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Victoria Derby domination
The heats of the prestige Victoria Derby, run at Tabcorp Park Melton last Friday (January 29), proved a triumph for Stallion Station sires. We produced two heat winners in Lanercost (by Courage Under Fire) and Lincoln Royal (by Mach Three), while another three Stallion Station sired colts qualified for the $200,000 Group 1 Final at Moonee Valley next Saturday (February 6). Of the 36 Derby contestants, no less than eight were sired by Stallion Station sires – Courage Under Fire (5) and Mach Three (3). In the first heat we produced three of the first four finishers in Lanercost, Heza Panamach (by Mach Three) 2nd and Courage To Rule (by Courage Under Fire) 4th. Lanercost, who started a raging hot favourite at $1.40, never gave his army of supporters a moment’s concern. Pinging straight to the front from the pole, the brilliant Queenslander was able to dictate his own terms and allowed to coast through the middle half in 63.3 seconds, he reeled off a 55.5 seconds last 800 metres to leave his rivals gasping for breath. Lanercost bristled over the last quarter in 26.5 – possibly a record for the new Melton track. He averaged a 1:59.2 mile rating for the 2240m mobile. The Darrell Graham trained and driven colt is unbeaten in three attempts this season. He boasts a lifetime record of 13 starts for 11 wins and two seconds for $127,962 in stakes. Bred in New Zealand by Mike Stratford, Lanercost is out of the New York Motoring mare Lanoch 2:01.l (2 NZ wins), the dam of seven winners from seven foals including the five-time Harold Park winner Thornycroft 1:59.9.
Lanercost winning a Victoria Derby heat Fresh off his record-breaking win in the Waikato Guineas (Listed) at Cambridge, Lincoln Royal (Sir Lincoln in NZ) was forced to work overtime to find the lead from his wide front row draw. Once settled in the vanguard, the Mach Three colt ambled through the first half of the last mile in 64.4. He unwound a sizzling last half of 56.9 (29.8 and 27.1) to win, eased down, by two-and-a-half lengths. Lincoln Royal rated 1:58.3 – the equal fastest of the three qualifiers – and posted his seventh win from 15 starts. He boosted his stakes tally to an impressive $176,114. Bred by John Street, Lincoln Royal is the second foal of the unraced Clare De Lune, a Beach Towel mare from the Canadian bred Armbro Moonlight, by Cam Fella from the Albatross mare Shimmer Hanover. It is the family of champion sire Fake Left, and other sires in Fast Knight and Double Century.
Lincoln Royal winning a Victoria Derby heat The remaining Stallion Stallion sired Derby finalist is Wartime Sweetheart (by Courage Under Fire), who finished a flying fourth in the second qualifier. Good luck to all Stallion Station-sired runners in the last Victoria Derby to be run at Moonee Valley! |
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Strong entry at APG Melbourne saleOur sires will be strongly represented at this weekend’s Australian Pacing Gold yearling sales at Oaklands Junction. Mach Three has 15 lots, Courage Under Fire 8, Riverboat King 5, Royal Mattjesty 2, and Pacific Fella, Righteous Hanover, Allamerican Theory and Attorney General one each. Highlights include:
1st winners for ‘Champion’, ‘Theory’The young stallions Town Champion and Allamerican Theory were both represented by their first winners in Western Australia last month. Town Champion, a royally bred son of The Panderosa, is the sire of the first-up Gloucester Park juvenile winner Who Thru Teddy, who won in 1:58.4 over 1730 metres. The gelding was bred by Robert Watson and is the second foal and first winner of an unraced Perfect Art mare, Art Parfait. The Meadowlands Pace winner Allamerican Theory sired his first winner from his first Australian crop in Good In Theory, a double winner at Albany. Bred and raced by Colleen Lindsay, Good In Theory is a gelding from the Kinney Hanover mare Rewarded 1:59.5, whose dam, Whitbys Merit, won a swag of classics as a two-year-old. Classic winner for ‘Mattjesty’Three-year-old Kim’s Quest, one of the first American crop of the Matt’s Scooter horse Royal Mattjesty, trounced a field of seasoned females in the $60,000 final of the Blizzard Pacing Series at Woodbine, Canada in January. Leading from the outset, Kim’s Quest won by three lengths and stopped the teletimer in a career-best 1:54.6 – a smart time considering the frigid conditions. The $30,000 winner’s cheque took her lifetime earnings to almost $70,000. Major race winners
Mendelico, Schinzig Buller (both by Pacific Fella) and Sammy Maguire (by Mach Three) were the stars over the holiday period. A lightly raced five-year-old, Sammy Maguire further underlined his outstanding potential in beating Mr Feelgood, Mister Swinger and co in the $50,000 Group 2 Bendigo Pacing Cup. A fortnight earlier the gelding accounted for a strong Free-For-All field at Tabcorp Park. He has won 17 of his 31 starts and $148,088 in stakes. Schinzig Buller added the $35,000 final of the Christmas Gift, run at Gloucester Park, to his list of major race successes. The gelding has now won over $287,000. Meanwhile, Mendelico confirmed her status as one of the best distaffers in the country by capturing the $50,000 Group 2 George Johnson and $20,000 Mother Of Pearl in Hobart and Launceston respectively. She also annexed the $20,000 Richmond Lass at Tabcorp Park, pushing her earnings over the $100,000 plateau. |
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