Melbourne, Vic (Jan 31st, 2010) -  No Excuse Needed’s son Take The Rap won his second career start in convincing fashion when he claimed the Group 3 C S Hayes Stakes (1400m) at Flemington on Saturday.     Trained at the course by Dan O’Brien the neat bay colt travelled very kindly for top class rider Craig Williams, as his stable mate Eraset raced alongside Italian Machine out in front setting a solid tempo in the group three event.   
      Rounding the home turn, Encosta Belief went off after them as Extra Zero mounted his challenge as Williams bided his time just behind him on Take The Rap.  Once at the famous clock tower Williams asked Take The Rap to quicken down and the colt duly responded sprinting clear to grab his most important victory by a neck from Encosta Belief (Encosta de Lago - Plasir D’amour by Danehill) with Extra Zero (Danzero ex Extra Bubbly by Bellotto) finishing the race off well for third another length away.

   Take The Rap collected some black type on debut, as a juvenile, when runner-up to Corsaire (Anabaa - Crystal Choir by Singspiel) in the Listed Merson Cooper Stakes (1000m) at Sandown.  The stakes win on Saturday will give his half-brother a major pedigree update when he is offered in New Zealand at the major National Yearling sale to be held at Karaka next week.
      Bred and sold from the Waikato Stud draft Take the Rap was a  $135,000 purchase by O’Brien.  His yearling half-brother, also to be offered by Waikato, is listed for sale as lot 275 is by Savabeel.
     Todate Savabeel has sired three stakes-winners and his oldest crop are three-year-olds headed by the Group 3 winning filly My Emotion (ex Midnight Rock by Rory’s Jester) and the listed winners Warrentherooster (ex Florida by Pompeii Court) and Queen Sabeel (ex Vanessatheundressa by Carnegie).
   Take the Rap is out of the Volksraad mare Aroon, a maiden winner in New Zealand, and a half-sister to another promising colt in the  O’Brien yard Keano (by Pins), a winner of five races including the QTC Listed Lightning Hcp. 
      Aroon’s great grandam 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).
      The win also provided a nice boost for No Excuse Needed, the sire of last season’s Group 1 AJC oaks winner Daffodil, who is represented by 23 yearlings through Karaka’s Premier, Select, and Festival Sessions.
      Highlights for No Excuse Needed during the sale are a half-sister to Group 3 winner Yanna Marie at Lot 393, and a half-sister to Stakes-winner Kildare and One Love at Lot 462.
      New Zealand Bloodstock’s National Yearling Sales Series (1-8 February) begins at 11am (that’s 9am (est) in Australia) on Monday, 1 February, and if you can’t be in NZ  you can watch the sale on TVN.

Tags: New Zealand, Waikato Stud, Yearling Sales
Permalink| Jan 31, 2010

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