Tough Vic winning for Darren Weir and John Allen. His win was the 25th from our 3 year old crop I was very pleased to see Tough Vic get the cash on Saturday. He moved to Darren Weir from Tasmania due to a lack of suitable races for staying horses in the Apple Isle and has put in two pleasing efforts over unsuitable distances before Saturday’s win.

Darren has done a great job for Prime Thoroughbreds with seven of the eight horses he has sent to the races in our colours winning. This includes the four yearlings we have syndicated with him to have raced being winners.

On Monday Isthmian won her 4th race in the 2016/17 Season giving Kris Lees his 150th win. Kris is having a great season and is currently in 5th position on the National Trainer’s Premiership which is a great tribute to his talent and his team’s great dedication. Isthmian’s win was the 26th for our three year old crop which are putting together quite a record and could well pass $2,000,000 in stakes earnings before the end of the season.

ON THE TRACK

Nothing quite went to plan at Flemington on Saturday with Hussy’s Glow copping interference about half way up the straight. She wouldn’t have won the race but could well have finished in 3rd place.

The lack of early tempo in the races in which Husson Eagle and Invincible Al competed in really went against their chances with Invincible Al also being hit by a clod of dirt 200m after the start which fired him up causing him to over race.

This week sees Savourex and Reneged heading to Rosehill and Kissing Game resumes at Devonport where she will be our first runner with Stuart Gandy.

THE PLOT THICKENS

Late last week Racing NSW released more information about ‘Everest Day’ and it would have sent a shudder through the committee at the MRC. From the moment ‘The Everest’ was announced it was evident the supporting card was going to be top shelf.

The Everest is a $10,000,000 race, Australia’s richest and the supporting program includes a $500,000 WFA sprint over 1200m to encourage the reserves for The Everest to have an attractive alternative race should they miss a start in the big one.

This will impact on the Schillaci Stakes run over 1100m at Caulfield. We could well see Australia’s best 24 sprinters at Randwick with the Group 2 Schillaci losing some gloss.

The Craven Stakes will be run at Randwick for $100,000 more than the Caulfield Stakes. This is likely to see Winx stay in Sydney. She is the biggest drawcard in Australian racing and a huge boost to any meeting. Her appearance at Randwick would certainly attract a lot of international interest to the meeting.

The reintroduction of the St Leger with it worth $500,000 is in direct competition with the Herbert Power Handicap which is an important lead up race to the Melbourne Cup. It will be interesting to see the remainder of the card for Randwick but a lot of the gloss has been taken from Caulfield’s big day.

I hope there isn’t too much impact on the Caulfield Guineas. I regard it as amongst the most important three years old race run in Australia. The biggest issue for the Melbourne Racing Club is attracting the best riders. This will be very difficult with some of Melbourne’s best likely to be heading to Sydney for the day.

As owners we should never complain about increased stakes money. The combined stakes money on offer for this day is extraordinary.

FLEMINGTON 20 JANUARY 2018

The Chairman of the VRC has kindly offered Prime Thoroughbreds the use of the VRC Committee Room on 20 January 2018 for a race day for our clients and friends. This is a great gesture and gives our supporters the opportunity to enjoy a day in one of the best locations in Australian Racing.

Further details on the day will be available as we get closer to the day but you should pencil the date in and we are working on making it a very special occasion.

The work on the new member’s stand at Flemington is moving forward. It is going to be a superb facility and I recommend to any of our clients contemplating applying for membership of the club to do so while it is being built as I expect a rush on membership once it is completed.

When I looked at this date it reminded me that we are only 26 weeks from the start of the 2018 Magic Millions Festival of racing at the Gold Coast. Time certainly does fly by. This year’s $2 million Gold Coast Guineas winner is back in work and is likely to return to racing on 2 September where there are two nice options for her.

VISIT TO INGLIS COMPLEX AT WARWICK FARM

I am arranging a visit to the new Inglis Sales Complex at Warwick Farm. My plan is to plan the visit around a Saturday race day at Randwick with Inglis informing us that the best day for the visit is a Friday afternoon. This complex is world class and will be a real eye opener when you see it.

I will post more details once I have them but I can assure you the visit will be very worthwhile.

Inglis first sale at the new complex will be conducted early next year with the Inglis Classic kicking off proceedings. This is a big investment by Inglis and really confirms their commitment to Australian Racing of which they have been an important part for over 150 years.

We have purchased some great horses from Inglis over the years including Under Command, Desk Top Lover, Zero Drama, Maha Chakri, Graphite Lass, Zelady and of course Savoureux.

OUR YEARLINGS

It has been very encouraging to see our yearlings so well accepted by the market. At this stage I expect all our yearlings to be completely filled by the end of July which is four months earlier than last year. We have shares available in yearlings in Victoria, NSW and Queensland.

I only have 5% left in the Epaulette filly out of Pozitave. She is as good a type of filly as I have ever purchased and is closely related to Flying Jess.

VICTORIAN YEARLING

Epaulette / Pozitave filly 2015

5% share $11,750.00 - John Moloney – Caulfield

The Filly

The photo of this filly tells a great story. She is a wonderful looking filly, very athletic and with great balance and poise. After I did my inspections at the Inglis Classic Sale I was determined to purchase this filly. To my eye she was faultless and she vetted out without any issues. The fact her x-rays were inspected 15 times is testament to just how good a type of filly she is.

I must say I love buying bay horses that are rich in colour and this filly is about as perfect as you would get in this regard. Also she has a beautiful head. I’ve always regarded Awasita and Unabated as two of the most attractive looking mares I have purchased. This filly is right up there with them as a sort.

An obvious attraction to me with this filly is her close relationship to Flying Jess. This filly’s dam Pozitave is by Zeditave out of Positive Flyer. Flying Jess is out of Matitess by Magic Albert by Zeditave out of Positive Flyer. Flying Jess is by Hinchinbrook by Fastnet Rock by Danehill. This filly is by Epaulette by Commands by Danehill.

I will include a photo of Flying Jess at a similar age and I’m sure you will be surprised just how much more attractive this filly is than Flying Jess was at the same age. It all reads very well to me.

I’m absolutely thrilled to have secured her and can’t wait for her to get to the races. She will be paid up for BOBS and the rich Inglis Series of Races.

Epaulette

I’ve really been impressed with the Epaulette’s progeny at this year’s sales and I am thrilled to have secured a filly by him that I rated the best I inspected by him. It doesn’t matter which way you look at Epaulette he is a high class horse. He was an excellent racehorse winning twice as a two year old, at the highest level as a three year old and again at the highest level as a four year old.

His two Group 1 wins came in the ATC Golden Rose and BRC Doomben 10,000 which are backed up with a Group 3 win as a juvenile in the Canberra RC Black Opal Stakes, 2nds in the Group 1 ATC TJ Smith Stakes, Group 2 ATC Todman Stakes and 3rd in the Group 1 MRC Caulfield Guineas.

He couldn’t have done much more on the track. He also has a superb pedigree on his dam’s side with his dam having four to race with all four Group 1 performers. Added to this he is by Commands who is a great levelling influence in a pedigree.

In the main the foals by Commands have great attitudes with Under Command as good a natured horse as I have ever purchased. This is Epaulette’s first crop of Australian yearlings. I’ll be shocked if he doesn’t make the grade. He has had a very strong start in Europe where he has already had three winners from his first crop.

Pozitave

I’ve discussed at length the close relationship Pozitave has to the dam of Flying Jess and the similarity in the two pedigrees. Pozitave brings a lot to the table with her being by the outstanding sire Zeditave. Zeditave provided a wonderful outcross to the Australian breeding industry and as a sire produced some outstanding racehorses, both male and female.

Two of his sons Strategic and Magic Albert have gone on to be excellent sires in their own right and we now have a remarkable situation where Zeditave and these two outstanding sons of his are proving to be very effective broodmare sires.

Pozitave comes from a fast successful female line that could explode off the pedigree page over the next few years. Maritess the dam of Flying Jess has an outstanding colt by I Am Invincible on the ground at Yarraman Park and Pozitave is being bred in the ‘right’ direction.

The 3rd dam on the page was the high class Group 1 winning mare Dinky Flyer. Again I see this as a very positive influence with Dinky Flyer being by the great galloper Balmerino.

Flying Jess as a yearling

Isthmian as a yearling

QUEENSLAND YEARLING

Sizzling /Dedication colt – Tony Gollan

10% shares $8,500 5% shares $4,250

The Colt

This is a cracking colt and he certainly attracted my attention at the sales where he was one of only two colts I had vetted. He is well grown and a very athletic horse. He has a wonderful attitude and is nice walking horse. He handled the breaking in process without any issues.

I love his pedigree and more than that I was instantly attracted to him when I inspected him. If you don’t like a horse when you first inspect it you should never buy it.

In my opinion this colt was as good an individual as I inspected in the sale and a colt I really wanted to secure. I only usually purchase two colts a year.

Sizzling

I really liked what I saw in a number of the progeny of Sizzling at this year’s sales. To me it is a no brainer that he will be a success at stud. He was a terrific racehorse and precocious two year old from the most dominant sire line in Australia for the past 20 years out of a ‘black type’ mare by one of the greatest sprinters of the modern generation in General Nediym. General Nediym has done a remarkable job through his daughters at stud with him currently sitting in 5th spot on the Australian broodmare list. This isn’t surprising. The ‘General’ had good depth to his pedigree on his dam’s side with his daughters residing at the very best studs in Australia.

Sizzling’s pedigree page is very strong with a host of very good horses down the page. In fact it couldn’t be any stronger with both the 2nd and 3rd dams being superior producers.

I love the General Nediym (1st dam), Alzao stakes winner (2nd Dam) and Without Fear stakes producer (3rd dam) down the page. Estate Label, the 3rd dam was a very high class producer also throwing the outstanding two year old filly Loving Cup.

I must say I had a bit to do with both sides of this pedigree with Sizzling’s sire Snitzel being out of Snippet’s Lass. Both General Nediym and Snippet’s Lass were trained by Bill Mitchell when I was his Racing Manager. They were both high class racehorses with Snippet’s Lass being one of the toughest mares I have had anything to do with.

Dedication

Dedication is a young well related mare by a sire that has had a great impact in Australia through his daughters at stud and provides a perfect outcross to the many Danehill line sires we have standing in Australia. A close look at this female line displays plenty to be enthusiastic about.

Firstly, Singspiel has crossed beautifully with the sons of Danehill with the high class Australian Group 1 winners Helmet and Epaulette being amongst the thirty two Group winners his daughters have thrown.

Secondly, there are several examples of Danehill working in this pedigree headed by Alverta, the Group 1 winning daughter of Flying Spur, Group 3 winner Aerobics and stakes performers Violet Lane and Star Mystic.

On the strength of my opinion of this colt and the Sizzling filly I purchased at the Gold Coast Magic Millions I have recommended to our owners that we send three of the mares I manage to Sizzling. I rate him a huge chance at being a success at stud.

NSW

Al Maher filly out of Miss Cutie 2015

$8,500 per 10% share (5% shares $4250) John Thompson to train at Royal Randwick

The filly

For a few years I have been on the lookout for a nice Al Maher filly and at last I found the one I was after. This filly is a beautiful walking filly and in many ways reminds me of the better Street Cry fillies I have inspected. She has good size and is well proportioned. She has an attractive head and is strong through the shoulder and hindquarter.

The one characteristic I really liked about this filly was her attitude. While she had a strong personality she was easy to handle and I observed her being inspected on several occasions to make sure she a good attitude. In my experience the progeny of Al Maher can be a bit ‘hot’.

Al Maher

I was keen on the progeny of Al Maher from day one and purchased two fillies out of his first crop. One of these was Unchain My Heart. She was a wonderful staying mare and won the Andrew Ramsden Stakes twice and also the Bagot Handicap.

Like this filly Unchain My Heart came from a stout female line and wasn’t unlike this filly as a type. Al Maher has been a really good sire with his progeny producing better than 10% stakes winners to winners. Only the best sires achieve this figure. His 32 stakes winners include some outstanding females including Delicacy, Majestic Music, Speedy Natalie and of course Unchain My Heart.

Meiss Cuti

Miss Cutie is by the Champion sire Street Cry and was a metropolitan winner and placed in Sydney as a two year old.

This is only her second foal with the first being placed recently at Sandown.

Miss Cutie comes from a very good female line that includes the high class Group 1 performers Defier and Traveston Girl. I also like the line of dams with Street Cry, Grand Lodge, Marscay and Salieri the dam sires of the first four dams.

The 2 nd dam is a half-sister to Defier who was a wonderful galloper winning three times at Group 1 level and in excess of $2.9 million.

All in all Miss Cutie presents as quite a complete package.

High class filly!!!