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By Wandering Eyes · Posted
Group Three performer Master Brutus (NZ) (Swiss Ace) showed he has lost none of his class over his 14-month hiatus from racing when victorious in his 1000m trial at Avondale on Tuesday. The four-year-old son of Swiss Ace hasn’t been sighted on raceday since his unplaced run in last year’s Gr.1 Levin Cassic (1600m), with the gelding undergoing surgery before having another setback later in the year. “It is nice to have him back, he has had a couple of setback injuries and has been off the scene for quite a while,” trainer Sophia Nolan said. “After the Levin Classic he had a bone chip taken out. He came back and then he had another little injury setback. “We let him have a good break and he has come back stronger and is keeping nice and sound. “We sent him down to Alex Oliveira and he went on his water treadmill for three of four weeks. He came back to us and has done a lot of slow build-up and a lot of swimming. “He is about 50 kilos heavier than what he was last year, he has filled out a lot and he really looks like a sprinter now.” Master Brutus led from start to finish in his heat and Nolan said she was relieved to see him feature so prominently in his first public appearance in more than a year. “It was a big relief to see that, and he enjoyed it, he pricked his ears,” she said. Master Brutus was a standout for Nolan last season, winning one and placing in five of his seven starts, including runner-up in the Gr.3 Almanzor Trophy (1200m) and Listed Mufhasa Stakes (1400m). A return to stakes company is the ultimate goal, but Nolan said she will take a quiet approach with her stable star’s return. “We just want to start him off in a nice rating 75 race and see what the weather does a little bit,” she said. “There is one in Pukekohe in a couple of weeks and there are a couple of other options like Ruakaka. It think we will take it race-by-race and see how he goes.” View the full article -
By Wandering Eyes · Posted
James McDonald will have a strong chance to continue his winning run this season in Group One races after being confirmed as the rider for I Wish I Win (NZ) (Savabeel) in Saturday week’s $1.5 million Gr.1 Doomben 10,000 (1200m) in Brisbane. McDonald, who claimed another six elite races over the recently finished Sydney autumn carnival, took his first ride on I Wish I Win in the Gr.1 T J Smith Stakes (1200m) at Randwick last month following an injury-ridden lead-up to the race by regular rider Luke Nolen. Nolen missed more than two months of racing when broke a rib and suffered internal bleeding after a trackwork fall at Pakenham in early February before making a return to riding in late March. He has since ridden five winners in the six weeks since his return. In all, Nolen has ridden I Wish I Win in eight of his Australian starts with Jamie Kah partnering the former Kiwi in his winning debut at Caulfield in August, 2022 before McDonald replaced the injured Nolen for last month’s T J Smith Stakes. Sportsbet has I Wish I Win as the $3 favourite for the Doomben 10,000. He could then progress to the Gr.1 Stradbroke Handicap (1400m) in June. View the full article -
By Wandering Eyes · Posted
Highline Thoroughbreds’ profile as a source of quality youngsters continues to grow with Discretion Rules (Alabama Express) their latest black-type success story. The Cambridge-based operation of Cam and Eva Heron offers a full range of services from yearling preparations, spelling, agistment and foaling down, with success to the highest level as vendors. Their flagship graduates to date have been star performer and multiple top-flight winner Legarto (NZ) (Proisir) and Gr.1 Tarzino Trophy (1400m) winner Dark Destroyer (NZ) (Proisir). The Gr.3 Matamata Slipper (1200m) winner Alabama Gold (NZ) (Turn Me Loose) and Glamour Tycoon (Written Tycoon), successful in this season’s Listed O’Leary’s Fillies’ Stakes (1340m), have also been sold through their Karaka drafts. Alabama Express’ son Discretion Rules is now on the honours board following the Te Akau youngster’s success in the Listed Champagne Stakes (1200m) at Riccarton. He was purchased by Highline, with Paul Moroney and Catheryne Bruggeman, for A$120,000 as a weanling and sold to Te Akau principal David Ellis for $165,000 at New Zealand Bloodstock’s National Yearling Sale. “We just keep trying to replicate the process, sometimes we don’t buy any and sometimes we might buy half a-dozen,” Cam Heron said. “It varies and depends on the sale and how strong it is. Obviously, we are always trying to buy them at the right price point. “We bought four out of the Great Southern Sale at Oaklands in Melbourne last year. “We got a Russian Revolution colt, the Alabama Express colt (Discretion Rules), a colt by Grunt and a Shamus Award filly. “None of the others have raced yet, the Grunt is a later maturing type and so is the Shamus Award and the Russian Revolution went to Sears Racing in Queensland. “They are extremely happy with him, he’s won a couple of trials and are really excited about him coming on.” They were all purchased with Moroney and Bruggeman as was Glamour Tycoon, who was bought for A$85,000 at the Great Southern Sale and subsequently sold to Stephen Marsh for $220,000 at Karaka. Highline, Moroney and Bruggeman were back in action on Tuesday with daughters of Prague (A$65,000) and Dundeel (A$30,000) and a son of Tassort (A$70,000) secured on the opening day of the Inglis Australian Weanling Sale. “It’s a system we stick to and mostly Eva will go to the sale and Paul and Catheryne will usually be there, although Paul is by himself in Sydney this time, and it’s always good to bounce ideas off them,” Heron said. The development of their current Cambridge property also coincided with Highline’s first Group One winner sold at Karaka four years ago. “We haven’t been doing this all that long, we had been doing drafts of our own horses and the first time we did a client horse was for the 2020 sale,” Heron said. “Prior to that, we did horses that we had bred and the first year we took one horse, then two, five and then seven. “We moved to our new property in Cambridge in June 2019 and that enabled us to do a client horse for the 2020 Karaka sale. “The first client horse we sold was Dark Destroyer and we had got introduced to Warrick Jeffries and his family and their breeding operation in 2019. “They have supported us really well and we’ve also sold Legarto and Alabama Gold for them.” Highline is currently busy preparing youngsters for the New Zealand Bloodstock National Weanling Sale on June 20. “We’re working on our draft, we’ve got 11 going to Karaka at this stage so Eva is out buying them and I’m getting them ready to sell,” Heron said. “We’ll be back at the yearling sale again next year as well with another nice draft of horses.” View the full article -
By Wandering Eyes · Posted
Talented three-year-old Impendabelle (Impending) will step out of age group company for the first time in her season’s grand final on Saturday at Arawa Park. The daughter of Impending has been a model of consistency this term, with success in the Gr.2 Soliloquy Stakes (1400m) headlining a campaign that included a pair of Group One placings in the Levin Classic (1600m) and New Zealand 1000 Guineas (1600m). Tony Pike, who prepares Impendabelle out of Cambridge, gave the filly a brief spell through the early autumn and she added further black-type to her page first-up in the Gr.3 Cambridge Breeders’ Stakes (1200m), won by I’munstoppable. Pike indicated the filly’s last contest of a successful season would come in Saturday’s Gr.3 Rotorua Stakes (1400m), where she will benefit from weight-for-age conditions. “She went well running third fresh-up in the Cambridge Breeders’, she’ll take plenty of improvement from that with the step-up to 1400 definitely being an advantage,” he said. “This will be her last run for her three-year-old season, she’s been super consistent all the way through. “She obviously comes up against the older horses, but she’s had a great season and it would be great to cap it off with a win on Saturday.” Pike will also be represented in the Listed Campbell Infrastructure Rotorua Cup (2200m) with Val Di Zoldo, last year’s Gr.2 Lowland Stakes (2100m) winner who has struck misfortune on several major occasions this season. Most recently, the War Decree mare was in front for a large portion of the Te Rapa straight when contesting the Gr.2 Travis Stakes (2000m) before jockey Wiremu Pinn’s stirrup leather became detached and the pair finished an eventual fourth, just 0.4 lengths from race winner Apostrophe. “She was desperately unlucky in the Travis Stakes, arguably could’ve won that having got clear on straightening before Wiremu lost his iron at the 200m mark, and she ducked in when he became unbalanced,” Pike said. “She was only beaten a very narrow margin into fourth, which was unfortunate for the connections. “The Cup will be her last race this preparation and she will get in a lot better in the weights, and if she runs up to her form in her last couple of starts, she should be hard to beat.” Before heading to Rotorua, Pike will have a sole runner at Matamata on Wednesday in Maldini, who was an impressive maiden winner that never saw clear air last start at Pukekohe. The Tarzino four-year-old will contest the Carrfields Livestock 1600 with Michael McNab in the saddle. “He had no luck last start at Counties and has been delayed a run since then missing a start at Te Rapa,” Pike said. “He’s a lightly-raced horse who is starting to put together a nice form line now, and he should be hard to beat from a good draw (4) on Wednesday.” View the full article -
By Wandering Eyes · Posted
Raymond Connors is hoping his Group Three performer Hurry Cane still wants to be a racehorse and will find that out when he heads to Wanganui on Thursday to contest the Palamountains Animal Nutrition Open Hurdle (3000m). The 11- year-old gelding has been a great servant to Connors’ barn over the last seven seasons, winning five races on the flat, and placing in the Gr.3 New Zealand Cup (3200m), before transitioning to a career over jumps where he has won one race apiece over the hurdles and steeples. The son of Nom Du Jeu campaigned in Australia this time last year where he won a two-mile steeplechase at Pakenham and finished sixth in the Grand Annual Steeplechase (5500m) at Warrnambool. Connors fears that trip may have knocked him, with Hurry Cane returning to run third in the Wellington Hurdle (3400m) but then finished second-to-last in his next two outings before being pulled up in the Great Northern Hurdle (4200m) at Te Rapa when losing contact with the field. The Bulls horseman is hoping a long spell has rejuvenated his evergreen galloper, who finished fifth when first-up over 2200m at Woodville last week. Connors was satisfied with that performance, but said Hurry Cane’s showing in his jumping return on Thursday will dictate whether he presses on with the gelding. “He ran well enough the other day, it was honest enough for his first run back,” Connors said. “He seems to be working well enough to take to the races, but I would like him to show a bit more on raceday. “It will be interesting to see how he goes. I hope he shows a bit more than he did last year, he was a bit disappointing. The trip to Australia is what I am putting it down to, whether that just flattened him last year. “It will be good to get a good line on him on Thursday and see whether he is worth persevering with. I hope he does, and we can keep going with him, otherwise we may need to think about retiring him.” If Hurry Cane performs up to expectations on Thursday, Connors is looking forward to the remainder of the jumping season with him, with the aim of scoring a prestige jumps title. “As long as he goes a nice race (on Thursday) is the main thing,” he said. “If he is going well enough, we will go to Wellington or somewhere on the heavier tracks. He likes the wetter tracks, so once it gets a bit wetter it will help him. “He has definitely got the ability and he seems alright at the moment, so I know that if he brings his A-game he is more than good enough.” View the full article
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