Royal Randwick played host to a morning of trials on Tuesday and, across the 2-year-old results, Newgate Farm had a bit to look at. Its resident star Russian Revolution had two winners across the card while another, the Zoustar colt Ringmaster (Zoustar), carried the farm’s colours.
The first of the Russian Revolution winners was Magadan, who is trained by the Snowden team at Randwick. The chestnut colt had last been seen in January when lolloping home in a short trial on debut.
He was much smarter on Tuesday morning, breaking well before taking a sit on the rails behind the Denman gelding Saturday Vibes. It was a busy finish but, after coasting quietly for most of the race, Magadan was pushed along in the straight to win by 0.8l to the Newgate colt Ambassadors (Zoustar).
Meanwhile, Miss Black Diamond proved the second of Russian Revolution’s winners, winning race 15 by 1.25l. The 2-year-old filly is trained by Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott, and she showed typical stable-form with a lightning start from the outside draw.
In the straight, she showed a lot of zip to overhaul a bunched finish and win ahead of Time To Leave (More Than Ready {USA}) and the Arrowfield filly Orzala (Snitzel), who is a half-sister to the stakes winner Carif (So You Think {NZ}).
Miss Black Diamond | Image courtesy of Ashlea Brennan
Both Magadan and Miss Black Diamond were $150,000 yearlings.
Magadan was sold by Newgate at last year’s Inglis Easter Yearling Sale, going to Wattle Bloodstock and Stephen Gray Racing, while Miss Black Diamond was sold to Waterhouse, Bott and Kestrel Thoroughbreds at the 2021 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale.
Welcome to the Revolution
Russian Revolution’s pair of winners, coming as they have late in the season, matched plenty of expectations, according to Newgate’s Principal, Henry Field.
“We’d always felt that the later they went in the season, the better they’d be, much the same as he was,” Field said. “Russian Revolution hadn’t even had his debut start at this stage of his 2-year-old year, so we certainly expected they’d be better as later two- and 3-year-olds.”
Russian Revolution when racing | Standing at Newgate
Russian Revolution’s debut came in June of his juvenile year, and he was then undefeated in two starts before the season turned over.
However, his first-crop results have included early returns, with seven winners among his 23 runners, including the Group 2 winner Revolutionary Miss, who was second to Daumier (Epaulette) in the G1 Blue Diamond S., plus the Group 3-winning, Group 2-placed Rise Of The Masses.
There was also Russian Conquest, who was a very narrow second to Coolangatta (Written Tycoon) in the R. Listed Magic Millions 2YO Classic.
“For him to have already had two horses go down in a photo finish in both the Magic Millions and the Blue Diamond, that’s certainly exceeded our expectations, as has the precocity of his stock,” Field said.
Newgate has had much of the season to work out just how precocious Russian Revolution is.
“He’s throwing them a lot like Snitzel did,” Field said. “The mares are putting a lot into the stock, as he is too. Some stallions very much stamp them, while Russian Revolution and Snitzel inject a lot of athleticism into their progeny, leaving plenty of room for the mares to throw into them as well.
“And interestingly, his second crop of yearlings far outsold his first crop, and they were probably a better lineup of physical individuals overall. So it bodes really well for the future, but also people have become more savvy about how to mate Russian Revolution.”
“He’s (Russian Revolution) throwing them a lot like Snitzel did... Some stallions very much stamp them, while Russian Revolution and Snitzel inject a lot of athleticism into their progeny, leaving plenty of room for the mares to throw into them as well.” - Henry Field
As the stallion heads into his fifth book at Newgate Farm, Field and the horse’s co-owners have carefully crafted the spring ahead.
Russian Revolution stood for $55,000 (inc GST) in his first two seasons, then $44,000 (inc GST) for the last two, and he’ll remain at a steady figure when Newgate releases its fees in the weeks upcoming.
“Obviously, given he’s the dominant first-season sire of the year, his fee will be increasing, but we’ve made a decision to not increase that fee too much this season,” Field said. “And that’s so that we can work with breeders to pick and choose the mares that will really suit him, both in respect to quality, but also in respect to mares that will physically match him.”
Those types are the powerful, Australian, speedster mares that have so far done very well with Russian Revolution. Field said they’re big-hipped broodmares that seem to be throwing a certain type of individual, and which are running accordingly.
“Obviously, given he’s (Russian Revolution) the dominant first-season sire of the year, his fee will be increasing, but we’ve made a decision to not increase that fee too much this season.” - Henry Field
Field said the snowballing popularity of Russian Revolution is something that Newgate will be looking to preserve, especially as the stallion’s place on the sires’ table is so strong. He leads The Mission on the first-season sires’ tally by a long way on earnings, and is third by winners (seven) behind the latter horse and Heroic Valour, both with eight winners apiece.
Circus act
Randwick’s winning trial results for Newgate on Tuesday also included the 2-year-old gelding Ringmaster, a Zoustar youngster having his second appearance this preparation.
Trained locally by Michael Freedman, the horse was gelded after a fruitless preparation as a colt and it’s paid off. Ringmaster was second in a trial in early April before winning Tuesday’s by a comfortable 2.94l.
“He was very dominant,” Field said. “He was a horse that was bred by Greg Kolivos’ Lightning Thoroughbreds, and our syndicate bought him from the Newgate draft.
“He showed very little as a colt early in the spring and, since his gelding, Michael Freedman has reported that he’s airborne, and we saw that this morning, both in the style and in the time that he trialled.”
“He (Ringmaster) showed very little as a colt early in the spring and, since his gelding, Michael Freedman has reported that he’s airborne, and we saw that this morning, both in the style and in the time that he trialled.” - Henry Field
Ringmaster clocked 1:04.12 for his 1050-metre heat, which was the fastest of the juvenile sprints across the distance, but it was also hugely competitive with the older-horse heats across the morning.
As a yearling, he cost Newgate Farm, in partnership with China Horse Club, $425,000 to purchase from the Inglis Classic Yearling Sale. Ringmaster is a son of the Snitzel mare Blazing Snitzel, who is a half-sister to the Listed Tasmanian Guineas and Singapore winner Excuse My French (French Deputy {USA}).
It’s very likely that the gelding, who will race shortly, will be sold to the Asian market.
“We’ll probably target the Brisbane carnival with him, but, as most people know, once our horses are gelded they’re always on the market,” Field said. “There’s every chance that a deal will be transacted on him over the course of time.
“If he can take the level of talent he’s shown at the trials and in the mornings to the races, he’s going to be valuable from a Hong Kong perspective.”
