'Lazzura was the one we wanted': unbeaten filly excites Surace

Cover image courtesy of Ashlea Brennan

Scone’s Listed Woodlands S. has been a nursery for outstanding fillies, with the likes of the I Am Invincible-sired pair Libertini and In Secret using the race as a platform for further success. On Saturday, the 12th edition appears to have produced a filly who could very well follow in their hoofprints.

The Chris Waller-trained Lazzura, a daughter of Arrowfield Stud’s four-time Champion Snitzel, hinted at a huge future with a narrow yet impressive victory over Satin Stiletto (Written Tycoon).

Tommy Berry, who partnered Lazzura, knows a thing or two about the Woodlands S., having guided the late Libertini (I Am Invincible), a multiple Group 2 winner and multiple Group 1 placegetter, to success in the 2019 edition of the race. More recently, Berry guided the dual Group 1 winner, In Secret (I Am Invincible) to success in 2022.

After Lazzura’s victory, Berry told Racenet, “I loved the way this filly pinned her ears back and showed an impressive turn of foot.

“You don’t want to get carried away too much, but this is a good horse’s race. I won it on Libertini and In Secret, so the top fillies can come through Scone. I think she’ll be even better next season.”

Charlie Duckworth, racing manager and assistant trainer to Waller, indicated that Lazzura would likely be spelled and aimed towards the prestigious ‘Princess Series’ in the spring.

Understandably, the comments were music to Ricky Surace, who owns Lazzura under his B2B Thoroughbreds banner.

The Thoroughbred Report caught up with Surace after Lazzura’s victory to learn more about this untapped filly.

Had to have her

As a daughter of the incomparable Snitzel, sire of 144 stakes winners and crowned Australia’s Champion Sire on four occasions, Lazzura had plenty of appeal on that fact alone. However, she also boasts a classy and diverse female lineage.

Lazzura is the third foal from Laguna Azzurra (Jpn), a daughter of Japan’s Champion Older Horse, Heart’s Cry (Jpn). The late sire is responsible for 66 stakes winners worldwide and is celebrated in Australia through the deeds of his outstanding daughter Lys Gracieux (Jpn), who stunned crowds with her G1 Cox Plate victory.

As a broodmare sire, Heart’s Cry’s daughters have produced Tagaloa, a name well-known to Australians, having won the G1 Blue Diamond S. and the G3 CS Hayes S. before retiring to Yulong in Victoria. Additionally, Heart’s Cry is the broodmare sire of the brilliant Efforia (Jpn), victor of the G1 Tenno Sho (Autumn), the G1 Arima Kinen, and the G1 Satsuki Sho.

There is also plenty of class on Lazzura’s page. Her dam, Laguna Azzurra, is a half-sister to the multiple Group 3 winner Seewind (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}), while Laguna Azzurra’s first foal, Portorosa (Not A Single Doubt), showed ability by placing in the Listed Lonhro Plate as a 2-year-old.

These facts and her physicality led Surace to declare Lazzura “was the one we wanted.”

“We actually identified Lazzura on her pedigree and genetics, basically as soon as the catalogue for the 2023 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale was released.

“Based on that pedigree work we did, we went to Arrowfield and did an on-farm parade. We were there only to see her (Lazzura), but we looked at the entire draft, and as soon as she came out, she had a lot of presence about her.

“Lazzura was extremely pretty, had a great walk and way about her, and she reminded us of another Snitzel filly we had a lot of luck with in Perignon, who won a Group 2.”

Perignon, like Lazzura, was from a Japanese-bred mare, Last Blaze (Jpn) (Narita Brian {Jpn}), and found her best as a 3-year-old, winning the G2 Light Fingers S.

“We like to see improvement from when we see them on the farm to when they reach the sale grounds, and we thought Lazzura had just excelled since we viewed her; she came on in leaps and bounds.

“When we viewed her again, we knew she was certainly one of our top picks in the entire sale, and we were so lucky to come home with her.”

Lazzura was by no means cheap. Offered by Arrowfield Stud, Surace had to stretch to $500,000 to secure the daughter of Snitzel under his B2B Thoroughbreds banner at last year’s Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale.

Pleasant surprise

Surace admits it is a surprise to see Lazzura racing and winning as a 2-year-old. However, after her triumph in the Woodlands S., the promising filly has been sent for a spell in preparation for the impending spring.

Lazzura had her first trial in mid-March at Rosehill. Despite finishing last of the nine runners, Surace and the Waller stable felt there was plenty of merit in the effort. Surace admits he expected the master trainer would then pull the plug and return the filly to spell at her owners' picturesque Southern Highlands property.

“I remember after her first trial; she went quite well. I know it says she ran last, but it was really just a good educational trial. I said to Sophie Baker (client and media relations/EA to Chris Waller), ‘Oh, can you just let us know when she’s (Lazzura) coming home,’ and she just replied, ‘Yeah, sure, I’ll let you know.’

“And then she never came home.”

Instead, Lazzura headed to Kembla Grange, where she broke her maiden narrowly, beating Megastar Heart (Star Turn), who later franked the form by winning at Randwick-Kensington. Lazzura then proceeded to Scone, where she claimed her maiden stakes success, maintaining her unbeaten record.

“Here we are about eight weeks later, and she’s a stakes-winning 2-year-old. It’s a great thrill. Lazzura is not even a fraction of what she will be in 12 to 18 months' time physically.

“But we are over the moon to have basically had the job already done at such an early stage.”

Understandably hesitant to put Lazzura in the same category as Libertini and In Secret, Surace is confident that the daughter of Snitzel has plenty of improvement to come.

“It’s a big call, but if she’s half as good as what they are (Libertini and In Secret), we’ll be sitting in a very good position. The Woodlands S. is a very good horse’s race, and she has so much improvement in her.

“It’s actually crazy. Even just looking at Lazzura in the yard, she looked like a little baby compared to all the other horses, and honestly, she has no idea how to win. On Saturday, she really had no idea how to put them away. So, that’s always such a good sign and shows they have a lot of untapped ability.

“So, hopefully she can continue, and she’s definitely in the right stable to do so.”

B2B Thoroughbreds is no stranger to success, but even at these early days, Lazzura is exciting Surace. “We’ve been lucky enough to race some really good horses over the years.

“But I don’t think I’ve seen a horse, at least one we’ve owned, come along in leaps and bounds like she has. We’ve never had a horse win a maiden and then go straight to a stakes race and win in the space of two starts. So, she’s certainly one of the most exciting horses we’ve ever had, and we’re going to have a lot of fun with her.”

Investment paying off

The success of Lazzura has been a relief for Surace and B2B Thoroughbreds, who invested heavily in new yearlings over the past few sales seasons. “This year we have been lucky enough to have a few really nice 2-year-olds.

“It’s a great way to start the season because we really went out and invested heavily. It’s good our investments are being rewarded.”

Surace admits the investments are long-term but emphasises that the core of buying horses is the love of racing. “We just love racing horses. For us, we have our own broodmares, and we like to breed our own and race our product, but it’s also very important to bring in new blood. That’s why we went out and bought yearlings.

“Our goal and hope is we’ll race them, and they’ll be successful, but we try to buy fillies that have decent pedigrees because if they aren’t the best racehorses, you can still get a decent return on investment as broodmares. So, the long-term play is certainly broodmares, but we probably wouldn’t breed out of a Group 1 winner.

“There’s such a massive market to sell those horses as broodmare prospects. If they’re not Group 1 winners but nice mares with decent pedigrees, then we’ll likely retain them.”

Value sires

Surace also participated in our recent Value Sire Series. For the category of proven sires priced at $55,000 and over, Surace nominates Widden Stud’s Zoustar and Yarraman Park’s Champion Sire I Am Invincible.

“I think Zoustar, even though he’s standing at $275,000 (inc GST), is probably one of the most exciting stallions we’ve seen in Australia in the last 20 years. His results on the track and in the sales ring are second to none.

“He consistently throws a very well-balanced, athletic horse with plenty of bone and substance. Obviously, he’s had a stellar year, and I felt the yearlings sold this year were Zoustar’s best.

“I think we can expect to see his fee potentially increase in the very near future.”

I Am Invincible, alongside Zoustar and Extreme Choice, is one of Australia’s most expensive sires, all standing at the fee of $275,000 (inc GST).

“I Am Invincible is obviously pretty self-explanatory. If you get the right product, which nine out of 10 times you do, you’re going to do extremely well in the sales ring. Personally, I’d prefer to breed a filly because statistically his filly stats are a little bit better than his colt stats.

“But nonetheless you’re going to have every chance in the sale, and more importantly, you’re going to have every chance of producing a potential champion racehorse.”

For the proven sires priced at $40,000 or less, Surace picks Newgate Farm’s rising star Tassort. Through the deeds of his Group 1-winning daughter, Manaal, the son of Brazen Beau saw a fee increase from $11,000 (inc GST) to $38,500 (inc GST).

“I think Tassort is probably the obvious one. I feel he’s incredibly well-priced at $38,500 (inc GST). I think he’s great value, and the types he leaves are extraordinary.

“Also, when you take out the mares sent by Emirates Park, they have probably only been an average crop of mares, and the results have been phenomenal. Manaal has been the standout, but I certainly expect that to grow in the very near future.

“He is so untapped, and the future is very bright for Tassort.”

Surace’s first-season sire pick follows the trend of those without runners and elects Coolmore’s Home Affairs. A dual Group 1-winning son of I Am Invincible, Home Affairs is standing this season for a reduced fee of $82,500 (inc GST).

“I’d probably say Home Affairs. His weanlings are pretty extraordinary. Home Affairs has plenty going for him; he’s an incredibly good-looking son of I Am Invincible, and he stamps his stock.

“Another I quite like is Acrobat. I thought from the small sample size of weanlings I saw at the Inglis Australian Weanling Sale they’ve got an abundance of quality and strength. I think he’s incredibly well-priced for $13,750 (inc GST).

“For the product Acrobat is delivering, I think he will definitely leave some nice early runners.”

Also impressing Surace is Kia Ora Stud’s G1 Golden Slipper winner Farnan. “I’d have to say the most precocious yearlings I’ve seen by a second or third-season sire have been Farnan’s. His yearlings are in the mould of him, and B2B Thoroughbreds were unfortunately underbidders on him as a yearling, so just looking at his yearlings, it reminds us so much of him.

“They’ve got so much speed and power, and he’s probably in my opinion the favourite to be crowned the Champion First-Season Sire when his progeny run, just based on looks.

“I definitely think that people are going to have a lot of fun with the Farnans', especially if they bred them in the second and third seasons.”

Farnan, a son of Not A Single Doubt, has remained at $55,000 (inc GST) this season.