HO HO, IT’S CLANGALANG

Christmas 2010 heralded a turning point for CLANGALANG who has popped up with a number of winners, plus stakes horses in the past few weeks.
The appropriately named Ho Ho Life (below) has paralleled the form with a neat victory at Hong Kong’s Happy Valley on Wednesday (12 January) for trainer CH Yip.
A 4YO gelding from the Seattle Dancer mare Gaelic Jig, Ho Ho Life was exported to Hong Kong in November 2009 after his only two starts in Australia resulted in a Ballarat victory and third at Cranbourne.
And while it took him a bit more time to find his feet in Hong Kong, Ho Ho Life has – this season – compiled two seconds and two wins from as many outings.
Sold for just $3,000 in Adelaide three years ago, Ho Ho Life has now won over $HK1m (approx $A130,000).

MAGNUS MAGIC

Black Caviar trainer snaps up first Magnus

Brilliant sprinter, MAGNUS, has made a huge impact on the Gold Coast with his first crop of yearlings selling for six figures at today’s opening session of the Magic Millions.
Not surprisingly, it was champion trainer, Peter Moody, who won out on the flashy Magnus colt from Coniston Gem (Lot 78), paying $120,000 for the first foal of the Flemington Group winner.
Moody – who trained Magnus throughout his illustrious career has the added impetus that his unbeaten mare, Black Caviar, is out of a half sister to Magnus!
Immediately following the sale, Moody commented that the colt: “is a striking type … very much like his sire. Having looked at the Magnus’ up here and quite a few of his yearlings overall, it appears the acorn hasn’t fallen far from the tree.”
The only other Magnus colt to make an appearance on day one was yearling from Discretionary, a half sister to juvenile Group winners Doubting and Special Edition.
Entering the ring as Lot 124, the Magnus colt was eventually knocked down for $100,000 and he too will be heading back to Victoria and into the stables of another champion trainer in Lee Freedman.
Both Magnus yearlings were sold through the Eliza Park draft which will sell another of his colts, this one from the well bred Redoute’s Choice mare Obbligato, coming into the ring as Lot 385, the final lot of tomorrow’s session.

MAGNUS colt from Coniston Gem : sold to Peter Moody for $120k.

HAY, IT’S ON AGAIN

Hot on the hoof of today’s news that BEL ESPRIT’s girl Black Caviar is now “officially the No. 1 sprinter in the world” comes the word that Hay List is on the comeback trail. The Herald Sun’s Tim Habel provides the lowdown on an autumn high while Nicole Garmston took the pic.

Trainer John McNair is not shying away from his star sprinter Hay List taking on great rival Black Caviar again soon.
Perhaps even as soon as next month’s Lightning Stakes.
A gallop between races at Gosford on Thursday will be pivotal in McNair’s planning, which could include a trip to Dubai in March for the $2 million Golden Shaheen (1200m).
Unbeaten Black Caviar and Hay List (STATUE OF LIBERTY), who won his first three Melbourne starts, clashed for the first time in the Patinack Farm Classic on the final day of the Melbourne Cup Carnival last year.
But the touted match race was a fizzer, with Black Caviar strolling home while Hay List finished a career-worst sixth in the seven-horse field, beaten 11.5 lengths.
Many attributed the performance to the effects of a pre-race injury. Hay List lashed out at a water trough in the week before the race and hurt his leg, the wound requiring stitches.
“The injury was worse than we thought and there was an infection when the stitches burst,” McNair said.
“(But) I’m less confident of beating her (Black Caviar) after the sensational sectionals she ran that day.
“It will be interesting to see them both at their best at 1200m and 1400m. If there is as any disadvantage for us it would be 1000m.
“He’s got to prove he’s back to his best, but he gives me a better feel now than he ever has. The gallop at Gosford will let us know where we are.”
Regular rider Glyn Schofield will ride Hay List, a winner of 12 of his 15 starts, in the exhibition gallop.
Depending on the outcome, McNair said the Expressway Stakes (1200m) at Rosehill on February 5 or Lightning Stakes (1000m) at Flemington on February 19 would be the first-up race.
The $2 million Dubai Golden Shaheen on March 27 was also an option, McNair said.
“It’s worth more than the Newmarket. The race is run on sand (the artificial Tapeta surface) and he does all his work on sand,” McNair said.
But he said if the Newmarket became the main goal, he would consider it a first or second-up run.
“If we were deadly serious about the Newmarket you would nearly go first-up because we would meet Black Caviar better at the weights,” he said.

CAVIAR ON TOP OF THE WORLD

Australian racing’s superstars Black Caviar and So You Think have achieved worldwide acclaim following the release of the 2010 World Thoroughbred Rankings (WTR) by the International Federation of Horse Authorities in London last night (AEST).
Unbeaten Victorian speedster Black Caviar (BEL ESPRIT) has been officially rated the Champion Sprinter of the World, while So You Think has been rated Equal Champion Intermediate (Middle Distance) Turf Performer of the World alongside Irish star Rip Van Winkle.
In a unique circumstance, So You Think has also been rated the Champion Stayer of the World for his third placing in the Emirates Melbourne Cup in which he carried 56kg as a 4YO, conceding weight to race winner Americain in the world’s premier staying race.
The 2010 World Thoroughbred Rankings take into account all performances throughout the world, irrespective of where individual horses raced or were trained, during the calendar year.
To merit inclusion in the rankings, a horse must have been rated at 115 or above in the period under review.
Of the 329 to make the rankings in 2010, 43 were Australian-trained, whilst a further 10 Australian-bred horses raced abroad with great distinction.
In a landmark year for Australian racing, the Peter Moody-trained Black Caviar and Bart Cummings-trained So You Think both achieved record ratings.
Greg Carpenter, Chairman of the Australian Racing Board’s ANZ Classifications Committee and the ARB’s representative on the WTR Committee, said the rankings gave cause for celebration.
“The 2010 World Thoroughbred Rankings are a wonderful advertisement for the quality of Australia’s racing and breeding industries,” Carpenter said.
“The respect for Australian racing on the world stage can only prosper through the achievements of horses like Black Caviar and So You Think. “
To have the Champion Sprinter, Intermediate and Stayer of the World is an outstanding result and what’s most pleasing is that their record performances came here in Australia during the Spring Racing Carnival, not whilst competing overseas.
“There was fruitful discussion at the World Rankings Conference in Hong Kong about Black Caviar, So You Think and also Hay List (STATUE OF LIBERTY) and I was pleased to be able to articulate the merits of their performances to the other delegates.”


BLACK CAVIAR

Four-year-old mare Black Caviar (above) achieved a rating of 123 when stretching her unbeaten record to eight with a stunning victory in the Group 1 Patinack Farm Classic (1200m) at Flemington in November.
Her rating was the highest ever by an Australian trained sprinter, eclipsing the 122 rating achieved by both Scenic Blast (2009) and Weekend Hussler (2008) in the two previous years, and led a domination of world sprinting by Australian-bred thoroughbreds in 2010.
Five of the top six sprinters in the world were bred in Australia with Hong Kong-trained Sacred Kingdom (121), Singapore-trained Rocket Man (121), Ireland-trained Starspangledbanner (121) and NSW speedster Hay List (120) proving wonderful ambassadors for the Australian breeding industry.
South African star JJ The Jet Plane, who rated 122 in winning December’s Hong Kong International Sprint, was the only sprinter bred outside Australia in the top six.
Former Victorian sprinter Starspangledbanner, a Group 1 sprint winner in both hemispheres during 2010, was afforded the honour of Champion 3YO Sprinter of the World. Black Caviar, who returned to Peter Moody’s stables this week, will be the headline act during February and March’s lucrative Melbourne Festival of Racing.
She is slated to resume in the Group 1 Coolmore Lightning Stakes (1000m) at Flemington on 19 February.

WORLD’S BEST PERFORMERS

The top rated horse for 2010 was English sensation Harbinger who achieved a rating of 135 before a fractured cannon bone stalled his meteoric rise and forced his retirement in August.
Trained by Sir Michael Stoute and part-owned by Australian interests, Harbinger achieved his rating when beating a star-studded field in the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2400m) by 11 lengths at Ascot in July.
Harbinger’s rating of 135 is just one less than that given to champion Irish colt Sea The Stars 12 months prior during his unbeaten three-year-old reign.
USA Breeders Classic (Dirt) winner Blame, the only horse to defeat glamour mare Zenyatta, was next in the rankings on 129, with Epsom Derby and Arc de Triomphe winner Workforce, star French three-year-old Makfi and American star Quality Road on 128.
Japan’s Arc De Triomphe runner-up Nakayama Festa and brilliant English three-year-old Canford Cliffs, a winner of the Irish 2000 Guineas and Sussex Stakes, were rated 127.
Rated alongside So You Think on 126 was the Aidan O’Brien-trained stablemates, Irish Derby winner Cape Blanco and Juddmonte International Stakes winner Rip Van Winkle.

AUSTRALIA’S GREAT RACE

The release of the 2010 World Thoroughbred Rankings served to confirm the Emirates Melbourne Cup’s billing as the world’s premier staying race, whilst franking November’s 150th edition as the best in history.
Taking into account the handicap conditions, four-year-old So You Think was afforded a rating of 122 for his third placing making him Champion Stayer of the World.
Cup winner Americain, who carried less weight than his younger rival, achieved a rating of 121 which was the second highest mark afforded a horse in a race greater than 2700 metres.
Both performances were rated superior to Arctic Cosmos’ (120) win in the English St Leger, Sans Frontieres’ (120) victory in the Irish St Leger, Jaguar Mail’s (118) win in Japan’s Tenno Sho (Spring) and the Ascot Gold Cup win of Rite Of Passage (118).
“The rankings confirm the Emirates Melbourne Cup’s standing as the world’s best staying race, with 2010 the highest rated edition by a considerable margin,” Carpenter said.
“The reason So You Think rated higher than Americain, is because he conceded his older rival 3kg, that being 1.5kg in actual weight plus a four-year-old weight-for-age allowance of 1.5kg, which equates to about 5.5 lengths over 3200 metres,” he explained.
“In finishing only 3.25 lengths from Americain So You Think ran to a higher rating in the Cup, even allowing a discretionary element for the ease of the French horse’s victory.”
Looking ahead to this year, the World Thoroughbred Rankings provide a source of interest with four internationals featured within already on Australian soil in preparation for the 2011 Spring Racing Carnival.
Midas Touch (118) and At First Sight (115) have both been purchased by Lloyd Williams; Glass Harmonium (115) has been acquired by clients of trainer Mike Moroney; whilst UK stayer Tactic (117) has been transferred to David Hayes.

AUSTRALIAN TRAINED

The total number of Australian-trained horses to make the World Thoroughbred Rankings dropped from 50 to 43 in 2010, but Carpenter explained that there’s more to the story.
“Whilst there was a reduction, it is clearly the second highest tally we’ve achieved and there are mitigating factors,” he said.
“The dominance of horses like So You Think and Black Caviar meant the spread of feature winners was less than previous years, plus we saw horses trained outside Australia in Americain, Lion Tamer and Wall Street winning Group 1 races here.
“It is also important to note that the number of Australian-trained horses to rate 120 or greater continues to grow. We had five horses in this elite category in 2010, up from four the year prior and just two in 2008, which is a most pleasing progression.”
Joining So You Think, Black Caviar and Hay List in the elite category were Cox Plate placegetters Zipping and Whobegotyou who both rated 120.

Total Number of Australian Trained Horses Rated 115+

2010 [43]
2009 [50]
2008 [36]
2007/08 [33]
2006/07 [29]
2005/06 [16]
2004/05 [9]

For a full list of the 2010 World Thoroughbred Rankings click here

FLOOD RELIEF

Local Queenslanders have set up donation points and bank accounts to receive donations to assist horse owners affected by the devastating Queensland floods.
“Although we are getting flooded in South East Queensland now, a lot of people in Rockhampton have been flooded out of their homes for nearly three weeks,” says Katy Driver of Caboonbah Stud. “The water has only dropped about 6 inches in last week so still a long time before they can get back to their houses to start the clean up as most are still under water.”
Katy herself is surrounded by water, cut off on all sides, but says she is “safe on a hill”. In an online post she writes about most of her town being underwater and tremendous stock losses.
“Major flash flooding, lot of people I (have) not been able to get hold of and only had short notice they had to evacuate, lots of families and children missing. A big wall of water came through at the last moment wiping out most things. Lot of livestock lost.”
Katy has organised ROCKY FEED AND SEED in Rockhampton to get whatever feed required out to the Rockhampton Showgrounds for horse owners stranded by the floods.
“There are a lot of people stranded still at the showgrounds with their horses and (they) have lost most of their things,” she says. “These are the people I want to get help for. Even when they can get home they will have no grass and lost all their feed supplies. They haven’t been able to work so have no income to help cover the costs of their lives let alone their horses, but all of them have their horses as their first priority. Some are eligible for government help but that doesn’t cover their horses and would only barely help them survive.”
Katy says donations can be made directly to the ROCKY FEED AND SEED bank account. She and a friend are working at the Showground end to make sure donated feed is distributed evenly amongst horses stranded there.
“All we need to do is put the money in their bank account,” she says. “Even if you can only afford $25 - $30 that is a bag of feed or at least few bales of hay to help.”
SE QLD Horse Rescue has also set up donation points to help horse owners affected by the floods in other affected areas. They have a SE QLD Horse Rescue FaceBook page with regular updates and are asking people to donate what they can: feed, agistment, transport, vet care etc.
Donations and Contacts: To help horses owners stranded at Rockhampton you can make a donation directly to Rocky Feed and Seed:
WESTPAC BANK
ACC NAME: ROCKY FEED AND SEED
BSB: 034 210  ACC#: 219110
Once a donation has been made please email Katy at caboonbahstud@gmail.com and let her know how much has been paid into the account.
Katy will update Rocky Feed and Seed daily to let them know how much feed can be taken out to the showgrounds.
Her contact at the showgrounds will ensure the distribution.

CLANGALANG’S DREAM

Up and coming trainer Luke Oliver appears to have a very handy type on his books in Tuesday’s winner Ferreus.
A lightly raced 3YO by CLANGALANG, Ferreus was recording his second win on the trot having run a neck second on debut.
Out of the Desert Sun mare, Eliza Dream, a half sister to Danbird stakes horse Royal Dalton, this is also the family of Group One winning 2YO Select Prince.
Also keep your eye on the GOD’S OWN youngster, Onamissionfromgod, who put a resounding third behind Ferreus after missing the start.

It’s certainly been a big couple of weeks for Clangalang with Duplify winning on Boxing Day, while Lakedro was stakes placed at Caulfield and Eagle was Group One placed in Penang.

KRISTEN’S CLASSIC COMMENTS

Industry commentator and author, Kristen Manning, has recently released a weekly newsletter on all (thoroughbred) matters Victorian which is free to subscribe to (kriman@optushome.com.au - you don’t get much for naught these days!).
Recently Kristen penned an overview of the Eliza Park draft for the 2011 Inglis Sydney Classic Yearling Sale which commences on 23 January).

Lot 7 br.c God’s Own - Instinctive (by Naturalism): dam, a half sister to the dual Gr.1 winner Skating, has produced four winners including the Listed winner Umaprince (22 wins), the multiple city winner Superior Instinct and the six times provincial winner Regal Instinct. Family of the stakes winners Murtajill, Sunset Run, Bradbury’s Luck, Juste Momente and Congressman.

Lot 35 br.c God’s Own - Lady Franc (by Grosvenor): half brother to the promising city winner Bel Franc out of a half sister to the dual Gr.1 winner Western Red. Related to the stakes winners Elegance, Forecast and Royal Encore.

Lot 101 ch.c Written Tycoon - Mrs Shine (by Marquetry): by promising young stallion whose first crop are showing considerable promise out of a half sister to the Gr.3 winner Handsome Ransom and the Listed winner Danajaya.

Lot 153 b.f God’s Own - Portland Park (by Woodman): dam is a daughter of the triple Gr.1 winner Spirit Of Kingston, dam of the VRC Derby winner Portland Player and grandam of the Gr.1 juvenile Coup de Grace and the Edward Manifold Stakes winner Coupe. Spirit Of Kingston’s half sister Rose Of Kingston earned the Australian Horse Of The Year title and produced the Melbourne Cup winner Kingston Rule.

Lot 211 b.c God’s Own - Saint Barbara (by Royal Academy): second foal of a city winning daughter of the metropolitan winner Northwood Lady whose dam is the Gr.3 Debutante Stakes winner Seaside Lady. Boasts an interesting pedigree, his sire and dam hailing from the same family - both descendants of Taj Rossi’s dam Dark Queen.

Lot 301 ch.f Written Tycoon - Turtle Dove (by Bluebird): half sister to five winners including the Gr.1 placed Lords A Leaping and the city winner Ladies Dancing. Family of the NZ Derby winner Coniston Bluebird and her third dam is the San Domenico Stakes winner Quiet Little Drink.

Lot 437 b/br.f Magnus - Coconut Mamma (by Fantastic Light): first foal of a daughter of the stakes placed Joie whose dam is the Queenland Oaks winner Joie Denise - in turn daughter of the wonderful mare Denise’s Joy. This is the prolific Gr.1 family of Tuesday Joy, Sunday Joy, More Joyous, Euphoria, Arlington Road, Thorn Park and Bentley Biscuit.

The flashy Written Tycoon x Turtle Dove filly - half sister to 5 winners