Cover image courtesy of Ashlea Brennan
Henry Field was trackside at Canterbury Park on Wednesday afternoon. It was a hot day, and there was a reason why the managing director of Newgate Farm was there.
In the first event, a 1200-metre sprint for the 2-year-olds, he had a Chris Waller colt to watch closely. Militarize (NZ), a Kiwi-bred son of Dundeel (NZ), was making his debut in the Newgate/China Horse Club colours and, in the end, the drive to Canterbury was worth it.
Militarize delivered as good a debut as Field could have hoped for. The colt won his race by 1.18l from the fancied Queen Of Dragons (Pierro) and the Savabeel colt Wymark (NZ). The Years (NZ) (Time Test {GB}) was a fast-closing fourth.
So good was the debut that even jockey James McDonald climbed off full of praise, comparing the effort to Castelvecchio’s debut on the same track at the same time of year in 2019.
“This fellow is the spitting image of his old man,” McDonald said, referring to both Castelvecchio and Militarize being sons of Dundeel. “Jeez, that was a smart debut.”
Militarize had been coaxed along patiently by the Waller team through January. He had two trials under his belt before Wednesday, the latest of which was only last Friday, in which he was a winner.
Dundeel (NZ) | Standing at Arrowfield Stud
The obvious conclusion is that the colt will get better as he gets older and goes further, which would be typical of the conclusions on Dundeel progeny, but Charlie Duckworth, Waller’s assistant trainer, said a handful of 2-year-old targets were on the table.
“Hopefully we can get towards a Slipper or something like that,” he said. “Every 2-year-old race at this time of year is important. He’s a Dundeel so we were expecting him to be a little bit later than he has been, but every time we’ve raised the bar we’ve had a crack at it.”
On the Wednesday sidelines but very much in the thick of his colt’s fetching win, Henry Field was noticeably pleased with Militarize’s victory.
Henry Field and James McDonald | Image courtesy of Ashlea Brennan
“There’s a lot of water to go under the bridge but it’s a nice way to start,” he said, speaking to TDN AusNZ. “Anytime you get a Dundeel colt win as a 2-year-old in a pretty strong form race over 1200 metres, you’ve got something that’s worth getting a little bit confident about.
“I suspect Chris will target the Champagne or the Sires’ Produce as his main aims, and with an ounce of luck he can develop into one of the better 2-year-olds of the crop because whatever he manages to do, I’m sure he’ll be better at three.”
Field will go along with whatever Waller directs for Militarize’s immediate goals, but he did confess that the colt was an ideal candidate for the later 2-year-old Classics.
“Anytime you get a Dundeel colt win as a 2-year-old in a pretty strong form race over 1200 metres, you’ve got something that’s worth getting a little bit confident about.” - Henry Field
“The reality is, the Sires’ and Champagne would be a more logical progression in my mind, but we’ll certainly be leaving it up to Chris,” he said.
Need for speed and more
Militarize is something of a new outlook for the Newgate/China Horse Club partnership. In fact, he is only the second Dundeel yearling that the group has ever bought.
His purchase came last year at the 2022 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale when he came straight out of the Bhima Thoroughbreds draft. He cost $550,000, bought in alliance with Trilogy Racing.
Militarize (NZ) as a yearling | Image courtesy of Magic Millions
At the same sale, the same trio went in for Lot 228, another Dundeel colt but this time from the Exceed And Excel mare Luqyaa.
Militarize was Lot 743, a tidy youngster from the Dubawi (Ire) mare Amerindia (GB). It’s an international page, “a huge page” according to Field, featuring the likes of Yulong shuttler Lucky Vega (Ire) and, as a second dam, the G1 Prix de l’Opera winner Satwa Queen (Fr) (Muhtathir {GB}).
“When we go to the yearling sales, we try to buy, first and foremost, the individual and the athlete,” Field said. “I think Dundeel is a stallion that has done a great deal already, getting from his first crop a pair of Group 1-winning sire sons in Super Seth and Castelvecchio.
“So I always had it in the back of my mind that if we ever came across one that was a bit special and really good, and a good syndicate horse to buy, we’d go in.”
“I always had it in the back of my mind that if we ever came across one (a Dundeel yearling) that was a bit special and really good, and a good syndicate horse to buy, we’d go in.” - Henry Field
According to Field, Mr Teo Ah Khing, who founded and manages China Horse Club, was at the ready for a middle-distance style of horse to mix up the Newgate stallion roster. In part, that’s where State Of Rest (Ire) has come in, but the group wants an Australian element too.
“Mr Teo Ah Khing was very much on-board for a middle-distance horse to add to our stallion partnership long-term,” Field said. “That was part of the reason we bought State Of Rest, but this horse was different again. I remember seeing him in the Bhima consignment at Magic Millions, which was directly behind our consignment, and the minute I saw him I said we’d buy this horse.”
Militarize was being sold by Mike Fleming’s Bhima operation, but he was bred by Jonathan Munz’s GSA Bloodstock, which was part of the appeal for Field.
“Jonathan Munz has the most epic band of broodmares, and this colt was the most beautifully balanced, quality individual,” he said. “He was out of a Dubawi mare with a huge page and he was a beautiful yearling.
“Jonathan Munz and Dean Hawthorne have done an amazing job collecting good mares and they’re terrific people to do business with. I’m really glad that we bought this horse from them. I could tell pre-race (on Wednesday) that James McDonald thought he was on something very much above average.”
“I’m really glad that we bought this horse (Militarize) from them (GSA Bloodstock). I could tell pre-race (on Wednesday) that James McDonald thought he was on something very much above average.” - Henry Field
Militarize was the second foal from Munz’s Amerindia. Her first, a Pariah gelding now named Non Grata and unraced, was bought by Ciaron Maher in January 2021 for $250,000. Only weeks ago, her third foal, a Super Seth colt, was also sold by Bhima at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale, getting $160,000 from Lindsay Park Racing.
“Militarize oozed confidence when he walked out into the pre-parade area at Canterbury, and James rode him like a good horse and he won like a good horse,” Field said. “This colt is among the first couple of colts that we’ve put into Chris Waller’s yard that will take a little bit of time.”
The other is Lot 228, the Luqyaa yearling that Field also bought alongside Militarize. Now named Tannhauser (Dundeel {NZ}), he is also with Waller and had a debut trial as recently as last Friday.
Tannhauser as a yearling | Image courtesy of Magic Millions
New outlook for Newgate
Militarize and Tannhauser represent a slightly new agenda for the Newgate colts’ partnership.
Previously, Field has built up his formidable array of stallions on Australian speed, which has been the genesis of his farm and the driver of so much of its success. The two Dundeel colts are the first time he and his partners have moved away from that, seeking middle-distance blood.
“We wanted to buy a few horses that might stretch out a bit further,” he said. “They might be Guineas horses, and this horse fits that mould perfectly.
“We’ve built our business on local speed and there’s nothing more potent than Australian speed when it comes to hereditable characteristics. But we’ve also taken the view in the last couple of years that if we can find the right middle-distance horses, there’s another dimension that we can add to our roster.”
“We’ve built our business on local speed and there’s nothing more potent than Australian speed... if we can find the right middle-distance horses, there’s another dimension that we can add to our roster.” - Henry Field
There are few farms in Australia that have sire opportunity like Newgate. Its colt partnerships mean the operation has constantly refreshing access to exciting new stallions, which was case in point this spring when it came to new guns Stay Inside, Profiteer, Wild Ruler and Tiger Of Malay.
In previous interviews, Field has confessed that he wants to fill all 20 boxes in the Newgate stallion barn at Aberdeen. Currently, he has 13 in residence, with State Of Rest the most likely new addition later this year.
“We’ve been waiting a long time to change the roster a little bit like this,” he said. “We looked at dozens of middle-distance horses to potentially stand at Newgate, and State Of Rest was the first we hit the button with. And we’re glad we did because we have so much confidence in him.
Gallery: Newgate Farm's latest additions to the roster, images courtesy of Ashlea Brennan
“But we thought that if we came across a yearling or two that physically blew our minds, that had residual and was an athlete, we’d take a chance. These two (Militarize and Tannhauser) are the first time we’ve done it, so it was lovely to get an immediate result.”
If Field needed any more to convince him of Militarize’s worth on Wednesday afternoon, it was the Dubawi factor of the colt’s pedigree. Militarize is a grandson of Europe’s leading sire, which is a private thrill for the master of Newgate Farm.
“I love the idea of standing a grandson of Dubawi,” Field said. “The fact that he was out of a Dubawi mare really switched me on.”
