Cover image courtesy of Ashlea Brennan
On Saturday, the Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott-trained Straight Charge (Written By) carried the Yulong bottle green silks to an impressive victory in the G2 Silver Slipper S. over his stablemate Espionage (Zoustar).
Straight Charge has proven a classy competitor since his debut in the Breeders’ Plate where he was narrowly denied by Espionage. The son of Written By was then dominant in breaking his maiden at Randwick before a setback saw him miss the R. Listed Magic Millions 2YO Classic on the Gold Coast.
In winning the G2 Silver Slipper, Straight Charge secured his place in next month’s G1 Golden Slipper. He will look to join Farnan, Mossfun (Mossman) and Pierro as recent Silver Slipper winners to salute in the latter.
Tait plays a part
Olly Tait’s Twin Hills Stud consigned Straight Charge at the 2022 Inglis Australian Weanling Sale, where Paul Moroney Bloodstock and Pegasus Bloodstock paid $160,000 to secure the colt.
Tait recounted the story to The Thoroughbred Report, "Straight Charge was bred by Scott Robertson, who lives in Wagga Wagga, not far from Twin Hills Stud.
“Scott wanted to sell the horse as a weanling, so he sent him to us. It was interesting because I had never seen the colt until I stepped off the track at our place, and I distinctly remember thinking, "Wow, you are a very, very nice horse,’ “he was a stunning colt.
Straight Charge as a weanling | Image courtesy of Inglis
“Obviously, he was from the second crop of Written By, and they sold quite well as a yearling, so there was a good market for them. Straight Charge sold very well as a weanling at $160,000.
“We only had him for a limited amount of time; we prepped him for sale, put him through, and then went on to the next chapter. However, we are delighted to have played a small part in this lovely horse and watch him do well on the racetrack.
“It's great to cheer for him (Straight Charge), and I will continue to do that. Scott (Robertson) has been a great supporter of our business, so it's very pleasing on all fronts.”
Olly Tait
Charge a surprise packet
The son of Written By was then sent to Greg and Jo Griffin’s Lime Country Thoroughbreds in Blandford, New South Wales, who offered Straight Charge at the 2023 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale. Lime Country Thoroughbreds sold the colt for $270,000 to Yulong.
Jo Griffin caught up with The Thoroughbred Report to learn the backstory of the colt's time at Lime Country Thoroughbreds.
“A Chinese client of ours, Alan Fu, who is based in New Zealand and buys under Pegasus Bloodstock, purchased Straight Charge as a weanling at the 2022 Inglis Australian Weanling Sale alongside Paul Moroney and Catheryne Bruggeman.
Jo Griffin | Image courtesy of Inglis
“They all worked together to select the colt. They paid $160,000, which is a great price for a weanling. I think Alan might have gone a couple more bids than everybody was expecting, but we’d just sold some other stock well for him, so he was feeling a little bit bullish.
“Straight Charge was then sent to us at Lime Country.”
Griffin reflected on her first impressions, “He was a nice weanling, and I could see he’d keep improving. He definitely wasn’t furnished out and prepped to the eyeballs like some weanlings are.
“So, there was improvement in him, which was promising because sometimes you buy a weanling at the sale, you take them home, and they go backwards. But Straight Charge had room to go forward, which was nice.”
“So, there was improvement in him, which was promising because sometimes you buy a weanling at the sale, you take them home, and they go backwards. But Straight Charge had room to go forward, which was nice.” - Jo Griffin
Although Griffin was confident Straight Charge would win the G2 Silver Slipper on Saturday, the colt’s overall precociousness has surprised her.
“No, I didn’t think he would be up early. We’ve always said Straight Charge didn’t have that ‘classic big sales walk’, and he is a very busy horse. He needed stuff to be going and would get bored easily.
“So, I thought Gai (Waterhouse) and Adrian (Bott) have done a fantastic job with him. Straight Charge is obviously a horse that has liked work and thrived. Sometimes, you don’t know if they will be mature enough to handle it. Other horses just want a job and thrive when given a purpose.
“I think that’s probably the way Straight Charge is, without speaking to his trainers.”
Good judges
Despite not having the flashiest walk, it is a testament to Straight Charge as a type, achieving $270,000 at the 2023 Magic Millions Gold Yearling Sale. The average price for the progeny of Widden Stud’s G1 Blue Diamond was was $85,136 from 73 sold from 79 offered.
Straight Charge was also the second-most expensive yearling sold at the 2023 Magic Millions, by Written By, with the now-named Assassins Creed making $280,000 to Darby Racing and de Burgh Equine.
“He (Lot 100) was always a nice yearling. Looking back, he had nine x-ray hits at the sales, which is a good number. Straight Charge was very well sought out, and he was always on the athletic side.
Straight Charge as a yearling | Image courtesy of Magic Millions
“Straight Charge was also very put together, and I feel Yulong potentially may have got a little bit of a bargain because he didn’t have that big, flashy walk, but he always travelled with purpose.
“The progeny of Written By was popular at the sales that year, and Mr Zhang obviously appreciates those Written Tycoon horses. Straight Charge is closely related to another son of Written Tycoon, Winning Rupert, and his stakes-winning sister Tycoon Evie.
“So, he was the second highest-priced Written By at that year’s Magic Millions. He was Lot 100, and we were very happy with the price.
“So, he was the second highest-priced Written By at that year’s Magic Millions. He was Lot 100, and we were very happy with the price.” - Jo Griffin
“I looked back at who viewed him the most in the Thoroughworks program, and interestingly, it was Henry Field, followed by Brent Howard of Randwick Bloodstock. So, two very good judges and maybe Mr Zhang just outmuscled them on price, or they found other pickings.
“Checking and looking back at who viewed your horses during inspections at the sales is an important tool for us. It gives us information we can pass to our owners, and we can see what they’ve purchased before your horses come up and you know they’ve shown interest in your horse and looked at the x-rays.”
Slipper dreaming
A victory by Straight Charge in the G1 Golden Slipper will be a significant milestone for Lime Country Thoroughbreds since moving its base from New Zealand to New South Wales in Australia.
The Griffins purchased their first farm in Australia, and Straight Charge was part of the yearling draft first prepped in Lime Country Thoroughbreds’ new barn.
“This is the first farm we’ve ever been able to purchase ourselves. We sold yearlings the year before, which are now 3-year-olds, and there have been some very good stakes horses in there, including Gumdrops and a couple of other exciting horses coming through, but this crop and this particular horse were the first ones prepared out of our new barn.
“We sold yearlings the year before, which are now 3-year-olds, and there have been some very good stakes horses in there, including Gumdrops and a couple of other exciting horses coming through, but this crop and this particular horse were the first ones prepared out of our new barn.” - Jo Griffin
“The year before, we had to lease the Emirates Park Barn to prepare our yearlings. We travelled basically from the Think Big in the Southern Highlands with us. So, it was really exciting. He’s the first horse ever sold that was entirely prepared at the new farm.
“Straight Charge was also our first horse through the Magics draft. We only had a small draft of eight there, and obviously, the breeders have done their job.
“You don’t get the horses without the breeder. They pulled the right rein at their end, and Twin Hills Stud got Straight Charge to the weanling sale and achieved a great price.
“That’s the joy of this industry. Everybody plays their part, and so many people along the way share in the horse’s upside. It’s a beautiful knock-on effect for so many people.”
Premier highlights
Twin Hills Stud will offer 25 yearlings (28 catalogued, pending withdrawals) at the upcoming 2024 Inglis Premier Yearling Sale, including progeny by their very own freshman sire, Peltzer, a son of So You Think (NZ).
Tait shared some of the horses catching his eye, “We have a big draft of horses. There's a lot of variety of nice horses, and all of them will hold appeal, as there are horses there that will suit a broad range of budgets.
“We are very happy with our draft as a whole, and the Inglis Premier Yearling Sale is a good sale, as it always is; we are hoping the market that has been set at the previous sales this year can be maintained.
Gallery: Some of Twin Hills draft at the 2024 Inglis Premier Yearling Sale
“I think Lot 160, a filly by Justify out of a mare named Cavaco, should receive plenty of interest. The mare is a daughter of Fastnet Rock, so this filly is bred on the same cross as Learning To Fly and Storm Boy.
“We have a really nice Maurice filly (Lot 243) out of a Savabeel mare named Frankly Savvy. She goes back to a very deep Waikato Stud family. She's a nice filly who will be best suited as a 3-year-old and onwards, but she is a very attractive filly.
“The Fastnet Rock filly (Lot 97) is out of Alleyoop. There aren't many Fastnet Rock fillies to come to the market this year, and he's obviously been a fantastic sire of fillies. We also have a Hellbent filly, Lot 278, who is a full sister to Vivvy Air, a filly who has been placed in the G2 Thousand Guineas Prelude and the G2 Sandown Guineas.
“Hellbent fillies are well sought-after, and she's a nice article.”
Twin Hills Stud will also offer three yearlings by Pelzter, Lot 568, Lot 594 and Lot 650. Tait has been thrilled by the reception of the stallion at earlier sales.
“So far, so good. First-season sires always take everybody's interest; people are always interested in their progeny. We have had one sell for $220,000 and a few more around the $100,000 mark. So, they've sold very well.
“So far, so good. First-season sires always take everybody's interest; people are always interested in their progeny. We have had one sell for $220,000 and a few more around the $100,000 mark. So, they've sold very well.” - Olly Tait
“They deserve to sell well. They are lovely looking horses, but the proof will be in the pudding in the next 18 months when they start racing.”
