Mr Brightside to seek revenge in Australian Cup
Mr Brightside (NZ) (Bullbars) will head to the G1 Australian Cup in two weeks with The All-Star Mile trifecta likely to clash in the 2000-metre event. “He got a little bit too far back and he (Craig Williams) gave him too much to do,” co-trainer JD Hayes told Racing.com.
The jockey saw it a little differently. “It’s a shame but don’t take anything away from the winner, she was very good and very dominant,” Williams said.
Mr Brightside (NZ) | Image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
“My horse, he was huge. We didn’t have the best barrier draw and under those circumstances… you see how far he stood them up and for him to only be beaten the margin he was beaten in the end. He went super. If the plan is to go to the Australian Cup, I’m looking forward to him at 10 furlongs, that’s for sure.”
Bella Nipotina keen to take on Imperatriz again
Connections of Group 1 winner Bella Nipotina (Pride Of Dubai) are keen to take on champion sprinter Imperatriz (I Am Invincible) in Saturday's G1 William Reid S. at Moonee Valley. “It's our favourite course and distance but it's also hers (Imperatriz). We'll take her on and see what happens. We know Imperatriz is a champion,” managing owner Michael Christian told Racing.com.
Christian also noted that Bella Nipotina’s connections have been in discussion with two slot holders for The Quokka. “I think she'll be suited by the conditions of the Quokka,” he said and said she may also go to the G1 TJ Smith S. at Randwick on April 6 before flying over for The Quokka on April 20.
“We've got to fly out of Sydney anyway, so we'll discuss with Ciaron (Maher) whether she can run there or has a hard trial. It will be up to him.”
Bella Nipotina was third in last year’s The Quokka and has a record of seven wins and 20 placings from 45 starts with earnings over $6.1 million.
Sunsets to Alister Clark next
Co-trainer Natalie Young will send 3-year-old gelding Sunsets (Dundeel {NZ}) to Saturday’s G2 Alister Clark S. at Moonee Valley. He galloped in the reverse direction with stablemate Immediacy (NZ) (Tarzino {NZ}) on Saturday morning.
“We were very open saying he was a couple of weeks behind the eight-ball first-up in the Guineas, but we just needed that mile,” Young told Racing.com. “So, he’s got good fitness from that. Immediacy obviously worked a bit better, but he’s obviously got a bit more sharpness. But I think at The Valley, the Alister Clark, Sunsets will be a good chance.”
Sunsets | Image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
Sunsets has won two of his 10 starts including the G3 Caulfield Classic in the spring for earnings over $350,000. He was sold by Segenhoe Stud for $34,000 as a weanling, purchased by DJM Bloodstock, who on-sold him via Newhaven Park’s 2022 Inglis Premier Yearling Sale draft for $150,000 to Group 1 Bloodstock (FBAA) and Busuttin Racing.
Unbeaten Immediacy will go to the G1 Rosehill Guineas.
Hong Kong interest in city winner Hey Fat Cat
Trainer Robbie Laing has reported that there have been offers from Hong Kong for 3-year-old gelding Hey Fat Cat (Rubick). “He's been keenly sought by Hong Kong. They are offering a lot of money. He hasn't been vetted yet,” Laing told Racing.com.
“It's no surprise. They know how to spot a good horse over there. They know he was beaten less than four lengths by Mr Brightside as a 3-year-old and he missed the start as well. They know he's a smart horse.”
Robbie Laing | Image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
Hey Fat Cat has won two of his 10 starts, and ran sixth in the G1 Australian Guineas at his last start. Two starts ago, he was fifth in the G1 Futurity S. behind Mr Brightside (NZ) (Bullbars). He was a $20,000 purchase from the 2022 Inglis Gold Yearling Sale by A Stephenson from the Hollylodge Thoroughbreds draft.
Jimmysstar set for Stradbroke
Trainer Ciaron Maher will skip the G1 Doncaster H. with Jimmysstar (NZ) (Per Incanto {USA}) and aim him at the G1 Stradbroke H. instead. “Jimmy is going to reset towards the Stradbroke,” Maher told Racing.com.
“He’s good, he’s very good, but he’s had a couple of runs that haven’t been ideal for him or for connections. But he’s a lovely little horse Jimmy and we just need to reset rather than to chase.”
Ciaron Maher | Image courtesy of Ashlea Brennan
Jimmysstar won five races in succession from April 2023 to February 2024, but ran 7th last start in the G3 Newmarket H. at Newcastle. “He’s a bit like Another Wil in that he can get a bit excited. He’s still learning all the time, so we thought that (a longer lead up to the Stradbroke) would be a nice path. We can go into a benchmark race into a better race. If it happens good and if it doesn’t, It’s no biggy.”
Canamble wins at Coonamble
2-year-old filly Canamble (Aylmerton) won on debut at Coonamble on Sunday in an omen bet if punters liked the similarity between the horse name and club name! Trained by Damien Lane at Wyong, Canamble is the first winner for Aylmerton, who is an Australian-bred son of Siyouni (Fr).
Aylmerton stands at Woodpark Stud near Mittagong and won twice as a 2-year-old including the G2 Todman S. He has only seven named foals from his first two crops.
Canamble as a yearling | Image courtesy of Inglis
Canamble was sold by Meredith Park to trainer Damien Lane for $14,000 at the 2023 Inglis Scone Yearling Sale.
New juvenile winners for Dracarys and Headwater
Queensland based Dracarys gained a new 2-year-old winner when Eagle’s Fire won at Gatton on Sunday, while Headwater achieved the same with Head Case winning at Grafton.
Eagle’s Fire is co-owned and trained by Shirley Batton and is the second 2-year-old winner for Dracarys this season. His oldest foals are 3-year-olds and he has seven winners from 16 runners to date.
Head Case was having his third start for trainer Tony Newing, and he was a $40,000 purchase by Sean O’Gormiath from Goodwood Farm at the 2023 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale.
Schiller fined for falling asleep
Jockey Tyler Schiller was fined $500 for “failing to present himself in the mounting yard in a timely manner” prior to the G3 Maurice McCarten S. on Saturday at Rosehill. Schiller didn’t have a ride in the race prior, and had planned to sit quietly in the jockey’s room, but fell asleep and connections of Rich Fortune (Rich Enuff) had to find him when he wasn’t present five minutes before the race was to jump.
“I was just going in there to sit on something and I had a lay down but I wasn't expecting to fall asleep,” Schiller told stewards. “It's been a long week.” Rich Fortune and Schiller were late arriving at the barriers, but loaded with the rest of the field, only to finish last in the race.
Tyler Schiller | Image courtesy of Ashlea Brennan
“Can you see where it sits in respect to your professionalism,” acting chief steward Tom Moxon said during the inquiry. “You're riding on a feature day, Group 3 race, connections have booked a Group 1-winning rider and there you are fast asleep five minutes before a race. It doesn't paint yourself in a good light in regard to your professionalism.”
Rich Fortune has won two her 11 starts, and was previously a Group 3 winner in the spring.
Young Champion highlights Teetan treble at Sha Tin
Jockey Karis Teetan rode a treble at Sha Tin on Saturday night, headlined by the exciting win of Young Champion (Ire) (Zoustar), but trainer John Size was cagey about the future of the exciting galloper, telling racingnews.hkjc.com, “We’ll find out soon enough.”
A winner and stakes placed from four starts in Ireland, Young Champion has two wins and a second from three starts in Hong Kong.
“He (Young Champion) ran very well. It looked like he was very comfortable a long way from home. There was never any doubt about how he was going to perform after he got halfway through the race. It was set up nicely for him, it was run to suit and he accepted it. He’s quite progressive. As you can see, he’s made the adaptation very quickly to Hong Kong and that’s what the better horses do, they adapt very fast.”
Teetan’s other winners were Sing Dragon (Written Tycoon) and Solid Shalaa (Shalaa {Ire}).
Jockey Chung on target to Tony Cruz award
With Vincent Ho out injured, jockey Angus Chung is aiming to win the Tony Cruz Award for the most wins by a local jockey in a Hong Kong season. A double at Sha Tin on Saturday night took him to 33 wins this season, ahead of Ho’s 25, and putting him fifth on the all-jockeys table.
Chung is apprenticed to trainer Tony Cruz, and both wins were for his boss, so it was a nice touch. “I’m very happy and especially for boss, his horses are going well,” Chung told scmp.com. “It’s been a bit frustrating. I’ve run second and third a lot for boss this season, but today was good.”
The two wins were on Ima Single Man (Gingerbread Man) who hadn’t won for 440 days but removing the blinkers seemed to do the trick, while the other win came on Outgate (GB) (Outstrip {GB}). Ima Single Man won the 2020 G2 Karrakatta Plate prior to being exported to Hong Kong, while Outstrip is also the sire of G1 Melbourne Cup winner Gold Trip (Fr).
HKJC CEO expected softer result for Hong Kong International Sale
After reporting in yesterday’s The Wrap that the Hong Kong International Sale results were down around 30 percent on last year, Hong Kong Jockey Club CEO Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges explained in an interview in the South China Morning Post on Sunday that the results were expected given the timing. “To be honest, I expected it,” Engelbrecht-Bresges said.
“We took a gamble that we wanted to have the sale earlier, in March, so there were the new permits missing. The other thing is the performance of the sales horses the past two years was not up to standard. Then there’s the economic situation and we also lost some good horses who would have made money.”
The club lost around HK$15 million (AU$2.9 million) on the pre-sale costs of the horses who went through the ring, although they still have several horses on the books who didn’t make the sale that they can sell to help balance the books and get towards the break-even point that they aim for with each sale.
New stakes winner for Maurice in Japan
Danon McKinley (Jpn) (Maurice {Jpn}) won the G3 Chunichi Sports Sho Falcon S. at Chukyo on Saturday to become a new stakes winner for his sire. The 3-year-old colt has now won three of his five starts and is out of G1 1000 Guineas heroine Homecoming Queen (Ire) (Holy Roman Emperor {Ire}).
He is the 26th stakes winner worldwide (18th Group) for Maurice who shuttles between Arrowfield Stud and Shadai Stallion Station. Beautifully bred, Danon McKinley’s Group 1-winning dam is a half-sister to Horse of the Year and six-time Group 1 winner Dylan Thomas (Ire) (Danehill {USA}) and Group 1 winner Queens Logic (Ire) (Grand Lodge {USA}).
Danon McKinley's dam has produced six foals to race, all winners including G1 Moyglare Stud S. winner Shale (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), Group winner Danon McKinley, and stakes-placed winners First Of Spring (Ire) and Berkeley Square (Ire), both by Galileo (Ire).
