Cover image courtesy of Ashlea Brennan

Good horses can do things others can’t; they win from seemingly impossible positions and tread where other horses would fear to go. These are the attributes Paul Messara’s Clear Thinking (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) demonstrated on Saturday when facing her biggest test to date at Randwick.

After the royally bred mare stretched her record to three, The Thoroughbred Report caught up with co-trainer Messara to discuss Clear Thinking’s journey so far.

You could have been forgiven for crumpling your ticket and walking away during Race 4 at Randwick on Saturday. Messara’s Clear Thinking was sent out as the $2.10 favourite with young gun Zac Lloyd in the saddle, but with 80 metres to go, she seemed destined for the 'forgive file.'

Even if she had run second, you couldn’t help but be pleased with the determination she showed. Yet somehow, like a good horse, she got the job done, pulling in the more-than-handy Tanglewood (Smart Missile).

“She has a fantastic will to win. Good horses find a way, and it looks like she’s a good horse because Saturday was really challenging,” Messara told TTR AusNZ.

“They don’t often win with that many things going against them. She slipped at the beginning, and then it was a slowly run race. She got boxed in and had to come from behind runners, change angles at the 100 metres. She did all that, which most horses can’t cope with at the best of times.

“So yes, only the good ones can win in those scenarios, and it was an excellent effort from Clear Thinking.”

Fit for a Queen

They don’t come much better bred than Clear Thinking, and few horses in Australia can boast being bred by the late Queen Elizabeth II herself.

She is by the Champion Sire Dubawi (Ire), responsible for 277 stakes winners worldwide, including stars such as Too Darn Hot (GB), Night Of Thunder (Ire), and Zarak (Fr). Clear Thinking’s dam, Sweet Idea, is well-known to Australian audiences. A daughter of Arrowfield’s four-time Champion Sire Snitzel, Sweet Idea was bred by Arrowfield Group and Jungle Pocket.

Trained by Gai Waterhouse, Sweet Idea won eight races, including the G1 The Galaxy, the G2 Silver Slipper, the G2 Light Fingers S., the G2 Missile S., the G2 Tristarc S., and the R. Listed Magic Millions Guineas.

She was also placed in the G1 Coolmore Classic, the G1 Myer Classic, the G1 Memsie S., and the G1 Golden Slipper. A $240,000 purchase by Gai Waterhouse and James Harron Bloodstock at the 2012 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale, Sweet Idea was reoffered as a broodmare at the 2015 Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale, where Nick Vass Bloodstock paid $1.6 million.

The daughter of Snitzel found her way to England, joining the late Queen’s broodmare band. Sweet Idea’s first foal, a filly by Galileo (Ire) named Companionship (GB), won as a 2-year-old. She returned to the late Champion to produce General Idea (GB), also a winner.

Clear Thinking was Sweet Idea’s third foal. She has since produced the once-raced King’s Ginger (GB) by Kingman (GB) and a colt by Lope De Vega (Ire) last year.

Despite her blueblood pedigree, Clear Thinking was initially destined for a life as a broodmare without ever racing. However, her Northern Hemisphere breeding prompted the Messara and the Arrowfield team to take a chance on her.

“Clear Thinking came out with the intention of being a broodmare. We basically purchased her as a broodmare and that was kind of our only thinking at the time. However, because she’s Northern Hemisphere-bred, she pops up as a 4-year-old in Australia, but she’s younger than that. We lose six months because of the opposite season.

“So, we were going to wait until this season to breed her. We had kind of 12 months up our sleeves. When she came through quarantine she wasn’t in training at that stage or anything like that. Clear Thinking looked good when she arrived, and we thought, ‘Well, why don’t we just give her a little try?’

“We’ve got 12 months up our sleeve, maybe she can run? Regardless, we were obviously keen to have her as a part of our broodmare band when there wasn’t any racing upside. But it has just worked out as well as it possibly could.”

Casual character

Messara admits that Clear Thinking's potential was not immediately apparent, and he harboured no great expectations for her.

When asked if he first realised Clear Thinking could run during trackwork, Messara laughed and said, "No, definitely not. She doesn’t give you a massive feeling in track work.

“She’s a really relaxed, kind of lazy type of horse. Clear Thinking just cruises around, does everything in her own time without putting a huge amount of energy into anything.

“Clear Thinking just does what’s asked of her, and those horses are always difficult to gauge. So, it wasn’t really until we took her to the trials for the first time.

“She was impressive at the trials and showed a real willingness. The second time Clear Thinking went to the trials, she was more impressive. So, I thought, ‘Gee, you know, we have got something here.'”

Clear Thinking was set to make her debut at Newcastle. However, a spanner was thrown in the works when she drew Barrier 1 and refused to load, which ended in her withdrawal from the contest.

“She was marked as the short-price favourite on debut then drew Barrier 1. She had walked into the gates fine; we never had any trouble. But because she had the one hole, there were no other horses in the barriers at the time, and she just refused to walk in.

“They kind of only gave her two chances and didn’t put a horse next to her or anything like that, and scratched her. So, we had to take her back to the barrier trials again, where she was fine and walked in there. Clear Thinking ended up having three trials and the third was as nice as the other two, and then we were off to the races!"

The daughter of Dubawi (GB) debuted at her home track of Scone, where she bolted in by 8.2l. Returning to Scone over 1200 metres, Clear Thinking showed another dimension, winning the Class 1 by 2.25l.

Messara has been more and more impressed with each run. “That debut run at Scone was very, very good. To the eye, she ran away from them and won by over 8l. But I was more impressed with her next start at Scone.

“We kept her in fairly limited company because she has had limited experience. I wanted to make sure that we weren’t throwing her in the deep end too quickly. So, I was really happy with her second race in particular because she settled so well.

“She found the back of a horse to follow and got some cover, travelled well, peeled off, and went past them very easily. I was really happy with that.”

Stepping up to her toughest test to date at Randwick over 1200 metres, Messara was resigned to thinking the winning streak had come to an end. “Saturday was going to be her biggest test because the company was much better.

“Tanglewood, who finished second and was the second favourite, had every chance. He had clear running and he’s a pretty smart horse. So, to be able to run him down with the adversity that she went through was exceptional.

“Clear Thinking has shown a new dimension each time she’s gone to the races, and that’s what good horses do. I didn’t think she could possibly win, to be honest. I was watching the race down at Randwick on the big screen and thought, ‘Oh, well, we’ll run a nice third, and we’ll be unlucky, and that’s the end of that winning streak. We’ll go off and we’ll find somewhere else to run.'

“That was my thinking halfway through the race. Even with 80 metres to go, I thought I’m still going to run a nice second or third. There’s no chance you can win, only balancing up now with 80 to go. So, it really was impressive.”

What does the future hold?

Messara indicated that the $2 million The Kosciuszko is on the cards for Clear Thinking, pending she obtains a slot in the race based on The Everest concept. He is confident, based on what the daughter of Dubawi has done to date, that she’s a ‘black-type horse.’

“Well, you’ve got to say just on what we’ve seen so far she’d have to be a black-type horse. It would have been interesting to see what she could have done on Saturday if she had a clear run.

“There’s no doubt she’ll be up to stakes company. She’ll be taking on some stakes-class horses next preparation because The Kosciuszko is pretty much that. It is definitely on the horizon and we’ll give it due consideration because there’s plenty of prizemoney and it is a country restricted race.

“I think currently, Clear Thinking is about third in the market for it. So, we’ve got to give it plenty of consideration. Post The Kosciuszko, we’re definitely looking at black-type races for her.”

As Messara noted earlier, whether she raced or not, Clear Thinking was always going to hold plenty of appeal as a broodmare. Her success on the track has just been the icing on the cake.

“These are the types of mares Arrowfield wants to have. If this mare can win some black-type, she becomes a cornerstone to the operation. She’s by Dubawi and out of a Group 1-winning mare from that fantastic family. So, they’re the ones we want. We were keen to get back into the family, and having a nice, young mare by one of the world’s leading sires, it’s great blood and great potential for us to breed from in the future.

“It’s all very exciting and worked out well. It doesn’t always go that way, let me tell you, most of the time it doesn’t, but it has this time.”

Anonymous Japanese owner

It was Rodeo Japan-a guise for an anonymous Japanese owner-who came out on top in the bidding war for Lot 100, who boasts a strong European pedigree.

Trained by Aidan O'Brien on behalf of the Coolmore partners, Delphinia finished second in the G1 Prix de Royallieu as well as the G1 British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes. She also finished fifth in the Oaks and signed off on her career with a Listed success over 1m 5f, showing the stamina that is deeply desired in this part of the world.

Delphinia has already come up with the goods in Japan. Her 3-year-old filly named Best Me Ever (Jpn) (No Nay Never) won over 1m1f in Tokyo and she also has a 2-year-old by Kizuna (Jpn) in training here.

Kitasan Black is not doing too badly himself. He remains one of the most in-demand sires at the Shadai Stallion Station and has plenty to boast about following the exploits of Japan's most famous son Equinox (Jpn) last year.

While the purchaser was keen to remain anonymous-something that is quite common in Japan-there is no doubting that, whoever the person is, they have plenty of friends judging by the amount of people connected with the buyer who rushed out to pose for photos with the record-breaker.

That horse, like 179 others in this sale, represents Katsumi Yoshida's Northern Farm. As is customary for this sale, Yoshida spoke to the press almost immediately after the hammer had fallen on the last yearling through the ring, where he admitted to being genuinely surprised by such a buoyant sale.

“They were very surprising results,” he said. “This year's results are better than last year which I am truly surprised about.”

Of the 233 horses offered, 224 were sold, which represented a clearance rate of 96 per cent –down 1 per cent on last year. A remarkable Yen 14,497,000,000 (AU$133,633,487) was traded, which was up 8.5 per cent on last year. The average was Yen 64,720,000 (AU$596,589)–up 4.6 per cent on last year's trade.

Asked what he thought were the driving factors for such a strong sale, Yoshida replied, “The Japanese stock market is very high right now and I think that sort of thing has an influence. Also, Japanese-bred horses are performing very well all over the world and that is another big reason.

“There has been a lot of interest from international media on this sale as well, and we are very pleased to promote this sale. The Thoroughbred Daily News always covers this sale every year which is a very good promotion for us in the world horse racing industry. So many people can focus on this sale because it is the first yearling sale in the world and it commands a lot of attention.”

He added, “I am very much looking forward to the foal session tomorrow because the quality is very high there as well. I think the level is going to be incredibly high tomorrow. We are very much looking forward to it.”

US owner Mike Repole spends $2.6million on five Japanese yearlings

While the lion's share of the lots offered on day one stayed in Japan, it wasn't an entirely domestic event with American bloodstock agent Alex Solis spending Yen 287 million (AU$2,646,427) on five yearlings on behalf of owner Mike Repole.

It didn't take Solis and his team long to get in on the action when signing for a Contrail (Jpn) colt for Yen 50 million (AU$461,105) followed by a ¥41 million (AU$378,143) colt by Champion US sprinter Drefong.

Solis went on to buy another Drefong for Yen 50 million, this time a filly, and shared how he had hoped to pick up something by the sire at the sale.

Speaking about his haul, the agent said, “Contrail is one of the best horses that we have seen over here in a long time. That colt comes from a nice American family, which is great, and the dam Sound Barrier (Jpn) (Agnes Digital) was a very good filly here as well.

“We bought a Drefong out of a half-sister to Ushba Tesoro (Jpn) (Orfevre {Jpn}), who won the Dubai World Cup last year. We were actually looking for a Drefong so it worked out well because we bought another. He's had a really good start over here. The second one is out of Tammy The Torpedo (More Than Ready), who was a really good race filly for Chad Brown. If you look at the pedigree, the mare has been to War Front, Deep Impact (Jpn), Heart's Cry (Jpn) and Kizuna (Jpn). I just wonder did she need the speed of Drefong.”

Lot 122, a filly by Nadal, headed the spend at Yen 78 million (AU$719,472) and the five-strong haul was completed by a Yen 68 million (AU$627,081) Kizuna filly with a deep American pedigree.

Solis continued, “We also bought a Kizuna filly out of Breeders' Cup winner Ginger Punch (Awesome Again). She has a huge pedigree. It's a long-term play. Hopefully she can run but there is a bit of a back-up plan with her.

“Our pick of the fillies in this sale was the Nadal that we bought. She looks like an American filly. She looks fast and is out of a Lord Kanaloa (Jpn) mare. Awesome specimen–she's a big, strong type.”

While Solis had made plenty of trips to Japan previously, Monday marked his first time buying at the sale, and he revealed that his owner Repole couldn't have been more excited to have added the Japanese recruits to the time.

He said, “I've made lots of different trips to Japan but this is my first time at the sale. Mike is enamoured with Japanese racing. You know, all the stallions get a good chance and the mares as well. They focus so much on quality over here and that's why they really excel. He's been studying Japanese racing for a long time and could probably tell you more about the form over here than I could. It's the middle of the night in America but he was on the phone for every horse we bought. It's pretty exciting.”

Cover image courtesy of the Japan Racing Association

There was early interest from an Australian perspective with Lot 24. This colt by Epiphaneia out of the G1 Irish Oaks winner Even So (Ire) (Camelot {GB}) was sold by Northern Farm to Fujita Susumu for 340,000,00 Yen ($AU3.132 million).

This has been a family competitive at the highest level for generations, its other members including the big race winners Dr Devious (Ire), Shinko King (Ire), Dancing Rain (Ire) (Danehill Dancer {Ire}), Maybe (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and Saxon Warrior (Jpn).

There has been further Australian success in this family - the G1 Emirates S. winner Awesome Rock whilst Rose Of Jericho’s grandam Cambrienne (Fr) (Sicambre {Fr}) is the sixth dam of Pierro.

Epiphaneia also has a couple of Australian connections with his Group 3 winning grandam Kirov Premiere (GB) (Sadler’s Wells {USA}) also being the grandam of Widden Stud’s G3 Zeditave S. winner Overshare and the dual Group 3 winning mare Irithea (Snitzel)

Lot 169, also consigned by Northern Farm, was another yearling of interest in regards to Australian relations - the daughter of the G1 Takamatsunomiya Kinen winner Mr Melody (USA) being out of the four times winner Speak Softly (Jpn) (Alkaased {USA}) whose grandam Laiyl (Ire) (Nureyev {USA}) is the grandam of the G1 Queensland Derby winner Kukeracha (NZ) (Night Of Thunder {Ire}) and the G3 Keith F. Nolan Classic winner Cameo (Shamardal {USA}).

He sold for 21,000,000 Yen (AU$133,494), from the draft of Northern Farm to Nagayama Yoshio.

Arrowfield stallions represented

Two Arrowfield based Japanese bred stallions were well represented at the sale - the proven Maurice and the younger Admire Mars.

The former has already enjoyed good local success with nine stakes winners amongst his total of 28 including two of his five Group 1 winners - Hitotsu and Mazu.

Gallery: Two Arrowfield based Japanese bred stallions were well represented at the sale, standing at Arrowfield

Lot 127 was the highlight lot for Maurice, a rare white colt out of the three times winner Marble Cake (Jpn) (King Kamehameha {Jpn}) fetching 190,000,000 Yen ($AU1.75 million) - sold by Northern Farm to Fujita Susumu.

His grandam is also grandam of Japan’s favourite white horse - the triple Group 1 winner Sodashi (Jpn) (Kurofune {USA}).

Also from Northern Farm was Lot 37 purchased by Musashi Racing for 60,000,000 Yen ($AU552,891) out of a half-sister to the Group winners Renee’s Titan (USA) (Bernstein {USA}), Fashion Alert (USA) (Old Fashioned {USA}), Strong Titan (USA) (Regal Ransom {USA}) and Gilded Mirror (Jpn) (Orfevre {Jpn}).

Sold for 48,000,000 Yen ($AU442,309) to the Maple Club was Lot 5, Maurice’s third best seller for the day. The filly is out of a half-sister to the Listed winner Wild Wind (Ger) (Danehill Dancer {Ire}) from the family of the European Champion 2YO Filly Rumplestiltskin (Ire) (Danehill {USA}).

The first Australian bred progeny of Admire Mars are yearlings whilst he has had three winners amongst his first nine runners in Japan. He served 72 mares at Arrowfield last spring with 53 weanlings and 60 yearlings on the ground.

He had five yearlings sell with the highest price - Lot 2 purchased by Ohzora Kiakau from Northern Farm for 84,000,000 Yen ($AU774,042). The chestnut is out of the G1 Gran Premio Seleccion de Potranacas winner Sankalpa (Arg) (True Course {USA}).

Lot 48 was the second best seller for Admire Mars - a 54,000,000 Yen ($AU497,533) filly sold by Northern Farm to FA Racing. She is out of the G3 Prix du Calvados winner Queen Bee (Fr) (Le Havre {Ire}) from the family of the Group 1 winners Infallible (GB) (Pivotal {GB}) and Veracious (GB) (Frankel {GB}).

St Mark's Basilica and Satono Aladdin

Another shuttler represented was Coolmore Stud’s St Mark’s Basilica (Fr) who had just the one entry - Lot 96 sold by Northern Farm to Aakimoto Tatsuya for 70,000,000 Yen ($AU644,976).

The bay colt is out of Carta Ganadora (Arg) (Tapit {USA}) who earned the title of Argentina’s Champion 2YO with her three victories in Group 1 company.

Also of interest for Coolmore was Lot 119, a 60,000,000 Yen ($AU552,968) colt sold by Shadai Farm to Reiko Hara - a grey colt by Justify (USA) out of the dual Group winner Miss Marissa (USA) (He’s Had Enough {USA}) whose grandam Inish Glora (Can) (Regal Classic {Can}) was crowned Canadian Champion Female Turf Horse on two occasions.

Meanwhile Rich Hill Stud’s Satono Aladdin (Jpn) had one pass in and another - Lot 241, a half-brother to the seven times winner Your History (Jpn) (Rulership) sold by Northern Farm to Tsuyoshi Matsuyama for 25,000,000 Yen ($AUD230,265).

There was Australian form in the pedigree of Lot 45, a 98,000,000 yen ($AUD 902,937) purchase for Life House Co Ltd from Northern Farm. The bay colt is out of the triple Listed winning mare Liliside (Fr) (American Post {GB}) whose seven winners include the 2019 WS Cox Plate winner Lys Gracieux (Jpn) (Heart’s Cry {Jpn}).

Another of interest was Lot 40, a Silver State (Jpn) half-sister to the Listed Elfin S. winner Light Back (Jpn) (Kizuna {Jpn}) sold by Lake Villa Far to TN Racing for 62,000,000 Yen ($AU571,246). Her dam In The Spotlight (Ire) is a three times winning daughter of Exceed And Excel.

Cover image courtesy of Ashlea Brennan

Trials at Hawkesbury resumed after Friday's meeting was washed out due to track conditions. However, Monday was far from sunny, with 16 heats held in the gloom on a Heavy 10 track.

The lightly raced Frank Express (Frankel {GB}), from the Sara Ryan yard, won Heat 1 over 1200 metres narrowly from Casanova (Stratum Star) and Miracle Spin (GB) (Pivotal {GB}). Ridden by Adam Hyeronimus, it was the second trial for the son of Frankel (GB), who hadn’t raced since September last year.

Frank Express won twice at Newcastle and Wyong in his first racing preparation after having multiple trials for Bjorn Baker before entering Ryan’s care. He is the first foal from the Casamento (Ire) mare Quality Moment (Ire), who is a half-sister to the G2 Temple S. and G3 Cornwallis S. victor Hot Streak (Ire). Hot Streak was also placed in the G1 King’s Stand S. and the G1 Middle Park S.

The son of Frankel was a $280,000 purchase by Viribright Racing from the draft of Segenhoe Stud at the 2021 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale.

Ryan then won Heat 2 with the Star Witness mare Roma Avenue, who was also ridden by Hyeronmius for a 0.47l success over Denman Star (Denman). Heat 2 also contained the G3 Adrian Knox S. victress Arts (Xtravangent {NZ}). The Edward Cummings-trained mare finished sixth over 4l away in the 980-metre contest.

Capitalist colt shines in overcast weather

Despite the cold and grim conditions, the Matthew Dale-trained Gravitas (Capitalist) was scorching in Heat 4. Ridden by Tyler Schiller, the unraced 2-year-old won the 980-metre contest by an impressive 4.09l.

Trailing behind the son of Capitalist were Astrogazer (Divine Prophet) and Sasterlina (Astern). Initially trained by Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott, Gravitas had trialled twice for that operation, with his best effort being a placing behind Highness (Snitzel) at Randwick-Kensington.

Gravitas was a $130,000 purchase by the James Harron Bloodstock Colt Partnership from the draft of Kitchwin Hills at the 2023 Inglis Classic Yearling Sale.

He is the final foal from the retired mare, Rare Insight (NZ) (O’Reilly {NZ}), a three-time winner whose biggest success came in the G2 Stan Fox S. The colt is a half-brother to G1 Coolmore Classic victress Steps In Time (Danehill Dancer {Ire}) and hails from the family of Espiona (Extreme Choice), who also claims the Coolmore Classic amongst her seven victories.

Baker stable firing

Warwick Farm horseman Bjorn Baker has been in sensational form and looks to have another promising type on his hands with Majorca Sunset (The Autumn Sun), who comfortably accounted for his rivals in Heat 5.

The 2-year-old gelding, ridden by Rachel King, won by 2.7l from Zounaka (Zousain), with Bluebird Bay (The Autumn Sun) and More Than Bubbles (Nicconi) rounding out the small field.

Majorca Sunset has trialled thrice. His first trial saw him placed behind Storm Boy (Justify {USA}) at Rosehill before spelling for 18 weeks and returning with another placed effort at the venue before Monday’s success.

The gelding was a $110,000 purchase by Bjorn Baker Racing and Clarke Bloodstock (FBAA) from the draft of Musk Creek Farm at the 2023 Inglis Premier Yearling Sale. Majorca Sunset is from the Deep Impact (Jpn) mare Rosa Bonita (Jpn), who is a daughter of the dual Group 3 winner Roza Robata (USA) (Fire Maker {USA}).

Later on the program, in Heat 8, Bjorn Baker sent out the unraced Castle Of Cards (Castelvecchio). With Rachel King in the saddle, the filly sat outside the leader, Hang Out (Alabama Express) in the Yulong colours, and surged past her.

Running strongly into second was the Annabel Neasham-trained Fejer Dawn (Justify {USA}), while Hang Out held onto third. Brainiac (So You Think {NZ}) from the Brad Widdup stable narrowly edged the James Cummings-trained runner Magenta (Too Darn Hot {GB}), who never had clear room hard on the fence.

Castle Of Cards is from the first crop of Arrowfield Stud’s Castelvecchio. She was a $130,000 purchase by Bjorn Baker Racing and Clarke Bloodstock (FBAA) from the draft of Bhima Thoroughbreds at the 2023 Inglis Classic Yearling Sale.

The filly is out of the Exceed And Excel mare Dance Card, who won as a 2-year-old and is a half-sister to the classy Kaepernick (Fastnet Rock), winner of the G3 Southern Cross S.

Dance Card is also the dam of the Group 3-placed 2-year-old, Rome (Pierro). Her Street Boss (USA) colt was sold to Ricky Yiu for $375,000 at this year’s Inglis Classic Yearling Sale, and she returned to Castelvecchio last spring.

Flynn is like fast!

Showtime gelding He’s In Like Flynn dominated Heat 9. Ridden by Tyler Schiller, the Blake Ryan-trained 2-year-old was clear at the 150-metre mark and continued to build on that margin, ultimately posting a 5.53l thrashing of his rivals in the 900-metre contest.

Putin (NZ) (Super Seth) and Stratafy (Stratum Star) fought out third and second. Making considerable ground given her position was Hinune (Hellbent), who finished fifth. The Ace High filly Canny Queen (NZ) was beaten by a big margin but stuck to her work solidly.

A sales ring veteran, He’s In Like Flynn was pinhooked by Maluka Thoroughbreds for $50,000 from the draft of Barador Stud at the 2022 Inglis Australian Weanling Sale. Maluka Thoroughbreds presented him at the 2023 Inglis Premier Yearling Sale where T Nolen paid $80,000.

Under his Nolen Racing banner, the son of Showtime was presented at last year’s Inglis Ready2Race Sale where Newgate Bloodstock paid $350,000. He’s In Like Flynn is the third foal from the Domesday mare Damselle, who won twice and is from the family of the Australian Champion 2-Year-Old Microphone and the Champion Sire Written Tycoon.

Damselle’s filly by Showtime was sold for $8000 to Gary Mudgway Bloodstock at this year’s Magic Millions National Weanling Sale. She was served by Widden Stud’s G1 Blue Diamond victor Written By.

Jamarni gets the job done

Jamarni (Pride Of Dubai) was a comfortable winner of Heat 10 for Robert and Luke Price. The 2-year-old gelding, ridden by Robbie Downey, didn’t appear to be totally at ease on the Heavy 10 conditions but had enough in hand to defeat Monrainia (NZ) (Vadamos {Fr}), who was solid to the line. The Microphone filly Noises finished third, ahead of Boom Smash Opera (Brave Smash {Jpn}), who made nice ground from the back.

Robert and Luke Price have a knack for uncovering a nice horse, and Jamarni is from the family of their talented but ill-fated Count De Rupee (Real Impact {Jpn}), who won seven races, including the G2 Victory S. Jamarni is out of the One Cool Cat (USA) mare Ailuros (NZ), who won twice and was purchased for $440,000 by Dean Hawthorne Bloodstock from the 2015 Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale. Ailuros is a half-sister to Estelle Collection (NZ) (Stravinsky {USA}), dam of the Australian Horse of the Year Lankan Rupee (Redoute’s Choice).

Ailuros’ filly by King’s Legacy was sold to Group One Racing for $25,000 at the recent Inglis Great Southern Sale, and she returned to the stallion last spring. Jamarni was an $80,000 purchase by his trainers from the draft of Bhima Thoroughbreds at the 2023 Inglis Premier Yearling Sale.

Smart winner for Tassort

Newgate Farm’s first-season sire Tassort has had a wonderful season with his first runners and unveiled another promising type in the Allan Kehoe-trained Prince Of Sorts in Heat 11 on Monday morning.

The 2-year-old gelding, with Reece Jones in the saddle, dominated the 800-metre contest, winning by 3.86l from Zouking (Zousain) and the third-placed Graeci (Magna Grecia {Ire}), who caught the eye with her strong effort towards the line.

Prince Of Sorts was purchased by his trainer for $22,000 from the draft of Newgate Farm at the 2023 Inglis Classic Yearling Sale. The son of Tassort was reoffered at the 2023 Inglis Ready2Race Sale but failed to meet his $80,000 reserve.

He is the sixth foal from the proven mare Workhard, a daughter of Red Ransom (USA). She is the dam of the Group 3 winner Arbeitsam (Snitzel), who was also placed in the G1 Doncaster H., and the Listed-winning and Group 2-placed Payroll (Not A Single Doubt).

First season sires on strike

Annabel Neasham was represented by Skeptical, a daughter of the Kitchwin Hills-based Dubious, in Heat 12 on Monday morning. The filly, ridden by Tyler Schiller, was mid-field before switching to the outside upon entering the straight, narrowly winning from a game Shadashi (Shamus Award) in a tight finish.

Skeptical was a $30,000 purchase by Blue Thoroughbreds, Annabel Neasham Racing, and Sheamus Mills Bloodstock (FBAA) from the draft of Clarke and Croft Bloodstock at the 2023 Inglis Classic Yearling Sale. The daughter of Dubious is from the lightly raced Stravinsky (USA) mare Victoire Celebre (USA), who hails from a prominent international black-type family. Victoire Celebre is also the dam of the Listed Parramatta Cup winner Arab Dawn (GB) (Dalakhani {Ire}), who also won the Duke of Edinburgh S. at Royal Ascot.

Lovatsville-based stallion Royal Meeting (Ire) also got on the board on Monday morning, courtesy of the Kevin May-trained Royal Defense in Heat 13. The colt, with Jean Van Overmeire in the saddle, showed a good turn of foot to hold off Resume (Written By) by 1.03l.

The fourth-placed Initiate (Hellbent) caught the eye, finishing under a hold. Royal Defense was sold to Best Gait Racing for $2000 at the Inglis May Yearling Sale. He is the second foal from the Bel Esprit mare Royal Duty, who is from the family of Darley Europe's stallion Territories (Ire).

Havasu puts in the big strides

The bottle green silks of Yulong were carried to success by Havasu Falls (Lonhro) in Heat 14. Trained by Annabel Neasham, Havasu Falls, with Tyler Schiller aboard, put in big strides to catch Torquin (Toronado {Ire}) and Sun Beauty (Rock Hero).

Havasu Falls is the third foal from the unraced Redoute’s Choice mare Arizona Belle (Ire), who was purchased by Yulong for $375,000 from the 2019 Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale. Arizona Belle is a half-sister to G1 Melbourne Cup and G1 Australian Cup winner Fiorente (Ire), who was the Champion Stayer in Australia.

The Irish-bred daughter of Redoute’s Choice is also the dam of three-time winner Aztec State (Pierro), who was placed in the Listed TAB Trophy. Arizona Belle has a rising 2-year-old filly by Yulong’s Lucky Vega (Ire), who was sold for $90,000 to Wilde Racing at this year’s Inglis Premier Yearling Sale. She foaled a colt by Lucky Vega in the spring and was served by Yulong’s Diatonic (Jpn).

Cover image courtesy of Sportpix

Inducted into the New Zealand Racing Hall Of Fame in 2012 and into the Australian Racing Hall Of Fame in 2019, Brent Thomson - so fondly referred to as "The Babe" - is known for many great wins; most notably for taking out four of the five G1 W.S Cox Plates run between 1975 and 1979.

He was just 17 when he won the first of those aboard Fury's Order (NZ), also enjoying success on Family Of Man, So Called and the amazing Dulcify (NZ) (Decies {GB}) who remains one of the biggest 'what might of been' stories in Australian racing.

Brent enjoyed success not only in Australasia but across the world. After securing three local jockey's premierships he headed to the UK where he rode over a hundred winners including the 1984 G1 Grosser Preis von Baden aboard Strawberry Road.

Also riding in Asia, Brent rode over 2500 winners in 27 different countries and has also worked as the Australian representative for New Zealand Bloodstock - and at the age of 66 is back in the saddle riding track work for Ciaron Maher, a good effort after 24 years out of the saddle!

What advice would you give to a 20-year-old just starting out in racing today?

“Don't look at racing as just a job, if you treat it like that you won't last and you won't climb up the ladder and be successful. You have to put your heart into it and have a love of and respect for horses.

“Working in racing is not for the sort of people who get a pony on a whim and get sick of it after five minutes - horses are not like bikes, you can't stick them in the garage once you are through with them!

“All young people have whims but to succeed in racing you have to be passionate about horses.”

Are there any figures in the racing industry who you feel deserve more recognition for their contribution?

“From a jockey's point of view, those hard working people at the barriers. They are a pretty tough lot, horses can be dangerous - they can do silly things, get an attack of claustrophobia and go berserk and the barrier staff are the ones in the firing line.

“They are getting more praise these days but remain the unsung heroes to a degree.

“I like seeing the grooms showcased more these days - there are a lot of bad things about social media but that is one of the good things; we are seeing more of them and recognising that they are such an important part of the racing chain.

“And then there are farriers - there is that old saying 'no foot, no horse' and that is so true; trainers like Ciaron Maher and Paul Preusker are very big on hoof health.”

What has been the biggest obstacle you faced in your career?

“I have been very lucky that due to my success there have not been a lot of difficulties though there was the pressure that I had to be successful every year.”

Riding in other countries also presented its challenges - “in each different land I had to break in which needed a certain amount of luck. Case in point is Hong Kong - I have seen many really top class jockeys not quite make it there because things didn't go their way straight away; if you don't have instant success in new places you can be judged very quickly.”

Brent also recalls comments on his riding style when he returned from his UK and European sojourns - “I came back riding shorter with my toe in the stirrup - I could see that was the way the future of riding was heading but there was resistance to it.. but I stood by my convictions.”

What would you do differently if you were starting again?

“Looking back at my career, I see a lack of discipline in the early days - I did things I would not get away with in this day and age,” he said, open about being a drinker - something he gave up around 20 months ago.

“I don't do it any more and I wish I didn't then. But there were no managers then so not as much guidance as there is now - and no social media to get you into trouble.

“One of the great improvements, and this is true with sporting people across the board, is the support systems now in place in regards to mental health.

“Some jockeys can go through rough periods where everything goes wrong and in my day your master or boss didn't have the time or the knowledge to deal with that. But now there is professional help which is so important from a confidence point of view - I just didn't have access to that sort of thing.”

Which people influenced your career the most?

“In my youth, my father Kevin Thomson - it is not always ideal to work for your father but it was good for me in so many ways.

“When I came to Australia - Colin Hayes who was an amazing influence on me.

“And then there was Robert Sangster who was a great part of my life, he took me to England and opened the doors of opportunity for me over there.”

One of Brent's major successes in England was aboard Sangster's horse Gildoran (Ire) in the 1985 G1 Ascot Gold Cup.

“Those men are the major three for me.”

What drives you to continue working in the racing industry?

“Looking back I only ever had one ambition, to be a jockey, I'd say it was in my blood - I never looked in any other direction and I was not educated to be anything else.

“I don't see myself ever wandering away from racing,” he said, still passionate about the issues that face the sport.

“Beyond Covid the anti racing, anti gambling sentiments have increased so rapidly and how racing is standing up to that is a major concern.”

Brent has a great idea in regards to public perception of horse racing, noting that many see us as just rich people spending and winning large amounts of money - “that we take, take, take!”

“I'd love to see racing looked upon favourably and one way to do that is to contribute more to charity which is a great way to garner community support. We need to look outside our bubble; racing already does great things but we can do even more.”