November 4th, 2007

With Racing suspended in both New South Wales and Queensland at present, the runners representing these stallions have been few compared with “normal times”.  However, from the limited numbers currently gracing the tracks, their success strike rate has been fantastic and today at Kyneton, Arena's bulldog son Saliente delivered his rivals a knock out blow in the $100,000 Kyneton Cup (2000m).

Trained at Bendigo by Karen Fox, the big chestnut was one of the first runners into the barriers and not happy waiting for his rivals he became restless and subsequently missed the kick.  With his regular rider Matt Gatt in the saddle the bold going five-year-old got into his stride.  Gatt got him to the outside of the pack and he circled them to land behind Danever by the mile post.  Taking over from Danever with 1000m to run, Gatt, began to up the tempo and he had Saliente at his top when they rounded the home turn.

Many challenged him, however, Saliente, just kept the pressure up to his rivals to show his class and take the Cup by a nose from Who's Ya Daddy and Lottery King.

Saliente has been a great money spinner for his connections as Karen Fox picked him out of the William Inglis Classic Yearling Sale in 2004 for only $24,000, he has since won more than $150,000. 

Saliente has compiled a wonderful record of 27 career starts with seven wins and ten placings to his credit and is out of the unraced Salieri mare Ready To Smile, the dam of the 10 time winner and Group 3 Hong Kong Jockey Club Plate victor,  Headstrong (by Archregent).  

Saliente is a great advertisement for his sire, Arena, who stands at Lomar Park Stud in  New South Wales for a very reasonable $13,500.00 (inc gst).

July 17th, 2007

It was a tough day at the office at Moonee Valley on Saturday - that didn't phase the tough Saliente who scored one of the better wins on the card in the Christopher Stear Hcp (2040m).

Saliente was saddled-up by Karen Fox, who has this big chestnut in great form after a sound win at Swan Hill and then an unlucky second at his home course, Bendigo, June 22nd.

Saliente (ex Ready to Strike by Salieri), drew barrier 11 of 14 and under Matt Gatt, he worked to the front, setting a good pace well away from the inside rail. Emgee Rex (Kala Dancer - Cruising Eyes by Red Anchor) tried to go with Saliente from the 800m, but Saliente was able to kick well clear and his win was never in doubt after that, scoring by two lengths over race favourite Baughurst (Tayasu Tsuyoshi - Mrs Parnell by At Talaq) with Emgee Rex (Kala Dancer - Cruising Eyes by Red Anchor) holding on for third another seven lengths away.

Fox purchased Saliente from the 2004 Inglis Classic Sale from the Lomar Park Stud syndicate for $24,000, he has since returned more than $120,000, to his connections after six wins and seven placings from his 22-starts todate.  

With a liking to the soft conditions - the latest win posted by Saliente won't be his last - especially at the 2040m at the Valley.

April 12th, 2007

AJC Oaks winner Rena’s Lady will attempt to add the Queensland version of the filly’s classic to her record after scoring a courageous win at Randwick yesterday.
Trainer Gary Portelli said he would press on with the filly who he described as one of the toughest horse he had trained.
“She showed today that she has the toughness and it seems the right thing to do while she is racing so well,” Portelli said.
  Rena’s Lady (Arena - Boisterous Lady) displayed her durability by coming off a victory in last Saturday’s Adrian Knox Stakes to score yesterday by a half length from Perfect Drop who also finished second to her on Saturday.
As elated as he was to win his first Group One race, Portelli wasn’t getting carried away.
The trainer said he would resist any thoughts of Caulfield and Melbourne Cups and try to maintain a realistic assessment of Rena’s Lady.
“A lot of times after people win a race like this they start thinking of the big Cups, but I’m not sure we shouldget carried away.”
Portelli attributes Rena’s Lady’s autumn form to her spring campaign in Melbourne where she ran a fine race in the VRC Oaks behind Miss Finland.
“Since she came back from Melbourne she’s been a lot easier to work with, it was the making of her going down there and having a change of scenery,” he said.

March 12th, 2006

Arena's daughter, Regal Cheer passed her toughest test yet when she won Saturday's Group 2 Surround Stakes (1400m) at Warwick Farm in doing so she earned a crack at group one glory in the Coolmore Classic at Rosehill on March 25th. 

Regal Cheer (ex Regal Chamber by Archregent) was backing up off a solid third to Wild Queen in last week's Group 3 Millie Fox Stakes at Rosehill.  Ridden by Glen Boss, who settled her just behind the early leader Star Mystic strode clear midway down the straight to claim a length-and-a-quarter win over race favourite Mnemosyne (Encosta de Lago - My Juliet by Canny Lad). 

Star Mystic (Flying Spur - Isle of Pines by Kris), held on for third, two lengths away. 

March 6th, 2006

At Rosehill on Saturday, Arena's daughter, My Lady's Chamber stamped herself as a potential Golden Slipper contender with her win in the Special K Handicap (1200m). 

Trained at Warwick Farm by the very popular Bill Prain, My Lady's Chamber  was not on her best behaviour behind the barriers and  came close to being withdrawn but the attendants persevered and she repaid their patience. 

Prain said My Lady's Chamber had never played up as she had on Saturday and undertook to put her through more barrier education in preparation for next start in either the Reisling Stakes or the Magic Night Stakes. 

Race favourite Spiel led but gave in quickly in the straight as Tim Clark steered My Lady's Chamber (ex Queen's Suite by Marauding)  through a gap.  Once in the clear she strode to the line 1-1/4 lengths ahead of Crown Addiction (Dangerous - Lyrical Dancer by Steel Blade).  Golden Thunderbird (Umatilla - Land of Dreams by Kenvain) held on for third another short neck away.

My Lady's Chamber is a close relation to Regal Chamber who ran third in the 1997 Golden Slipper won by Guineas and she is raced by Lomar Park Stud's Fred Peisah who stands her sire. 

February 5th, 2006

Stakes-winning filly Regal Cheer scored a slashing first up victory at Royal Randwick on Saturday.

Regal Cheer pulled out plenty to defeat Pasikatera by three-quarters-of-a-length with Loftily getting home very well carrying 60kg's 2-1/4 lengths away in third.

Regal Cheer is by Arena who will have 24 yearlings on offer at the 2006 Inglis Classic Yearling sale on Sunday, February 12th and Monday 13th in Sydney.

Regal Cheer, was bred by Lomar Park Stud, who stand Arena, and she was an $85,000 purchase from the 2004 Magic Millions Yearling Sale and has proven a resounding success on the track with a Black Type victory in the AJC Reginald Allen Handicap and prizemoney nearing $180,000.

“She is a very promising filly and I believe one of the better fillies in Australia,” said Fred Peisah of Lomar Park.

Nine of the Arena youngsters will be offered by Lomar Park Stud where Arena has been based since retiring to stud in 2000.

“The Arena colt from Miss Chanel is a full brother to a very promising horse called Esceegee that is trained by Tony Vasil and I’ve kept a share in. He’s had seven starts for four wins, three in a row and won his last start at Sandown over 1700, so he’s won from 1300 to 1700,” said Peisah.

“He’s one of our feature colts and will be our first lot into the ring, so we’re hoping he starts the ball rolling well for us.”

The colt from Miss Chanel will be offered as Lot 78 and is from the legendary Lomar Park family of Social Smile (GB), with his dam being a half-sister to outstanding sprinter Super Elegant, a winner of over $2million in prizemoney.

Lomar Park will also offer a yearling by Galileo from Molten Silver, and he is a three-quarter brother in blood to the promising debut winner, Galen (by Galileo) along with a filly from Queen's Suite by Galileo as lot 162 and she is closely related to Regal Cheer.

August 7th, 2005

Arena's son Our Highlander took out the final of the Winter Challenge (1600m) at Randwick on Saturday. 

Trained by Gai Waterhouse, who also saddled up the free running Jovial (Redoute's Choice), Our Highlander settled behind his stable mate.  

Ridden by Len Beasley, Our Highlander travelled kindly in the run, with a solid tempo up front, Our Highlander took control as Jovial folded with 400m to go.  Our Highlander raced away to claim a tough win beating Carael Boy (Free Flyer - Song of Spring by Northern Spring) by 1-1/2 lengths with race favourite Men At Work (Zabeel - Sound Lover by Sound Reason) a short neck away in third.

June 12th, 2005

At Randwick on Saturday, Our Highlander (ex Our High Seas by Mister C) looked well placed third up this campaign in the Maytag Handicap (1400m). 

Our Highlander was ridden by James Innes jumped away well from barrier 11, travelling kindly for Innes until he made his move at the top of the rise allowing Our Highlander to stride away for a length victory over Boreale (Octagonal - Spring Thaw by His Majesty) with Lantwin (Victory Prince - Lanatsash by Fraar) a half-length away in third.

In chalking up his third win from six career starts Our Highlander appears to have plenty of talent and can be placed to advantage during the winter months.

April 22nd, 2005

Arena, the 1998 Victoria Derby winner, is a fully paid-up member of an impressive group of second season sires in Australia and New Zealand, which are of course headed by the sensational Redoute’s Choice, but which also include such promising young stallions as Stravinsky, Pins, Commands, Mossman, Catbird, and Bianconi, each of which has made its mark on Group racing this season. 

By my reckoning, Arena is the seventh stallion to have stood full time at Fred Peisah’s Lomar Park Stud, at Werombi, just outside Camden, NSW, since the stud was founded in the mid-sixties. The Danehill horse follows Le Cordonnier, Steel Pulse, Adirondack Holme, Archregent, Mister C and Splendent. Of that group, only Adirondack Holme and Splendent could be termed failures, which is an outstanding strike rate in the ever-so-competitive stallion world we live in. I think I am right in saying that the stallion Tudor Royal, the sire of 1967 AJC Sires’ Produce Stakes winner Pratten Park, may have stood one season at Lomar Park in the early seventies, by arrangement with nearby Yarraman Stud at Cobbitty, owned in those days by Reg Farrell. 

Lomar Park got off to a flier with Le Cordonnier, which topped the First Season Sires List in 1971/72, when represented by the star colt Sovereign Slipper, which also won the Sires’ at Randwick. For me, and many others too, the deeds of the best Le Cordonniers, such as Itchy Feet, Sabot and the most talented of them all, the ill-fated Gilt Patten, are readily recalled. Mark my word, they were good horses, those Lomar-breds.

Before moving back to Arena, I should add that many of the foundation mares Fred had in those early Lomar Park days continue to impact on modern day racing, none more so than the wonderful Social Smile, ancestress of Super Elegant and Razor Sharp and a host of other high-class sprinters. Autumn Carnival Group One winners, Stratum and Court’s in Session, both trace to families developed in recent times at Lomar Park.

The classically-bred Arena did a good job with his first crop, most notably as the sire of $500,000 Inglis Premier Stakes winner Public Opinion, an eye-catching individual which ran particularly well when placed in the Up and Coming Stakes and Ming Dynasty Quality in the Spring and has another good race in him I think. The Gai Waterhouse-trained Our Highlander looked well above-average winning his first two starts towards the end of 2004. Both three year olds are set to resume shortly with the Brisbane Carnival in mind. I note that, already, a number of Arena’s progeny, such as Rocarena (4-2-2-0) have shown their best form at around 1600m and beyond.

But I’m tipping Arena’s second crop just might surpass the deeds of his 2002 foals. The formlines around two Arena colts in particular, Wrong Call and the recent Warwick Farm winner Impatient Star, look strong to me and they are backed up by the likes of stakes-placegetter Regal Cheer, which all but worried Blizzardly out the Keith Mackay Handicap-L at Randwick over the Carnival, and a couple of more than useful provincial juvenile winners in Saliente, a debut winner at Cranbourne for Karen Fox, and Danish Sea, an easy winner at Pinjarra recently at her second start. 

With the WA Winter Carnival coming up and as the two year old races over there stretch out to 1600m, there may just be a black type race in Danish Sea, if she improves out of her second start the way she did out of her first.

I like the fact that Arena himself campaigned at highest level over three seasons, a typically sound robust Danehill colt which never looked in anything but top class order. As with many Danehills, the influences of his female family determined the type of horse Arena was – a very good classic winner produced by a classic winner, the high class filly Lee’s Bid.

April 18th, 2005

Lomar Park based Arena results have dramatically changed over the last six weeks with the son of Danehill producing two stakes placed daughters.  

Arena's three-year-old filly Pleasure Ground (ex Palace Capers by Archregent) ran a game second in the Illawarra Turf Club's K.F. Nolan Classic-LR and then three weeks later his juvenile daughter Regal Cheer (ex Regal Chamber by Archregent) also finished second in the Keith Mackay H-LR at Randwick during the carnival.

In April, Arena's two-year-olds have been on fire with his daughter Danish Sea (ex Our High Sea by Mister C) taking out a Maiden Plate (1200m) at Pinjarra and then his son Impatient Star (ex Clarrie's Turn by Fair Sir), won at Randwick claiming an open 2YO Handicap (1000m). 

Arena will be represented at the upcoming Inglis Sires’ Produce Yearling Sale, May 16th with seven yearlings on offer including, lot 71 (ex Donette by Archregent) a proven winning cross along with Donette being a half-sister to the stakes winning Just A Ghost.  The chestnut colt selling as, lot 90, is out of Frogmore also by Archregent a three-quarter-sister in blood to the Blue Diamond Prelude-Gr. 3 winner Renarchi.