Eleventh stakes winner for Russian Revolution
Russian Revolution gained a new stakes winner when 4-year-old gelding Brudenell (Russian Revolution) won the Listed Bel Esprit S. at Caulfield on Saturday. Trainer Kris Lees had nominated Brudenell for the G3 Maurice McCarten at Rosehill as well and elected to head to Melbourne despite having to carry 3kg more.
Brudenell wins the Listed Bel Esprit S. at Caulfield | Image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
Sent out second favourite at $5, Brudenell won by 0.75l, and took his record to nine wins from 17 starts with earnings over $660,000. Sold as a weanling and a yearling for the same price, $80,000, Brudenell was sourced by Lees Racing and Tasman Bloodstock from the 2021 Inglis Classic Yearling Sale.
Standing at Newgate Farm, Russian Revolution, a Champion First and Second Season Sire, now has 11 stakes winners to his name.
Manifest again at Rosehill, may be Doncaster-bound
Forming one of Chris Waller's three winners at Rosehill on Saturday, 5-year-old gelding Democracy Manifest (Flying Artie) returned the winner of the Ajax S., nudging out Territory Express (Territories {Ire}) by 0.1l.
“He'll get his chance,” said Waller, confirming that the gelding will be considered for the G1 Doncaster H. depending on weight allocations.
“You don't deny the owners the chance of running in these big races and he proved himself today.”
Democracy Manifest was a $70,000 Inglis Ready2Race buy for principle owners Allam Racing and Andrew Williams Bloodstock (FBAA).
First Group win for trainer Reid
Saturday’s G3 Cuddle S. winner Hi Yo Sass Bomb (NZ) (Complacent) became the first stakes winner for her New Plymouth trainer Kim Reid who shares in her ownership and co-bred the 5-year-old mare.
“I was hoping all the way down the straight, and I know she’s as tough as nails. For her to get the win is amazing. It’s awesome,” Reid said.
Kim Reid with Hi Yo Sass Bomb (NZ) after winning the G3 Cuddle S. at Trentham | Image courtesy of Peter Rubery (Race Images Palmerston North)
“She’s a real family horse. We bred her and we’ve had her all the way through, and my parents have been involved all the way through too. We’ll wait and see what we do with her next, but it’s great to get this win with her.”
Hi Yo Sass Bomb has won four of her 15 starts for over NZ$160,000. She is the first stakes winner for her sire who is a son of Authorized.(Ire)
Own The Queen rules West Australia
As expected, 3-year-old filly Own The Queen (Awesome Rock) won the Listed Natasha S. at Ascot on Saturday. Now the winner of four races in succession, Own The Queen was sold by Western Breeders Alliance to John Chalmers Bloodstock (FBAA) and Erkelens Racing for $57,500 at the 2022 Magic Millions Perth Yearling Sale.
Her only miss in her five starts was on debut when she ran mid-field and she’s been unbeaten since then, winning two Listed races in succession now. Nothing has been announced about her plans.
Another stakes winner for Playing God in JC Roberts Stakes
Boom West Australian sire Playing God added his 17th stakes winner when Lord Vampi won the Listed JC Roberts S. at Ascot on Saturday.
Playing God | Standing at Darling View Thoroughbreds
Trained by Daniel and Ben Pearce, 3-year-old gelding Lord Vampi took his record to three wins from six starts and earnings over $190,000. He is a homebred for Oaklands Stud and is out of the Group 3 winner Vampi Lass (Bletchley Park {Ire}).
Gallant Star ready for Country qualifier
Trainer Brett Robb believes his 4-year-old gelding Gallant Star (Zoustar) is ready for Sunday’s Country Championships qualifier at Coomable. “If he wins at Coonamble he’d be in it up to his eyeballs in Sydney,” said Robb about heading to the final next month.
“To go on to win the final down there you’ve got to be better than the country horse and I think he’s better than a lot of them. Bandi’s Boy is going to be the one to beat, but they’ve got very similar form.”
Gallant Star has won three of his nine starts and was fourth at Canterbury last start. “I thought if we give him a good hard run at Canterbury and then give him the month between runs it should freshen him up and be fit for it.”
Southern win in New Zealand Lightning
Balcairn trainer Danny Frye’s 7-year-old gelding Our Echo (NZ) (Echoes of Heaven) gave his sire a new stakes winner when winning the Listed Lightning S. at Trentham on Saturday. A half-brother to Redoute’s Choice, Echoes of Heaven now has three stakes winners.
Tegan Newman returns to scale aboard Our Echo (NZ) after winning the Listed Lightning S. at Trentham | Image courtesy of Peter Rubery (Race Images Palmerston North)
“I think his last start win was a real confidence booster and he is quite an underrated galloper,” Frye told Loveracing.nz. “When I presented him he wanted to go and he won really well.”
Our Echo took his record to six wins and 14 placings from 37 starts for earnings over NZ$210,000, and he has won his last two in succession.
Starspangledbanner tops the Hong Kong International Sale
The Hong Kong International Sale saw reductions in median and average price for 2024 with a British-bred 3-year-old gelding by Starspangledbanner coming out on top. He was the final lot of the night and sold to Cheung Kwok Wing for HK$5.4 million (AU$1.05 million).
Overall the sale grossed HK$46.3 million (AU$9 million) for the 14 lots sold (compared to HK$71.6 million (AU$13.9 million) in 2023 for 15 lots sold).
“We have a lot of confidence in the horses that we have offered and what we’re probably seeing is that when we bought these horses two years ago is that we were operating in a very intense yearling market, so we’ve bought these horses at the very top of the market and we’re seeing a softening in horse sales around the world, which we’ve seen tonight, we’ve also seen a softening in our wagering turnover and also in the local stock market,” Danny Rolston, The Hong Kong Jockey Club’s Executive Manager, International Sale/Owners Advisory Services, told Racingnews.hkjc.com.
“I think the story of the night is that the sale has seen a bit of a drop in average, but with that comes an opportunity that we were able to give forward to our permit holders with some really nice horses.”
The average for 2024 was HK$3.307 million (AU$644,000) down from HK$4.77 million (AU$928,000) in 2023, a drop of 30.7 per cent.
The median in 2024 was HK$3.2 million (AU$623,000) down from HK$4.4 million (AU$857,000) in 2023, a drop of 27.3 per cent. A Savabeel gelding, Lot 7, was the second-top lot, selling to So Wing Keung for HK$4.2 million (AU$818,000).
Sydney Cup aims for Pakenham Cup winner
Jockey Mark Zahra believes 8-year-old gelding Ashrun (Fr) (Authorized {Ire}) could win the G1 Sydney Cup after the stayer demolished the Listed Pakenham Cup field on Friday night by 1.75l. “I don’t think he’d have to improve much, that was 58kg and he was only second-up, so you’d think there would still be a bit of improvement to come,” Zahra told Racing.com.
“Ciaron’s just got him flying, he’s eight years old and he let go a lot better than he did when I rode him in the Geelong Cup (last year). So a Sydney Cup would be on the cards for sure.”
Ashrun was having his sixth run for trainer Ciaron Maher who was entrusted with the gelding after he injured a tendon in the 2020 G1 Melbourne Cup (when trained by Andreas Wolher). Ashrun spent three years in rehabilitation before returning to the races in the spring of 2023 where he ran second in the G3 Geelong Cup and fourth in the G1 Melbourne Cup from four starts. This campaign, he was fourth first-up before Friday night’s win.
Classic path for Savabeel colt Wymark
A win at Rosehill by 3-year-old colt Wymark (NZ) (Savabeel) to make it three wins in succession has his trainer Michael Freedman dreaming of a Derby. “We will have a look at the Tulloch Stakes in two weeks’ time and then see what happens after that,” Freedman told Loveracing.nz.
“(This race) has been an interesting form race this over the past couple of years. Major Beel finished fourth in it last year and then went on and won the Derby and Benaud of John O’Shea’s did something similar (fifth) and ran second in the Derby.”
Wymark had three starts at two as a colt, then gelded before this campaign. All up, he has won three of his nine starts with earnings over $170,000. Mick Wallace and Freedman Brothers purchased him from Sledmere Stud for $200,000 from the 2022 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale. He is the third winner for his unraced dam who is a full sister to Group 1 winner Alamosa (NZ) (O’Reilly {NZ}).
USA Hall of Fame jockey Blum dies
Walter Blum, an American Hall of Fame jockey, has died aged 89. He rode his first winner in 1953, and was the first American jockey to win six races on a card in 1961. In 1963 he rode 360 winners, the most of all riders that year in the USA and followed it up in 1964 with 324 wins to again be number one.
When he retired in 1975, he was fifth on the all-time winners list in the USA with 4,382 winners and was inducted into the USA Racing Hall of Fame in 1987. After his retirement from the saddle, he worked as a state steward in Florida from 1978 until his retirement in 2004.
