PRIME DISPATCH

Edition 86 – 07/10/2015    Compiled by Joe O’Neill

Flying Jess (Hinchinbrook - Maritess) 2013- Set to debut in the MRC Debutante Stakes at Caulfield

We have had an exciting couple of days with three of our two year olds having official barrier trials.  These are the first of our two year olds to get to the trials and we have a further 17 babies in the system at various stages of their development.  Overall the results have been excellent with Flying Jess winning by 4 lengths at Cranbourne on Monday in very fast time and Isthmian winning by a similar margin at Wyong on Tuesday.

The 3rd to trial was Invincible Al who has had enough for now and heads to the paddock to be given time to mature and strengthen.

Flying Jess is nominated for the Debutante Stakes at Caulfield on Saturday which is a race we won with Eramor a few years ago.  All being well she will start.  She is by the exciting young horse Hinchinbrook.  Flying Jess was purchased through the Magic Millions January sale for $66,000 and Isthmian privately from Yarraman Park for $55,000.  Isthmian is by Australia's leading 1st season sire from 2013/14 Season in I Am Invincible.  Kris Lees is still considering where to start Isthmian.  Once again our owners get the opportunity to go to ‘the big dance’ as Johnathon Thurston put it on Sunday without having to spend a fortune to get into a nice horse. 

I purchased Flying Jess from John Muir who I purchased Calming from in 1999.  Calming was our first good horse and was our first Brisbane metropolitan winner, first Melbourne metropolitan winner, first Adelaide metropolitan winner and one of our first stakes winners.  She also won in NSW and was stakes placed at Randwick.  She was a terrific racehorse and probably my favourite horse.

Currently I am syndicating two nice fillies, one each by these two exciting your sires with further information available later in this dispatch.

VICTORIA IN SPRING A GREAT PLACE TO VISIT

The Mornington Peninsular is a spectacular part of the state and home to a few excellent wineries and great restaurants.  Two of my favourite hotels are the Portsea Pub and Sorrento Hotel.  Both of these have very good food and a nice mix of wines on offer.  I recommend you give the pubs a miss on Sunday but during the week there is plenty of space to enjoy the great views.

The peninsular is also home to some great golf courses.  Moonah Links, the National, the Portsea Golf Club and Sorrento Golf Clubs are my favourites.  Portsea in particular isn’t long but very challenging.

There is plenty of accommodation available but steer clear of the area on weekends if you can.

I found a little gem in the Coombe Estate at Coldstream in the Yarra Valley. It was the home of Dame Nellie Melba and is a ‘must do’ for anyone who likes fine food and wine.

HINCHINBROOK AND I AM INVINCIBLE

In the last dispatch I highlighted the great achievements of these two young sires.  During the past week both have had further significant developments which continue to raise their profile. 

Hinchinbrook has won two of the nine races for two year olds run in Australia this season.  Fifty seven sires have had two year old runners in these nine races including some very expensive yearlings by ‘boom’ sires.  He also has the outright favourite for the Caulfield Guineas, the race I rate as Australia’s most important three year old race. 

I Am Invincible looks to have another very good horse with Hellbent scoring an impressive win at Rosehill.  The unbeaten colt heads to the Listed Crowley Stakes on October 17 and then perhaps to Melbourne for the Group 1 Coolmore Stakes where he is likely to have more than one runner. 

At the Inglis Ready To Race Sale a colt by I Am Invincible out of Troubeat was knocked down for $540,000.  He was a stunning yearling and I’m not surprised he fetched such a high price. This follows on from a colt making $750,000 earlier in the year.  We have five I Am Invincible progeny on our books including the impressive barrier trial winner Isthmian which is great for our owners. 

Good luck to the Yarraman Park team for the years of hard work they have put in to see them now at the top of the tree in the most competitive market there is in Australia.  Hopefully we can add to the record in the coming weeks.

RACING

Once again we have a great Saturday of racing with the Caulfield Guineas and Spring Champion Stakes being the main attractions at Caulfield and Royal Randwick. 

Hinchinbrook looks to have a great chance of securing another Group 1 success with his colt Press Statement all the rage for the Caulfield Guineas.  He has drawn wide which I don’t normally like but it will give the colt more room to get into stride.  He is a big striding horse that may have been unsuited in a tight position in the run and you don’t have a lot of time to get going around the tight Caulfield circuit.

I really like the chances of Lucky Hussler in the Toorak Handicap.  He is a superb 1600m horse and I’m certain Darren Weir has him where he wants him going into this race.  The 1000 Guineas looks a race of limited chances.  I suggest you watch the market, it normally finds the right horse in this great classic for three year old fillies.

The standard of racing in Sydney will drop off dramatically after this Saturday’s meeting.  It is hard to believe it is 17 years since Bill Mitchell won both the Caulfield Guineas with Kenwood Melody and Champion stakes with Dignity Dancer who is by far the best horse I have been associated with.  They were heady days indeed!!!

 ON THE TRACK

We have a quiet but important weekend ahead with our only runner being Flying Jess at Caulfield.  On Wednesday Miss de Vega is set to make her debut at Warwick Farm and we will continue to see a number of our horses start preparations in the coming weeks.  Shining Brooke resumes tomorrow at Gosford.

At present we have a big team getting ready to race over the summer in all the states we race in.

ROY HIGGINS MBE

A statue honouring the late great Roy Higgins has been erected at Flemington Racecourse and no one in the history of racing in this state deserves it more than Roy.  He was a great help to me when I first moved to Victoria.  He was generous with his time, always willing to help and a complete gentleman.

If you get a chance to have your photo taken with him you should.  He’d love it and would wonder what all the fuss was about.  Roy was a ‘boy’ from the bush and retained that country humour that made him popular with so many people.  It was impossible not to like him and his loss was a big one for our industry. He was a true ambassador for sport.

Roy rode some great horses including Gunsynd, Light Fingers, Leilani to name three of the best but he rode hundreds in a career that made him a household name for all the right reasons.