Category Archives: Pins

Star son of Pins takes Hong Kong Group 1

Posted on by

Two-time Hong Kong Horse of the Year Ambitious Dragon affirmed his dominance in the Asian racing capital by winning Sunday’s HK$6 million Group 1 The Queen’s Silver Jubilee Cup (1400m) at Sha Tin.

Ambitious Dragon (Pins – Golden Gamble, by Oregon) won by 2-1/2 lengths. Time After Time (Danehill Dancer – Recurring, by Pentire) finished second with Glorious Day (Hussonet – Sun Century, by Centaine) a further length away in third.

It was a dynamic display by the son of Pins and the victory once again highlighted his versatility. It was the first time he had raced over 1400 metres since winning the Group 3 HK National Day Cup back in October 2011.

The Queen’s Silver Jubilee Cup was Ambitious Dragon’s seventh Group 1 win, his most recent win at the elite level prior to Sunday’s race coming in the Hong Kong International Mile last December.

Other feature wins include victories over 2000 metres in the Hong Kong Derby as a four-year-old in March 2011 and the Hong Kong Cup in February 2012.

Ambitious Dragon is out of unraced Oregon mare Golden Gamble (Oregon – Gilding, by Noble Bijou) and is a half-sister to Recall (Kaapstad – Gilding, by Noble Bijou) winner of the listed STC Winter Cup.

He was passed in for $47,500 at the 2008 New Zealand Bloodstock Select Yearling Sale, just $2500 shy of his reserve.

Ambitious Dragon has now won 13 times from 25 starts. He has won more races than any other son of Pins in Hong Kong.

Third winner for Glamour Puss at Pukekohe

Posted on by

Vogue (O’Reilly – Glamour Puss, by Tale Of The Cat) became the third winner out of Group 1-winning mare Galmour Puss (Tale Of The Cat – Escada, by Centaine) when she scored on debut at Pukekohe.

Glamour Puss won the Group 1 Goodwood Handicap (1200m) in Adelaide in 2005 before following that performance with a win over the dual Group 1 winner Barely A Moment in the Group 1 Salinger Stakes (1200m) at Flemington later that year.

Vogue was the third foal out of Glamour Puss to race and kept up her dam’s perfect record with a sold debut performance at Pukekohe.

The three-year-old filly tracked the leader for most of her 1200-metre assignment before grinding home over the top of her opposition late to score by a length.

Glamour Puss has a two-year-old by Pins (Snippets – No Finer, by Kaoru Star) to race in the coming months while the mare foaled a sister to Vogue in 2011.

 

 

Pins colt tops Karaka Premier Day 2 for Moody

Posted on by

Peter Moody paid $NZ775,000 for this Pins colt on the second dayof the Karaka Premier Yearling Sale in New Zealand.

Melbourne trainer Peter Moody secured the top lot on the second and final day of the 2013 NZB Karaka Premier Yearling Sale when he paid $NZ775,000 ($A619,857) for a half-brother to reigning Cox Plate champion Ocean Park (Thorn Park – Sayyida, by Zabeel).

Trelawney Stud offered the colt by Pins (Snippets – No Finer, by Kaoru Star). Moody had to go to a Karaka record for a Pins yearling to win the colt but was pleased with his purchase.

“I was very taken with this horse, he’s a lovely individual by a great stallion in Pins,” commented Moody.

“Obviously there is the attraction of Ocean Park, and he comes from a great nursery in Trelawney. Trelawney bred my first Group 1 winner in Amalfi and I have had a long association with them.

“New Zealand bloodstock has stood the test of time and proven itself internationally again this year. Different bloodlines from all over the world can create any type of horse including a sprinter-miler which this one looks like it is.”

The colt accounted for a third of Moody’s $NZ2.177 million ($A1.74 million) investment at the Karaka Premier Sale. Moody bought 14 yearlings, including another two by Pins, one of which was a colt out of the Group 2 winner Ugachaka (Danasinga – Bolshoi Star, by Three Legs), which fetched $NZ80,000.

Moody paid $NZ320,000 ($A255,879) for a son of O’Reilly (Last Tycoon – Courtza, by Pompeii Court) out of Know All (Zabeel – Critic, by Centaine). The colt’s grand-dam Critic (Centaine – Benazir, by Vice Regal) won the Group 1 Otaki Maori Stakes (1400m) in 2003.

 

Pins gelding provides another upset in Shannon Stakes

Posted on by

Pins gelding Rolling Pin (Pins – Gypsy’s Daughter, by Mi Preferido) scored his second surprise stakes victory in two starts with his narrow success in the Group 2 Shannon stakes over 1500 metres at Rosehill.

Rolling Pin started at $14 when won the Group 3 Cameron Handicap narrowly at Newcastle on September 19 before repeating the effort at $15 in the Shannon Stakes while the Gai  Waterhouse trained odds-on favourite Fat Al (Al Maher – Fatoon, by Snaadee) struggled to accelerate in the straight to finish third in a dour performance.

The Shannon Stakes had an epilogue in the stewards’ room, where the runner-up Offenders’s (Canny Lad – Parole, by Jade Hunter) jockey Kerrin McEvoy protested against Rolling Pin being declared the winner after the pair bumped in the straight.

The winner will rolled in on the runner-up in the closing stages of the $175,000 event but stewards decided Rolling Pin should keep the race.

Rolling Pin was a $60,000 NZB Premier Yearling Sale purchase in 2009 but has now won more than $380,000 after posting his eighth win from 23 starts.

 

45 for Pins in Cameron Handicap

Posted on by

Pins (Snippets – No Finer, by Kaoru Star) gelding Rolling Pin (Pins – Gypsy’s Daughter, by Mi Preferido) pulled off his maiden stakes victory in surprise fashion in Wednesday’s Group 3 Patinack Farm Cameron Handicap (1500m) at Newcastle.

The Gai Waterhouse-trained Kontiki Park (Thorn Park – Pretty Special, by Octagonal) started as the favourite for the $150,000 event while Rolling Pin started as a $13 chance.

The Gwenda Markwell-trained five-year-old went straight to the lead under jockey Christian Reith, who rated the gelding perfectly throughout the race to have Rolling Pin full of running early in the straight.

Rolling Pin sustained his effort all the way to the line to record his seventh win from 22 starts, defeating the luckless John O’Shea-trained gelding Lightinthenite (Galileo – Tiffin, by Grand Lodge), who was held up for a run until it was too late to make up the required ground.

“He began like a gazelle and he wanted to fight me a bit early,” Reith said. “I just gave him a bit of rein, got him to relax, got him into stride and he just felt fantastic.

“It was a tough race today and full credit goes to Gwenda and all her staff for turning him out in tip top order.”

Rolling Pin became the 45th stakes winner for Pins with his race record-breaking win.

Rolling is a son of the Listed winner Gyspy’s Daughter (Mi Preferido – Jean Gordon, by Amalgam), who is a half-sister to the New Zealand stakes performer Kiss n’ A Shilling (Crested Wave – Jean Gordon, by Amalgam).

 

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).

 

Ambitious Dragon in brilliant Cup win

Posted on by

Ambitious Dragon (5 g Pins – Golden Gamble, by Oregon) scored a brillint victory in Sunday’s HKGr 1 Citibank Hong Kong Gold Cup over to make it two legs of the HK Triple Crown. Douglas Whyte had an armchair ride, sitting against Ambitious Dragon till the the early part of the straight before letting Ambitious Dragon sprint clear.

California Memory, seeking back-to-back wins in the race, chased his nemesis down the home straight but had to settle for third place, a length and a half back, as the private tussle between the two swung three to one in favour of the Millard runner. The John Moore-trained Xtension (Xaar), who had split the pair in the Stewards’ Cup, short-headed California Memory (Highest Honor) for the runner-up berth as the comfortable winner stopped the clock at 2m 02.88s.

“I must admit, it felt better than the Stewards’ Cup – he’s come back, for sure,” said Whyte. “This was his acid test at the 10 furlongs to see if he had come back to what he is and he certainly gave me every indication today that Ambitious Dragon is back.

Douglas Whyte and Ambitious Dragon

Douglas Whyte and Ambitious Dragon

“I must say, he does make my job a lot easier because you can ride this horse with a lot of confidence and you can put him where you want to be.”

Ambitious Dragon secures a HK$2 million bonus for winning the first two legs of the Hong Kong Triple Crown. Only the 2400m HKG1 Champions & Chater Cup in May stands between the five-year-old and a total HK$5 million Triple Crown bonus.

“I personally would not like to see the horse going (2400m),” opined Whyte. “I think he’s too brilliant for that distance, and, now that he’s back to his best, you just want to wrap him in cotton wool and look after him as long as you can. These kinds of horses are few and far between and when you’ve got one, you do everything you can and hold on to them with both hands.”

“Next week we will look at where we go next; we need to see how the horse pulls up and we’ll discuss with Johnson (Lam) before we decide. He’s so versatile that there are different races to consider.” said Millard.

Flemington SWs for Pins and Snippetson

Posted on by

The Danny O’Brien-trained filly Shopaholic (Pins – Splashing Out, by O’Reilly) became the 44th individual stakes winner for Waikato Stud-based sire Pins (Snippets – No Finer, by Kaoru Star) in the Group 3 The Vanity (1410m) at Flemington.

Shopaholic upset the well-backed favourite, the Group 1 VRC Oaks (2500m) winner Mosheen (Fastnet Rock – Sumehra, by Stravinsky) to win the $175,000 feature to continue a terrific family history.

Shopaholic is a daughter of Splashing Out (O’Reilly – Iguazu, by Carolingian). O’Brien trained the filly on to win the Group 3 Thoroughbred Clubs Stakes (1200m) on behalf of Waikato Stud in 2006.

Shopaholic is the first foal to race out of Splashing Out. Splashing Out foaled a Pins filly in 2009 and a colt by the same sire in 2010.

Meanwhile, That’s The One became the third stakeswinner by Widden Stud sire Snippetson (Snippets – Snowdrift, by Polish Precedent) when the three-year-old pulled off an upset of his own in the Group 3 C S Hayes Stakes (1410m).

Multiple Group 1 winner Helmet (Exceed And Excel – Accessories, by Singspiel) started as an odds-on favourite to record a first-up win in the C S Hayes Stakes but That’s The One’s strong finishing burst earned the Colin and Cindy Alderson-trained three-year-old his third win from five starts.

Ambitious Dragon stunning in Stewards Cup

Posted on by

Hong Kong’s Horse of the Year Ambitious Dragon (6 g Pins РGolden Gamble, by Oregon) swept to a scintillating victory in the HKG1 Stewards’ Cup on Sunday.

The Tony Millard-trained Ambitious Dragon headed into the 1600m contest, the 1st Leg of Hong Kong’s Triple Crown, with a point to prove after tasting defeat in his two previous outings, most recently when fourth to the Tony Cruz-trained California Memory in the 2000m G1 Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Cup at the track on 11 December.

Ridden once again by champion jockey Douglas Whyte, Ambitious Dragon consigned those defeats to history as he posted a performance of the utmost class; sprinting clear when asked inside the final 300m and then cruising past the post a length and a quarter clear of the John Moore-trained Xtension, with old rival, the late-closing California Memory, a further three quarters of a length back in third.

“He’s back from that bad experience, that’s the main thing, he’s back!” said a delighted Millard. “I was a bit more confident today. Going into the Hong Kong Cup, we didn’t have a good run-in; he had a bad prep and going into the International race was just too hard.”

Millard, who is confident in the five-year-old’s ability at a range of distances, will now point his charge at the 2nd Leg of the Triple Crown, the HKG1 Citibank Hong Kong Gold Cup over 2000m.

“I’m not somebody who puts the cart in front of the horse,” continued Millard, “but we will definitely go for the 2000m and then we will decide what we are going to do, but we are definitely going race by race.

‚ÄúI don‚Äôt think the mile and a half of the HKG1 Standard Chartered Champions & Chater Cup ‚Äì 3rd Leg) will be a problem the way this horse can turn it on. Even today, I thought that Douglas could have gone a little bit later; he has a phenomenal turn of speed, the way that he can make it up.”

“I think Ambitious Dragon is a true champion – he hasn’t got a (best) distance.”

O’Brien leads Waikato charge at Geelong

Posted on by

Flemington trainer Danny O’Brien continued his strong association with the progeny of Waikato Stud sires after preparing a double with Pins’s (Snippets – No Finer, by Kaoru Star) offspring at Wednesday’s Geelong meeting.

O’Brien has enjoyed terrific success with the produce from Waikato Stud sires. The trainer has won stakes races with the likes of Gallopin (Pins – Carla Rossi, by Spectacular Love), Breezy (Pins – Zephyr Magic, by Zephyr Bay), Glam Slam (Pins – Gio, by Centaine) and Keano (Pins – O’Really, by O’Reilly).

O’Brien claimed the Geelong News Maiden Plate (1500m) with the $145,000 purchase Higuain (Pins – Heads Or Tales, by Tale Of The Cat) posted an impressive win.

Higuain hails from the same family as Group 1 winners Good Faith (Straight Strike – Head Of The River, by Shirley Heights) and Daffodil (No Excuse Needed – Spring, by O’Reilly).

Muchos Respectos (Pins – Lookatmelads, by College Chapel) completed O’Brien’s Geelong double with his success in the Baby And Child Handicap (1200m).

O’Brien paid $45,000 for the gelding at the 2009 NZB Premier yearling Sale.

Meanwhile, Caulfield trainer Andrew Noblet produced a smart winner by another Waikato Stud stallion, O’Reilly (Last Tycoon – Courtza, by Pompeii Court), when Notice Received (O’Reilly – Classique Royale, by Royal Academy) powered home to win the Geelong Advertiser Maiden Plate (1200m).

Noblet paid$135,000 for the filly at the 2010 Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale.