Turf Monthly September 2021

monthly

TURF

September 2021

THIS MONTH

THE UNDERWOOD STAKES AMOUNIS MORE FRESHMAN SIRES ANOTHER GREAT RACE IN HISTORY

Editor’s Letter There has been a bit of talk of late about the increase in new big money races and the impact they have on the time honoured Pattern racing system. This system has been the backbone of world racing for generations and there are a few issues to be considered. Firstly, the reliability of the Pattern Committee recommendations must always be kept in focus. We have seen a growth in Group races for fillies and mares in recent times in response to powerful breeders’ lobbyists. The minute we get self-interest taking over from the interests of the breed, there should always be concern. The argument about races like the Everest are just another take on this. They do not affect the Pattern process but might boil down simply to a power struggle between Sydney and Melbourne. The industry is always going to come second. We cannot deny though that money talks, and the argument is all about money. The underlying premise is that Pattern racing determines the health of the breed by ensuring that stallions and mares that are able to pass on the attributes to win these races form the backbone of the breeding industry. One insidious change to this premise has been the sales and breeders bonus payments. QTIS, Bobs, Vobis, SAbis as well as the races restricted to these horses and graduates of particular sales now shape the industry. It was not that long ago that these bonuses were introduced.

Prizemoney was always officially listed excluding these bonus payments. Then these payments were shown in addition to official prizemoney, and now they simply are included as prizemoney. These bonus payments now drive the Sires’ Tables and indirectly the breeding industry. If you have any doubt how a race like the Everest can impact breeding, a look at our Freshman Sires will give you a great example. Not A Single Doubt has been a remarkable old stallion and is now retired from service. He stood his first season at stud in 2005. Between then and 2020, he had two sons go to stud. This year there are four sons going to stud all at higher end studs. I will leave it up to you to work out if there might be a connection.

Until next month

CONTENTS 4

Underwood Stakes

7

Williamstown Racing Club

9

The Williamstown Cup

13

Amounis

20

Frank McGrath

21

Amounis - His Family

23

Freshman Sires 2021

24

Anders

28

Cool Aza Beel

32

Dirty Work

37

Doubtland

40

Earthlight

43

Lukcy Vega

47

North Pacific

50

Great Races - 1972 Doncaster

Ross Prowd

Cover Image WOOTTON BASSETT standing at Coolmore Stud NZ 2021

Turf Monthly ABN 64 892 144 940 Phone 0412 712 181

Email editor@turfmonthly.com.au Unit 4/125 West St Menzies Qld 4825

TURF MONTHLY 3

THE UNDERWOOD STAKES

Phar Lap winning the Underwood Stakes

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he Underwood Stakes is one of the features of the early Spring in Melbourne.

Held at Caulfield the race last year was won by the impressive Russian Camelot.

It has a history of being won by quality horses. First run over a mile (1600m) at Williamstown Racing Club in 1924, the race was won by the champion, Whittier who also won the race the following year. In 1942, the war led to the race not being held and it was reduced to 1400m in 1943. In 1944 the Underwood went back to 1600m but was changed to 1800m in 1949. Interestingly this change was also accompanied by another dual winner of the race in Beau Gem who also won in 1950. In 1954 the race went to 2000m and was won by Flying Halo who had won the race the year before. The race stayed at that distance until 1994 when it was reduced to its current distance of 1800m when won by Jeune who was later that season to go on to win the Melbourne Cup.

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hen Whittier first won the race, it was known as the Williamstown Stakes and was run at the Williamstown track. The race was later renamed the Underwood Stakes in honour of Mr Henry Albert (HA) Underwood who had been on the committee at Williamstown Race Club from 1909 until his death in 1924.

He had served as Chairman for the last seven of those years and his position was taken by Mr CF Orr whose name is honoured with the CF Orr Stakes at Caulfield in the Autumn. Mr Underwood died suddenly at the age of 62 while on a trip to England. He had been with the Victorian Stevedoring Company for 33 years. A keen sportsman, Underwood had a long history with racing and raced under the name of EA Reid. He had the very good horse, Mercian King who was trained by his son, EA (Ted) Underwood who had purchased a property of 884 acres at Oakland Junction in 1919. This was later to be known as Warlaby Stud and was to play an important role in history standing stallions like Dhoti, Dark Felt, Helios,

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Landau, Comic Court and Masthead until it was sold in 1956. Warlaby was to breed Underwood Stakes winning siblings Royal Gem and Beau Gem and counted Tranquil Star and Waltzing Lily among their broodmare band. EA Underwood was to follow in his father’s footsteps in racing administration joining the committee of Williamstown in 1929 and later holding the position of Vice Chairman at the Victoria Racing Club. Mr HA Underwood also expanded his interests into breeding and owned the stallions Maltage and the imported King Offa who was the sire of Mercian King. He had run third behind Heroic and Fujisan in the Ascot Vale Stakes and was later to run third in the 1925 Futurity after Underwood’s death. King Offa had won the 1918 Caulfield Cup before being sold to Underwood for stud duties.

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fter Whittier’s early successes, the next winner of the Underwood was the great Heroic in 1926 and he was to go on to win the Cox Plate later that Spring.

Two years later Highland was to win the Underwood and also go on to victory in the Cox Plate before returning the following year to win the Underwood again.

Highland, a son of Highfield had earlier won two Stradbroke Handicaps in Qld before being sold. In 1931, our most famous racehorse, Phar Lap was victorious.

The great Hall Mark won the Underwood in 1933 and 1934, while the underrated Young Idea won the race in 1935 and 1937. Young Idea won a total of twelve stakes races including both the AJC and VRC Sires’ Produce as a 2yo, and the 1936 and 1937 Cox Plates. In 1938, Ajax won three straight Underwood Stakes, and then we had to wait until 1946/47 before we saw Attley join the list of dual winners. Attley was also by another Warlaby stallion in Portofino and won a total of thirteen stakes races in his career including the 1945 Caulfield Guineas. In 1949 and 1950 another Warlaby bred horse in Beau Gem won the race while another very good horse in Flying Halo repeated the dose in 1953 and 1954. Flying Halo won the CM Lloyd Stakes at Flemington in both years and was also to win the William Reid Stakes three years in succession starting in 1952. In 1954, Cromis won the race and not only was he bred at Warlaby by Helios, but he was also owned and raced by EA Underwood. Melbourne champion Lord won the Underwood in 1958 and 1960, and the wonderful Aquinita won in 1961 and 1962. He remains the only non-stud book stallion to have ever won the race. He was also to go on to win the Cox Plate in 1962. In 1963 the NZ gelding Haveloch by Targui won the race which heralded two decades of increasing domination by NZ gallopers. Another son of Targui in Future won the Underwood in both 1965 and 1967 on route to eleven stakes victories including the Memsie, CF Orr Stakes and Sandown Cup.

1934 Underwood Stakes won by Hall Mark

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Underwood Stakes 1948 won by Royal Gem

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he late 1960’s and early 1970’s saw local star stayers like Tobin Bronze, Rain Lover, Gay Icarus and Scotch And Dry stem the string of NZ winners. They were not enough to stop the growing list of overseas victors that included Big Philou, Sobar, Taras Bulba, How Now and So Called. The late 1970’s saw two Australian mares in Denise’s Joy and Valley of Georgia win but in 1980, two NZ horses in My Brown Jug and Waitangirua had the first and only dead heat in the history of the race to begin an era that saw the NZ bred horses win six of the next seven events. This included top horses like Sovereign Red, Bounty Hawk and Bonecrusher. Australian bred horses next won with the great Rubiton in 1987 but then it was two Northern Hemisphere breds in Authaal (USA) and Almaarad (IRE) that threatened to change the nature of racing in Australia. We had to wait until a new Millenia though before the next dual winner arrived with the sensational fighting tiger, Northerly winning in 2001 and 2002. Despite champions like Elvstroem, Weekend Hussler and So You Think being successful in between, we had to wait until 2019 to see another dual winner, when the evergreen Black Heart Bart caused a huge boilover to win a second Underwood repeating his 2016 success. The race quite rightly holds its place among our best races, and it certainly has been a great steppingstone to future Spring success.

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TURF MONTHLY 6

WILLIAMSTOWN RACING CLUB

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illiamstown was established the main port of Melbourne with the Yarra River too narrow to accommodate ships. Dredging of the river allowed for Station Pier at Port Melbourne to be opened in the 1850s. Williamstown lost its importance as a port and became known as “the fishing village.” In 1859, Williamstown local horse Flying Buck, won a race a Flemington by 10 lengths, prompting the development of Williamstown racecourse which actually was located at Altona. The first race meeting was recorded on Boxing Day in 1859. The main race that day was the Williamstown Handicap, the forerunner to the Williamstown Cup, and it was won by a South Australian horse called The Barber. A son of The Barb out of an unidentified mare, The Barber was to go on to win the Moreton Handicap in Queensland the following year. The Barber was to be one of South Australia’s representative in the Champion Stakes in 1859, but he was on board the ill-fated “Admella” along with Hurtle Fisher who we featured recently, when the ship was wrecked near Cape Northumberland. The Barber swam to shore and was recaptured a few days later. He recovered from his ordeal to go on to stake a unique place in Australian racing folklore.

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he Williamstown Racing Club was founded in 1864 with very modest beginnings.

The club formed with a committee of twenty members and early minutes were recorded in an exercise book. The committee guaranteed a bank overdraft of £9,500.

It took almost three years for the club to host its first meeting with five races on the card and a total purse of only £110. Mr HP Sutton was the first secretary of the club, acting in an honorary capacity until he was formally appointed secretary in 1893. He held the post until his death in June 1911. He was succeeded by Mr CF Orr, whose memory is perpetuated by the CF Orr Stakes.

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illiamstown was to become a popular training centre as its distance from Melbourne meant that track gallops could be conducted away from prying eyes. James Redfearn trained at the track as did Hall of Fame trainer Etienne de Mestre when he first arrived in Melbourne in the 1880’s. The Williamstown Racing Club became one of the senior thoroughbred racing clubs in Victoria, and the course was considered one of the finest in the country. It had a large elaborately decorated grandstand built in 1872. On the day that Phar Lap won the Underwood Stakes in 1931, a revolutionary automatic totalisator, the forerunner of the TAB, operated at the track for the first time.

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t continued to be a successful track, but World War II was to deal a series of blows to Williamstown. The government took over Caulfield, the MCG and Williamstown Racecourse. The Army used the racecourse for a training base, and later it was used by the Munitions Department for storage purposes. The race club continued to operate race meetings at other clubs. After the war, the government of the day said there were to be four racecourses and four racing clubs in metropolitan Melbourne: Williamstown, Caulfield, Flemington and Moonee Valley. Williamstown commenced planning for the resumption of racing on a track whose facilities had fallen into disrepair. A suspicious fire broke out at Williamstown Racecourse in 1947, destroying two of their grandstands and this was to prove a near fatal blow for the club. In 1948 the state government took control of a private racecourse at Ascot for housing. The track had been owned by John Wren, who controlled the Victorian Trotting and Racing Association (VTRA). Wren then purchased around 280 acres that had been the site of the original Sandown racecourse that had closed in 1931.

Wren used his connections to push through an amalgamation of the VTRA and Williamstown Race Club with the new entity to be known as the Melbourne Racing Club. The new Melbourne Racing Club commenced its racing career at Flemington in 1948 with a £2200 Inauguration Cup of 2400m. The Williamstown racecourse was sold in 1949 to the government for surplus building materials and became home to displaced World War II veterans.

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he land purchased by the MRC was in bad condition with a lot of it returning to swamp land. The club continued to race at other metropolitan racetracks while trying to raise much needed money to build its own course. Eventually a design was modelled on a number of US and UK courses and Sandown was built with cambered turns, sweeping corners and a long straight with an uphill run to the finishing post. In 1963 Melbourne Racing Club and the Victorian Amateur Turf Club who operated the Caulfield Racecourse merged. It was that year that the Williamstown Cup was renamed the Sandown Cup largely erasing the history of the original Williamstown club.

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he new Sandown racecourse hosted its first thoroughbred meeting on 19 June 1965 in front of the record crowd of 52,379. The feature race of the day was the Sandown Park Stakes over 1600m, won by the gelded son of Nilo in Samson.

Samson had earlier that season won the VATC Invitation Stakes that had changed its name from the MRC Invitation following the merger of the two clubs. Samson died 16 years after his win and was buried not far from the finishing post at Sandown. A major upgrade of facilities at Sandown Racecourse was completed during 1999 and the Sandown Cup was renamed the Sandown Classic, changing from handicap to weight-for-age conditions. The race was again renamed in 2011 as the Zipping Classic following the retirement of Zipping, the son of Danehill who had won the race on four consecutive occasions from 2007. A detailed history of the Williamstown Racing Club was published by historian Tom Ferris and was called Williamstown: A Great Metropolitan Racing Club.

TURF MONTHLY 8

THE WILLIAMSTOWN CUP

Shoreham 1951 Williamstown Cup at Caulfield beating Grey Boots outside and Iron Duke rails

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he Williamstown Cup was first run in 1888 and won by Mara, a mare by The Ace who had also won the Hotham Handicap earlier in the Spring. The Williamstown Cup was the last of the four cups run during the Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival, with the others being the Moonee Valley, Caulfield and Melbourne Cups. The race was held over 2200m until 1920 when another furlong was added to take the distance to 2400m. From 1943 to 1950 the race was run over 2600m but for the remainder of the time it has stayed over a mile and half. The race changed conditions in 1999 when it went from a handicap to weight for age. One of the most notable of the early winners was Merman by Grand Flaneur who we have written

TURF MONTHLY 9

Adeconner winning the 1914 Williamstown Cup

about in a previous edition, and he was to go to England to win the Goodwood Cup and Ascot Gold Cup before establishing himself as a good stallion. The 1914 winner Aleconner had earlier that year won both the Epsom in Sydney and the Memsie Stakes, while the 1919 winner Richmond Main had won both the AJC and VRC Derbies before his Williamstown Cup victory.

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he great champion Amounis won the Williamstown Cup in 1928 and we are going to take this opportunity to have a closer look at his career a little later. We also saw one of the iconic horses of history in Shadow King win the Cup in 1933.

The first dual winner of the Williamstown Cup though was not until Second Wind in 1930 and 1931. Second Wind was a son of Grandcourt and was bred in Western Australia. The Stud Book actually records the stallion Psychologist as an alternate sire so there must have been a question mark about his sire. He had won the WA Derby, Osborne Stakes and St Leger before heading East and winning the Herbert Power before his first Williamstown victory. He won the race a year later and then went to Tasmania the following season to win their King’s Cup before returning to

Second Wind 1931 Williamstown Cup winner

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Shadow King 1933 Williamstown Cup

Melbourne to win the equivalent race there. Second Wind then returned to Perth to win the Perth Stakes and his final stakes in came in the WA Metropolitan in 1935.

He remains the only dual winner of the race under handicap conditions. In 2007, long after the race had been renamed the Sandown Classic, Zipping became only the second horse to win the race more than once. He dominated the event winning in four consecutive seasons leading to the racing administration changing the name of the race to the Zipping Classic. In 2017 and 2018, the imported Lloyd Williams stayer, The Taj Mahal won back to back Zipping Classics.

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here have been five winners of the race that have also won the Melbourne Cup. Only one, King Ingoda who won in 1922 was able to win the double in the same year. King Ingoda was a son of Comedy King who dominated the Spring of 1922.

He won the South Australian St Leger, the Hotham Handicap, Melbourne Cup and Williamstown Cup that year. His only other stakes win was the 1923 Adelaide Cup. Jockey Bobby Lewis was taken with the colt in Adelaide and was approached by

Watch video in text mode Zipping

TURF MONTHLY 11

Gothic Gem 1934 Williamstown Cup winner

part owner Mr RW Bennett who was looking for a trainer in Melbourne to handle the horse. Lewis arranged a meeting with James Scobie who trained King Ingoda to win the Melbourne Cup. In the Cup he was ridden by A “Titch” Wilson who was apprenticed to Scobie. Lewis was on board an outsider in Furious who finished near the tail. King Ingoda was heavily backed by connections early in the betting, but the rank and file punters supported him strongly after his Hotham win. The stallion had a sterling battle with the favourite The Cypher for the last furlong and gained the verdict by a half-neck in front of a crowd of over 115,000. The final leg of his successful Spring was the Williamstown Cup which was held on the Monday following the Melbourne Cup. He was a dominant favourite backed from 5/2 to 9/4.

Switch was second of the fifteen runners with Anton King third.

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ight Fingers won the 1965 Melbourne Cup and followed that up with a second to Galilee the next year before winning the Sandown Cup. Baghdad Note had won the Melbourne Cup in 1970 but had to wait until 1973 before he scored a win in the Sandown Cup. Arwon won the Melbourne Cup in 1978 after winning the Herbert Power, but it was 1980 before his Sandown Cup victory. The last Melbourne Cup/Sandown double was Americain. He won the Cup in 2010 and became the first Cup winner to score in the WFA Zipping Classic in 2011.

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Americain winning the 2011 Zipping Classic

AMOUNIS

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hen we talk about the greatest horses of the Australian Turf, one name that is often forgotten is that of Amounis. He raced at a time of some of the greatest champions in our history including Windbag, Spearfelt, Valicare, Mollison and the immortal Phar Lap. Not only did he compete against these greats, but he beat them all, including the mighty Phar Lap at the peak of his powers. Amounis also beat Gloaming’s Australian record for stakes money until his record was surpassed

by Phar Lap. Amounis had a great record of carrying weight but was kept away from a lot of the handicap races because of the impost he would have been given.

Trainer Frank McGrath never attempted a Melbourne Cup with the wonderful stayer despite saying that he would have won the 1929 Cup won by Nightmarch.

McGrath described Amounis as one of the greatest all-rounders to race in Australia.

His wife declared Amounis to be one of the kindliest, most lovable animals you could ever wish to have around the house. Amounis was famous for his paralysing burst at the end of his races. McGrath described him as being like Eurythmic in that regard, although many years later it was Bernborough who became famous for his withering finishes. But we are getting well ahead of our story.

TURF MONTHLY 13

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mounis had been bred by Percy Miller and was one of the first progeny of the wonderful Magpie who stood at the famed Kia Ora Stud in NSW. He was bought by trainer JW Cook as a yearling for 300 guineas. Cook had a wonderful eye for a horse and was legendary for purchasing St Constant for only one pound before he went on to win the Cantala Stakes and a good career at stud. After a couple of poor starts as a 2yo, Amounis got his foot caught in a fence and was badly injured.

While recuperating, the decision was made to geld him. On his return as an early 3yo, Amounis had his first win in a Handicap at Moorefield. After a second win, and the gelding was heavily supported on both occasions, he was sold to Paddy Wade for 2500 guineas. There was a condition on the sale that if he won either of the Derbies, an additional payment would be made. Amounis won three races for Wade including the Rosehill Guineas beating Vaals. He finished fourth behind the star colt Manfred in the AJC Derby which was followed by an unplaced run against the older horses in the Metropolitan won by Bard Of Avon. A trip to Melbourne saw him finish fourth again behind Manfred in the VRC Derby before winning the Batman Stakes at Flemington when back to a mile. Paddy Wade was leaving for England and Amounis was put up for public auction.

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rainer Frank McGrath and his friend, Mr William (Billy) Pearson had an eye on Amounis, and McGrath was commissioned to go the sale. He had made up his mind to bid up to 2500 guineas to secure him. Pearson was worried that McGrath might quit too early and so also made his way to the sale to ensure that he brought home the gelding. Pearson need not have worried though as he was knocked down for 1800 guineas. Pearson was a very wealthy man and had had formerly been a bookmaker in Sydney’s paddock ring. McGrath had full control of the horse’s career with Pearson later telling a story that he met one of Amounis’ jockeys for the first time in a Railway station having never seen him ride the horse. The end of the gelding’s 3yo season might have had the new connections wondering about their purchase. His first four runs for the new stable were all unplaced, followed by a win in a handicap event at Randwick when jockey Jack Toohey was on board for the first time with a good horse’s weight of 65.5kg.

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s a 4yo, Amounis came of age. He won his first two starts in the Dundas Handicap and Epsom Handicap carrying the equivalent of 56kg in both. The very good horse Fuji San ran second both times. An unplaced run over the 2000m of the Craven Plate behind Windbag saw Amounis head to Melbourne. Here he won the Cantala and Linlithgow Stakes both over a mile and beating Valicare in the process. A third behind Pantheon in the Fisher Plate over 2400m saw him head to the paddock. His return in the Autumn was an unplaced run over 1200m in the

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Amounis winning the Chipping Norton 1927 beating Limerick Windbag and Valicare

Newmarket before he went back to Sydney. He finished fourth in the Rawson Stakes behind Limerick before beating that horse in the Chipping Norton over 2000m. He finished off his season with an unplaced run in the Doncaster, a third in the AllAged Stakes and a win in the Wagga Gold Cup where he carried 65.5kg.

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mounis started off his 5yo season in moderate form placing in both the Warwick Stakes and Hill Stakes before finishing unplaced in both the Epsom and Metropolitan before heading to Melbourne for a famous victory in the Cox Plate of 1927. He started the 3/1 equal favourite with Gothic just ahead of the good 3yo, Avant Courier who started at 7/2. Avant Courier was a full brother to the remarkable Valicare and was coming off a win in the Caulfield Guineas. Under his light weight, the 3yo set a solid tempo with Amounis and Gothic settling midfield.

Amounis drew alongside Avant Courier coming into the straight with the unlucky Gothic trying to push through between the pair, searching for a run that never came. The leading pair had an epic battle down the straight with Amounis getting the upper hand near the post to win by a neck. Gothic had to be eased at the 200m and finished a length away in third place. A second in the Melbourne Stakes over 2000m was followed by a win in the Linlithgow back over a mile. Stepping up to 2400m, Amounis ran second to Silvius in the Fisher Plate before running third behind Affirm over the same distance in the Williamstown Cup when ridden by Hugh Cairns for the first time. The Autumn in Sydney saw Jack Toohey back on board for the last time when he finished fourth first up in a Flying over 1200m at Randwick. Back to Melbourne and Amounis had Cairns riding when he had one of

Amounis with strapper George Phillips in 1926

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his worst campaigns. He won the Essendon Stakes and was placed in the Lloyd and Rawson Stakes, but his other runs failed to see him earn prizemoney.

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ack as a 6yo in the Spring, Amounis had another change of jockey, this time with Jim Munro on board. He won the Tramway Handicap over 1400m first up at 12/1 before lumping 60.5kg to win the Epsom when the 5/2 favourite. Back to wfa he won the Craven Plate over 2000m before heading to Melbourne for a second in the Caulfield Stakes and an unplaced run in the Cox Plate. Amounis then finished second to Gothic in both the Melbourne and Linlithgow Stakes before triumphing in the Williamstown Cup over 2400m carrying 59.5kg.

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howing the effects of hard racing, Amounis missed the Autumn and did not return to the track until the Spring of his 7yo season. He came back to win the Canterbury Stakes over 1200m first up and then had his only unplaced run at that age behind Winalot in the Hill Stakes. A third behind Mollison in the Spring Stakes was followed by another third, this time behind Phar Lap, in the Craven Plate. It was on to Melbourne where he carried 59.5kg to run second to High Syce in the Caulfield Cup. Amounis then went on the best winning streak of his career winning eight straight races. He finished off the Spring with wins in the Cantala and Linlithgow Stakes before winning the Fisher Plate again over 2400m. This was to be the last time that Jim Munro rode the champion, as Jim Pike joined him for his first two runs in the Autumn in Sydney. He won the Rosehill Stakes and St George Stakes before Harold Jones steered Amounis to win the Futurity Stakes in one of his finest victories. Carrying 65.5kg the 7yo gelding beat a good field of sprinters over the 1200m. Pike was back on Amounis to win the Essendon and Lloyd Stakes both when the odds-on favourite. It was then to Sydney where Pike reunited with the immortal Phar Lap to break Amounis’ winning streak in the Chipping Norton.

Harold Jones flew from Melbourne to ride Amounis who finished second. With Pike back on top, he started even money in the Autumn Stakes over 2400m but was

TURF MONTHLY 16

Amounis beating Phar Lap in the Warwick Stakes Nightmarch third

beaten into second by Nightmarch. A week later he turned the tables on that horse back over the more suitable mile of the All Aged Stakes to close off a wonderful season.

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eturning as an 8yo, Harold Jones was engaged for the Warwick Stakes over a mile as Jim Pike rode the unbeatable Phar Lap. In one of his most famous moments, Amounis upset the great horse in a stirring battle that lasted for much of the straight. Amounis got the nod by a narrow margin and there were plenty of excuses for the champion, but it remains a remarkable feat as it broke Phar Lap’s nine race winning streak. It was also his only defeat in what was to be the most remarkable Spring for the champion that culminated in his Melbourne Cup success.

Amounis went to Melbourne with Jones still on board to run second in the Memsie over 1800m as the 4/1 on favourite behind Wise Force before finishing behind that horse again in a modest Quality Handicap at Moonee Valley. Amounis bounced back to win the October Stakes and Caulfield Stakes, both at odds-on and with Ken Bracken as his new jockey. Bracken had last ridden the champion as a 3yo. Bracken was replaced by Billy Cook for the remainder of the Spring and had his first race ride on Amounis in the Caulfield Cup which proved another outstanding moment in a glorious career. Lumping 61kg not only did Amounis set a weight carrying record in the race, but he started one of the shortest priced favourites in the history of the race at 2/1. Amounis was well back in the field but unleashed one of his great finishing bursts to overwhelm the rest of the field over the short straight. He returned to one of the greatest ovations seen on the Australian turf. The race was not without controversy. Phar Lap had been all the rage for the Cups double in 1930.

His trainer Harry Telford had no real intention of running him in the Caulfield Cup, but leviathan punter Eric Connolly had convinced him not to scratch the horse until five days before the race. Only hours before the scratching, Connolly’s commission agents backed the Amounis/Phar Lap double heavily at the generous odds of 20/1.

Bookmakers lost an estimated £200,000 on the double. Two weeks later, Amounis finished third behind Phar Lap in the Melbourne Stakes, and at his last race for the season, finished fifth behind the idol in the Linlithgow Stakes.

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mounis went to the paddock, but he was feeling his legs badly. A decision was made to eventually retire the horse with little fanfare. Connections decided that the old gelding was doing so well that he returned to training in 1932. He had one final start on 27 August fittingly in the Warwick Stakes, the race that established his own legend. Amounis finished fifth behind Johnnie Jason who beat Veilmond. The same day a 3yo called Peter Pan and a 4yo called Chatham won, making it a fitting handover from the old champ to a new generation of stars. Amounis had earned a total of £48,297, a figure that by then had already been surpassed by Phar Lap. TURF MONTHLY 17

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ne final interesting link with history, and especially with the career of Bernborough, a later champion renowned for his strong finishes, is the story of Australia’s first great lady punter, Mrs Vandenberg. She wagered heavily on Amounis and had been a close friend of Mr Pearson who surprisingly bet very little. It was reported though that Billy Pearson did back Amounis heavily before his Epsom win in 1926, getting set at 16/1 when the horse was backed into 5/2. Pearson was believed to have collected over £10,000. The colossal operations of Mrs Vandenberg echoed throughout Australia and she heavily supporter Amounis through his string of wins in the Spring of 1929. Her wagering was not restricted to Amounis and “Mrs V” landed numerous large plunges. One of the most notable was at Randwick in 1927 when owner Bob Bailie won the Challenge and January Handicap double, with Don Moon and Solomon. She backed Don Moon at 20 to 1, and Solomon at 33 to 1, and cleaned up £5000 in a day. On another occasion, Rawhetu's success in a race at Rosehill brought her in £2900. Her betting activities went quiet at Amounis’ retirement although she was spotted from time to time at the races.

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At 14.45% the pedigree of Amounis is quite heavily inbred. The first feature is a duplication of the great St Simon in the fourth generation through two sons in St Frusquin, the damsire of Magpie, and Simile, the damsire of Loved One, Amounis’ dam. It is an interesting place to find a stallion duplicated and this placement is significant in itself. Next, we see a duplication of Hampton again through two sons in Bay Ronald and Royal Hampton. It is equally important that we note the placement of these duplications in both the sire line of Magpie and also through the sireline of Chand Beebee. Lord Clifden, the sire of Hampton is present three times between the fifth and sixth generations, as too is Galopin the sire of St Simon. Sterling, Stockwell, Orlando, King Tom and Scottish Chief are also duplicated in the fifth and sixth generations making for an interesting pedigree.

FRANK McGRATH

McGrath, Francis (1866–1947)

by Richard Waterhouse This article was published in Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 15, (MUP), 2000

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rancis McGrath (1866-1947), jockey and racehorsetrainer, was born on 17 October 1866 at Boorowa, New South Wales, eldest of three sons of James McGrath, carpenter, and his second wife Catherine, née Cahill (late Kane), both from County Tipperary, Ireland. Frank learned to ride early and had his first win on his father's horse, Killarney, at the Gullen races in 1875. Apprenticed to Sydney trainer John Alsopp in 1877, he moved to Edward Keys and in 1880 joined the Newcastle stables of John Mayo, for whom he rode Prince Imperial in the 1885 Caulfield Cup: McGrath suffered head and eye injuries when sixteen of the forty-one runners fell in the straight. Although he was plagued by constant headaches, he returned to the saddle, won the 1886 Epsom Handicap on Zeno and continued to ride until 1892.

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y 1898 McGrath was successfully training ponies at Canterbury, Sydney. His winnings from Stormy enabled him to buy a house and stables in Doncaster Avenue, Kensington, in 1900 and to obtain a No.1 trainer's licence from the Australian Jockey Club.

On 23 July that year, at St Mary's Catholic Church, Crookwell, he married 25-year-old Bridget Stapleton.

His early successes included Abundance, winner of the 1902 Australian Jockey Club Derby and the 1903 Victoria Racing Club and A.J.C. St Leger stakes, and Little Toy which won the 1906 Doncaster Handicap.

He trained Prince Foote for 'J. Baron'; the horse won the A.J.C. and Victoria Derbys (1909), the Melbourne Cup (1909) and both St Legers (1910). McGrath later TURF MONTHLY 20

maintained that the prize-money he collected early in his career provided him with the 'kick along' to sustain him through the inevitable lean years.

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espite rarely having more than twenty horses in training, McGrath prepared the winners of many major events, among them the Epsom Handicap (Amounis 1926, 1928), Caulfield Cup (Amounis 1930, Denis Boy 1931), Metropolitan Stakes (Denis Boy 1932, Beau Vite 1940), A.J.C. Derby (Tanami 1910, Peter Pan 1932, Pandect 1940) and W. S. Cox Plate (Beau Vite 1940, 1941). His greatest horse was R. R. Dangar's Peter Pan. In addition to taking numerous V.R.C. and A.J.C. weight-for-age trophies, Peter Pan overcame severe interference to win the 1932 Melbourne Cup (returning to scale with grass-stains on his nose), and ploughed through the mud carrying 9 st. 10 lb. (62 kg) to 'blitz' the 1934 Melbourne Cup field. Supported by experienced racing officials and some seasoned jockeys, McGrath always maintained that Peter Pan was a better two-miler than Phar Lap.

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cGrath was never accused of malpractice by any of the principal club committees. He was always willing to provide advice to young trainers, and to extend a helping hand to those who had fallen on hard times (during the Depression he often 'forgot' to collect the rent from tenants of the cottages he owned).

In 1941 he was elected president of the New South Wales Breeders', Owners', and Trainers' Association.

He retired in 1945, handing over his stables to his son, Frank junior. Survived by his wife, two sons and three of his four daughters, McGrath died on 28 October 1947 at his Kensington home and was buried in Waverley cemetery. His estate was sworn for probate at £15,537.

AMOUNIS HIS FAMILY

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mounis saw his second dam as Chand Beebee who was imported to Australia in 1892. The mare was entered for both the Caulfield and Melbourne Cups of 1894 but was withdrawn. She was imported by Messrs Merthyr and Baronet who intended to form a new stud at Minmi near Newcastle in NSW. The gentlemen were in reality brothers John and William Brown and the stud was named Motto Farm, and located on around 220 acres adjoining the old Lower Hunter racecourse.

In 1932 it was sold to the Government in order to establish an airport that was later to become Williamstown Airforce Base in an interesting quirk to history.

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hile Chand Beebee did not have success on the track, she was to become an important broodmare. She produced four stakes-winners with her first Chantress by Bill Of Portland who won the AJC December Stakes, VRC All-Aged Stakes and Newmarket Handicap when raced by William Brown. At stud she was to produce Ptah by Duke Of Melton to win the Werribee Cup. Chand Beebee’s second stakes winner was Bee Bee by Haut Brion who won the Maribyrnong Plate.

She was also to produce the Hotham Handicap winner Beedos. The third of Chand Beebee’s stakes winners was Baw Bee by Simile who won the AJC Breeders Plate as a 2yo and later the AJC Summer Cup. Chand Beebee’s best though was her last stakes winner in Piastre by Positano. His first stakes win was the 1912 Melbourne Cup and the following year he went on to win a further five stakes races in the AJC Autumn and Cumberland Stakes, and the VRC Champion and Essendon Stakes and Loch Plate. Piastre was to stand at Woodlands Stud and produced eight stakes winners including Plastoon who won the QTC Brisbane Cup, Metropolitan Handicap and National Plate, and the 1927 AJC Sydney Cup. Fittingly he also produced Millieme who won AJC Sires Produce, St Leger and the 1920 Williamstown Cup.

Watch video in text mode Wenona Girl 1963 Futurity

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Piastre 1012 Melbourne Cup

he family has continued to play a prominent role in the Australian thoroughbred.

Garrio by Chivalrous was to win the Cox Plate of 1935 and later went on appropriately to win the Williamstown Cup the same year. He was to go to stud to produce Garriola who won the 1949 QTC Metropolitan Handicap and Queensland Cup. As far as the best representative of the family, it is hard to go past the remarkable Wenona Girl who won 22 stakes races in the early 1960’s. As a 2yo she won both the VRC and AJC Sires Produce and was second in the Golden Slipper behind Sky High. She maintained a long rivalry with that star galloper and beat him in both the Hobartville Stakes and Rosehill Guineas early in their 3yo season. She was later to be placed behind Sky High in three straight Canterbury Stakes from the ages of four until six. Among her wins were two Lightning Stakes, a CF Orr, the Rawson Stakes as a 3yo against the older horses, the Futurity Stakes and a George Main Stakes.

Wenona Girl was also to win her second Rawson Stakes as a 6yo and she was able to win the All-Aged Stakes at Randwick at her racing farewell on 30 March 1964. She was to go on and produce Special Girl by Todman who won the Civic Handicap in 1970. Among the other stars that trace to this family are Kinjite by Centaine who won six stakes races including the G1 Spring Champion Stakes, George Ryder and Epsom Handicap. He also went on to become a useful sire. Also from the family are Estijaab and Sizzling both by Snitzel and they won the G1 Golden Slipper and BTC TJ Smith Classic respectively, and Manawanui by Oratorio who won five stakes races including the ATC Golden Rose.

Watch video in text mode TURF MONTHLY 22

Kinjite

FRESHMAN

SIRES 2021

ANDERS COOL AZA BEEL DIRTY WORK DOUBTLAND EARTHLIGHT LUCKY VEGA NORTH PACIFIC

ANDERS

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nders is remembered as a real speed machine, but his racing performances do not quite reflect this. Unlike a lot of our precocious two year olds, Anders did not really make his mark until May of that season when he won a Wyong maiden by over six lengths. He then went to Rosehill where he won again over 1100m by under a length. As an early 3yo he dominated a good field in the Listed Rosebud beating Ole Kirk by almost five lengths. He then destroyed other former top 2yo’s in Peltzer and Mamaragan by over 3 lengths in the San Domenico. Anders did not race again until the Spring when he ran a close third behind Ranting and Hanseatic in the Blue Sapphire in a field of only those three runners. He did not feature in the G1 Coolmore Stud Stakes against the older horses and again went to the paddock.

The colt had only one more start, showing good speed to sit outside the leaders in the G1 Oakleigh Plate at Caulfield but he faded to finish twelfth beaten only by three lengths. Anders is a son of Not A Single Doubt so it is possible that he did not mature until a little later than some. The other factor to take from his results is that all of his wins were recorded on rain affected ground.

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is sire Not A Single Doubt has been a top stallion for many seasons and is no longer in active service. He has produced over 70 stakes winners and we now see Anders joining five other sons of that stallion at stud including Farnan and

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Anders has something of a unique pedigree for a stallion prospect in that his pedigree is represented as a total outcross for six generations. This is tempered a little if we look back at the seventh generation of the pedigree which features multiple lines of Nasrullah, Ribot, Native Dancer, and Star Kingdom to name a few. We also see the mares Almahmoud and her dam, Mahmoud appearing through multiple lines. It is interesting that in the pedigree of Anders we see that his female line is very much an overseas one but all major lines have played a role in our local thoroughbred with stallions like Mr Prospector, Herbager, Halo, In Reality and Hail To Reason being prominent.

Doubtland who are among our Freshman sires this season. As they all share the same sire, there will be a number of pedigree similarities in all of these. Not A Single Doubt is by Redoute’s Choice, and he is related to Snippets on his female line which will bring in particularly the presence of wonderful females like Shantha’s Choice and Easy Date to attract some breeders. The female line of the stallions, together with their location and price point will offer key differences. It is an interesting observation that all bar one of Not A Single Doubt’s sons at stud are from Mr Prospector line mares. The one exception is Squamosa.

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or Anders, he was an expensive yearling, but it is not a female family that all that many Australians would ultimately be familiar with. He traces to the Bruce Lowe number 9 family that includes the likes of Galileo and Sea The Stars in more recent times, and historically stallions like Bull Lea, Fair Trial, Dark Ronald, Cyllene and Nasrullah. Perhaps more importantly it is the family of Mumtaz Mahal and Hilldene.

The immediate female line of Anders shows his sibling by Snitzel in Battleground who was placed in the Listed Gosford Guineas. His dam, Madam Endree by War Emblem was bred in Australia but was out of the Japanese mare, Glamour Stock

by Sunday Silence. In turn, her dam Appealing Story by Valid Appeal was a US bred mare who produced Exciting Story by Diablo who was the Champion 2yo in Canada. The pedigree of Anders is a total outcross in six generations which is unusual in modern thoroughbreds, and almost a rarity in good stallions. While it opens up a lot of options with breeding to the important features in the stallion, there is certainly a strong overseas influence in the pedigree. Breeders will need to be careful in trying to reinforce these positive lines yet still introducing strong colonial lines.

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anehill naturally will be critical to the success of Anders. He stands at Widden in the Hunter Valley so there will be no shortage of Danehill line mares. It is interesting that another of the sons of Not A Single Doubt in Doubtland will be standing at Widden in Victoria where presumably he will cover a different broodmare population. Widden certainly have shown their support for Not A Single Doubt by standing two new sons this season, and it is a good strategy to stand them in different States. This hasn’t answered where we should be heading with Anders. Starting with the proven broodmare sires, old favourites like Encosta De Lago, his close relation Flying Spur, and More Than Ready are likely to be a solid option. These are getting much harder to find in general, and there is strong competition for these mares so the stallion is unlikely to secure his reputation from these but rather the newer broodmare sires. Stallions that may fit the bill include the growing number of stallions who are by Deep Impact. By pushing the Sunday Silence influence a little deeper in the pedigree, it could well see that legendary stallion assert his influence more significantly under local conditions. Dundeel is another of our emerging broodmare sires that could well suit Anders, and it is interesting that both of these are more likely to be found at Arrowfield who actually had a hand in breeding Anders. High Chaparral stood at nearby Coolmore and his daughters are also likely to include some good options for the stallion. Similarly, his son So You Think will also fit the bill, but the difficulty will be finding these daughters that do not include prominent lines of Danehill. It is notable that most of these newer stallions have strong stamina influences in their pedigrees and this is another factor that should be considered. I Am Invincible represents more of a local feel to his pedigree and he could have some very nice daughters and in particular his son Brazen Beau should be starting to have some daughters going to stud that look like they may suit Anders. Lonhro is usually a stallion that immediately comes to mind with grandsons of Danehill but with the presence of Mr Prospector this becomes a less attractive option. His son Pierro may well get better results through pushing that US influence a little further back in the pedigree.

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nders will certainly appeal to breeders who want to breed to speed and there is no doubt that the stallion had this in spades. Breeding is often a tale of balance, and it could prove important to introduce other stamina lines into a mating to achieve the best long-term results. While Anders will probably face his challenges to get large numbers of suitable mates, there are enough options to suggest that he should produce some quality speedy youngsters that are so highly prized in the market.

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COOL AZA BEEL

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ool Aza Beel represents a very different type of stallion coming to Australia this season. His pedigree is immediately recognisable by being a son of the wonderful stallion, Savabeel, who has been a star of NZ breeding for a decade.

Savabeel was a leading son of Zabeel out of the Success Express mare, Savannah Success. Savabeel won the Spring Champion Stakes and Cox Plate as a 3yo before running second to Plastered in the VRC Derby. He returned the following Autumn to run second in the CF Orr Stakes behind Elvstroem. At stud Savabeel has produced over 100 Group winners including the remarkable mare, Lucia Valentino and the NZ champion, Savvy Coup.

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hile many of Savabeel’s progeny got over a trip, Cool Aza Beel was champion 2yo in NZ winning the prestigious Karaka Millions and G1 Diamond Stakes.

He had only six starts winning four of these and he had his last run in the March of his 2yo season. His dam was Cool ‘n’ Sassy by Testa Rossa who won two minor races up to 1200m. His second dam was Elle’s Decree by Red Ransom who only had two starts but importantly she was a half-sister to Malaguerra who won 12 races and almost $2 million in prizemoney including the G1 BTC Cup and VRC Darley Classic, and the 2yo Listed winner, Tennessee Midnight. Tennessee Midnight went on to produce Aloha by Encosta De Lago who won the G1 Coolmore Classic before she herself produced the multiple Group winner, Libertini by I Am Invincible.

Another daughter of Tennessee Midnight in Midnight Rock by Rory’s Jester went on to give us the stakes winning My Emotion by Savabeel. Another daughter was to become the dam of Seabrook by Hinchinbrook who won the 2018 ATC Champagne Stakes and Sweet Embrace. The third dam of Cool Aza Beel was the Maribyrnong Plate winner, Tennessee Morn by Bletchingly who was, herself, a sibling to two other stakes winners in Tennessee Magic and Tennessee Mist. It is one of the great old Australian families, and while it has produced a host of sprinters in recent times, the family traces to the 1945 Melbourne Cup winner, Rainbird who was a sibling of Peter, a winner of five stakes races including the 1944 Williamstown Cup, and the 1956 VRC Grand National Hurdle winner in Redfield. Over the years, the family has produced wonderful horses including Tivaci, Allez Wonder, Time Thief, Personal, Foreplay, Centaine, Rain Affair, Been There, Nina Haraka and Mirror Mirror. There is no doubt that Cool Aza Beel has the pedigree to make an impact in the breeding barn.

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ool Aza Beel is free of Danehill although we do see his sire, Danzig prominent as the grandsire of Testa Rossa, our stallion’s damsire. Danzig is one of two sons of Northern Dancer within four generations, with the other, Nureyev being closely related to the sire of Testa Rossa in Perugino. Another son of Northern Dancer in Nijinsky is also duplicated in the stallion’s sixth generation. Interestingly we see Without Fear also duplicated in the pedigree and he is a stallion whose importance is often forgotten when we look at our leading stallions. The French bred horse sired 45 stakes winners and stood at a time when there was a host of new very good and diverse stallions as Australia searched for the next big thing following the dominance of Star Kingdom.

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Cool Aza Beel has a relatively moderately inbred pedigree at 7.42%. The nearest duplications are not until the fifth generation when we see the duplications of Northern Dancer, Special and Without Fear. In the sixth generation we see two lines of Turn To interestingly through the sire lines of the stallion’s sire and damsire. We also see three lines of Nearctic, the sire of Northern Dancer, and two lines of Nijinsky, another son of Northern Dancer. What may also have been significant is that there are two sons of Star Kingdom within the first six generations of the pedigree with both Noholme and Biscay ensuring this remarkable influence is still relevant in the modern racehorse

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ith such a remarkable looking pedigree, the world may well be the oyster for the stallion as he appears that he will suit a wide range of mares. The strength of his pedigree could be one of the main dangers facing the stallion. With so many important influences in his pedigree, breeders are likely to be tempted to try a scatter gun approach to their matings and look to reinforce multiple varied lines. It is much more likely that breeding to specific individual factors within the pedigree of the stallion and the mare will have more success. Rather than seeing heavily inbred pedigrees with a myriad of stallions duplicated, a much better strategy may be to breed to only one or two of the strengths. In the case of a stallion like I Am Invincible for example, he picks up on Danzig, Bletchingly and Sir Ivor in the pedigree of Cool Aza Beel. If we were to send a mare that features additional lines of other ancestors in Cool Aza Beel’s pedigree this could well detract from the mating.

Fortunately with the lack of Mr Prospector in the stallion’s pedigree, we are likely to see plenty of these types of mares available. As we saw in the female family of Cool Aza Beel, there have been a range of different stallions who have had success ranging including Danehill, Encosta De Lago, and more recently I Am Invincible and Hinchinbrook. There is no reason that this trend will not continue with Cool Aza Beel providing breeders do not overdo potential inbreeding. The stallion stands in the Hunter Valley in NSW and there will be no shortage of quality suitable mares.

There is a real question in breeding in the modern climate though that wonders if stallions standing outside of the major studs can attract enough of these quality mares to capitalise on their potential.

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ne interesting factor that cannot be ignored is that Cool Aza Beel is a NZ bred stallion. While it is easy to reel off a list of champion stallions from that country, the only one that has won a Sires Title in Australia in the last hundred years has been Zabeel. If we go back through the history of the Stud Book, we only find that two other NZ bred horses in Lochiel and Trenton have won the Sires Title in Australia. We must go back to the 1905/06 season to find the most recent of those and unlike Zabeel, these two stallions stood in Australia. While this may not seem relevant in the modern era, history can always teach us important lessons. We could easily mount an argument that Zabeel may have not had the same success had he stood in Australia based on the different types of mares that he would have covered.

Fortunately, in the case of Cool Aza Beel, we see a very strong Australian female line and the way that breeders choose to use these influences may ultimately make or break the stallion. Cool Aza Beel though certainly has something very different to offer breeders than most of our other freshman stallions for the season.

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DIRTY WORK

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irty Work is a newcomer to the emerging Victorian powerhouse stud Spendthrift Farm. The US based Spendthrift have already brought some of their best homebred horses to Australia and are balancing their roster with some interesting new local stallions. Dirty Work certainly attracts interest as one of only half a dozen of sons of the popular star stallion, Written Tycoon to go to stud. His sons are headlined by the Golden Slipper winning Capitalist who stands at Newgate Stud. That factor alone is enough to ensure that Dirty Work will grab his share of attention with breeders and buyers alike.

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he stallion raced 21 times which might be a good sign in a time when many prospects are retiring with only a handful of starts. He won five races with his best win in the G2 Schillaci Stakes at Caulfield. His connections certainly had a

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high opinion of him, and he was still a maiden when he ran third behind Bivouac in the G3 Vain Stakes at Caulfield at only his third career start. His first stakes win was in the Listed Ortensia at Rosehill towards the end of his 3yo season. As a 4yo Dirty Work stepped out first up to run third behind Gytrash and Nature Strip in the Concorde Stakes, and was placed in the G1 Manikato later that Spring. His four remaining runs were all at G1 level and he ran fifth, beaten only a half-length in a blanket finish in the Oakleigh Plate behind Celebrity Queen when among the tail enders at the 400m. He finished behind Eduardo and Nature Strip in The Galaxy and TJ Smith before he ended his career with a fourth behind Savatoxl in the Goodwood in Adelaide.

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he female line of Dirty Work is an interesting one, and traces back to a family that arrived in Australia around 1930. It struck early success when Lady Kristine won the AJC Princess Stakes, now the Adrian Knox. The family has been a prolific source of winners since then, even if not really a family of champions. Sou’Wester

by Light Wind won the 1975 Caulfield Guineas while other good horses like Zonda

by Zabeel who won the NZ Derby and New Zealand Stakes, Mr Murphy the winner of the Futurity, Australian Guineas and the race that is now known as the Sir Rupert Clark, and the Oakleigh Plate winner, Kenvain who was to go on to become a good stallion, all share the same female line. For those breeders who are looking for good colonial speed lines, Dirty Work looks as if he may fit the bill. To reinforce this, we see both Biscay and Vain duplicated in his pedigree.

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e see that Dirty Work has a pedigree featuring a son of Danzig in Ad Valorem as his damsire. Interestingly the pedigree also has Danehill through a daughter in his tail female line to introduce a new dimension to the presence of Danehill for breeders with mares carrying that stallion. Redoute’s Choice in particular shares similarities with Dirty Work’s second dam’s pedigree as they both carry Danehill and Canny Lad close up. Daughters of Redoute’s Choice could certainly represent an opportunity for the stallion, but perhaps it would be more ideal to look for his granddaughters such as those mares by Snitzel to best reinforce these factors.

Magnus is another stallion who may have suitable daughters and his pedigree sees the presence of both Lunchtime and Vain. No doubt Danehill will play a critical role in the success or failure of the stallion. He looks at least on face value that the Danehill factor will not be detrimental especially if we can push his presence a little further back in the pedigree as we saw with Redoute’s Choice. Standing in Victoria, we may not see that many of these types of mares for the stallion unless Spendthrift actively pursues these.

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iven that we mentioned the colonial nature of the stallion’s female family, one Victorian based stallion that could have suitable daughters is the old favourite, Bel Esprit. There should be caution used here though as there is no shortage of speed in either pedigree, and we need to ensure that there are some additional stamina lines to balance this. Kenvain is another stallion who may still have an odd daughter around and this will also offer an interesting strategy. Again, caution must be used when introducing more speed into the mating. This leads us to the true stamina

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Dirty Work is another stallion with a moderately inbred pedigree at 7.42%. Three lines of Northern Dancer are no doubt important and we see these through his son Try My Best and two lines of Danzig. Perhaps more significantly, especially in terms of our discussion on the colonial nature of the stallion’s family, we see duplications of both Vain and Biscay.

Interestingly we see Vain appears through two daughters while Biscay appears through two sons in Marscay and Bletchingly. We also see a duplication of Never Bend who is sex balanced in the sixth generation.

sources like Zabeel and Sadler’s Wells and their descendants like Lonhro and High Chaparral. Many of these types of mares could suit the stallion but again we must wonder if Dirty Work will see all that many of these mares. There are still plenty of local Victorian stallions that can match the stallion and some like Street Boss, Americain, Canford Cliffs, Equiano, and Puissance De Lune look likely contenders.

Dirty Work should get more than his fair share of compatible mares and will be well supported by Spendthrift. He certainly looks a type that even if he does not produce a lot of champions, he should produce a lot of sound and solid runners for many seasons to come.

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DOUBTLAND

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oubtland is one of three sons of Not A Single Doubt to go to stud this season.

He will stand at Widden Stud in Victoria and joins Squamosa as the only other son of his sire in that State. Interestingly Widden stand Anders, another of the new sons of Not A Single Doubt at their NSW base and the difference between these two is probably an indication of the different nature of the breeding industry between the States.

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oubtland raced only eight times, winning his two starts as a 2yo including a victory in the G3 Kindergarten Stakes. He suffered his first defeat returning as a 3yo in the San Domenico coincidentally behind Anders. He then went to Melbourne when Perth wizard William Pike steered him to his most important win in the G2 Danehill Stakes beating Amish Boy and Ranting. Back in Sydney he ran third in the Roman Consul behind Wild Ruler before running fourth to September Run in the G1 Coolmore. After a break, he returned for two moderate runs in the Autumn before retiring. He had originally been purchased for $1.1 million at Inglis Easter by Hawkes Racing.

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Doubtland shows a good deal of inbreeding at 9.38%. The feature is a 4x4 cross of the mare, Rory’s Rocket who is the dam of Rory’s Jester and Sushi Rocket, the third dam of the stallion. It is critical that we see this mare through the female line of the stallion. Despite this being a wonderful source of colonial speed, we see that the next key feature is four lines of Northern Dancer through his sons Danzig, Nijinsky, Grand Chaudiere and Salmon Leap. As always with the presence of Danehill and multiple lines of Northern Dancer, we also see the duplication of Natalma. Buckpasser is another ancestor who we commonly see duplicated through the pedigree of Danehill and he also appears in the pedigree of Seeking The Gold. The final duplication within six generations is that of Grey Sovereign who we see as the damsire of Grand Chaudiere and the sire of Zeddaan who we see in the sire line of Kenmare.

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he stallion is a full sibling to Pretty Fast who had won the Listed Mode Plate in 2017. They are out of the Ustinov mare, Miss Sharapova who won four races up to 2100m and was stakes placed in the G3 NZ Lowland Stakes and ran fourth in the NZ Oaks. Ustinov is an interesting influence in Doubtland’s pedigree. He was bred in the US and was by Seeking The Gold out of the Australian champion, Let’s Elope who won eight stakes races including the 1991 Caulfield Cup/Melbourne Cup double. Miss Sharapova was out of Young And Free by the French bred Kenmare and she also produced the joint top Sprinting 3yo filly of 2013/14 in Australia in Villa Verde also by Not A Single Doubt. The third dam of Doubtland is Sushi Rocket

by Salmon Leap, a stakes-winning half sister to Rory’s Jester who won the 1985 Golden Slipper. He proved a wonderful sire with 73 stakes winners to his name but rather oddly only three at Group 1 level in Racer’s Edge, Isca and Aragen. We cannot mention the female line of Doubtland without noting that Rory’s Jester was the damsire of Not A Single Doubt and this will play a major role in the future of the stallion.

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hen talking about Rory’s Jester, we can also acknowledge a mare called Easy Date by Grand Chaudiere who we regularly talk about as the dam of Snippets.

These two influences will attract breeders to Doubtland, but interestingly their most significant impact has probably been in Queensland and NSW. Of course, they can regularly be found in pedigrees across the nation, and we see Champion stallion Snitzel among these. Many will have Danehill prominently in their pedigree and this will be an issue in reinforcing these ancestors. Because both Easy Date and Rory’s Jester have had success with Danehill, it will be interesting to see how that stallion will work with the sons of Not A Single Doubt but the key no doubt will be pushing him as far back in the pedigree as we can.

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tanding in Victoria, Doubtland may get some different opportunities to those other sons of Not A Single Doubt standing in NSW. We should not forget as well the presence of Let’s Elope in Doubtland’s pedigree, and while we do not expect to see any Melbourne Cup winners by the stallion, some of his progeny may well extend a little more in distance. This will depend upon him covering some of the more stamina related mares that Victoria can have to offer including daughters of Fiorente and of course the wonderful Reset. Another interesting facet of Doubtland’s pedigree is the presence of Kenmare. He can still be found in a range of pedigrees, and Glass Harmonium is one source of that stallion, even if he has produced relatively few mares. Onemorenomore is another stallion who carries a line of Kenmare, as are Written Tycoon, Purrealist and Lope De Vega. While the last stallion stood in NSW, he is one who in particular could present an interesting option for Doubtland. There certainly appear plenty of options for Doubtland in Victoria, and while we probably do not expect him to produce the truly precocious types of 2yo’s that some other sons of Not A Single Doubt will, he might surprise with the variety of runners that will get.

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EARTHLIGHT

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arley at Northwood in Victoria introduce another top quality addition to their stallion roster in Earhtlight. It is quite remarkable the bloodlines that organisation is bringing to Australia, although of course overseas success is no guarantee that they will suit local conditions. Earthlight was unbeaten as a 2yo, winning his five starts at that age including the G1 Prix Morny in France and the Middle Park Stakes at Newmarket in England. He won first up as a 3yo but then tasted defeat for the first time in the G1 Prix Maurice de Gheest behind Space Blues and another of our new stallions in Hello Youmzain who is to stand in NZ. He bounced back to win the G3 Prix du Pin in course record time at Longchamp over 7 furlongs, and then he finished his career running second to One Master over the same course and distance in the G1 Prix de la Foret when again a short-priced favourite.

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Earthlight has a pedigree with a moderate level of inbreeding at 6.64% which is a figure we often see in quality racehorses.

The pedigree though is dominated by two major factors and they are the duplications of both Northern Dancer and Mr Prospector, likely the two dominant sire lines of the modern era. Both appear through sons. In the case of Mr Prospector, it is through Machiavellian and Miswaki while in the case of Northern Dancer it is through Storm Bird, Sadler’s Wells and El Gran Senor. As these are not the dominant lines of either stallion, this is likely to allow the opportunity of bringing in other lines of these stallions through different influences. In this pedigree we also see the duplication of Natalma without the presence of Danehill and again this could be a key factor not only in the success of the stallion on the track, but also his potential success at stud. We also see Never Bend duplicated, again interestingly through two sons in Riverman and Mill Reef who we both may consider as stamina influences.

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arthlight is a son of Shamardal. Much of the decision to stand Earthlight in Victoria would have factored in Darley bringing Pinatubo to NSW, but they have announced that will not happen this season. This now means that Darley have two sons of Shamardal in Australia in both Earthlight and Blue Point, both standing in Victoria. Interestingly the two Darley newcomers join three other sons of Shamardal in that State with Puissance De Lune, Shamoline Warrior and Crackerjack King all at stud. As with most of Darley’s horses, the female line of Earthlight is high quality.

He is out of the stakes-placed Winters Moon by New Approach who ran third at both Group 1 and Group 3 level. New Approach by Galileo had four seasons in Australia where he produced eight stakes winner, with his only local bred Group 1 winner being the SAJC Schweppes Oaks winner, May’s Dream. The overseas bred Cascadian was successful in the 2021 Doncaster. Earthlight’s second dam was the Darshaan mare, Summertime Legacy who won at Group 3 level and was also third in the Group 1 Prix Saint-Alary. She produced two Group 1 winners in Mandaean

by Monduro who won the Criterium de Saint-Cloud and Wavering by Refuse To Bend who won the Prix Saint-Alary. Delving further into the family it has been one that has had some success in Australia, perhaps importantly through the progeny of Danehill with horses like One World and Langoustine. Ultimately it is the family of the likes of Storm Cat, Royal Academy and Fusaichi Pegasus.

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ne of the key features of the pedigree of the stallion is the absence of Danehill.

On face value this would stand Earthlight in better stead in NSW but there is no shortage of Danehill line mares in Victoria, although perhaps not as many quality ones. Darley themselves though will support the stallion with some of their own wonderful mares which always give their stallions a leg up. Nevertheless, there will be plenty of outside mare owners with mares inbred to Danehill lining up to take advantage of this pedigree factor. With the sire line of both Earthlight’s sire and dam tracing to Northern Dancer, there is perhaps a word of caution to introducing too many additional lines of that stallion, but it is likely a minor concern. An important factor that we mentioned is that stallions like Storm Cat, Fusaichi Pegasus and Royal Academy hail from the same female family. We also see Storm Cat feature in the sire line of the stallion. All of these stallions will be available within the broodmare population and introducing these further lines of the female family may pay dividends. Overall Earthlight may prove to be a valuable addition to the stallion roster at Darley. Despite him being a champion 2yo, one of the biggest questions will be his ability to get enough of the early 2yo types that Australian racing craves.

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LUCKY VEGA

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ucky Vega is certainly an interesting addition to Australia’s stallion ranks and he underlines the growing strength of the Yulong Investments organisation. Not only do they stand a diverse range of stallions, but they are growing into one of the biggest racehorse ownership groups that we see worldwide. Lucky Vega is a horse that Yulong raced to win the G1 Phoenix Stakes for the stable as a 2yo at only his third race start. He had started his career in June with a win in a maiden at Naas in Ireland. Lucky Vega then stepped up to the G2 Railway Stakes at the Curragh to run a half-length second to Law Of Indices. His win in the Phoenix Stakes followed at only his third career start and he beat Aloha Star and The Lir Jet by three and a half lengths although the minor placings were reversed on protest. Lucky Vega

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then finished a close fifth in the G1 National Stakes behind Thunder Moon before rounding off his 2yo season by finishing second to Supremacy at Ascot in the G1 Middle Park Stakes at Newmarket beaten only a half-length. He started only three times as a 3yo, running third in the English 2000 Guineas and fourth in the Irish 2000 Guineas before finishing second to Poetic Flare in the G1 St James Palace Stakes at Ascot.

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ucky Vega is a son of Lope De Vega, another stallion who shuttled briefly to Australia from 2012 to 2016. Unfortunately, he is another stallion whose local performance did not quite match his overseas success. Lope De Vega sired 14 Australian bred stakes winners including the brilliant Santa Ana Lane, Vega Magic and Gytrash. Perhaps the biggest reason that Australia did not fully accept the stallion is that he did not sire a 2yo stakes winner here. This will be the test of Lucky Vega despite his own 2yo success. Lucky Vega is out of the unraced Cape Cross mare, Queen Of Carthage. His second dam is the G1 winning Muhtathir mare, Satwa Queen who won the Longchamp Prix de l’Opera. She also produced the stakeswinning Important Time by Oasis Dream. In turn, Satwa Queen was out of an Irish River mare, Tolga who had also produced stakes-winners in Spadoun by Kaldoun and Anbella by Common Grounds. The family itself is not one particularly well known in Australia despite success across the world, although it ultimately is the line that gave us one of our greatest mares in Let’s Elope

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erhaps if we look at the pedigrees of Santa Ana Lane and Gytrash, it might give us the best clue as to what may work with Lucky Vega. It is unlikely to be a coincidence that both of these top racehorses are out of mares by Fastnet Rock. Even though Lucky Vega is himself a product of a mare from the Danzig sire line, Danehill will again be the key being another stallion who is free of that particular stallion.

However, standing in Victoria the stallion will have less of an opportunity to attract the best quality of these mares. No doubt Yulong will support the stallion though which would give him a good start. While Fastnet Rock will have attraction, he may not be the answer to producing the two year olds that Lucky Vega will need to make his mark with breeders and buyers. Other sons of Danehill like Exceed And Excel, Choisir and Redoute’s Choice might be a better option. Alternatively, grandsons of Danehill may be an even better option and Snitzel may be an interesting option given that he also brings in Storm Bird through a female. Not A Single Doubt is another of these who are likely to have suitable daughters. The local bloodlines are something that could really give the stallion a boost particularly Written Tycoon daughters. Unfortunately, many of these lines are not readily available, or if they are can be among the more expensive of our mares. Breeders may just question whether there will be the sales appeal for the stallion to warrant the top line mares. Lucky Vega looks like he will be a good addition to the Victorian stallion ranks, and while some of his progeny may need time, the local breeders are among the most patient in Australia and should afford him every chance to succeed.

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Lucky Vega has a different sort of pedigree and with 5.47%, it is far from the most inbred we see. We see something of a rarity in an all-female duplication of Sir Ivor, a stallion we regularly see in Australia as the sire of Sir Tristram, and this will likely be an interesting factor for the future. We see a duplication of Northern Dancer through sons Storm Bird and Danzig through the sire-lines of both Lope De Vega and Cape Cross. We also see a duplication of Roberto again through two daughters and Sharpen Up is also duplicated this time through two sons. The only sex balanced cross we see in the pedigree is that of Riverman who appears as the sire of Irish River in the tail female line of Lucky Vega, and as the damsire of Waterway in the female line of Shamardal. An important factor is that none of these duplications appear closer than the fifth generation of the stallion, and so may not feature significantly in the progeny of the Lucky Vega.

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NORTH PACIFIC

North Pacific photo courtesy of Turf Stars and Newgate

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orth Pacific is another of the boom horses to retire to stud prematurely. This time it was injury that led to his retirement to Newgate Stud in the Hunte Valley. He was an $800,000 yearling and made his race debut with a third to Farnan in the G2 Silver Slipper. North Pacific did not race again until July of his 2yo season when he won a 2yo handicap on a heavy track at Rosehill. He started his 3yo career with a win in the G3 Up And Coming Stakes, and followed that with a third behind Rothfire and Ole Kirk in the Run To The Rose. North Pacific and Ole Kirk then had a stirring battle for the last 200m of the G1 Golden Rose when the latter got the upper hand at the end to win narrowly. Returning for the Spring, North Pacific started by running fourth behind Peltzer in the Eskimo Prince before a second to the good NZ gelding, Aegon in the G2 Hobartville. He had only one more run, suffering an injury as he finished among the tailenders in the Randwick Guineas before being retired.

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he colt is by Brazen Beau, a son of I Am Invincible. Brazen Beau only went to stud in 2015 and has already sired seven stakes winners including the G1 Manawatu Sires Produce winner, On The Bubbles. The colt is out of the unraced

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O’Reilly mare, Up In Lights who is a half-sister to the stakes placed Spin Doctor and Poniard. His second dam is Love The Limelight by Octagonal who is a half-sister to Metal Bender and closely related to Missybeel and NZ Oaks winner, Amarelinha.

This is also the family of Keeper and Castledale who were both good gallopers who did a solid job at stud in NZ. While it is a good solid family, it is fair to say that it certainly does not compare to the female lines of many of the wonderful other Freshman stallions this season.

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here are numerous interesting features in the pedigree of North Pacific. The real trick I suggest will be to find mares with pedigrees that can highlight only a small number of these key influences. Many mares will have a combination of any number of these influences, and we need to be able to isolate the attributes that we think will be successful with each individual mare. This could make the stallion a little tricky to find all that many suitable mares, and as we are all aware, numbers are critical to success in the modern environment. The advantage that the stallion has is that his pedigree is free of Danehill. He will be critical to North Pacific’s success.

It will depend though on being able to find his descendants that have only a few of the other key features of North Pacific’s pedigree. It is sons of Danehill who are likely to have the biggest influence on North Pacific’s success. Especially in NSW, the stallion will find plenty of these mares available. Most sons of Danehill may well be suitable, although a lot more caution is likely to be needed with his grandsons.

To exemplify this, a mare by Casino Prince would see an interesting duplication of Last Tycoon, but even if we look at that stallion’s son in All Too Hard, we see that his pedigree would also introduce an all-male duplication of Green Desert which may not be ideal.

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orth Pacific with strong local influences in his pedigree is also likely to be suited to international stallions. High Chaparral, and even his local sons like Dundeel and So You Think may well offer a good option. More US lines like Medaglia D’Oro, More Than Ready and even Street Cry and Street Boss may well have suitable daughters. This all of course is prefaced by not seeing a myriad of these other influences already in the pedigree of North Pacific. Even though he was by the speed influence I Am Invincible, the stallion was one who got back in his races and finished powerfully. While we may get an interesting mix by introducing stamina in his matings, it may not be critical to his youngsters’ success who could well benefit by some more explosive early speed. Overall North Pacific is one of the more surprising stallions among our new additions. There is likely to be great reward for getting things right with his matings, and he might finish much higher on the sires’ table than his relatively moderate pedigree may suggest.

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Despite a cumulative amount of linebreeding within the pedigree (5.86%), most does not appear until the sixth generation.

Again, we see multiple lines of Northern Dancer, and again we see these through three different sons in Danzig, Try My Best and Storm Bird. Interestingly we see two lines of Danzig, but both appear only in the sire Brazen Beau. We also see three lines of Northern Dancer’s sire, Nearctic within 6 generations and importantly one of these is through a daughter in the tail female line of Brazen Beau. There are three lines of Sir Ivor in the sixth generation, two through daughters and he appears as the damsire of Green Desert and Bluebird, and once through his son Sir Tristram who appears through the sire line of North Pacific’s damsire, Octagonal. Relic, who is the damsire of Bletchingly also appears as the sire of Pieces Of Eight, the dam of Eight Carat who in turn was the dam of Octagonal.

GUNSYND

THE 1972 DONCASTER WINNING THE FOUR GREAT MILE RACES IN ONE SEASON

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t was April Fools Day in 1971 that the legendary Gunsynd had one of his finest victories. That was Doncaster Day and the first day of the Easter Carnival at Randwick.

Gunsynd was a short-priced favourite and was coming off a six race winning streak that had started with the George Adams Handicap at Flemington in November the year before.

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espite Kevin Langby being the number one rider for TJ Smith who had taken over the training of Gunsynd that season, it was Roy Higgins who had the mount on the champion in the Doncaster. Langby was a natural lightweight and could ride at 48kg. With Gunsynd being handicapped with 60kg in the Doncaster, Smith chose to use the heavier Roy Higgins, who rode at 53kg, so as the horse did not have to carry as much dead weight. First choice rider for Triton was Des Lake according to trainer Syd Brown, but he was not available. "Not that I consider Lake a better rider, but he is a top jockey and would have been much closer to Triton's weight of 55kg," Brown was reported as saying in an interview in a local paper. "I had thought of Peter Cook, but he rides at 44.5kg, so I eventually settled on Kevin Langby." In another twist, the ride on Triton was originally offered to Roy Higgins who chose to ride Gunsynd. While Higgins was considering his options, Langby was on stand-by to ride the champion and no doubt the competition between the two added another dimension to the battle.

Barriers always play their role, and in 1972 they favoured Gunsynd. He drew ideally in barrier seven while Triton was to jump from barrier 19 in the original field of 21. The field was reduced to 20 with the scratching of Mr Ming who had drawn 13.

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hile he was a short-priced favourite for the race, Gunsynd was facing a large field and his main danger was the very good NZ galloper, Triton. Triton had

won eight of his last nine starts. His only defeat since arriving in Australia had been when he was beaten by Ricochet at his first local start having not raced for nine months.

Triton had won his last start in race record time when he beat Ricochet easily over 1400m in the Railway Quality. He had beaten the record held by Fine And Dandy.

Added to that, Gunsynd was giving his rival 5.5kg over the Randwick mile. It is easy though to underestimate the quality of the field that the pair were up against. Tommy Smith had two other runners in the race in Regal Rhythm who had won the Rawson Stakes before running third to Latin Knight in the Chipping Norton, and Zambari who was fresh from running a race record in the Liverpool Cup at his previous start, and two starts earlier had won the Lightning in Melbourne. Baguette was another of the challengers. He had been a great champion but was getting towards the end of his career despite being only a 4yo. Baguette had been the star 2yo winning the Sydney Triple Crown of the Sires, Champagne and Golden Slipper. He had won 14 stakes races and had run second to Zambari in the Liverpool Cup over 1400m at his previous start and was in receipt of 1.5kg from Gunsynd. Last year’s winner Rajah Sahib was back to defend his crown, while a former Epsom winner in Ricochet also lined up in the Doncaster. Genty’s Pride who had run second to Gunsynd in the Epsom was also in the field. The lightly weighted Canberra star, Big Butch carried only 46kg and had won two of his last three starts on his home track and finished an eye catching second the top stayer Tails in the Rosehill Cup only two starts before. All in all, it was a strong field that lined up over the tough Randwick mile on Easter Saturday in 1972.

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he final result really never looked in doubt with Gunsynd being heavily backed into 10/9 favourite. He won by an official margin of three quarters of a length from Triton who drifted to start at 7/2. The roughie, Big Butch ran another top race to finish third at 50/1 finishing a head further back in third. The rain had started by the time the Epsom had rolled around, and it turned out to be a wet Easter with over two inches or 50 ml of rain falling between the Saturday and Monday. Nonetheless, Gunsynd faced up over the two miles of the Sydney Cup only two days later on a bog track to run another excellent race under a big weight. The Victorian Dark Suit at 16/1, finished too solidly for the Tommy Smith-trained pair, Marseilles and Royal Shah, to win the race comfortably. Gunsynd loomed up to the leaders on the home turn but battled gamely to finish under his 60kg in the driving rain that fell throughout the race. This defeat could not take the gloss off his success in the Epsom. That race meant that Gunsynd had won the four major mile races in Australia in one season with victories in the Epsom, the George Adams, originally the Cantala, and one of the oldest races on the racing calendar in the Toorak Handicap.

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