At Flemington on Saturday, No Excuse Needed’s juvenile son Take The Rap broke his maiden in convincing fashion in the Event Studios Australia Hcp (1410m). 

Trained at the course by Dan O’Brien the neat bay colt was forced to travel three wide with cover as Italian Machine and Moshav set a very moderate tempo in the open juvenile event. Stoneblack moved up alongside the leaders as they cornered to issue his challenge with Leoncavallo and Take The Rap followed him into the race.  

Italian Machine appeared to gain the upper hand inside the 400m while Take The Rap (out wide) and Stoneblack (inside him) were both closing very strongly.   Take The Rap sprinted again and did best to draw clear over the final stages and claim his maiden by a length-and-a-quarter over Stoneblack (Danzero - Shiny by Forest Glow).   Italian Machine (Testa Rossa - Coquetry by Zoffany) held on well for third another length-and-a-quarter away.

Take The Rap collected some black type on debut when runner-up to Corsaire in the Listed Merson Cooper Stakes (1000m) at Sandown in November last year.   

O’Brien selected Take The Rap from Waikato Stud’s draft at the 2008 New Zealand Premier sale where he paid $135,000 for him.  He is out of the Volksraad mare Aroon, a maiden winner in New Zealand, and a half-sister to another promising young colt in the O’Brien yard Keano (by Pins), a winner of four races including the QTC Listed Lightning Hcp.   Aroon’s great grand dam is the Group I Golden Slipper and Blue Diamond winner Courtza (by Pompeii Court) who in turn is the dam of Waikato’s pin up stallion, O’Reilly (by Last Tycoon).

Permalink| Jun 29, 2009

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