Category Archives: No Excuse Needed

Emerging performer for No Excuse Needed

Posted on by

No Excuse Needed (Machiavellian – Nawaiet, by Zilzal) gelding Duplicity Jones (No Excuse Needed – Mayday Jones, by O’Reilly) underlined his enormous staying potential with his dominant display in Wednesday’s Caulfield Easter Saturday Maiden (1800m) at Sandown.

Duplicity Jones showed glimpses of talent during his first seven starts, which reaped five minor placings, before putting the experience gained in those runs to good use in his second city start.

The three-year-old settled midfield for jockey Vlad Duric until he attempted to ease off the fence rounding the home turn.

An initial bid for clear running failed but Duric was able to angle Duplicity Jones around the heels of the front-runners at the 400 metres.

Duplicity Jones accelerated strongly once he found daylight, bursting clear to open a five-length margin, which was only reduced to 3-3/4 lengths once Duric let his mount coast to the post inside the final 50 metres.

The gelding earned a $21,000 winner’s cheque for his connections with his Sandown success but co-trainer Cindy Alderson said better things were likely from Duplicity Jones as he improves with maturity.

“I think he’s going to be a much better horse in 12 months’ time,” Alderson, who trains Duplicity Jones in partnership with her father Colin, said.

“We’ll hopefully give him a good grounding and then he can come back as a four-year-old and be a better stayer then.”

Duplicity Jones has the right pedigree blend to be a successful stayer. He is bred on the same No Excuse Needed / O’Reilly cross as dual Group 1 winner Daffodil (No Excuse Needed - Spring, by O’Reilly) while the nick has also thrown the Group 3 winner No Excuse Maggie (No Excuse Needed – Maggie O’Reilly, by O’Reilly) as well as two Listed winners.

 

Waikato Stud passes from father to son

Posted on by

Waikato Stud’s new co-owner Mark Chittick says “there will be minimal change” after he and his wife Lisa assumed control of the New Zealand breeding institutions from his father Garry.

Garry Chittick handed the management of Waikato Stud to his son and daughter-in-law on Friday. Mark Chittick said the handover represented a major challenge but one he relished.

“With the stud’s internationally proven sire roster and exceptional record of racetrack success, it is a huge opportunity,” he said.

“Breeding elite racehorses has been my entire life and my whole passion, so this is an extremely exciting position to be in now and going forward.”

The Chittick family has owned the Matamata-based property since Garry and Mary Chittick took over Waikato Stud in 1993. Waikato Stud has bred 24 individual Group 1 winners in the ensuing 19 years, including dual hemisphere Group 1 winner Starcraft and super racehorse turned champion sire O’Reilly.

The younger Chittick said he would not tinker with Waikato Stud’s proven formula for producing high class racehorses, especially with his father still on hand to offer the benefit of his experience.

Not surprisingly, with its sublime Gr.1 record, there are no plans to change its successful recipe.

“There will be minimal change,” Mark Chittick said.

“The growth that has taken place in the last 19 years has always been done in partnership between Garry and myself and this will continue to be the case.

“On a day to day basis, we will still be making the most of Garry’s knowledge and experience and of the incredible resources that we are very fortunate to have.”

Waikato’s 2012 roster is made up of: O’Reilly ($45,000 LFG, plus GST), Pins ($37,500 LFG, plus GST), Savabeel ($35,000 LFG, plus GST), Fast N Famous ($6,000 LFG, plus GST), No Excuse Needed ($6,000 LFG, plus GST), and Rios ($4000 LFG, plus GST).

 

Waikato finishes season in style

Posted on by

Waikato Stud finished its trans-Tasman season in fine style with its stallions providing eight winners over the final weekend of the season.

Winning doubles to Savabeel (Zabeel – Savannah Success, by Success Express) and No Excuse Needed (Machiavellian – Nawaiet, by Zilzal) propelled the New Zealand operation to a quintet of successes on Saturday.

Snow Excuse (No Excuse Needed – Kirkberg, by Mighty Avalanche) provided the highlight of the weekend when the two-year-old provided No Excuse Needed with his 11th individual stakes winner when the filly claimed the Brancott Estate – Ryder Stakes (1200m) at Saturday’s Otaki meeting.

The Danny O’Brien-trained Lopov (Savabeel – Prickle, by Pins) stamped himself as a future stakes winner with his emphatic success in the Yalumba Masters (2400m) at Caulfield.

No Excuse Needed was among the winners again on Sunday. His three-year-old son Anotherexcuse (No Excuse Needed – Kristabeba, by Kris) claimed the Laurel Function Room Maiden Plate (1736m) at Sale.

Spooked (Scaredee Cat – Beat The Fade, by Maroof) produced another victory for Waikato Stud sires when the three-year-old filly claimed the Turnbull Plumbing Maiden Plate (1008m). Noonan paid $130,000 for the daughter the Group 2 winner Beat The Fade (Maroof – Dawn Run, by Sir Tristram).

Pins (Snippets – No Finer, by Kaoru Star) gelding My Quilter (Pins – Sound Lover, by Sound Reason) completed Waikato’s eight-win weekend with his effort to take out the Quad Services Maiden Plate (1200m) on the Sunshine Coast. My Quilter is a half-brother to stakes-winning stayers Philosophe and Men At Work (both Zabeel – Sound Lover, by Sound Reason).

Dual-continent treble for Keeper

Posted on by

A winning double at Hawera has paved the way for a trio of success spanning two continents for Cambridge Stud stallion Keeper (Danehill – Nuwirah, by Pleasant Colony).

Keeper’s son Sechura (Keeper – Seven Veils, by Take Your Partner) took out the 1600-metre Maiden Highweight before Ballroom (Keeper – Dancing Aurora, by Danzatore) completed the sire’s New Zealand success in the Mack Transport Handicap (1200m).

Baitiwu (Keeper – Healy Ridge, by Alwasmi) finished off the sire’s profitable Friday with his easy win in the Kowloon East Handicap (1650m) at Sha Tin. Baitiwu is a half-brother to the eight-time Hong Kong winner Flying Bishop (Deputy Governor – Healy Ridge, by Alwasmi).

Baitiwu cost his connections $NZ55,000 at the 2008 NZ Select Yearling Sale.

Meanwhile, Waikato Stud stallions Pins (Snippets – No Finer, by Kaoru Star) and No Excuse Needed combined for a winning double in the final two races of the Sha Tin meeting.

Smart Giant (Pins – Spring, by O’Reilly) took out the High Autonomy Handicap (1400m) for the John Moore stable. Smart Giant is a half-brother to the triple Group 1 winner Daffodil (No Excuse Needed – Spring, by O’Reilly), who was also crowned the New Zealand’s Champion 3YO in 2009.

Just Fantastic (No Excuse Needed – Soneri, by Stark South) finished Waikato Stud’s Friday in style with his win in the Racing Goes On Handicap (1650m).

Thursday three for Waikato

Posted on by

New Zealand operation Waikato Stud had plenty to celebrate on Thursday after its stallions produced a Trans-Tasman trio of successes.

Savabeel (Zabeel – Savannah Success, by Success Express) has enjoyed a terrific run in Queensland during the Brisbane winter carnival. The sire’s form extended to Rockhampton when Hampden (Savabeel – Operavega, by Stravinsky) took out the Fine Wine Partners Class 1 Handicap (1200m).

Across the Tasman, Waikato Stud sires No Excuse Needed (Machiavellian – Nawaiet, by Zilzal) and O’Reilly (Last Tycoon – Courtza, by Pompeii Court) combined for a winning double. Three-year-old filly Zumba (No Excuse Needed – Nautical, by Yachtie) took out the Connors Family Maiden Plate (1200m) before A Real Prince (O’Reilly – Ceecee Princess, by Cape Cross) proved too strong fro his older opposition in the Lennox Clan Handicap (1340m).

Meanwhile, Blue Gum Farm stallion Elvstroem (Danehill – Circles Of Gold, by Marscay) proved hard to beat in home state with a double at Thursday’s Ballarat meeting.

Leading trainer Mark Kavanagh produced Instalment (Elvstroem – Brightcut, by Octagonal) to claim the James & Son 2YO Maiden (1000m) on debut before Thou Shall Conquer ploughed through the heavy track to win the James & Son Custom Feeds Maiden (1400m).

Pins gets double on sad day

Posted on by

Waikato Stud resident Pins (Snippets – No Finer, by Kaoru Star) produced a winning double on the same day his dam No Finer (Kaoru Star – Humour, by Pirate King) died at Widden Stud.

No Finer was 31 when the “infirmities of old age” caught up with the mare, causing her to be euthanized at the Hunter Valley property. Pins was one of four black type winners No Finer produced in her career.

“She was retired from stud five years ago and has been a nanny mare here ever since,” said Widden Stud manager Antony Thompson.

“She was very good with the weanlings and although she was a tough mare who didn’t like being fussed over, she was a great favourite with the staff who worked around her on a regular basis.”

Pinaz (Pins – Azabeel, by Zabeel) began Pins’s double success with his win in the C & R Logging Maiden Plate (1200m) at Te Teko. The Keith Dryden stable produced Pins’s second win of the day when Eye Of The Needle (Pins – Tolinda, by Woodman) won the Kamberra Wine Company Handicap (1206m) by four lengths.

Royal Excuse (No Excuse Needed – Royal Remedy, by Royal Academy) completed a Waikato Stud treble with his win in the McRobbie Contractors Maiden Plate (1200m) at Te Teko.