Rowley Mile Posted October 13, 2018 Posted October 13, 2018 Benbatl who won the Caulfield Stakes [Ladbrokes] yesterday has as his 4th Dam none other than the wonderful La Mer! So, that bonny little darl has left a mark from her migration to Ireland......you go girl, and the way he won the Cups are not beyond him, now how good would that be. 3 Quote
theshu Posted October 13, 2018 Posted October 13, 2018 wow,wasnt she a great racehorse and a beautiful looking mare ,chestnut trained by M Smith and ridden by D harris if i remember correctly. Quote
Rowley Mile Posted October 13, 2018 Author Posted October 13, 2018 8 minutes ago, theshu said: wow,wasnt she a great racehorse and a beautiful looking mare ,chestnut trained by M Smith and ridden by D harris if i remember correctly. You Do! Quote
curious Posted October 13, 2018 Posted October 13, 2018 An all time favourite of mine. Always wanted one like her! 2 Quote
Rowley Mile Posted October 13, 2018 Author Posted October 13, 2018 At Otaki one day, 1974 sometime I think, Pauline Deacon strapped her for Malcolm, they were besties, can you imagine that nowadays? She was just one word......special. Quote
curious Posted October 13, 2018 Posted October 13, 2018 Do you mean Pauline or La Mer was special? Might have been more like 77. Quote
curious Posted October 13, 2018 Posted October 13, 2018 Back when these races used to be mostly run genuinely and we produced top stayers and middle distance horses eh? 1 Quote
FeelTheFear Posted October 13, 2018 Posted October 13, 2018 (edited) This brings back memories Won 24 times out of 43 starts, as well as second 5 times and third 6 times in 1200m to 2400m. 1979 Horse of the Year and 1977 Filly of the Year in New Zealand. Edited October 13, 2018 by FeelTheFear Quote
Weasel Posted October 13, 2018 Posted October 13, 2018 La Mer was one of the true champions of the turf here, one of a handful of the 1970s that got me hooked on racing. That was a hot field she beat in the Air New Zealand Stakes - and a breathtaking rails-hugging ride. Quote
Rowley Mile Posted October 13, 2018 Author Posted October 13, 2018 40 minutes ago, curious said: Do you mean Pauline or La Mer was special? Might have been more like 77. Both!....I was referring to La Mer, and yes, you may well be right.....the 70's were a blur to me...London, Carnaby St, INXS.....Split Enz.....the 60's/70's full of great horses, Triton/Darryl's Joy/Classic Mission we could be here all day, but La Mer was as good as those in every way IMO. 1 Quote
Freda Posted October 13, 2018 Posted October 13, 2018 What a lovely piece of nostalgia. Friends and occasional clients, the Austin family of Canterbury, later purchased her dam, the aging Olgiata, a gamble, but I think they managed to breed a filly from her. Pretty sure that filly wasn't of much account, but research may show if she had any reasonable descendants. ...and remembering March Legend....in 1975 [ I think ] we had a runner in the Canterbury Gold Cup, Afghanistan gelding Zebak. My then partner Mouse [ RJ ] McCann 'jocked himself off' and put Bob Skelton on the horse. Wednesday morning [ raceday] the owners, Mouse, and I were standing on the viewing stand watching March Legend warm up before galloping. He limped, hobbled and scrambled around for five minutes or so before setting out to work...one of the owners turned to the rest of us and said 'well, that's one we don't have to worry about ' ....in the absence of the great Balmerino, he won anyway. What a good horse he was. Zebak ran the race of his life to finish third. 1 Quote
hesi Posted October 13, 2018 Posted October 13, 2018 The lightly framed filly La Mer was sparingly raced by her trainer Malcom Smith as a 2year old. Facing the starter only 3 times she was unbeaten and finished her season by winning the Group 1 Manawatu Sires Produce Stakes. At 3 years old she won 7 of her 8 starts in the Filly of the Year series. At 4 years old she was the star W.F.A. Horse of the Year, winning the Levin Cup, Auckland Thoroughbred Stakes, Manawatu Challenge Stake, N.Z. International Stakes, Rotorua Travelodge Stakes, Awapuni Gold Cup and Ormond Gold Cup. A trip to Australia in the Spring as a 5 year old was not a success winning the Coongy Handicap her only win in 3 starts. Brought home and freshened up she won the W.F.A. Manawatu Challenge Stakes, Air N.Z. Stakes and her 2nd Ormond Gold Cup. Le Mer raced 43 times for 24 wins and 13 placings, truly a champion. 1 Quote
Rowley Mile Posted October 13, 2018 Author Posted October 13, 2018 2 minutes ago, Freda said: What a lovely piece of nostalgia. Friends and occasional clients, the Austin family of Canterbury, later purchased her dam, the aging Olgiata, a gamble, but I think they managed to breed a filly from her. Pretty sure that filly wasn't of much account, but research may show if she had any reasonable descendants. ...and remembering March Legend....in 1975 [ I think ] we had a runner in the Canterbury Gold Cup, Afghanistan gelding Zebak. My then partner Mouse [ RJ ] McCann 'jocked himself off' and put Bob Skelton on the horse. Wednesday morning [ raceday] the owners, Mouse, and I were standing on the viewing stand watching March Legend warm up before galloping. He limped, hobbled and scrambled around for five minutes or so before setting out to work...one of the owners turned to the rest of us and said 'well, that's one we don't have to worry about ' ....in the absence of the great Balmerino, he won anyway. What a good horse he was. Zebak ran the race of his life to finish third. Ah, great read, here's one to contemplate, similar maybe? Australian Cup morning, Better Loosen Up was being rolled after a leg stretch canter at Flemington, at the time I was training for a former rails bookie and a leviathan punter, so, BLU came out of the roll lame as a cat, we watched thinking no way he will run, whoa, he ran alright, in the meantime I called our owner and told him to lay the horse all day.....he won running a track record......think about it.......it cost us plenty, and to this day the question goes unanswered......strike me dead. Quote
Rowley Mile Posted October 13, 2018 Author Posted October 13, 2018 2 minutes ago, hesi said: The lightly framed filly La Mer was sparingly raced by her trainer Malcom Smith as a 2year old. Facing the starter only 3 times she was unbeaten and finished her season by winning the Group 1 Manawatu Sires Produce Stakes. At 3 years old she won 7 of her 8 starts in the Filly of the Year series. At 4 years old she was the star W.F.A. Horse of the Year, winning the Levin Cup, Auckland Thoroughbred Stakes, Manawatu Challenge Stake, N.Z. International Stakes, Rotorua Travelodge Stakes, Awapuni Gold Cup and Ormond Gold Cup. A trip to Australia in the Spring as a 5 year old was not a success winning the Coongy Handicap her only win in 3 starts. Brought home and freshened up she won the W.F.A. Manawatu Challenge Stakes, Air N.Z. Stakes and her 2nd Ormond Gold Cup. Le Mer raced 43 times for 24 wins and 13 placings, truly a champion. Was the Levin Cup run at Otaki then Hesi? Quote
curious Posted October 13, 2018 Posted October 13, 2018 Didn't she run second in the McKinnon on that Oz trip. Can't remember what beat her. Dulcify? Quote
curious Posted October 13, 2018 Posted October 13, 2018 3 minutes ago, Rowley Mile said: Was the Levin Cup run at Otaki then Hesi? Haha... Levin was one of my favourite tracks. Skipped a lot of uni classes to go racing there! 1 Quote
curious Posted October 13, 2018 Posted October 13, 2018 10 minutes ago, curious said: Didn't she run second in the McKinnon on that Oz trip. Can't remember what beat her. Dulcify? Second thoughts, might have been Belmura Lad? Quote
Rowley Mile Posted October 13, 2018 Author Posted October 13, 2018 9 minutes ago, curious said: Haha... Levin was one of my favourite tracks. Skipped a lot of uni classes to go racing there! You're the man for this, ''I rode in race against the mighty Triton, I followed him into the straight, he won by 8 lengths, was it Foxton or Levin? the rider I think was B Brown. Quote
curious Posted October 13, 2018 Posted October 13, 2018 Third time lucky! It was Family of Man. 1981 Belmura Lad Kingston Town No Peer 2:02.0 1980 Belmura Lad Family of Man Lady Capri 2:03.8 1979 Dulcify Shivaree Minuetto 2:00.9 1978 Family of Man La Mer Kankama 2:04.0 1 Quote
mardigras Posted October 13, 2018 Posted October 13, 2018 18 minutes ago, Rowley Mile said: Was the Levin Cup run at Otaki then Hesi? Nope. Levin was still going for the start of the Bayer classic era. Quote
curious Posted October 13, 2018 Posted October 13, 2018 4 minutes ago, Rowley Mile said: You're the man for this, ''I rode in race against the mighty Triton, I followed him into the straight, he won by 8 lengths, was it Foxton or Levin? the rider I think was B Brown. The trainer was the mighty Syd Brown out of Woodville. Is that track on the close list? Quote
mardigras Posted October 13, 2018 Posted October 13, 2018 14 minutes ago, curious said: Haha... Levin was one of my favourite tracks. Skipped a lot of uni classes to go racing there! Went to school in Levin. Often went to the Levin track. I think Grey Way may have won the Levin Cup/Stakes. Maybe in a race with Copper Belt. Memory not what it was. The ill-fated Altitude won the inaugural Bayer Classic. Quote
FeelTheFear Posted October 13, 2018 Posted October 13, 2018 17 minutes ago, Freda said: 32 minutes ago, Freda said: What a lovely piece of nostalgia. Friends and occasional clients, the Austin family of Canterbury, later purchased her dam, the aging Olgiata, a gamble, but I think they managed to breed a filly from her. Pretty sure that filly wasn't of much account, but research may show if she had any reasonable descendants. LA MER: Dam of Listed winner Cipriani. Granddam of G2 winner, G1 placed (The Oaks) Bahr; G3 winner Clerio; Listed winner Ascot Isle 3rd dam of G1 winner Nahrain (Belmont Flower Bowl Stakes); Listed winner Baharah Ancestress of G1 winner He’s Our Rokkii (Toorak Hcp); Listed winner Alamer; Listed winner Noogoora Burr; G1 winner Little Jamie - Marshall Spirit (HK) (Manawatu Sires' Produce Stakes; Joint top colt 1999-2000 NZ Free Hcp) She is also 4th dam of Benbatl, winner of the G1 Ladbrokes Stakes on Saturday. Quote
curious Posted October 13, 2018 Posted October 13, 2018 5 minutes ago, mardigras said: Went to school in Levin. Often went to the Levin track. I think Grey Way may have won the Levin Cup/Stakes. Maybe in a race with Copper Belt. Memory not what it was. The ill-fated Altitude won the inaugural Bayer Classic. Don't remember the Washdyke wonder winning at Levin though he may well have but the Copper Belt clashes remain legendary in my mind Quote
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