Innholdsfortegnelse for August 2021 i Turf Monthly

In many ways, Lord is one of the forgotten champions of the Australian turf. Everyone remembers him in passing, but there always seems to be something more important that happened around him. For example, he was the horse beaten by the legendary Tulloch in that champion’s return from his illness that almost claimed his life. The great Lord won the Memsie Stakes four year’s running but in an era when such feats are not acclaimed the way they are now. Zipping won the Sandown Classic on four occasions and the race was renamed in his honour. Perhaps it was the fact that Lord was considered a “Melbourne” champion that was his downfall when it came to his place in history, but what a place in history the gallant old gelding…

Ghaiyyath is an interesting newcomer to the Darley Stud at Northwood Park in Victoria. Despite being a son of the Darley galloper and champion sire, Dubawi, he was not bred by the organisation. He was purchased for €1,100,000 by John Ferguson on behalf of Godolphin. The start of his career may not have had the stable filled with confidence. He was beaten first up in a 2yo maiden over a mile at Doncaster. He won his maiden over the same distance at his second start at Newmarket before winning the Autumn Stakes over the same track and distance at his last start at that age. He started only once as a 3yo winning the Prix du Prince d'Orange at Longchamp over 2000m at G3 level. Returning as a 4yo Ghaiyyath…

Pinatubo is the highest priced of the new Darley stallions to come to Australia this season. Each year we are seeing some top quality bloodlines being imported by this world leading organisation. Each year though we are faced with the difficulty of working out whether the stallions will suit the local population. Pinatubo was among the world’s best winning seven of his ten starts and being placed in the other three. He started his career winning a novice race at Wolverhampton over 1200m. This was followed by a win on Oaks Day at Epsom again over 1200m. He then showed his class by winning the Chesham Stakes at Royal Ascot in course record time over 1400m. It was then to his first Group race, the G2 Vintage Stakes at Goodwood…

The Memsie Stakes is most likely named after an area just outside of Melbourne that, in turn, was named for a region in Scotland. Primarily, Memsie was an estate that covered some 35,000 acres and raised sheep. The original buildings still exist but the estate has been broken up over the years. There was also a gold mining lease in the region that existed for many years. The race named after the region was first run in 1899 and was a rather subdued affair. The first running was won by Veneda who caused something of an upset by beating the odds on favourite Kobold who was ahead at the furlong mark. The second year saw a dead heat and connections of the winning horses chose not to compete in a…

Lord was born in NZ, by the imported stallion Targui out of the Australian bred mare Broadway. Targui was a French stallion who had won the Prix la Bourse over 2400m. He was to prove a valuable stallion siring 22 stakes winners although arguably none better than Lord. One of his best progeny was Cadiz who won five stakes races in NZ before coming to Australia to win the Linlithgow Stakes in 1960. He was sold to the US where he won the famed Hollywood Gold Cup and was twice winner of the Californian Stakes. Another of the stallion’s stakes winners was Future who won eleven stakes races in Melbourne including the 1964 Memsie Stakes, the Futurity, CF Orr, Caulfield Stakes and two Underwood Stakes. Targui also produced Havelock who…

Hanseatic is another first season stallion that goes to stud on the basis of very strong early 2yo form. He began his career with three straight wins starting in the Listed Merson Cooper in November at Sandown. After a break he returned to win the Blue Diamond Preview and Prelude for the colts and geldings, before finishing second to Tagaloa in the Blue Diamond. Off to Sydney for the Golden Slipper, Hanseatic found it a bridge too far finishing tenth behind Farnan, another of our Freshman stallions for the season. He returned in the Melbourne Spring to finish fourth behind Bella Vella in the Mc Ewen Stakes. A ninth in the G1 Moir was followed by a second in the G3 Blue Sapphire behind Ranting but ahead of another of…

Russian Camelot was among our best and most popular horses in recent years. As a Northern Hemisphere bred colt, he was certainly at a large disadvantage to the local crop. It did not stop him winning the South Australian Derby with ridiculous ease against a very good class field. He returned as a 4yo to run second to Fierce Impact who also goes to stud this season. This was in the G1 Makybe Diva coincidentally named after another Northern Hemisphere bred champion. Russian Camelot won the G1 Underwood over 1800m at his next start at the prohibitive odds of $1.55. Next it was a second behind the good WA mare, Arcadia Queen over the 2000m of the Neds Caulfield Stakes when again starting a short-priced favourite at $1.40. Russian Camelot…

For the history books, to date there is only one horse that has won all four of these races in the Memsie, Cox Plate, Caulfield Cup, and Melbourne Cup. The horse was the remarkable Rising Fast who is also the only horse to have ever won the big Spring treble which he completed in 1954. Another NZ bred galloper, Rising Fast won the Caulfield Cup for a second time in 1955, and he went on to win the Memsie in 1956 as a 7yo. Rising Fast did not come to Australia until a Winter 4yo where he had five races in Brisbane with his first start a fourth to Karendi in the Stradbroke. He did not win his first race in Brisbane until the Barnes Stakes at Eagle Farm over…

Bivouac enters stud at Darley in NSW as the most expensive of our unproven sires. Wootton Bassett commands a higher fee, but he has already performed well overseas. Another factor that sets Bivouac apart from the other Freshman Sires is that he raced 22 times, winning seven races from the ages of two until he retired as a 4yo. As with all stallions though, things aren’t always that straight forward. He had his first start in the October of his 2yo season, running a good second to Time To Reign, the half-brother to She Will Reign who also goes to stud this season, although at a much lower fee. Bivouac then had a break and in his second campaign won the Listed Lonhro Plate over 1100m at Warwick Farm on…

King’s Legacy might well be the most interesting stallion to go to stud in Australia in 2021. He is a son of Champion stallion Redoute’s Choice who has had over 30 sons go to stud. His two best sire sons to date are champions in Snitzel and Not A Single Doubt who have both become enduring influences with plenty of their sons now at stud in competition with King’s Legacy. We also see the exciting The Autumn Sun being one of the most popular stallions at stud in the last few years, and his first yearlings are about to hit the sales ring next season. At the same time, we have seen other high-profile sons of the stallion go to stud with varying success. We can confidently state that being…

Tagaloa represents one of the most interesting stallions to go to stud in Australia this season. He is a son of Lord Kanaloa, the sensational Japanese sire out of a Japanese bred mare called Vasilissa. Tagaloa was bred to Southern Hemisphere time and did his racing locally. He also raced against many of the other new stallions this year which seem to include quite a number of last seasons 3yo’s. He was sold at Magic Millions for the seemingly bargain price of $300,000. Tagaloa started his career on Melbourne Cup Day 2019, finishing strongly to run third to Baaqyah in the Maribyrnong Plate. He raced much closer to the lead at his next start turning the tables on that horse over 1000m at Moonee Valley. After a break it was…