Date posted March 7, 2010 | Posted by Michele Cullen | Filed under
Fastnet Rock,
Premium UpdatesMelbourne, Vic (March 7th, 2010) - Wanted delivered a knock out-blow to his rivals in the Group I Newmarket Handicap on Saturday and in doing so he gave his young sire, Fastnet Rock, his second winner at the highest level.
The bay colt led virtually all the way to win the $1 million Handicap up the famous ‘straight six’ course at Flemington.
The 1200m feature was run in almost dark conditions and a few minutes after the race had been run and won a huge hailstorm hit Flemington.
As Wanted trotted back to scale, the crowd had found shelter, only three punters’ cheered Nolen and Wanted home along with the chief steward, Terry Bailey, as the only other person brave enough to greet them ‘outside’.
Nolen managed to get his tack off as the rain got stronger, and, then it got colder and it started to hail.. as the strapper ran with Wanted towards the tunnel.
Then the racecourse began to flood!
The remaining three races on the program were abandoned including the Group I Australian Cup (wfa 2000m) and the Group I Australian Guineas (3yo 1600m).
The Newmarket win was a triumph for Victoria’s leading trainer Peter Moody his stable jockey Luke Nolen and Widden Stud who had bought into Wanted just three weeks earlier.
Wanted jumped well from barrier seven and went straight to the front out on the crown of the track with Starspangledbanner and King Pulse close up behind him. Starspangledbanner tried to put it to Wanted passing the 300m but Wanted beat him off as Eagle Falls eased off their heels to put in his bid.
However, Wanted still had something to give and he comfortably held off the challenge of Eagle Falls (Hussonet – Desina by Desert King) to claim the Group I victory by a length.
Starspangledbanner (Choisir – Gold Anthem by Made of Gold) held on for third another neck away.
Wanted was having his fourth run this preparation and had finished runner-up in three Group One events before a last-start fourth in the Group One Oakleigh Plate.
“He’s so consistent and deserving of a Group One,” Nolen said of the bay colt.
Moody said: ” I am very happy. We have had a frustrating run of placings in big races with this bloke and it was great to get a Group 1 on his resume.
“He’ll probably go to Sydney .. but we’ll sit back and think about it.”
When Widden Stud announced the acquisition of Wanted, Antony Thompson, said at the time “Wanted is on the ‘most wanted’ list of sire prospects and we are delighted to have finalised his purchase from Eddie Hayson, who will retain an interest in the colt when he embarks on a stud career at Widden at the end of this campaign.”
“Wanted is a horse with enormous talent, phenomenal good looks and is by a stallion in Fastnet Rock that is seen by many as a potential replacement for his legendary sire Danehill.”
A son of the stakes-winning Snippets mare Fragmentation, Wanted was selected by John Hawkes for Hayson from the draft of Highgrove stud at the 2008 Inglis Easter yearling sale for $800,000.
