Happy Trails Confirms Cox Plate Ambitions

Saturday, 15 September 2012 07:00

Happy Trails & Green MoonA horse who was bought for a song and named after an old cowboy tune is on the way to Australia's most prestigious race.

Happy Trails, an $11,000 purchase as a yearling, took his earnings to almost $600,000 with his victory in the Group Two Dato Tan Chin Nam Stakes (1600m).

At the same time he provided living proof that a horse who's treated as a pet and praised as a hero can mix it with the most hard-nosed racing stables.

"This is a dream come true," said trainer Paul Beshara.

"He gives 150 per cent every time he goes out."

Beshara, who trains his small team at Morphettville, bought Happy Trails as a yearling for old friends Peter and Erica Dickman and the horse immediately became part of his family.

"He has the first box outside my backdoor, he's the first horse I see every morning," he said.

Beshara is likely to be taking a longer look from now on as his horse heads toward next month's W S Cox Plate.

Happy Trails ($5.50) started from a wide gate but was one off the rail and travelling kindly for Glen Boss after 200m.

Paul BesharaApproaching the home turn, Boss eased away from his trailing position and with Green Moon at his girth he claimed the lead and the pair settled down to fight it.

Green Moon, the $4 favourite, appeared certain to score 50m out, but Happy Trails fought bravely to win by a nose.

While Boss praised his horse's courage, Craig Williams on the heavily backed runner-up was both surprised and disappointed by the result.

"I'm a bit deflated, to be honest," Williams said.

"I couldn't have been happier in the run and he lengthened really nicely.

"But he just couldn't put the other horse away."

Last year's winner Rekindled Interest ($5) showed a return to form was imminent with his fast-finishing third, trainer Jim Conlan confident he was also on track for the Cox Plate.

While bookmakers reacted to Green Moon's run from a Cox Plate point of view, tightening him in to $10, the most significant betting move came from Sydney following the win of More Joyous who is now at $7 and on the second line behind her Gai Waterhouse-trained stablemate Pierro who is at $4.20.

Photos: Quentin Lang

Philippi Could Be Derby Bound

Saturday, 15 September 2012 02:39

Philippi and Mick KentRick Jamieson, breeder of Black Caviar looks as if he has another good horse on his hands in the form of Philippi which won the Sportingbet Handicap at Moonee Valley this afternoon.

A winner at his only other start at Mornington on debut, Philippi made the jump to city class look easy. Dropped out near last early by Luke Nolen, Philippi sat off a fast pace set by Craig WIlliams on Adjuster.

Coming to the home turn, Nolen eased Philippi off heels and started to make ground quickly on the weakening leaders. At the post he won convincingly by three quarters of a length from Carringbush Jack ($15-$16-$15) with a further three quarters of a length to the favourite Forget ($2.40-$2.60-$2.20F).

Winning trainer Mick Kent is quietly contemplating a Derby start for Philippi if he continues to improve.

"He's probably better over 10 furlongs but I can see him going the Derby distance", Kent said.

Philippi"He's certainly got the temperament and he's a lovely relaxed horse."

"There's a 9 furlong Listed race at Flemington in three week's time which will tell us more."

The $120,000 UCI Stakes on the 6th of October is likely to be full of Group 1 AAMI Victoria Derby contenders trying out for the $1.5 million race on the 3rd of November.Nolen was happy to get on Philippi again after winning on him at his last start.

"I was pretty taken with him in his first run at Mornington and he's obviously made nice improvement", he said.

"He gave me the feeling that if it had been a mile and a half he would have been strong at the end of it."

Philippi is one of the first horses to race by Chilean import Host which stands at Swettenham Stud for the value fee of $7500. Completely free of Northern Dancer blood, Host provides a perfect outcross for many Australian mares. A good example is Jamieson's mare Soorena, a daughter of Encosta de Lago.

"Rick's a very good pedigree student", Kent said.

"He doesn't always go where its fashionable but where the mare is best suited."

Jamieson was obviously pleased with Philippi long before he raced as Soorena went back to Host last season.

Photos: Quentin Lang

Buxted First Stakes Winner For Pritchard-Gordon

Saturday, 15 September 2012 05:38

Buxted (inside) Fights Off Fictional AccountSam Pritchard-Gordon landed his first stakes winner in the JRA Plate at Moonee Valley this afternoon, just a year after first taking out his trainer's license.

"I got my license this time last year", said Pritchard-Gordon who said he now had 15 horses in work.

Buxted ($3.50-$4.40-$4.00) sustained a long run to win by a head from Fictional Account (Chad Schofield) ($13-$26) with a half length to third placed Red Eye Special ($21-$26) which made a gallant attempt to lead all the way under Darren Gauci.

Warm favourite Tanby was anchored by his big weight of 58.5 kg and not helped by being left at the tail of the field for too long by Steven King. He ground home for fourth but the leaders were too quick for him.

Today's race was arguably won by a superb ride from Craig Newitt who had a chance to work out Buxted when he rode him into fifth place at Flemington last week behind Excluded over an unsuitable 2000 metres.

Sam Pritchard-Gordon"The ride really won the race", Pritchard-Gordon said.

"He took it up to Tanby there and 4.5 kilos, that's really made the difference."

"Smart ride."

Newitt sensed that the speed had slackened at the 1300 metre mark and made what proved to be a winning move.

"I rode him the other day and he was a bit one batted but on the line he was pretty solid", Newitt observed.

"I thought I'd ride him a bit forward today but he stepped a bit slow and there was good speed early."

"At the 1300 I came out and crept into the race", he said.

"I knew he could sustain an 800 or 900 metre run so I just kept at him."

"He lacks class but he's got a great set of lungs on him and a great motor and he could run all day for you."

Formerly racing manager for Lee Freedman, Pritchard-Gordon was understandably delighted with the win of Buxted, which he picked out of a horses in training sale in England for 60,000 guineas.

Buxted Wins"The owners followed the horse and tried to buy him after he won his first three races", Pritchard-Gordon explained.

Buxted was trained by Robert Mills at Epsom and had issues according to Pritchard-Gordon who observed that he'd had his first start as a four year old.

"He's very dour", Pritchard-Gordon said.

"Any horse that his first ever start is over 2400 pretty well tells the story as to where it fits into the picture."

"He lacks the brilliance and a true bit of class but the horse will run home as hard as ever and he's very genuine."

The trainer now has the task of plotting a course through the Spring staying races for the son of Dynaformer, also the sire of Americain.

"We might have a go at the Metropolitan in Sydney though he probably doesn't have the class for it", Pritchard-Gordon said.

"He can stay so we might go for the Bart Cummings."

Not the soundest horse, Pritchard-Gordon has entered Buxted for the Melbourne Cup for which he is a lightweight hope.

Buxted"He has a multitude of issues, mainly to do with his feet."

"I've got him entered in the Cup because he runs two miles."

"Half of those in the Cup can't stay the two miles."

Buxted also rates favourably compared to other imports purchased by clients of the Chris Waller and Gai Waterhouse stables.

"Out of all the horses like Glencadam Gold and the ones that Gai bought it had the highest official rating", Pritchard-Gordon said.

"He's got form around Manighar and horses like that."

Although Buxted won a Listed race in England early in his career this run did not meet the Melbourne Cup ballot conditions

Racing Victoria General Manager Racing Greg Carpenter explained that the win was two and a half years ago, which excluded it from consideration.

"However he did run third in the Jockey Club Cup which reinstated his ballot status", Carpenter said.

Today's win will do little to move Buxted up the Melbourne Cup weight scale, with the weights due to be released on Tuesday, according to Carpenter.

"He will need to win something more or rely on attrition to get into the field the way things are at present", he confirmed.

Photos: Quentin Lang

We're Gonna Rock Returns In Winning Form

Saturday, 08 September 2012 08:00

We're Gonna Rock beats Temple of BoomAs a colt We're Gonna Rock had unlimited ability and a limited future.

After his first start as a gelding at Flemington on Saturday it seems highly likely he will fulfil his potential.

Equal favourite We're Gonna Rock ($6.50) scored the best victory of his career in the Group Two Bobbie Lewis Quality (1200m) and seems set to pick up something even better as the season progresses.

"We had to geld him because he was getting too big for his joints and knees," said trainer Mark Kavanagh.

"Now he's in proportion and he can go on with it."

We're Gonna Rock dived through late to beat the Queenslander Spirit Of Boom ($13) by a half head with Title ($15) 1-1/4 lengths further back in third.

As much as the race provided an answer for Kavanagh and the winning connections, it raised a couple of obvious questions over other runners.

We're Gonna RockMost notable among them is the glamour mare Mosheen whose return to racing had been postponed by a minor throat operation last month.

Mosheen raced in the second half of a tightly-packed field but showed no dash in the run home, finishing 13th.

Trainer Robert Smerdon said the throat problem had not re-emerged, but was at a loss to explain the performance of a mare who had been one of the stars of last autumn.

"She was a bit plain," Smerdon said.

"We have to hope she can bounce off that and improve considerably."

Mosheen is now likely to be stepped up to the 1400m of the Group One Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes at Caulfield on September 30.

The much-vaunted Shanghai Warrior also put in an inexplicably poor run, having scored brilliantly at his previous two starts.

Trainer Pat Hyland said he was mystified by an effort that was "too bad to be true".

Photos: Quentin Lang

Precedence Scores First Win In Two Years

Saturday, 15 September 2012 05:16

PrecedenceIf Bart Cummings is to win a 13th Melbourne Cup, it is likely that Precedence is the sort of horse he'd like to do it with.

Whether the seven-year-old is good enough is debatable, but after his return to form in the Adapt Australia Handicap (1600m) at Moonee Valley on Saturday, there could at least be one more feature race in the seven-year-old.

Precedence established himself as something of a Valley specialist with the victory, his fourth at the track and one which took his racetrack earnings beyond $1 million.

The win was also timely, coming two years after his last success and on a day when the feature race at Moonee Valley is named after his part-owner, Malaysian businessman and long-time Cummings client Dato Tan Chin Nam.

For Cummings, every win for the Dato is special.

PrecedenceThe Malaysian businessman played a pivotal role in keeping Cummings afloat when his Cups King syndication scheme collapsed in the late 1980s, leaving him heavily in debt.

Since then the Dato, who was a part-owner of dual Cup winner Think Big, has won Melbourne Cups with Saintly and Viewed and has also been blessed with international champion So You Think among scores of other winners.

A veteran of two Cup previous campaigns, Precedence will be among the Cummings' prospects this year, although his priority may well be the Caulfield Cup.

Dato Tan's racing manager Duncan Ramage said Precedence may have had his Melbourne Cup chance.

"I think he's probably a better 2400-metre horse than a two-miler," Ramage said.

"But we'll leave it to Bart, he's the boss."

As well as being an esteemed member of the Cummings stable, Precedence has the distinction of being owned by the nobility of three nations - Dato Tan, New Zealand's racing knight Sir Patrick Hogan and the Dowager Duchess of Bedford, who is a relative of the Queen.

Photos: Quentin Lang

Southern Speed Gains Revenge On Manighar

Saturday, 08 September 2012 07:46

Southern Speed wins from ManigharSouthern Speed and her trainer Leon Macdonald have done all they can.

Now it's up to jockey Craig Williams to decide if he will ride the grand mare in her main spring mission - whatever it may be.

Southern Speed pulled out yet another super effort in the Group Two Makybe Diva Stakes (1600m), nosing out Manighar in a finish that had even her jockey fooled.

For Southern Speed, the result avenged her equally close second to Manighar in the Australian Cup last autumn.

But it also created a potential problem for Williams.

Macdonald made it clear Williams had the ride on Southern Speed for as long as he wants it as she heads toward either the Caulfield Cup or the Cox Plate.

The trouble is Williams, who rode Southern Speed to victory in last year's Caulfield Cup, also has the option of riding Melbourne Cup winner Dunaden in this year's Caulfield feature and the champion three-year-old Pierro in the Cox Plate.

Return to Scale"Craig has the ride if he wants it," Macdonald said.

"But if he doesn't, I've got a pretty good replacement waiting in the wings."

Macdonald was referring to his stable rider Clare Lindop who rode the mare in her first nine starts and won on her in Adelaide at her previous run to Saturday's.

Southern Speed ($4.20) claimed the lead soon after straightening and had to pull out all stops to beat the favourite Manighar ($3.30).

Moudre ($51) made good late ground to finish third, another two lengths away with another of the resuming stayers Mourayan finishing an encouraging fourth after racing on the pace and wide.

For Macdonald, the win confirmed Southern Speed had returned in brilliant form.

The only slight concern he has is whether to head toward the Caulfield Cup on October 20, the Cox Plate a week later, or "under the right circumstances" the Melbourne Cup.

Macdonald said his plans would take shape after the mare's next start in the Underwood Stakes (1800m) at Caulfield in two weeks.

Williams, who at least has the ride again at Southern Speed's next start, described the mare as "one of the best weight-for-age horses in Australia".

But he wouldn't commit to riding her in the best weight-for-age race in the country.

Photos: Quentin Lang

Dato Tan Chin Nam Wins On Stakes Day

Saturday, 15 September 2012 03:57

PrecedenceDato Tan Chin Nam won a supporting race on the card with the main race named after him at Moonee Valley today.

Dato Tan's representative Duncan Ramage enjoyed the way that his stayer Precedence fought the race out to the line.

"That will be a great tonic for his owner", he said, referring to Dato Tan who is not in the best of health.

Precedence enjoyed a drop back in class to win the Adapt Australia Handicap, his first win in nearly two years, taking his prizemoney earnings past the $1 million mark.

"He's been pitched against the best for two seasons now" Ramage observed.

Ridden by Michael Rodd, Precedence ($5.50-$6.50-$5.50) beat another non-winner, Spacecraft ($5-$6), whose last win was at this meeting two years ago. Spacecraft, ridden by apprentice Chad Schofield, hit the lead a bit too soon and was left a sitting duck for Precedence who gave his rider Michael Rodd some problems. Third was Guns At Five ($20-$17), ridden by Vlad Duric.

"This bloke's a class horse and he's come back a lot of levels to run in a race like this", Rodd said.

"My only concern before the race was going to be the pace."

"I wasn't sure where I was going to finish up but I got the perfect trail, three deep with cover."

Return to Scale"That really suits this bloke because he's a Zabeel and they're better with room."

Even though he was three wide, Precedence was able to creep forward from 12th at the 800 metre mark to be fifth on the turn.

"At the 600 we'd had such a cheap trip I just let him roll into it", Rodd said.

"He's got the stamina and the class and he had such a big weight so I got nice and close to them and he won quite comfortably."

Even though he is now a seven year old, Rodd complained that Precedence raced like a juvenile.

"He's got a few tricks this horse."

"Coming round the turn he was wanting to lay out really badly and I actually thought he was going to go to the outside fence."

"So I put the stick into my outside hand and then when I got him balanced he wanted to run back in."

According to Ramage, Precedence is likely to be aimed primarily at the Caulfield Cup this year, as he feels that he is better suited to 2400 metres, rather than the 3200 metres of the Melbourne Cup.

The Group 3 $200,000 JRA Plate over 2040 metres at Moonee Valley in two week's time is likely to be the next start for Precedence, making it the ideal lead in to the $2.5 million Group 1 BMW Caulfield Cup to be run on the 20th of October.

Photos: Quentin Lang

Bad-mannered Zurella Claims Let's Elope

Saturday, 08 September 2012 05:46

ZurellaThere won't have been a more wilful winner at Flemington on Saturday than Zurella, and there might not be many who are better.

One of New Zealand's best staying three-year-olds of last season, Zurella behaved disgracefully and ran magnificently to win the Group Two Let's Elope Stakes (1400m) and take a step toward a Caulfield Cup start.

As comfortably as Zurella handled her opposition, she still managed to provide some anxious moments, refusing to permit her rider Craig Newitt to mount.

"She's a beautiful mare ... but she's bloody hard to handle," said trainer Shaune Ritchie.

"If you're not careful she can kick and do some real damage."

As a result, Ritchie sought permission to take Zurella onto the track after the rest of the field had left the enclosure and Newitt chased her out of the mounting yard and was legged aboard in front of the winning post.

"At the end of the day she's a tart," Ritchie said.

Newitt happily overlooked the mild indignity after the race, declaring Zurella an outstanding racehorse.

"She is very, very good," the jockey said.

Zurella stretches out"They went slow early and she just dropped her head and when I asked she just barged her way out and attacked the line.

"There'll be a lot more for her this spring."

Zurella has already proved herself at the 2400m of the Caulfield Cup having finished a nose behind her stablemate Artistic when second in the New Zealand Oaks.

She also won the Group Two Sir Tristram Stakes (2200m) in February and was fifth in the New Zealand Derby.

Zurella ($10) came from near last to score by three-quarters-of-a-length from Hi Belle ($8.50) with a head to Total Attraction ($7) in third.

She is likely to have her next run in the Naturalism Stakes (2000m) at Caulfield in two weeks in an attempt to qualify for the Caulfield Cup.

Photos: Quentin Lang

Black Caviar Breeder Has Derby Prospect

Saturday, 15 September 2012 03:15

PhilippiThe man who bred and sold Black Caviar, All Too Hard and their $2.6 million half-sister appears to have hung on to a classy galloper for himself.

Rick Jamieson, the owner of Black Caviar's mother Helsinge, could have a genuine Derby prospect in Philippi who claimed his second win from as many starts in the Sportingbet Handicap (1500m).

Philippi ($11) displayed all the credentials of an emerging stayer, coming from well back to steam home over the top of his rivals to score by three-quarters of a length from Carringbush Jack ($15) with the favourite Forget ($2.20) the same margin away in third.

"He's bred to run 2000 metres, but I think he'll get to the Derby distance," said winning trainer Mick Kent.

"He's a bit backward but he's got the right temperament, nice and relaxed."

Philippi's slow development led to him making his debut only two weeks ago.

PhilippiBut he indicated the extra time had been beneficial, scoring impressively at Mornington and then making further progression before Saturday's race.

Jamieson, who races horses around the world and also owns the Gilgai Farm stud in central Victoria, has a barn full of well-bred mares, led by Helsinge, arguably the most valuable broodmare in Australia.

Among his biggest wins was last year's Australian Oaks with Absolutely and now has prospects of adding a Derby to his list of Classic victories.

Jamieson is also likely to keep Helsinge's next foal who will be a full relation to Black Caviar.

Kent said he would make up his mind on a Derby campaign after Philippi's next run in an 1800m three-year-old race at Flemington.

Photos: Quentin Lang

Fawkner Stakes Claim For Spring Riches

Saturday, 08 September 2012 04:59

FawkerLloyd Williams struck early at Flemington's spring carnival opener on Saturday as Fawkner romped to an effortless win in the Sofitel Stakes.

Ridden by Nicholas Hall, the $9 chance justified Williams' decision to keep him in his high-profile stable as he strolled to a four-length victory over Testascana ($31) with Playright ($26) a head back third.

Williams's son Nick said Fawkner had now given a strong hint of spring promise after returning from a spell.

"He's good this horse, he's obviously come back well," he said.

"He had an interrupted autumn. We wanted to give him a kill before we put him out and he's obviously come back bigger and better."

Fawkner is by the impressive stallion Reset, which was unbeaten in five starts for the Williams family, winning two Group One wins in the Australian Guineas and the Futurity Stakes in 2004.

Fawkner"We always thought a lot of him, he's a half-brother to (Caulfield Cup and Cox Plate entry) Tanby and of course he's by Reset which holds a pretty special place in our hearts," Nick Williams said.

"The mare that he's out of, Dane Belltar, is a good mare and having Tanby gives us some insight into him.

"He probably would have been in one of our sales if it wasn't for Tanby because it has shown that the progeny certainly get better with age.

"Hopefully he can go forward and do something good over the spring."

Photos: Quentin Lang