ROCKET MAN BLASTS BACK

The Tyreel Stud-bred Rocket Man (below) returned to the winner’s circle in sparkling fashion on Sunday when he ran his rivals off their feet to score his 19th win first-up from a three month spell, writes Michael Lee.

The star sprinter was resuming since his unplaced effort in the Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Sprint-G1 on 11 December and needed the run in the S$125,000 Kranji Stakes A over 1200m as the perfect finishing touch before he embarks on his next overseas mission – the Dubai Golden Shaheen-G1 – which he won last year, becoming Singapore’s first International Group One success.

The Patrick Shaw-trained champion took a while to get back to in shape after his Hong Kong quarantine, but after three winning barrier trials under the belt, he was fit and ready to put his best foot forward.

Rocket Man ran the 1200m in 1:10.95, 1.21 seconds outside his own record established in 2010.

“This was the perfect prep run for him. It should get him right for Dubai,” said Shaw.

NICE TOUCH GASPARE

Congratulations to Gaspare Sirianni (left) and his family on their home bred God’s Own filly, Heavenly Touch, who took out the Ace Insurance Maiden at Ballarat last Thursday.

Part-owned by Gaspare, Heavenly Touch is out of the Umatilla mare, Johanna, which was also raced by Gaspare and is a sister to the Group One Adelaide Cup winner Bohemiath.

Supporting Victorian stallions from the word go, Gaspare sent Johanna to Testa Rossa in her first season at stud with the resultant progeny – Hanna Rossa – being multiple stakes placed in Melbourne and also heading to God’s Own in her first season at stud.

SUPER FOALS

The first of the Super Saver foals have touched down in the northern hemisphere. Check out the videos from WinStar Farm, the Lexington base for the 2010 Kentucky Derby winner by clicking here.

Don’t worry … we’ll look forward to showing the first of his Aussie foals when they arrive this spring.

Super Saver foal at WinStar Farm in Kentucky

 

GOOD CAUSE FOR KIDS

Four industry stalwarts – Richard Andrews (right), Adam Sangter, Adam Tims (Thoroughbred Breeders Victoria) and Matt Cain (Melbourne Racing Club committeeman) – will participate in the 4Tracks4kids walk on 9 March as part of a fundraiser for charities associated with Doxa Youth and Sporting Chance Foundations.

They’ll walk from Caulfield to Federation Square, on to Moonee Valley before ending up heading down the Flemington straight.

According to googlemaps that’s around a 30 click wander for the quartet – named Team Archie in honour of Adam Tims’ new foal – and while Richard Andrews looks to be in racing nick, form hasn’t been disclosed for the remaining trio.

Kick in for a good cause: http://4tracks4kidsmelbourne.gofundraise.com.au/page/RAndrews

BEL ESPRIT ... AUSTRALIAN CHAMP?

The following was printed in Friday’s edition of the Herald Sun and written by Michael Manley.

Amid all the hoopla surrounding champion sprinter Black Caviar is another rousing success story: her sire Bel Esprit.

It is not just Black Caviar flying the Bel Esprit banner, because tomorrow at Caulfield his son Bel Sprinter, who has won five of his six starts, is second favourite for the Group 1 Oakleigh Plate.

Bel Esprit sits third on the Australian sires’ premiership behind two NSW Hunter Valley stallions: Fastnet Rock and Redoute’s Choice.

But Bel Esprit is the poor cousin on service fee. He stood at $27,500 last season compared with Redoute’s Choice at $137,500 and Fastnet Rock at $132,000.

Bel Esprit has been Victorian champion stallion four times and a fifth title is already secured.

Only legendary stallions Better Boy and Helios, with nine titles, have won more Victorian premierships.

Bel Esprit, who won the 2002 Blue Diamond Stakes, has defied the trend of promising Victorian stallions such as Testa Rossa and Encosta De Lago being whisked off the Hunter Valley.

The irony of all this is not lost on Bel Esprit’s part-owner, Greater Western Sydney coach Kevin Sheedy (pictured below with Bel Esprit).

While he is happy to take young Victorian footballers to Blacktown, he is more than content to keep Bel Esprit in Victoria.

Sheedy realises Bel Esprit’s service fee would be much bigger if he was in the Hunter Valley under the Coolmore or Arrowfield banner.

Sheedy said fellow part-owner Michael Duffy, Racing Victoria chairman and the man who selected Bel Esprit as a yearling, had insisted the stallion stay at Eliza Park Stud in Kerrie, near Romsey.

For his part, Duffy said a lot of the credit for Bel Esprit staying in Victoria had to go to the stud because it had bought his standing rights.

“There’s no question about it, Bel Esprit has been a huge boost for Eliza Park and Victoria,” Duffy said.

“But even more than that, he’s a banner horse for the Australian breeding industry as a whole with Black Caviar being crowned world champion and now responsible for taking racing from the sports pages to the front page.

“And yes, we’re certainly not denying she’s pushed Bel Esprit into the top bracket of sires.

“But it’s also important to note that she’s just one of 13 stakes winners by a relatively young sire.”

This season promises to be Bel Esprit’s best on the track because in the equine influenza year of 2007 he served an Australian record 266 mares and had 198 live foals, with that crop now three-year-olds.

Bel Esprit is well represented in the Melbourne Premier Yearling Sale, which starts on Monday, with 36 lots.

As for this year’s service fee, Eliza Park operations manager David Somers said it would be determined about mid-April.

The best is yet to come in terms of quality from Bel Esprit.

Last year he covered 125 mares, including Black Caviar’s dam Helsinge and the dam of Hay List, Sing Hallelujah.

One of the stallion’s biggest supporters is Mick Price, who has trained the most winners by Bel Esprit.

“He’s still under-rated,” Price said.

“There was a myth he couldn’t get colts but that’s all it is. They’ve got good temperaments. I’ve found no soundness issues.”

CLASSIC WIN WAS UPBEAT

Timing is everything in this game and the brilliant win of Upbeat (above) in today’s Group Two BMW Autumn Classic (1800m) at Caulfield is a huge boon for owner/breeder Rob Crabtree.

The victory comes just 72 hours shy of Crabtree selling a Magnus half brother to Upbeat (Lot 230) at the 2012 Inglis Melbourne Premier Yearling Sale.

Coming from a wide barrier and hunted up early to run just off the leader, Upbeat surged turning for home and held on gamely to score.

It was a super win by the 3YO who is out of a half to another of Crabtree’s Group winners in Any Rhythm.

Accordingly, Upbeat carried Crabtree’s increasingly familiar colours of red and white checks, as did Magnus – the Group One winning sprinter and close relation to Black Caviar – who is the sire of the colt (below) who will be among the first 25 lots sold at Oaklands Junction on Tuesday.

TYCOON TONY WAVES VICTORIAN FLAG

Tony Cavanagh has waited a long time for Saturday: 27 years in fact.

As a lifelong, and very passionate supporter of the thoroughbred industry, Tony reveled in the 1985 Blue Diamond Stakes victory of his magnificent grey, Let’s Get Physical … a horse he had both bred and owned.

Now, while Tony is hardly the type of bloke – at 65 years young – who would dabble in anything chemical to get his highs, he is definitely of the opinion that there is no greater narcotic than winning a big race.

So, he’s back again for another dose in Victoria’s most prestigious (and richest) juvenile event when Andre Roo Hoo lines up at 4.30pm tomorrow for the $1 million Blue Diamond Stakes.

And, as he proudly points out, Andre Roo Hoo – a son of Eliza Park-based stallion and Champion Australian First Season Sire, Written Tycoon – is also another of his home breds AND is part owned by Tony.

History repeating? Well, whereas Let’s Get Physical was a hot favourite in his year, Andre Roo Hoo is a clear outsider and Tony had quite a few nervous moments waiting on the order of entry.

Still, you have to be in it to win it and the Robbie Laing trained chestnut has at least two things in his favour: another of the part-owners, Chris Rogers (“the most knowledgeable non-racing person I’ve ever met”, according to Tony) also shared the glory of Let’s Get Physical’s victory in ’85 and, as a consequence, Andre Roo Hoo will carry the same colours as the grey on Saturday.

A Andre Roo Hoo victory would mean more to Tony than simply financial gain and the slaps on the back from his multitude of friends and clients.

One of the leading bloodstock agents of the 70s and 80s, Tony has been in the ‘wilderness’ for a number of years, with his business and marriage suffering through a financial collapse, before voluntarily taking on the role of principal carer for both parents in their final years … effectively sidelining himself from the profession he’s loved from day one.

But if you ask him what he’s most proud of as he stands poised to become the first ‘small breeder/owner’ to win two Blue Diamonds, it’s actually more about state parochialism!

“We have the only runner by a Victorian based sire (Written Tycoon) in Victoria’s principal juvenile race and to top it off, he’s the only one that’s Super VOBIS qualified!”

Tony was very specific about the mating and while Written Tycoon is relatively new on the scene – winning last season’s national freshman title and currently heading up Australia’s Second Sires’ chart – Tony has had a long association with the female line.

In the late 80s, Tony travelled to Argentina with industry stalwart, Ted Cockram, securing a number of breeding and racing interests – one of them was the Champion race mare Sumatra, who had twice won the country’s premier sprinting event … the equivalent to our Newmarket.

Although her four winners – from only five to race – had moderate results, her fourth foal, Solar Song, would be mated with Written Tycoon in the spring of 2008 … from which Tony may just get his second Blue Diamond winner!