Category Archives: Oratorio_IRE

Group 1 winner for South Africa-bound stallion

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Coolmore Stud stallion Oratorio (Danehill – Mahrah, by Vaguely Noble) enjoyed a welcome boost weeks after his sale to South African interests when his four-year-old daughter Temida (Oratorio – Interim Payment, by Red Ransom) won Sunday’s Group 1 Grosser Preis Von Bayern (1m4f) at Munich in Germany.

Avontuur Stud purchased Oratorio to stand in South Africa once the sire completes his southern hemisphere duties at Coolmore’s Australian operation later this year.

Temida won the Group 3 Premio Verziere – Memorial Aldo Cirla (10f) in Italy last year before adding a Listed success in her homeland to her record on June 30.

Temida settled in the box seat before outsprinting her opposition late to post her maiden Group 1 success by three-quarters of a length over Feuerblitz (Big Shuffle – Flamingo Island, by Acatenango).

Oratorio has produced four Australian Stakes winners, including last year’s Group 1 Golden Rose winner Manawanui (Oratorio – Lady Remlap, by Filante).

Coolmore reps set to fight out Randwick Guineas

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Coolmore stallions look set to play a major part in Saturday’s Group 1 Randwick Guineas with Oratorio (Danehill – Mahrah, by Vagule Noble) and Fastnet Rock (Danehill – Piccadilly Circus, by Royal Academy) the sires of the top two three-year-olds in the betting.

Oratorio’s son Manawanui (Oratorio (IRE) – Lady Remlap, by Filante) will attempt to complete his second Group 1 victory but must overcome Fastnet Rock’s outstanding daughter Mosheen (Fastnet Rock – Sumehra, by Stravinksky) if he is to win the $500,000 event.

Arrowfield Stud’s champion stallion Redoute’s Choice (Danehill – Shantha’s Choice, by Canny Lad) will have two representatives in the Randwick Guineas.

The Darley-owned Galah (Redoute’s Choice – Rinky Dink, by Distorted Humor will be one of a quartet of Peter Snowden-trained runners in the race while Rekindled Alliance (Redoute’s Choice – Rekindled Affair, by Rainbow Quest) will carry Arrowfield Stud’s famous black and yellow diamonds silks.

Below is the full field for the Group 1 Randwick Guineas, which will begin at 4.20pm (AEDST) on Saturday.

No Horse Trainer Jockey Barrier Sire
1 MANAWANUI Ron Leemon Tommy Berry 11 Oratorio (IRE)
2 INDUNA Peter Snowden Christian Reith 3 Elusive Quality
3 KING SAUL Trevor Andrews Michael Rodd 10 Flying Pegasus
4 DOCTOR DOOM Guy Walter Rod Quinn 1 Domesday
5 GALAH Peter Snowden Kerrin McEvoy 13 Redoute’s Choice
6 STRIKE THE STARS (NZ) Anthony Cummings Hugh Bowman 7 Savabeel
7 DARCI BE GOOD (NZ) Bede Murray Peter Robl 16 Darci Brahma
8 WILD AND PROUD Gai Waterhouse Jim Cassidy 17 Snowland
9 ISOPACH John P Thompson Blake Shinn 5 Magic Albert
10 FREE WHEELING Peter Snowden Brenton Avdulla 15 Ad Valorem
11 AMBIDEXTER Peter Snowden Joshua Parr 8 Commands
12 SAID COM (NZ) Chris Waller Dwayne Dunn 9 O’Reilly
13 REKINDLED ALLIANCE Paul Messara Corey Brown 12 Redoute’s Choice
14 OCEAN PARK (NZ) Gary Hennessy Craig Williams 2 Thorn Park
15 LASER HAWK Gai Waterhouse Nash Rawiller 6 Artie Schiller
16 MOMENT OF CHANGE Peter G Moody Luke Nolen 4 Barely A Moment
17 MOSHEEN Robert Smerdon Danny Nikolic 14 Fastnet Rock

Mufhasa shooting for eighth Group 1

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Top-class New Zealander Mufhasa (Pentire – Sheila Cheval, by Mi Preferido) will shoot for his eighth win at the highest level in Saturday’s Group 1 Captain Cook Stakes (1600m) at Trentham.

Mufhasa broke through for his first Australian Group 1 win two starts back in the Toorak Handicap (1600m) at Caulfield in early October before a foot issue prevented the 16-time winner from taking his place in the Group 1 Emirates Stakes (1600m) in November.

Mufhasa resumed from the slight setback with a brave second to Lady Chaparral (High Chaparral – Images by Gleam Machine) in the Group 3 Tauranga Stakes (1600m). Mufhasa’s trainer Steven McKee said the seven-year-old’s feet issues have settled as the gelding has aged.

“I was happy with him before Tauranga, the foot was no concern, and he’s looking good,” McKee said. “I’ve got no excuses for him and he’s going well.”

“He’s always had little niggles with mainly his front feet over the years, but they’ve all grown out and are more symmetrical and in proportion this year, so he’s been pain free, sounder, and he’s racing accordingly.”

Mufhasa will face nine rivals in the $NZ200,000 event. The Captain Cook Stakes field is below.

RUNNER TRAINER SIRE
Mufhasa Steven McKee Pentire
Hold It Harvey Terri Rae King Cugat
Booming Jeff Lynds Don Eduardo
Vosne Romanee Jeff Lynds Electronic Zone
Bragato Richard Joostens Brilliance
Vonusti Tim & Margaret Carter Ustinov
Platinum Princess Lisa Latta Keeper
Dating Graeme & Debbie Rogerson O’Reilly
Banchee John Sargent Oratorio (IRE)
Elusive Tracy Aaron Bidlake Elusive City

38th stakes winner for Testa Rossa

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Promising gelding Testa My Patience (Testa Rossa – Entente Cordiale, by Jackson Square) became the 38th individual stakes winner for Vinery Stud resident Testa Rossa (Perugino – Bo Dapper, by Sir Dapper) with his impressive win in the Group 2 Crystal Mile (1600m) at Moonee Valley.

Testa My Patience settled just off the speed before outsprinting his opposition to score his seventh win from 14 starts in the $200,000 feature. The five-year-old’s trainer Mick Price said he would give Testa My Patience a shot at Group 1 level.

“He has to go to Flemington in two weeks’ time,” Price said.

“The Emirates (Stakes) so hopefully not too many good milers appear between now and then. He’s definitely a Group 1 chance there.”

Meanwhile, Waratah’s Secret (Oratorio – Blissfully, by Zabeel) earned the 10th stakes win for Mungrup Stud-based sire Oratorio (Stravinsky – Express A Smile, by Success Express) with a hard-fought success in the Group 3 Prince Of Wales Stakes (1200m) at Ascot.

The David Harrison-trained five-year-old had a long head to spare over the consistent Grand Nirvana (Scenic – Paradise Park, by Bletchley Park).

Coolmore Stud’s Oratorio (Danehill – Mahrah, by Vaguely Noble) also produced a winner at Ascot when the promising two-year-old Miss Solis (Oratorio – Longoria, by Lujain) won the Westspeed 2YO Plate (1000m).

Manawanui excels in Vase

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Warwick Farm trainer Ron Leemon described Manawanui’s (Oratorio (Ire) – Lady Remlap, by Filante) effort to win the Group 2 Moonee Valley Vase (2040m) as “easy to watch”.

Manawanui faced five moderately-performed rivals in the $200,000 feature. The son of Oratorio (Danehill – Mahrah, by Vaguely Noble) settled back in the field before simply cruising around those ahead of him from the 500 metres to record a soft win.

The hit-out did little to determine if Manawanui would stay a solid 2500 metres in Saturday week’s Group 1 Victoria Derby at Flemington but Leemon said the gelding did enough to convince him of his staying ability.

“All things being equal he should be there next week. I’ll wait to talk to Glyn and see how he felt about him but just looking at it myself I think he should be there,” Leemon said.

“I think he has matured a little bit. I think he’s grown a little bit but he’s still got a fair bit of development to do.

“We wanted to try to make him settle. I’ve always said he will settle because of the way he works and he’s done well and he’s done what I’d like him to do at this stage.”

Collar (O’Reilly – Laebeel, by Zabeel) finished second while Scelto (Pentire – Our Discretion, by Twig Moss) battled into third spot.

Queen rules

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Homecoming Queen (2 f Holy Roman Emperor – Lagrion, by Diesis) ran out the easy four and a quarter length winner of the Listed, Lanwades & Staffordstown Stud Stakes for two-year-old fillies over a mile at the Curragh on Sunday.

Like her sire, Homecoming Queen is trained by Aidan O’Brien and she came home alone to defeat Absolute Crackers (Giant’s Causeway) with Ronan’s Bay (Johannesburg) another two and a half lengths away in third.

Homecoming Queen is a half-sister to multiple Group 1 winner Dylan Thomas (Danehill) who has done well with his first-crop two-year-olds in Europe this season and whose first-crop are about to hit the track in Australia.

Coolmore stallions were on the mark in Italy on Sunday where Temida (Oratorio) won the 2000m Group 3  Premio Verziere Memorial Aldo Cirla defeating Toi et Moi (Galileo) by half a length and Choisir Shadow (Choisir) running out the three-length winner of the Listed, Criterium Nazionale over 1200m, both races in Milan.

Effortless Manawanui

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Manawanui (3 g Oratorio [Ire] РLady Remlap, by Filante) had little than an exercise gallop in yesterday’s Group 2 Stan Fox Stakes (1500m) at Rosehill. Manawanui raced into the lead from the start and then made all the running to score an effortless win. Roma Gioconda (Magic Albert) ran on in the straight for second.

“He did what he wanted and we got the job done,‚Äù Schofield said. “Nothing more or nothing less than I wanted from him. I had a look at the big screen at about the 100 and then let him shut down but he towed me right to the line.‚Äù

Manawanui will now head to Melbourne for the Caulfield Guineas. “I don‚Äôt think he‚Äôll have a problem.” Schofield said, “You never know until after they do it under race pressure but we can go down there with plenty of confidence in this horse. He‚Äôs handled everything we‚Äôve thrown at him and he‚Äôs got a great ability to adapt.”

Trainer Ron Leemon was satisfied with Manawanui, for whom he paid $45,000 for as a yearling at the inglis Classic Yearling Sale. “That was an easy run for him and just what I wanted. He’ll be the fresh horse on the scene when we get down to Melbourne”.

Manawanui blooms in Rose

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Manawanui scored an emotional win in a sensational running of the $1 million Group 1 Tooheys New Golden Rose (1400m) at Rosehill on Saturday.

Having convinced his fellow part-owners to pay the $50,000 late entry fee to run in the race, trainer Ron Leemon won¬†his first ever Group One race when Manawanui (3 g Oratorio – Lady Remlap, by Filante)¬†beat the flying Smart Missile (Fastnet Rock) with Foxwedge third past the post but losing the minor place in the stewards’ room when Kerrin McEvoy on Helmet (Exceed And Excel) protested over interference caused at the 600m marker.

“It’s amazing,” Leemon, who paid $45,000 for Manawanui as a yearling at the Inglis Classic Sale, said. “It’s tremendous, it’s a dream come true, a great thrill. I’ve got the winner and I am so please for everybody associated with the stable, it’s tremendous. We have battled but we’ve got there,” Leemon said. “I am, along with my wife Gaye and the other connections, who are all new to the stable, are chasing our dream. Why not enjoy it at our stage of life.”

Glyn Schofield was a happy jockey. “I said to Ronnie ‘I don’t mind leading on this horse’, it didn’t really matter what scenario worked out for us, as long as I had a margin between myself and the rest and I knew this fella doesn’t stop,” Schofield said. “The way he picked up on a heavy track at his first start back, he was always going to show a lot of speed on a dry and firmer surface today.

“I must pay tribute to Ron, the poor fella has been a bag of nerves, he has been in racing such a long time and is such a great man, to finally get a horse of this calibre and to do everything right with all the pressure around him, he deserves all the accolades.”

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Six accept for Golden Rose

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Only the dual Group 1-winning three-year-old Helmet (Exceed And Excel – Accessories, by Singspiel) stands in the way of a Coolmore Stud stallion siring the winner of Saturday’s Group 1 Golden Rose (1400m) at Rosehill.

Australia’s first Group 1 race of the 2011/12 season attracted a disappointing number of just six runners with Coolmore Stud sires providing five of the competitors.

The unbeaten colt Smart Missile (Fastnet Rock – Comical Smile, by Comic Strip) and the exciting colt Foxwedge (Fastnet Rock – Forest Wildcat, by Forest Wildcat) lead the charge for the Hunter Valley operation.

The connections of Manawanui (Oratorio (IRE) – Lady Remlap, by Filante) paid a $55,000 late entry fee to run the Group 3 Up And Coming Stakes (1300m) winner in the $1 million event. Aeronautical (Encosta De Lago – Moon Fever, by Fusaichi Pegasus) and Flight Of Pegasus (Fusaichi Pegasus – Flight Of Dreams, by Flying Spur) make up the rest of the field.

TAB No. RUNNER JOCKEY TRAINER BARRIER WEIGHT SIRE
1 Helmet Kerrin McEvoy Peter Snowden 4 56.5kg Exceed And Excel
2 Smart Missile Glen Boss Anthony Cummings 5 56.5kg Fastnet Rock
3 Foxwedge James McDonald John O’Shea 1 56.5kg Fastnet Rock
4 Manawanui Glyn Schofield Ron Leemon 3 56.5kg Oratorio (Ire)
5 Aeronautical Nathan Berry Lionel Cohen 6 56.5kg Encosta De Lago
6 Flight Of Pegasus Chris Munce Scott Aspery 2 56.5kg Fusaichi Pegasus

Bigcat Rhapsody roars on debut

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The Hawkes Racing team took the wraps off a well-bred prospect when Bigcat Rhapsody (Darci Brahma – The Lions Roar, by Western Symphony) made a winning debut at Monday’s Warrnambool meeting.

Bigcat Rhapsody narrowly won the Marriott Hotel Maiden Plate (1200m) to become the fifth winner out of the Group 2-winning mare The Lions Roar (Western Symphony – Western Solstice, by Sir Tristram).

The gelding is a half-brother to the New Zealand stakes winner Leeu (Volksraad – The Lions Roar, by Western Symphony) as well as the Group 2 Herbert Power Stakes (2400m) winner Growl (Montjeu – The Lions Roar, by Western Symphony).

Hawkes Racing paid $400,000 for Bigcat Rhapsody at the 2010 NZB Premier Yearling Sale.

Meanwhile, Coolmore Stud sires started the week strongly by posting a winning treble at Monday’s Wagga and Warrnambool meetings.

Merci Grand (Choisir – Thanksgiving, by Generous) provided the Wagga leg to Coolmore’s treble while Iguazu (Giant’s Causeway – Japari, by Deputy Governor) and Gotta Dream (Oratorio (IRE) – Granada Miss, by Bellotto) claimed races at Warrnambool.