2007

THE five-year-old Cape Cross mare Seachange recorded her fifth Group 1 win when she strode away from a smart field over the final 200 metres of the 1,600 metre Stoney Bridge Stakes in New Zealand last Saturday.

The victory leaves her just one win away from completing the Hawke’s Bay Triple Crown of Group 1 races, the Mudgeway, Stoney Bridge Stakes and Kelt Capital. No horse has won all three before, let alone in the same year.

Indeed, last year Seachange won the Mudgeway and Stoney Bridge before finishing second to Legs over the 2,040 metres of the Kelt Capital.

Her jockey, Gavin McKeon, certainly believes history is within her grasp on October 6th. “If she gets the right track, a good draw and luck in the running, I think she can do it,” said McKeon.

Comfortable

Tucked behind the leader Sir Slick, with Gaze on his outside, Seachange always looked comfortable. As the field swung into the turn, McKeon was able to get off the rail and force through the gap that Gaze was trying to shut down.

With Sir Slick working hard to the line, Seachange accelerated to reel in the leader and win by a length from the Volstraad gelding, who was a length and a quarter ahead of the Encosta De Lago mare Princess Coup.

While Seachange’s immediate aim is the NZ$2 million Kelt Capital, owner Dick Karreman is not at this stage keen on sending her for the Cox Plate, as New Zealand’s Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry has not put in place protocols for horses return from Australia.

“I think we’ve missed the boat for the Cox Plate, and I’m not prepared to risk her unless we get some guarantees from authorities,” said Karreman, whose racing manager, Rick Williams, added: “If she was to be locked up in quarantine for, say, five weeks, she’s such an obese mare we’d never be able to get her fit again. When she’s not doing anything, she puts on 3kg a day, even when you don’t feed her.”

Travel plans

These circumstances may see Seachange competing in Dubai and England next year, which Williams said the team would be prepared for if she didn’t run in the Cox Plate. “The plan would be to run in the Dubai Duty Free, like Sunline, and then carry on to England where there are some good Group 1 races for mares over 1,600 metres at Royal Ascot in June.

“Our aim is to internationalise her pedigree. We think she’s up to international class, and she’s an ideal horse to travel.”

[In a blanket finish to the Kelt Capital, Seachange was beaten by Princess Coup into fourth place. She won two more Group 1 races at the start of 2008, travelled to Nad Al Sheba and Britain, but didn’t manage to place on any of her four starts abroad.

Seachange retired to the paddocks having won half of her 28 starts, and with earnings of more than Aus$1.5 million. She was twice voted New Zealand’s Horse of the Year, and in her final season was also rated the champion sprinter. She won seven Group 1 races, starting with the New Zealand 1000 Guineas.

At stud Seachange has been disappointing. She has had nine foals, two of which died before being named. She has had four winners, headed by Divan (Zabeel) who won three times and was runner-up in the Group 3 Bendigo Cup]

Sale dominated by Arab purchases

1982

MIDDLE-EAST money dominated the Tattersalls Highflyer Sale at Newmarket this week. Nearly all the six-figure lots were bought by agents acting on behalf of Arab owners.

Maybe the recession is biting in America, because the dollar was nearly always defeated. The lack of US competition saw an unanticipated drop in turnover. In fact, the average of just below 50,000gns on the prime day of Thursday was over 5,000gns down on last year. That is still a very healthy market when the European level of prizemoney is taken into consideration.

However, the pattern that emerged was the unwavering intention of the big spenders to concentrate on a few choice yearlings. As a result, the middle and lower ends of the market suffered.

The progeny of the two stallions most in demand were Habitat and Mill Reef, and it was Sean Doyle’s Baroda Stud’s colt by Mill Reef out of Laxmi that topped the sale on Thursday, when Joss Collins of the BBA had to go to 390,000gns to acquire the yearling for one of the Ballydoyle syndicates.

On Wednesday afternoon, the French-trained Ma Biche gave an impressive turn of foot to land the Cheveley Park Stakes, and this timely effort helped her half-brother by Far North make 260,000gns on Thursday.

[In fact, the top price at the sale emerged in Friday’s trade, when Harry Thomson Jones spent 400,000gns to buy a son of Tap On Wood out of Innocent Air from Danton Stud Farm. Named At Tarf, this half-brother to the champion Perrault won a small race at three and over jumps in France. He earned some £6,500.

Baroda’s Mill Reef colt was named High Commander. A half-brother to the 1000 Guineas winner Enstone Spark, he won three races, earning £15,000, and was placed in a listed race at Leopardstown. He was trained by David O’Brien.

Curragh Bloodstock Agency spent 370,000gns on a son of Habitat and Demare, while Heron Bloodstock paid 280,000gns for a daughter of the same Airlie Stud stallion out of Come Dancing. The former was named Ayaabi, and he was to be the best of the leading lots.

A half-brother to the Irish 1000 Guineas winner More So, Ayaabi won three times in England for Sheikh Mohammed, trained by Michael Stoute, and was a stakes winner later in the USA.

The Habitat filly, Zeyneb, was trained by Jeremy Hindley to be placed a couple of times. A half-sister to the Queen’s Vase winner and Irish St Leger runner-up General Ironside, Zeyneb bred five winners.

Stowell Hill sold a son of Bustino and Cockade for 280,000gns to Michael Goodbody. He was Jameel, owned by Nasser Adullah and trained by Michael Stoute. He won a two-mile maiden at Warwick. The Far North half-brother to Ma Biche, named North Madgic, was placed once in France at three]

Flood wins the bumper for Sleator

1957

LITTLE could be seen of the racing at Baldoyle on Saturday, a heavy mist lying over this seaside course virtually throughout the proceedings.

Seamus McGrath increased his lead in the trainer’s list with a couple of good-priced winners, while Paddy Sleator, who is also having a good year, was another to record a double. The McGrath winners were Arctic Dove in the Autumn Plate, and Sindy in the Stewards’ Nursery.

Sindy’s half-brother, Bindy, was favourite for the mile and six-furlong Raheny Handicap but failed to gain a place, Anothergram winning from Poste Restante. The winner is under the care of Sleator, and the Grange Con trainer also supplied the winner of the bumper in The Major, a much-improved five-year-old. The Major was ridden by Mr F Flood.

Very little could be seen of the running of the Marino Handicap, and when the field finally emerged out of the heavy mist, with about a furlong to go, Migarinta was clear. Jimmy Lenehan’s charge stayed on to win by two and a half lengths.

[The Major turned out to be a very smart performer. After winning again on the level, he was successful 10 times over hurdles and fences, his biggest success coming in the Tostal Hurdle at Naas]