A very proud Trevor Lobb led Denman back to scale after his fabulous victory in the Group I Golden Rose at Rosehill on Saturday afternoon. 

Trained at Warwick Farm by Peter Snowden, and ridden a treat by Kerrin McEvoy, Denman settled well after not jumping away from the barriers to well as Viking Legend jumped away best with Bombay Sling ridden strongly out of the gates.

McEvoy popped Denman to sleep as the race unfolded in front of him.  Keeping the dark brown colt away from the rail mid-pack he rounded the home turn with cover and plenty up his sleeve. 
The colt lengthened stride and quickly reeled in the leaders and shot to a winning break and although Trusting (Tale of the Cat Legible by Zabeel) was running home strongly for second, Denman was simply too good. Stryker (Fastnet Rock – Laetitia by Woodman) was third.
In recording his fifth straight and most important victory of his short career, Denman, gave his sire former champion galloper Lonhro (Octagonal – Shadea by Straight Strike) his first Group One winner.
TVN’s Richard Callander, spoke with an emotional  Snowden after the race and he said “I was very confident,”
“He’s a very talented horse, he’s still got more to come, he’s a really talented horse.
“I’ve been awake at 2am every morning for the last week just waiting for the alarm to go off.  There’s still more to come from him – he’s a seriously talented horse.”
“There’s another good one in him for sure.”
“We’ll wait till the dust settles and sit down and have a talk about what’s next for him”.
As all of this was unfolding a very proud Trevor Lobb stood in the back ground with a huge smile on his face, rubbing Denman’s head as the colt nodded in appreciation of the attention.
Denman is of course one of many Lobb’s graduates.
For many years Lobb planned the matings for all of the mares based at Darley under the stud’s former banner of Woodlands.   The victory would have given him and all the Darley team a huge sense of pride.

Denman is the second Group One winner for his dam Peach (Vain), who has also produced VRC Sires’ Produce Stakes winner Preserve and Listed winner Rio Osa, both daughters of Canny Lad. 

Peach in turn is out of the unraced, Market Maid (by Marscay) a half-sister to Dark Eclipse (by Baguette) the winner of the Group I STC Golden Slipper.
Callander spoke with Darley Australia’s CEO Henry Plumptree after the event who said “I’ve just arrived at the course twenty minutes ago after showing Lonhro off to 650 breeders.”
“I’m just so proud of the team”, he concluded 
Lonhro, stands at Darley’s Kelvinside property in NSW, for $33,000 (inc GST), is also sire of Group Three winner Deer Valley (ex Danislew by Danehill) and the Listed winners Minnesota Shark (ex Ponton Flyer by Flying Spur), Black Minx (ex Faith Hill by Danehill) and Custard (ex Serene Look by Seattle Dancer).
   Adding more icing to Darley’s cake was the interstate stakes double for Commands (Danehill ex Cotehele House  by My Swanee), when  Friday Creek made a mess of a top class line up at big odds to run away with the Group 3 Concorde Stakes (1100m) and at Caulfield, First Command (ex River Serenade, by Hurricane Sky) kept his winning record in tact when he stepped up in class and weight to score a grand win in the Listed The Heath (1100m).
   A $170,000 buy for Hall of Fame horseman Lee Freedman at the 2007 Magic Millions Yearling Sale, First Command was sent out the popular elect with punters and he didn’t let them down - cruising home for an easy win.
  The son of Commands is unbeaten since a gelding operation, which followed his debut effort.    Freedman, spoke to TVN’s Bruce Clark and was thrilled with the result.
   “Although I did have some reservations before the race - thinking a couple of things were against him.
    “I was worried about the conditions of the race.  Then I was worried when the rain came - his really only bad run was on affected ground.”
   “He’s very good horse.  I also thought the ground would be against him and he came through it really well.”
While knowing he has to take another step up to tackle the country’s best sprinters in the spring carnival’s Group One events, Freedman knows there’s plenty of improvement in his charge.
    “These aren’t the absolute guns but I think he’s climbing the ladder pretty well and I know there’s a lot of improvement in the horse.”
   “I’ll targeted the Salinger Stakes with him. I think that is a realistic goal,” Freedman pointed out.
   “But he will tell me. Maybe we go bigger than that.”
   Stable rider Dwayne Dunn, who made it a double after winning earlier in the day aboard the South Australian raider Jaalippy (Foxhound – Cover Queen by Covetous), was equally as impressed with the performance and predicted bring things from the four-year-old.
  “We didn’t have him tuned up for today,” Dunn told Clark after weighing in.
   ”He’s got a big campaign ahead of him.”
   “From the wide gate we didn’t know whether we’d run or what to do.”
   “He’s going on to bigger and better things. Particularly if he can win this first up - he’s going to go a long way this preparation.”

First Command’s record reads extremely well, with six wins from just seven starts with earnings of more than $189,000.
   Bred and sold by Gerry Harvey’s Baramul Stud, First Command, is a half-brother to the Hong Kong based group performer One World (by Danehill Dancer) being out of River Serenade (by Hurricane Sky) a full sister to another top line sprinter, the Group I Oakleigh Plate winner River Dove.  
 Unlike First Command, Friday Creek was the outsider of the field in the Group 3 Concorde Stakes and although it’s been along time between wins for the seven-year-old he did have a black type victory behind him.  As a four-year-old, Friday Creek had won the Group 3 BTC Doomben Sprint (1350m). 
Trained by Ann-Marie Robinson, Friday Creek, sprinted like a young boy in an old man’s body when he overpowered his rivals in the Group 3 contest.
Having his first start since finishing down the track in the Group I All-Aged Stakes in April, Friday Creek was sent out at $91.
Travelling well for his jockey Peter Robl,  Friday Creek was under a good hold rounding the turn and when Robl asked him for his effort he sprinted away from McClintock (King Cugat – She’s Sweet by Danzero) to win by a length-and-a-half.
Friday Creek is out of the winning Al Hareb mare Candles, and he is her only stakes winner, she hails from a European family that’s had black type success in America.

Commands is also based at Darley’s Kelvinside property and his fee this spring is $55,000 (inc gst).

Tags: Darley, Group I
Permalink| Aug 29, 2009

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