Lessons Learned This Weekend

Many preconceptions about the Melbourne Cup have been changed in the international era since the great race has been contested by a different set of horses and a different set of horsemen. For many years the vast majority of the horses running in it had it as the final race of their spring campaign. It was the culmination of a grueling preparation, a two-mile test after which horses were generally considered ready for a spell. Since the Sandown Cup was re-branded as the Sandown Classic (now the G2 Zipping Classic over 2400 metres, named in honour of Zipping (Aus) (Danehill) who won it four years running, 2007 to '10) and run at weight-for-age, this race has benefitted from the changing times. In this year's race, five horses finished clear of the remainder, with four of the five having run, and run well, in the Melbourne Cup, including Godolphin's winner Beautiful Romance (GB) (New Approach {Ire}).

The exception was fourth-placed So Si Bon (Aus) (So You Think {NZ}), who topped off a good day for his sire by acquitting himself well on his first start at weight-for-age. So Si Bon too had previously run well in another race which traditionally brings the curtain down on a horse's current preparation, the G1 Victoria Derby over 2500 metres. He had finished fourth in that, following a fifth placing in the G1 Caulfield Guineas over 1600 metres. To emphasise So Si Bon's toughness, those outings were merely two of the three good runs which he posted during October: in between them he was third in the G2 Moonee Valley Vase over 2040 metres.

The merit which So Si Bon is showing is another illustration that So You Think is likely to prove a valuable asset to the sires' ranks in Australasia. Australia's reputation as a country able to produce good stayers is at an all-time low, but So Si Bon provides another suggestion that So You Think could help to cure this problem. The fact that So You Think has been able to produce a horse who displays the high-class stamina which So Si Bon is exhibiting is very promising, considering that the colt comes from a family of sprinters and sprinter/milers, such as his very fast dam Black Minx (Aus) (Lonhro {NZ}), his Group 2-winning granddam Faith Hill (Aus) (Danehill) and his Group 3-winning third dam Simply Believe (Aus) (Kenmare {Fr}).

Yet More From Parfore…

Good sprinting families, such as the one from which So Si Bon hails, are as common in Australia as good staying families are rare. One of the most notable Australasian sprinting broodmares of the modern era has been Parfore (NZ) (Gold Brose {Aus}), who is notable for having produced three sons who have won Group 1 sprints in Australia: Tiger Tees (NZ) (Dubawi {Ire}), Terravista (Aus) (Captain Rio {GB}) and Ball Of Muscle (Aus) (Dubawi {Ire}). Her fourth Australian stakes-winning son Our Lukas (NZ) thrived over farther, but that is understandable as he was a son of a sire noted as a strong influence for stamina, the 1991 Derby winner Generous (Ire) (Caerleon).

Now the latest chapter in Parfore's story has been written. Her influence as a broodmare extended to Asia courtesy of her son Super Easy (NZ) (Darci Brahma {NZ}), who was one of the top sprinter/milers in Singapore for several years, most notably in 2013 when he took the G1 Lion City Cup over 1200 metres and the G1 Patrons' Bowl over 1600 metres.

Super Easy returned to his homeland at the end of his racing career, taking up stud duties at Hallmark Stud in the Waikato in 2013. His first crop are currently 2-year-olds, and he got off to a flying start when his daughter Prom Queen (NZ) became his first stakes winner by winning the Barneswood Farm Welcome Stakes at Riccarton in Christchurch on NZ 1000 Guineas Day. She had previously scored over 800 metres at the same track last month.

So You're Well Bred…

Few stallions have retired to stud in recent years with better credentials than So You Think (NZ) (High Chaparral {Ire}). The magnificent black stallion is, (a) a 10-time Group 1 winner, (b) probably one of the most handsome horses any of us has ever seen, and (c) a son of a Group 2-winning mare, Triassic (NZ) (Tights). He is clearly very likely to be a successful stallion, so it is no surprise that he has just come up with a Classic winner in his first crop, the G1 NZ 1000 Guineas being taken by his daughter La Diosa (NZ).

La Diosa's triumph, though, does not merely highlight the merit of So You Think. It also reminds us that good families keep coming up with good horses. So You Think's dam, Triassic, was twice NZ Broodmare of the Year (in 2011 and 2012) courtesy of her famous son's exploits. Her twin titles, though, pale in comparison beside the impact which La Diosa's family has made on this prestigious award.

La Diosa's granddam, The Grin (NZ) (Grosvenor {NZ}), was NZ Broodmare of Year in 2003, largely thanks to the exploits of NZ 1000 Guineas heroine The Jewel (NZ) (O'Reilly {NZ}). Twenty-three years previously, The Grin's granddam, The Pixie (NZ) (Mellay {GB}), had landed the same title, sharing the honour with Taiona (NZ) (Sovereign Edition {Ire}), dam of G1 VRC Derby winner Sovereign Red (NZ) (Sir Tristram).

The Pixie's share of the title was prompted by the exploits of her daughters The Fantasy (NZ) (Gate Keeper {GB}) and The Twinkle (NZ) (Gate Keeper {GB}), winners between them of 34 races including numerous black-type events. The Fantasy herself became NZ Broodmare of the Year in 1994 after her sons The Phantom (NZ) (Noble Bijou) and The Phantom Chance (NZ) (Noble Bijou) had taken starring roles on consecutive Saturdays during the 1993 Melbourne Spring Carnival. The former (aged eight) won the G1 Mackinnon S. at Flemington seven days after his 4-year-old full-brother had taken the G1 Cox Plate at Moonee Valley, a mighty performance which eclipsed even his G1 NZ Derby triumph of the previous season.

Aside from The Fantasy, The Pixie's offspring included La Diosa's third dam The Dimple (NZ) (Noble Bijou), winner of 16 races including two editions of the G2 Timaru Cup. The Dimple's nine winners included G1 Auckland Cup winner Irish Chance (NZ) (Sir Tristram) as well as La Diosa's aforementioned stakes-winning granddam The Grin, whose five winners included not only The Jewel but also La Diosa's Group 2-winning dam (A) Star Affair (NZ) (Star Way {GB}).

Godolphin's Coolmore Connections…

During Sheikh Mohammed's first 30 years as an owner and breeder, he raced many very good horses by Coolmore stallions, which he had mostly either bred himself or bought as yearlings. His top-class winners by Sadler's Wells included In The Wings (GB), Scenic (Ire), Old Vic (GB), Opera House (GB), Carnegie (Ire), Kayf Tara (GB) and Doyen (Ire), as well as King's Theatre (Ire) and Barathea (Ire), whom he bought from their respective owner/breeders once their racing ability had been demonstrated. However, over the past decade his dealings with the great Irish stud have been conspicuous by their absence.

However, the final two Saturdays of the Melbourne Spring Carnival have seen big winners for Godolphin stemming from its nowadays-infrequent contact with Coolmore. On the final Saturday of the VRC Carnival at Flemington, the Charlie Appleby-trained Francis Of Assisi (Ire) (Danehill Dancer {Ire}) followed up his G3 Bendigo Cup victory by taking the G3 Queen Elizabeth S. Francis Of Assisi is a nowadays-rare example of a former Coolmore horse recruited by Godolphin. He made his final start for Aidan O'Brien when he carried Mrs John Magnier's colours into second place in the Knockaire S. at Leopardstown in October 2014; his next appearance, racing for Godolphin, came when Appleby saddled him for a handicap at Meydan four months later.

A week later Godolphin took the G2 Sandown Guineas with the homebred colt Morton's Fork (Aus) (Ad Valorem). When Sheikh Mohammed bought Woodlands Stud from the Ingham family in 2008, the Woodlands roster included the former Aidan O'Brien-trained Royal Ascot winner Ad Valorem (Danzig), who was standing in a partnership deal with Coolmore. It seems unlikely that Darley would have gone into a stallion partnership with Coolmore under different circumstances, but this arrangement was a fait accomplit, and it has now yielded an excellent dividend for Sheikh Mohammed as Morton's Fork, winner now of four of his nine starts for John O'Shea's stable, is clearly a very promising young colt.

Sandown In The Spotlight…

It is hard to watch the excellent sport on Sandown's big day of the year without reflecting on the trend in recent years which has seen the Melbourne Racing Club downgrading the racing at the track. Opened in the outer south-eastern suburbs in 1965 after the closure of Williamstown racecourse much closer to the city, Sandown for many years shared the limelight with its fellow Victorian Amateur Turf Club (whose name was changed to the Melbourne Racing Club in 2001) racecourse at Caulfield. More recently, though, its best races such as the G1 C. F. Orr S. and G2 P. B. Lawrence (formerly J. J. Liston) S. have been moved to Caulfield, while Sandown's programme has been downgraded to the extent that it now only stages group races on one day a year. When one compares how often luck in running is a major factor at Caulfield and how rarely that is the case at Sandown, the MRC's policy is not easy to understand.