By John Berry
There could be no better illustration of the dearth of good young horses in Australia progressing on through the ranks into weight-for-age company than the fact that the G1 Underwood S. at Caulfield on Saturday produced a thrilling finish in which three 8-year-olds flashed across the line together. Furthermore, two of the three had never scored at the highest level, with only the runner-up, the 2013 G1 Caulfield Cup and 2014 G1 Caulfield S. winner Fawkner (Aus) (Reset {Aus}) having previous Group 1 success on his CV.
A solid programme of weight-for-age races, contested by a nucleus of proven stars, has traditionally been a strong suit of Australian racing. That, though, is currently not the case, now that it has become the norm for the best young horses to retire to stud almost as soon as their ability has become apparent. The principal victim has been racing in the spring, when the 3-year-olds generally keep to their own age group. The Underwood S. result tells this tale clearly.
This observation is not meant as a slight to the winner Mourinho (Aus) (Oratorio {Ire}), a stalwart of racing in Melbourne and a source of pride and joy to his connections since being bought as a yearling for A$36,000 at the Inglis Classic Yearling Sale in Sydney in 2009, bred by Mrs. F. Ovenstone and offered by Little Wych Stud of Bathurst, NSW. What he is not, though, is another Phar Lap, winner of the Underwood Stakes in 1931; nor an Ajax, a Royal Gem, an Aquanita, a Tobin Bronze, a Bonecrusher, an Octagonal, a Tie The Knot, a Northerly or an Elvstroem.
Just as Mourinho is proving a star for his connections, so has his dam Benevolent (NZ) (Generous {Ire}) proved to be a wonderful servant for Mrs. Ovenstone and for Little Wych. Unraced herself, she is by a good stallion (the 1991 Derby winner Generous (Ire) (Caerleon) who has a particularly good record as a broodmare sire) and comes from a family which has enjoyed some success down under since her US-bred dam Regal Spy was exported to the antipodes, where she raced successfully in South Australia in the 1980's before retiring to stud in New Zealand. Regal Spy was a lovely addition to New Zealand's broodmare ranks, being by Sir Ivor from a winning half-sister to Storm Bird's dam South Ocean. She duly bred five winners, headed by the Star Way filly Prieur Way (NZ), winner of eight races including a Group 3 at Rotorua. Benevolent started her breeding career in New Zealand with coverings by the top-class stallions Volksraad (GB) (Green Desert) and Thorn Park (Aus) (Spinning World). From these she bred the winners Dementieva (NZ) and Forest Beauty (NZ). Subsequent to her move to Australia, she has bred two considerably better horses, both by coverings at Coolmore Australia: Mourinho and the Group 3 winner Molto Bene (Aus), a daughter of Royal Academy.
Mourinho is a member of the first Australian crop of the high-class Danehill horse Oratorio (Ire), who shuttled between Coolmore's properties in Ireland and New South Wales for several seasons prior to being sold to Avontuur Stud in South Africa four years ago
A Group 1 winner at both two and three when trained by Aidan O'Brien, Oratorio was outstanding in the second half of his 3-year-old season in 2005, defeating the Derby winner Motivator (GB) (Montjeu {Ire}) in both the G1 Eclipse S. at Sandown and the G1 Irish Champion S. at Leopardstown. He retired to stud in 2006 at a fee of €30,000. However, his results were not as good as one might have hoped, and the fact that his fee had dropped to €9,000 by the 2011 season tells its own tale. It was strange that Oratorio fell from grace so quickly, bearing in mind that he sired the quinella – courtesy of Beethoven (Ire) and Fencing Master (Ire) – in England's top juvenile race, the G1 Dewhurst Stakes, with his first crop in 2009. However, neither of that pair 'trained on', while the most notable horse whom he subsequently sired in Ireland (Military Attack {Ire}, who began life racing in the UK as Rave, under which name he landed two competitive handicaps at Ascot in 2011) did his best winning in Hong Kong. Furthermore, despite coming up with the Australasian Group 1 winners Banchee (NZ) and Manawanui (Aus) in his first and second Australian crops respectively, his flow of good horses conceived in New South Wales was a steady stream rather than a torrent.
It is not uncommon to see Coolmore stallions ending up in South Africa if they are deemed to be disappointing in their original homes. Sometimes they come up with some real stars after they have left. Duke Of Marmalade (Ire) (Danehill), for one, has had a terrific year in Europe in 2015, thanks to the Classic-winning 3-year-olds Star Of Seville (GB), Nutan (Ire) and Simple Verse (Ire).
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