s doing us proud. He’s out of a mare that we bought and we have good equity in the stallion, Russian Revolution, so it's a good result all round.’’
Go Bloodstock paid $675,000 at the Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale for the Bernardini (USA) mare Ruud Awakening, a Group 1 winner, coming from Attunga Stud. Her first foal, You Rang (Sebring) was a winner with Rise Of The Masses only her second foal to race. She has since had an I Am Invincible filly and has a Snitzel filly at foot.
Ruud Awakening as a yearling | Image courtesy of New Zealand Bloodstock
“We’re trying to keep a select stable. We were a bit bigger and we wanted a facility at Hawkesbury and we’re trying to focus on a bit more quality and getting these horses that can win some really big races on a good day,’’ said O’Connor.
“The result of that is these horses. The aim is for them to be running in the better races.’’
O’Connor said Go Bloodstock are now selling a lot more yearlings and they have bred and sold some nice horses, including Saturday's Flemington 3-year-old winner Ruthless Dame (NZ) (Tavistock {NZ}).
Ruthless Dame (NZ) | Image courtesy of Bronwen Healy
“We do a bit of both, racing and breeding, and we try to balance it out,’’ O’Connor said. “From year to year, we try to keep one or two yearlings out of a mare that we haven’t kept before and it’s nice when it works out.’’
Rise Of The Masses, under the training of Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott, won the Pago Pago S. ahead of Deep Field colt Sweet Ride for Annabel Neasham, with Snitzel colts Magic and Williamsburg third and fourth.
Jockey Tim Clark said he was always confident in the colt and he was not yet at his best.
“I was always confident that my bloke was going to be strongest out of the two late. That proved to be correct over the last little bit. He really knuckled down,’’ Clark said after the race.
“I was always confident that my bloke (Rise Of The Masses) was going to be strongest out of the two late. That proved to be correct over the last little bit. He really knuckled down." - Tim Clark
“No doubts he still gets a bit lost and waits for them a little bit. I think if he happens to get into a race where they go really fast and he actually doesn’t have to lead, with one to chase, he will be better.
“He’s definitely continued to learn and put it together all preparation. Hopefully, he’s peaking at the right time. I think they are a very even bunch so probably doesn’t have to improve a lot (for the Slipper). Gai has won plenty of them so she knows what she is doing. I won’t question her. Hopefully, he turns up in good order next week.”
Results on the home front
Rise Of The Masses and Queen Of The Ball were Sir Owen’s “homebred standouts’’ but O’Connor said there had been a bit of success for mares on their property, including last week’s New Zealand Derby winner Asterix (NZ) (Tavistock {NZ}) who was bred by Go Bloodstock out of Mourasana (GB) (Shirocco {Ger}) and sold at the New Zealand Bloodstock Ready to Run Sale for NZ$475,000.
Asterix (NZ) | Image courtesy of Trish Dunnell
Queen Of The Ball needed a run to get in the Golden Slipper, with Sunday’s Black Opal win doing the job.
“Sir Owen races this horse with his grandson, Adrian, and it would mean a lot to him to have a horse in the Slipper with his family member and she’s the first foal out of a mare that we raced, so we’re always going to keep her,’’ said O’Connor.
“She’s been waiting for dry tracks ever since the Silver Slipper, so we end up in Canberra a week before the Golden Slipper.’’
The Widden S. win by Queen Of The Ball was a good result for Sir Owen and the Fastnet Rock mare Miss Debutante that he still owns and now has a Zoustar filly and a Written Tycoon filly from.
“That was a good result for the mare who we still own. We’re pretty committed. Sir Owen is committed to the sport, he lives in Sydney and he loves being around the horses and hopefully one or two of his horses each year will get the results,’’ said O’Connor.
“We’ve had a good run since December. He’s paid good money for some nice horses, nice mares, and I think you’re starting to see the follow-on effects from that investment.’’
