TAKE A LOOK AT DANBIRD’S 3YO

Unfortunately, Hotham Heights couldn’t follow up on his Horsham victory on 18 October when contesting the Inglis Carbine Club Stakes-G3 at Flemington on Derby Day, but Takookachook flew the flag for their sire, Danbird (below) at Port Lincoln on Friday (30 October).
Trained by Darryl Carrison, the 3YO fought on strongly to score over the 1000m and appears to have a promising future.
Bred by C Kopelke and P Morrish, Takookachook is from the Keltrice mare Takook and, while we’re not 100% about the name, the relationship to stakes winners Husson Lightning, Niarchos, Cordon Rose, Armed For Action and Flying Sparks would indicate more wins are in store.

STATUE RINGS ANOTHER BELL

Statue of Liberty has notched up his sixth stakeswinner with a resounding victory to French colt Kolokol in the Criterium de Vitesse-LR at Longchamp on 29 October.
The sire of Mic Mac, Tempest Tost, Dan Baroness, Elysees and unbeaten Perth flyer, Hay List, Statue of Liberty’s black type performers in Northern Hemisphere include Black Mambazo.
Out of the Hector Protector mare Hecterine, Kolokol has now raced on nine occasions for three wins and two placings, never finishing further back than fifth.
Interestingly, Kolokol was bred by Russian International Bloodstock and, evidently, Kolokol is Russian for ‘bell’.
Furthermore, Kolokol-1 is an ‘incapacitating agent’ whose chemical structure is evidently unknown to anyone outside of Mother Russia.
Kolokol-1 is thought to be the chemical agent used by a Russian Spetsnaz team during the Moscow theater hostage crisis in October 2002 where at least 129 hostages died: nearly all of these fatalities were attributed to the effects of Kolokol-1 being pumped into the theatre to subdue the militants.


The Tsar Kolokol (Emperor Bell) rests on a pedestal at the foot of the Tower of St. Ivan in the Kremlin, Moscow. Fire damaged the bell while it was still in the casting pit in 1737, and the bell has never been rung.

RONDANINI – 3 FROM 4 FOR DELAGO

There are few more consistent performers than Mark Loft’s Delago Brom mare, Rondanini.
Winning over 2015m at Seymour on 29 October, Rondanini has now started on 11 occasions for two wins and five placings – her only two ‘non money’ starts including a tilt at black type at only her second start.
Bred by South Australia’s prolific, Mill Park, Rondanini is from the Clay Hero mare Pieta, a city winning half sister to brilliant mare Divine Madonna (8 wins, including 4 at Group One level) and Group winner Blessum (7 wins).
Rondanini’s win was the third for Delago Brom is four days with Back Chattin’ Miss winning at Pakenham on Monday and L’aubaine at Balaklava on Wednesday.

CLANGALANG IS COUNTED

It was hard to know who to cheer for at Seymour on 29 October: the Clangalang 4YO – Clanger Count – that Eliza Park sold at the 2007 Melbourne Autumn Yearling Sale on behalf of breeder the late Noel Butler – or the ultra consistent Delzao 3YO Purple Zone?
Clanger Count would continue Clangalang’s winning run however and score over the 2215m journey with Purple Zone fighting on well for second.
Trained by Shannon and Lee Hope, Clanger Count had put in an encouraging third at Wangaratta earlier in the month and there was no denying him at Seymour.
Out of the Seattle Dancer mare, Medium, Clanger Count is a grandson of Group winning British mare, Piney Ridge and hails from the immediate family of Sydney stakes winner Shannon Bank. It’s also the family of successful sires Dignitas and Knightly Manner.
Clangalang had 34 runners in Australia throughout October for seven winners, eight placings and six more money earners, resulting in a cheque to starts ratio of 62%.
But how unlucky is Purple Zone? The John McArdle trained Delzao has now had six starts for four seconds … surely a win isn’t too far around the corner?

Actually, office supremo Glenn Gillan, who largely keeps the cogs turning at Eliza Park, had no problem re whom to cheer for: he owns Medium along with partner Raymond Butler.

BEL ESPRIT COLT TOPS SALE

Bel Esprit is a seriously good stallion and so, it seems, is his colt from Bellotto mare Bellain.
Seriously Good (by Bel Esprit) topped the first session of the Magic Millions Horses in Training Sale at the Gold Coast yesterday, bringing a winning bid of $360,000 from Victorian trainer Peter Morgan.
Bred by Queensland farm, Jonel Park Thoroughbreds and originally sold at this year’s Gold Coast Magic Millions Yearling Sale to Washpool Thoroughbreds, Seriously Good was the talk of the complex.
A delighted Morgan revealed that he was over the moon with his purchase: “He’s a very nice colt … if you believe what they are telling me, he’s a very cheap horse.
“He breezed up nicely and is a great prospect.”
The Kilmore based Morgan added that the colt – who is out of winning half sister to stakes winner Volare and hails from the family of Group One winners Sharpen Up and Rarotonga Treaty - would be racing “sooner rather than later”.
“I will get him home and give him a little break – but then get him into the stables and we might set him for the ($2 million) Magic Millions Classic (in January).”

ACE GETS THE ‘MONEY’

Some folk have a tendency to get very excited when their horses win, but in over 30 years of watching owners watch races, very few surpass the enthusiasm of leading Tasmanian owner/breeder Alwyn Shaw.
Alwyn, who heads up the massive construction firm, Shaw Contracting, is also the proprietor of Aceland Stud at Whitemore and has a large band of broodmares – incredibly large actually given that he a relative newcomer to the industry.
At least he doesn’t have to worry about paying a service fee for one of his top mares following the victory of Money Angel in the Eliza Park Oaks Trial at Bendigo yesterday (28 October).
Money Angel’s win – assisted by a brilliant front running ride from a very much in-form Craig Williams – saw Alwyn and his wife Judy presented with a service nomination to Champion Victorian Sire, Bel Esprit as a special bonus to winning connections.
Alwyn was very excited following the heart stopping final stages, revealing that he had purchased the Street Cry filly for $40,000 at last year’s Inglis Sydney Classic.
Although it’s unlikely that the filly will contest next week’s VRC Oaks-G1 at Flemington, as this is her first campaign and her fifth run since early September, the connections have high hopes for Money Angel in interstate Oaks next autumn.
‘Ace’ Shaw is one of those larger than life characters and a full profile will appear in the November issue of Eliza Park Insider. Click here to sign up for your free subscription.





Photos courtesy of Slickpix

DAVID KOBRITZ: MAN OF STEEL

Congratulations to developer extraordinaire and racing enthusiast, David Kobritz, whose Danroad gelding Steel Road got up in the lucky last at Bendigo yesterday : the somewhat appropriately named McKern Steel Handicap.
Doug Harrison, who trains Steel Road on behalf of Kobritz and a group of other owners, has got the 4YO firing on all cylinders, with the gelding now winning at his last three starts.
David has bred and raced a number of outstanding horses and there are probably only a handful of people out there who can say that they raced both a Golden Slipper (Danzero) and Melbourne Cup (Subzero) winner.
Steel Road is by the Danehill stallion Danroad, whose Sadler’s Wells three quarter brother – Joe Blow – ran unplaced in the Jayco Bendigo Cup earlier in the afternoon.