February 3rd, 2008

Gary Portelli has enjoyed great success with yearlings purchased at the Classic Yearling Sale and he has another smart juvenile in the shape of OVER THE WICKET ($85,000 2007 Classic Sale, 2 g Over – Gold Circuit), winner of Saturday's Creative Living Expo Handicap at Rosehill Gardens.

Despite being forced to race three wide all the way, Over The Wicket ran on strongly in the straight under top-weight of 58kg to register his first win from three starts. “I would love to see him in a big field and a truly run race and give him his chance in something a bit stronger,” Portelli said afterwards. “Hopefully we will have his colours up on the winning post over there in a few months time,” he added referring to the Golden Slipper Stakes at Rosehill on April 19th.

The William Inglis Classic is another obvious target for Over The Wicket. Following the disruption caused to Sydney racing due to the Equine Influenza outbreak, the 2008 Inglis Classic Race has now been re-scheduled for May 3rd at Royal Randwick - Sydney Cup day. The $500,000 event for juveniles paid up from the 2007 Inglis Classic Sale will still be run over 1200 metres with colts to carry 56.5 kg and fillies 54.5kg.

March 5th, 2007

THE FREE STATER showed again on Saturday at Warwick Farm that he loves pressure as he recorded his second consecutive Group Three win, this time in the Liverpool City Cup (1200m).

Ridden by Jamie Innes, The Free Stater, settled in the middle of the pack after getting away well from gate six.  Innes, asked The Free Stater for his effort soon after straightening and he kicked clear on the inside to get up by a neck over the Group I winner Regal Cheer (Arena - Regal Chamber by Archregent) with the early leader Century Serb (Nuclear Freeze - Sacred Halo by Don't Say Halo) three-quarters-of-a-length away in third.

The Free Stater (pictured left) is rounding off a Doncaster Handicap preparation where he has 52.5kg in his grand final.  It appears his trainer Paul Cave has him right on song for his grand final.

Over won eight races during his racing career, earning in excess of $2.1 million in prizemoney.  He is probably best remembered for defeating champion mare SUNLINE in the Group I AJC Doncaster Hcp and he is completely free of Northern Dancer blood.

Over has recorded 32 winners from a very small number of runners (82).  He represents outstanding value at $11,000 and he is based at the Cootamundra arm of Woodlands Stud.

February 12th, 2007

The Paul Cave trained The Free Stater chalked up his first stakes win and his sires' third when he claimed the Group Three Frederick Clissold Stakes first up from a spring spell at Randwick on Saturday.

The Free Stater was partnered by Jamie Innes and relished the solid tempo of the competitive six furlong event.  Settling mid-field Innes switched The Free Stater across heels at the top of the straight and once balanced he raced up with The Jackal and Century Serb as they grabbed the pace maker  Global One (Nureyev - Fifth Ward by Houston).  Innes had the four-year-old son of Over flying as they hit the finishing post to do best and claim the valuable black type victory by the barest margin.

The Jackal (Bite The Bullet - Positive Surprise by Best Western) and Century Serb (Nuclear Freeze - Sacred Halo by Don't Say Halo) didn't shirk their jobs either finishing second and third respectively with only a short-half-head separating them.

A winner of six races, The Free Stater was purchased at the 2004 Inglis Classic Sale for $50,000 from the draft of Reed Thoroughbred as Agent by Cave and with his earnings passing $200,000, The Free Stater has given his owners' plenty to cheer about.  Cave plan's to set The Free Stater for the Group I Doncaster Handicap (1600m) at Randwick on Easter Monday.

April 30th, 2006

Young sire Over produced his second stakes winner on Saturday in the form of The Free Stater who showed a ton of courage with an all-the way effort in the Listed Hawkesbury Guineas (1400m).

In claiming his fifth win, his fourth in a row, The Free Stater showed plenty of quality to hold off Spy Zaim (Za-Im – Luigina) by 2-1/4 lengths. Commemorating (Singspiel – Turf Romance) was a head away in third.

Trained at Warwick Farm by Paul Cave, who revealed after the race that he had hoped his jockey James Innes would have taken a sit behind the speed. But as nothing else wanted to lead Innes was able to let The Free Stater take up the running, showing that the three-year-old was not one dimensional and adaptable enough to take control.

Cave said, "He is probably one of the smartest early horses I've had and he’s still green and going forward.”

Cave now intends to spell The Free Stater so he can prepare him for a spring campaign.

The only son at stud of the great galloper, and AJC Derby winner, Dr. Grace, Over has plenty to offer breeders. His grandsire, Sir Tristram, has a proven nick with mares by Danehill and he is out of the Lunchtime mare Tromper.

March 20th, 2006

Trainer Gary Portelli threw out a challenge to rival Golden Slipper prospects after Down The Wicket gave him his second Black Opal Stakes win in Canberra yesterday.

Only Catbird has won the Black Opal-Golden Slipper double, but Portelli regards the lack of success as anything but a statistic.

"It's a bit of a hoodoo winning this race but of the two-year-olds this year nothing has been really outstanding," Portelli said.
"A few of the boom horses went around yesterday and didn't fire and if this bloke draws a gate in the Slipper he will settle in the first five and he will be there when the whips are cracking."

Ridden by last year's Slipper-winning jockey Lenny Beasley, Down The Wicket sat on the speed before overhauling One Time to score by a long neck. Victory in the 1200m race was the perfect tonic for Beasley, who agreed that Down The Wicket was a worthy Slipper contender.

"This bloke has done everything right and is on the improve and he will definitely be a chance in the race," Beasley said.

The Black Opal Stakes winner Down The Wicket is by the good class racehorse Over, who defeated the world class mare Sunline in the Group One Doncaster Handicap.  Down The Wicket is the fourth foal of the iron mare Golf Circuit who earned a cult following in Sydney where she won 15 races and placed in 14 of her 50 career starts. A stakes placing in the Group 3 Tramway Hcp was her best effort in stakes company, the race is an open stakes race, earning over $190,000 on the track.

While Golf Circuit is not a stakes winner, the family is a prolific winning one with Down The Wicket being the first stakes winner for a long time from the family.

Down The Wicket was another inspired choice by bloodstock agent Vin Cox who went to $38,000 to secure the gelding at the 2005 Inglis Classic Yearling sale. 

February 6th, 2005

Over produced his biggest success from his short stud career on Saturday when his son The Jonker took out the Inglis 2YO Championship (1200m) at Flemington. 

Trained by Myffy Rae who learned from some of the best in the world it was also her biggest success of her career from one of her former bosses, William Inglis.  Rae can also list Sydney's former champion trainer Tommy Smith among her tutors. 

Rae paid credit to them both after The Jonker scored by a short head, earning his connections $650,000 and himself a long rest.  

Ridden by expatriate English jockey Paul Goode, The Jonker (ex Rosita's Gem by Zephyr Zip) stormed down the centre of track to grab Zeduce Me (Zeditave - Gysenic by Scenic) just a few strides from the line.  Paulini (Singspiel - Timeless Appeal by Luskin Star) came down the outside fence to claim third a further 1-1/2 lengths away. 

As well as giving The Jonker a good ride, Goode can claim extra credit for suggesting the addition of blinkers to his gear for Saturday's race. 

The Jonker had raced only twice previously for a debut win at Canberra in November and a second behind Paulini at Warwick Farm. 

As promising as he may be, The Jonker will miss the Sydney autumn carnival and be reserved for the riches on offer next spring. 

November 5th, 2004

A $25,000 William Inglis and Son Classic yearling sale graduate, The Jonker, won impressively on debut at Canberra Tuesday.  Prepared by Myffy Rae and ridden by Paul Goode the son of Over raced away to win by 1.3 lengths. 

Bred by Muskoka farm (Mr Bob Lapointe) out of the Zephyr Zip mare Rosita's Gem, The Jonker was the first starter by the Dr Grace stallion OVER. 

Over won 8 races during his racing career, earning in excess of $2.1 million in prizemoney.  He is probably best remembered for defeating champion mare SUNLINE in the AJC Doncaster Hcp Gr1 as a 3yo. Over has been tremendously popular both with mare owners and trainers purchasing his offspring at sales around the country.

With a 100% winner to runner ratio trainers will again be keen to get their hands on progeny of OVER at the 2005 yearling sales series.