Further posthumous stakes honours for Ghibellines

[Wandering Eyes]

The loss of Ghibellines was further emphasised at Wingatui where the late resident of White Robe Lodge was the dominant force.

The son of Shamardal was represented by two new stakes winners at the weekend and sired a trifecta on Saturday’s undercard.

His son Cluedo Lane (NZ) claimed top honours in the Gr.3 White Robe Lodge Weight-For-Age (1600m) for trainer Joseph Waldron while Noble Knight (NZ) and Capo Dell Impero (NZ) quinellaed the Listed Dunedin Gold Cup (2400m).

The Sandy Cunningham-prepared Noble Knight was bred and sold by White Robe stud managers Wayne and Karen Stewart.

“He deserved that, he’s a very handy horse and has won just under $500,000 now,” Wayne Stewart said.

“It’s a great effort and with the increased prizemoney it shows you can race them and keep them here.

“Those horses come into their own with a bit of maturity and the White Robe winner showed a good turn of foot when he let rip.”

Noble Knight was sold for $22,000 at the New Zealand Bloodstock South Island Yearling & Mixed Sale and is the last foal of the Yamanin Vital mare Flight Arrival (NZ).

“We lost the mare unfortunately, but we’ve still got part of the breed going including Direct Flight (NZ) (Ghibellines) who won four and has a yearling by The Chosen One and is in foal to Alflaila,” Stewart said.

Ghibellines, who passed away just after Christmas, currently has an impressive 5.2 percents stakes winners to runners.

“That’s pretty good, normally you’re doing well if you get up to three or four,” Stewart said.

“He’s been quite consistent in Australia too with his runners, it was a great shame we lost him, but that’s just the way it turned out and we’ve got a good few daughters of his we’re breeding from.”

Ghibellines has produced 11 individual stakes winners, headed by his homebred Gr.1 Turnbull Stakes (2000m) winner Smokin’ Romans (NZ) while Campaldino (NZ) won the Gr.2 Brisbane Cup (3200m) last season.

“Campaldino went a really good race fresh-up the other day and he’s heading toward the Sydney Cup (Gr.1, 3200m),” Stewart said.

On Saturday, the progressive Trader (NZ) won for the fourth time for Brian and Shane Anderton when he headed a Ghibellines domination of the Rating 75 sprint with stablemate Cherryville (NZ) and Kelvin Tyler’s Monaghan Boy (NZ) filling the minors.

Meanwhile, White Robe’s Ancient Spirit continued the good start he has made to his career when the stakes-winning son of Invincible Spirit produced his second black type strike.

Bobby McGee (NZ) won the Listed NZB Airfreight Stakes (1400m) on Boxing Day and on Saturday another daughter Golden Spirit (NZ) was a luckless second in the Listed Dunedin Guineas (1600m) for the Andertons.

“I was talking to Kylie Williams and she said she had to come off heels and got held up and lost momentum, if she had got a run through then I think she could have won easily,” Stewart said.

“She’s a lovely filly and a half-sister to Our Approval (by Ghibellines) who ran second in the Southern Mile Final.”

White Robe is also delighted with the popularity of Ancient Spirit’s young associate sire Alflaila, a multiple Group winner by Dark Angel.

“He’s had a great start with the book of mares he got, he covered over 100 and has been supported by the Dennis boys and from all over the country, including Cambridge Stud, Pencarrow and Waikato Stud,” Stewart said.

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