Prime Dispatch  

DINNER AT THE MELBOURNE CRICKET CLUB ON MELBOURNE CUP EVE

This year we are planning to have our Melbourne Cup Week function at the Melbourne Cricket Club which is situated at the MCG.  The function will include pre-dinner drinks followed by a three course meal with drinks in the either the Committee Room or Jim Steynes Room and will be held on Monday 31 October 2016.

I’m expecting this to be a popular function and current Prime Thoroughbreds clients will be given preference to the night.  It is a wonderful venue and I normally have a lot of our interstate and overseas clients visiting Melbourne for the week.

I am hoping to have full details of the function available by the end of June.

ANNE WILKINSON

All to often in recent times we have had to inform our clients of the passing of one of our owners. Sadly, late last week I was informed Anne Wilkinson had passed away.  Anne and her husband

Richard have been owners with Prime Thoroughbreds since 1998 and currently race Makeadane and More Than A Rose.

Anne was a delightful woman who understood her racing and raced a very good horse named Carnegie Express.

Our thoughts are with Richard and her family.  She had a cheeky smile and infectious giggle and her comment when she received a report on one of her horses was simply ‘we’ll see’.

EAGLE FARM

Queensland Racing is about to get a massive boost with Eagle Farm due to open on 4 June for the Queensland Oaks meeting.  I think we all have come to understand just how important the spacious Eagle Farm track to racing in the Sunshine State. It has always been a favourite of mine and we may have one runner at the meeting.  In any case I recommend to any of you who may be considering attending the meeting to do so.  The improvements across the board are impressive and certain to make for a much better raceday experience.

ON THE TRACK

We have a quiet week on the track with Chastity Strikes at Newcastle tomorrow, Reneged at the Sunshine Coast on Friday and More Than A Rose running next Wednesday at Doomben.  The Wasp has also been nominated at Cessnock but we are looking at our options with her.

IT PAYS TO KEEP YOUR EYES OPEN

Most days the first thing I do is check the two year old races being run on that day to see which sires are represented and more importantly who purchased the youngsters running for how much and who now owns them and who trains them. I gain a lot of intelligence doing this allowing me keep an eye on the big picture.

Today at Canterbury we have two maiden races for two year olds being run.  There are 17 horses in these two races worth $40,000 each which went through yearling sales.  These 17 were either sold or passed in for a combined total of $5,471,000 or an average of $321,823 each.  

It will certainly be interesting to see how these races pan out and who wins them.  One of the great things about our industry and the biggest attraction for me is that I am able to buy yearlings for reasonable prices and compete against these highly priced yearlings.  And by the way more often than not we beat them.

Interestingly, to insure these 17 yearlings would have cost about $165,000!!!

NATIONAL JOCKEY’S TRUST LUNCHEON

Over the past few days we certainly have been reminded of the dangerous job being a jockey can be with bad falls in NSW and Victoria.  It probably hit home a bit more for many of our owners with Michelle Payne being injured in a bad fall at Mildura.

I spoke with Patrick Payne last night and Michelle was resting after undergoing surgery to repair her pancreas.

I certainly recommend you attend the National jockey’s Trust Luncheon on 19 July as a mark of your appreciation for the job the jockeys do for us.

The National Jockey’s Trust do a great job raising funds to help jockeys and their families who are doing it tough through injury or in some cases where the rider was killed in an accident.  There is no more dangerous profession that being a jockey and the risk their lives each time they ride one of our horses.  

The Trust conducts several functions each year to raise funds and their annual luncheon is being held at Caulfield on 19 July at a cost of $195 per head.  

If you wish to attend please forward your attendance with the number of tickets you require to: primethoroughbreds@hotmail.com

I will forward out details and accounts once I have final numbers.  I will be closing the function off on 31 June 2016.

The function will be held in the The Skyline Level of the Rupert Clarke Grandstand and the package includes:

• Entertainment Jim Cassidy to speak
• 4-course meal (Entree, Main, Dessert, Afternoon Tea)
• Premium Beverage package (Beer, Wine, Sparkling, Soft Drink)
• Guest Speakers
• Raffle & Auction Items
• Enjoy the day with leading former jockeys
• Racebook on Arrival
• Racecourse Entry
• Reserved Grandstand Seating

Hussonet – Miss Piggy Bank, 10 shares @ $7,500 each (5% shares @ $3,750)

The filly

This is a very attractive filly.  He is well grown, has a deep girth, beautiful head and great hindquarter.  The moment I inspected her in Adelaide I was certain I would purchase her provided she vetted out without any issues.  This was the case and a vet report is enclosed in this package.

I have had wonderful success with Hussonet’s daughters.  In all I have syndicated three with all getting to the races.  Hijack Hussy was a stakes winner at Flemington on Melbourne Cup day and Huiskes was a two year old stakes winner.  Hussy’s Glow was stakes placed recently in the TTC Gold Sovereign stakes.  In total Hussonet has had 1011 foals to race with 96 stakes winners (9.5%) and a further 79 stakes placed (7.8%).  For us to purchase three fillies with 2 stakes winners (66%) and a further stakes placed is a remarkable effort.

Hussonet (USA)

Hussonet (USA) is one of the very best sires to have stood in Australia in the past decade with his progeny including the outstanding Weekend Hussler, Husson, Wild Spirit, Host, Eagle Falls, Gold Trail and Reaan being some of his 30 Group 1 winners.  In total he has had 96 stakes winners including our very good fillies Hijack Hussy and Huiskes.  I was also the under bidder on the Stakes winning Hussonet filly Member’s Joy.

It is important to plan ahead.  Hussonet’s daughters are now well sought after broodmares with good results being achieved crossing them with the many sons and grandsons of Danehill we have standing at stud in Australia.  Hussonet and his sons are also working in reverse with Danehill line mares.  Hijack Hussy is the result of this potent cross.

Hopefully this filly can follow the racetrack success of Hijack Hussy, Huiskes and Hussy’s Glow and secures a future for herself at stud after her racing career is completed.  Hussonet has jumped from 173rd to 20th in only his 3rd season on the broodmare list in Australia. The best known of the runners out of his daughters is the Blue Diamond winner Extreme Choice. Hussonet came to Australia as a relatively old horse from a stud perspective but has had a remarkable impact here.

Miss Piggy Bank

Miss Piggy Bank is by the successful sire Secret Savings and was a nice race mare winning twice and being stakes placed.  She comes from a very successful family with the first four dams producing 21 to race for 17 individual winners.  I love buying out of families where there is a Champion mare on the page.  This is the case here with the 4th dam Par Excellance being the top filly on the 1979 Canadian 2YO Free Handicap.

Miss Piggy Bank has had one to foal to race with it winning 11 races.