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4th December 2008 - Vol 33 |
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Pacific Fella 1st and 4th in Golden NuggetThe $175,000 Group 1 Golden Nugget 4YO Championship, run at Gloucester Park, proved a triumph for the Cam Fella horse Pacific Fella as the sire of the winner Schinzig Buller and the fourth placegetter Ruby Dazzler - his only two runners in the elite 12-horse field. A Top Ten sire, Pacific Fella is enjoying his best season on record with 39 individual winners and progeny earnings of $450,000, of which Schinzig Buller has provided $124,265. Starting from the No. 2 gate, Schinzig Buller was perfectly positioned behind the pacemaker Im Themightyquinn throughout before Kade Howson moved him off the pegs 250 metres from home. Schinzig Buller burst to the front at the 100 metre mark and raced away to win by four metres from Mysta Magical Mach (by Mach Three) with Im Themightyquinn holding on for third, ahead of Ruby Dazzler and the unlucky Can Return Fire (by Courage Under Fire). Schinzig Buller rated 1:58 over the 2536 metres mobile trip, with the final 800 metres taking 57.7 seconds and the last 400 in 29.2. The $117,250 winner's cheque boosted the gelding's lifetime earnings to $211,995, the result of six wins and six placings from 21 starts. He will now attempt to complete the four-year-old double by winning the $125,000 Group 1 McInerney Ford 4YO Classic at Gloucester Park tomorrow (Friday) night. A first foal, Schinzig Buller is out of a Million To One (Falcon Seelster) mare, Capture A Million, and is bred on the same cross as the talented Victorian Thats Mister Ali 1:59 ($98,056).
Schinzig Buller
Stig No. 1 in New ZealandThe Armbro Invasion gelding Stig is undoubtedly New Zealand's top trotter at the moment. Any doubts about the six-year-old's claim for the title were erased when he soundly trounced the best trotters in commission in two Group 1 events at Addington during the recent NZ Cup carnival. On the second day Stig captured the $100,000 NZ Trotting Free-For-All, leading from virtually the outset and trotting his final 800 in 58.4 to win by 2 ½ lengths. A week later the gelding was simply awesome in winning the time-honoured $300,000 Dominion Handicap over 3200 metres from the stand. After settling last of the main body of the field, Stig gained a three-wide trail at the 1400 metre mark. Switched four deep by David Butt with 800 metres remaining, the champion quickly moved upsides to the leading division. He exploded to the front half-way down the straight and won easing down by almost a length in 4:06.4, a 2:03.8 mile rate with the last 800 in 59.3. The wins have boosted Stig's lifetime earnings to $406,147, of which $268,507 has been won since August 1. He has rocketed to the lead in the Australasian Grand Circuit points table. Second on the NZ Trotting Sires list for 2008/09, Armbro Invasion enjoyed a stellar week with his progeny in the Dominion, Besides Stig, he sired a winning double at Geraldine in Racey Product and The Drunken Drummer, Auzzie Invasion (Auckland), Crusader Command (Dunedin), Blakatak (Rangiora) and Jordaine (Manawatu).
Stig |
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Three big winners for Mach ThreeMach Three cemented his place among the elite sires of the world with winners of important races in three different countries last weekend. New Zealand sensation Auckland Reactor started the ball rolling for Stallion Station's flagship sire in the 3200 metres $75,000 Group 2 Franklin Cup at Alexandra Park, Auckland on Friday night, overcoming a 20 metre handicap and a poor getaway to humble a smart open class field. In extending his unbeaten winning sequence to 15, the reigning NZ Horse of the Year shaved 0.2 off Chokin's long standing track record with an overall time of 3:59 for a 2:00.1 mile rating. He carved out the last 800 in 56.4 seconds and looked to have something up his sleeve! Auckland Reactor, who is part-owned by Stallion Station directors, lifted his stakes tally to $597,428. On the same night Mach Three's leading juvenile from last season, Captain Joy, made a triumphant winning return in the $20,500 Chokin 3YO Championship at Harold Park. After starting from inside the back row, driver Robbie Byrnes rolled the gelding to the front two laps out and dictated the terms to suit himself thereafter. A 58.1 seconds last 800 including a 27.7 final quarter put paid to his rivals as Captain Joy completed his seventh win from 11 starts for $321,525 in stakes. To complete a great weekend Somebeachsomewhere added the $US500,000 Breeders Crown to his long list of achievements at The Meadowlands on Saturday night. Starting from the No. 3 gate, driver Paul MacDonell hustled the colt off the mobile arm and into the lead by the 27 quarter-mile mark, with the Little Brown Jog winner Shadow Play behind him on the rail. Those two held that formation through the 54.6 half and the 1:22 three-quarters. Rounding the home turn, Shadow Play came off the rail to issue his challenge but Somebeachsomewhere easily had his measure, having almost two lengths to spare on the line. The time was a new stakes record 1:48.6, bettering Rocknroll Hanover's mark by 1.2 seconds! The win boosted Somebeachsomewhere's seasonal bankroll to $US2,516,163, surpassing Gallo Blue Chip as the highest single season money-winning pacer in history, and virtually clinched USA Horse of the Year honours. To date, the son of Mach Three has earned a total of $US3,328,755, an average of a staggering $158,512 per start! Another pair of Mach Three three-year-olds to impress last weekend were Shot From The Hip, a NZ bred who won on debut at Moonee Valley, and the talented Tasmanian Make A Memory, who notched his ninth win from 14 starts in Hobart on Sunday. First ‘Courage' two-year-old winnerOur new stallion Courage Under Fire provided the winner of the first two-year-old race in Victoria this season in Finn Lee, who emerged successful at his first start at Bendigo on Wednesday afternoon. The colt, a member of Wayne Potter's Kilmore barn, showed exemplary manners to jump to the front as the tapes were released and hold a clear margin throughout. He eventually won by 11 1/2 metres in a 2:02.4 rate for the 1650 metres standing start with the last 800 in a smart 58.9 seconds. Bred by Peter Gleeson, Finn Lee is the first foal of Show Style 1:59.9, a dual Moonee Valley winner by Safely Kept. Compiled by Peter Wharton |
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