PRIME DISPATCH Edition 157 – 16/05/2017

Compiled by Joe o’Neill

Hijack Hussy sells on 30 May 2017 at

Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale

I must say I felt a bit nostalgic when I stayed at Yarraman Park for the Scone Cup weekend. 20 years

ago in 1997 on the Friday morning of the Scone Cup Bill Mitchell and I drove around the farm and

also visited Arrowfield Stud and Wakefield Stud and discussed setting up a syndication company. By

the end of that morning we shook hands and Prime Thoroughbreds was launched. I stayed in the

‘Major’s Cottage’ on the farm that weekend and enjoyed the company of Bill’s father Major James

Mitchell. I have spent many nights in this comfortable cottage since. Sadly Bill’s father James is no

longer with us but has left a great legacy for our industry.

The transition to working in the thoroughbred industry after 20 years in the Army wasn’t easy but Bill

Mitchell and his brothers made me feel welcome and their incredible knowledge of the industry

combined with my determination to succeed made for a good recipe. On the Sunday of that weekend

Bill purchased our first horse a Celestial Dancer colt for $15,000. He went on to be our first Sydney

winner. His name was Let’s Jive. Since then we have syndicated in excess of 250 yearlings and won

over 700 races. When I get a spare day I intend to go through and update our statistics from day one.

They are impressive.

Interestingly the yearlings I purchased in 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015 have won 125 races and we

should pass the $6,000,000 in stakes earnings in the next week. These 61 horses cost $3,515,625

(Average $57,633.19) and have won 125 races. The combined earnings on the track total $5,977,967

to date with 25 of these horses still in our racing team including some very valuable horses.

In total 57 of these raced with 48 having won as I write this. I am expecting to get 53 winners from

these four crops of yearlings which is exceptional and I believe unmatched by any of our competition.

GREAT NEWS OUT OF VICTORIA

It was great to hear the announcement of the increases in stakes money in Victoria from 1 August

2017. This will be the second major increase in the state this year and takes the total on offer to

$214,000,000 a $40,000,000 increase since 2015. This sees both NSW and Victoria offering terrific

incentives for participants to race horses in their states. Not to be out done we have seen a lot of work

being done in the other states to increase the returns to participants in the sport.

As for the other states I am expecting some exciting news out of Tasmania in the next few weeks. SA

has a very lucrative carnival running, WA offers great incentives for their locally bred horses and

there is plenty happening behind the scenes in Queensland. This is all positive stuff.

From our perspective the big increases in Saturday stakes money for three year old racing in Victoria

where the minimum on offer from 1 August 2017 will be $120,000 is good news. Our team of horses

are mainly educated as two year olds with us aiming to have them really ready to go as three and four

year olds. We want our owners to have more than a couple of days at the races and for them to enjoy

racing their horses for two or more seasons if they have the ability.

The Integrity Department at RVL deserve a special mention. We all want to see our horses competing

on a level playing field. You may remember a couple of years ago the stewards were overt raiding

stables and being quite positive in trying to stamp out illegal practices being used by a small group of

trainers. This approach drew some criticism at the time but if you look at racing in Victoria today we

hardly see any trainers charged with improper conduct relating to the administration of illegal

substances. The aggressive approach taken at that time worked and the cheats were put on notice that

their wayward practices wouldn’t be tolerated. This is the way it should be.

It may surprise you but the best group of form analysts in Victoria work for the Integrity Department

and they are constantly on the lookout for trends that may suggest all isn’t right and that a stable

might be going off the rails.

THE BREEDING SCENE

I have been in the Hunter Valley speaking with many of the people whose opinion I value and also

making my own mind up on which sires to send the mares I manage to this year.

It’s a tough year and a bit confusing with so many first season sires on the market. I have made my

choices with the mares going to Casino Prince, Husson, I Am Invincible, Rubick and Sizzling. I

loved the progeny of Sizzling I inspected this year and purchased two of them. They are cracking

types of horses. I can’t wait for one horse in particular to go to stud next year. He is a cracker. You

will know who he is after I have booked some of the mares I manage to him.

Only time and race performances will prove if I have made the right decisions for these mares but I’m

confident the sires they have gone to should suit the mares and produce nice types of horses and after

all we are trying to breed athletes that make pedigree pages.

MAGIC MILLIONS NATIONAL SALE

I’m looking forward to the Magic Millions National Sale on the Gold Coast which commences on 25

May and goes through to 9 June. This is a massive sale. I will be attending the broodmare sale where

Awasita, Hijack Hussy and Strike For Victory are catalogued to be sold. These horses will be sold

on 30 May and the sale is expected to be very strong.

Hijack Hussy in particular has been very popular and it will be very interesting to see what she

fetches through the ring. She is a stakes winning mare by super broodmare sire Hussonet out of a

very well related Redoute’s Choice mare. Awasita had a good racing career winning five races and

$276,710 in stakes money. She is by Commands out of a ½ sister to Magic Albert which makes her

an attractive breeding proposition. Strike For Victory isn’t as well performed on the track but was a

fast filly and is now a ¾ sister to the WA Sires Produce winner Debellatio.

It is a good time to sell mares with so many first season sires on the scene and shareholders needing

good mares to give their new boys the best possible opportunity at stud.

If any of our readers wish to discuss purchasing one of these mares feel free to call me on

0433762700.

A SOLID WEEK ON THE TRACK

The good performances continued with our two year olds with Kissing Game running a terrific race

on debut at Canterbury. She is a very progressive filly and by Yarraman Park’s Champion young sire

in Hinchinbrook. Honolulu Lass also by Hinchinbrook ran home strongly for third at only her 2nd

start and is ready to step out to 1400m which should be ideal. She had almost 12 months off with a

hoof injury and has been taken along quietly.

On Saturday we finished up having just the two runners with both putting in nice performances. The

Wasp was terrific in the Listed Denise’s Joy Stakes where she copped interference as she was

accelerating about 125m from the post. It cost her a stake placing. She is a very progressive horse.

Raido had no luck and couldn’t get cover in the run but was brave and should be placed to advantage

in the coming weeks. He is only a couple of thousand dollars short of earning $200,000 which is a

good effort.

ON THE TRACK – THE WEEK AHEAD

We have a very busy week in front of us. Reneged resumes tomorrow at Warwick Farm and will be

improved by the outing. Tye Angland takes the ride. He was gelded after his last run and has had a

couple of nice trials heading into his race at Warwick Farm tomorrow. Go Arrivederci resumes at

Balaklava. We have used the Balaklava Racetrack quite a bit in the past with good success. It is a big

spacious track with a nice run home. Let’s hope it continues.

Savoureux is nominated for the Listed Bright Shadow Stakes at Doomben. I’d love to win this race.

I remember Bright Shadow well. She was by Smokey Eyes who was a great sire in Queensland and

later a wonderful broodmare sire and Bright Shadow was a great race mare. As a child growing up

racing and rugby league were the main points of discussion whenever our family and friends got

together.

Hussy’s Glow is nominated at Flemington on Saturday and there are other options for her. One

Invincible Cat is nominated to have her first start at Newcastle. She is another of our two year old

team which is coming together nicely. Invincible Al and Honolulu Lass are nominated at Bendigo

with Honolulu Lass also at Mildura.

Husson Boots is set to run at either Ipswich or the Sunshine Coast. A lot will depend on the weather

in South East Queensland. Unfortunately more rain is predicted.

We are likely to have two of our juveniles run on 23 May with Kissing Game set to go to Kembla

Grange where she will love the big track and Zelsignoret is scheduled to have her second start at

Seymour. Both these fillies put in excellent efforts at their debuts and will only be having their

second start. Two of our other youngsters scheduled to run include Black And Tan at Cranbourne on

26 May and Casa De Lago on 31 May at Racing.com Park.

We had a couple of nice horse’s trial at Newcastle last week including Not Surprising and

Chalmers. Chalmers will need another trial with Not Surprising probably not far off heading back to

the races.

SOME NICE YEARLINGS TO CONSIDER

I am pleased to write this crop of yearlings are the nicest I have ever purchased and I can’t wait to get

them to the races. Our horses are running very well and as Kris Lees said to a media personality a

few years ago ‘Joe doesn’t need to pay for advertising on television, his horses do it for him’.

The last of our yearlings is being broken in and the reports coming from the breakers have been

terrific. This is easily the most expensive group of youngsters I have purchased. It is very exciting.

I didn’t buy any yearlings at the Scone Sale, nothing really grabbed my attention. Once again as has

been the trend this year the sale set new records. The strength of our industry has been extaordinary

and to be honest I can’t see it coming back in the near future. Stakes money is up in almost all the

states and territories and the demand for tried horses particularly in provincial and country NSW is the

strongest I’ve witnessed in my 20 years in the industry.

AL MAHER MISS CUTIE FILLY

Al Maher filly out of Miss Cutie 2015

$8,500 per 10% share (5% shares $4250) - John Thompson to train at Royal Randwick

For a few years I have been on the lookout for a nice Al Maher filly and at last I found the one I was

after. This filly is a beautiful walking filly and in many ways reminds me of the better Street Cry

fillies I have inspected. She has good size and is well proportioned. She has an attractive head and is

strong through the shoulder and hindquarter.

The one characteristic I really liked about this filly was her attitude. While she had a strong

personality she was easy to handle and I observed her being inspected on several occasions to make

sure she had a good attitude. In my experience the progeny of Al Maher can be a bit ‘hot’.

I was keen on the progeny of Al Maher from day one and purchased two fillies out of his first crop.

One of these was Unchain My Heart. She was a wonderful staying mare and won the Andrew

Ramsden Stakes twice and also the Bagot Handicap.

Like this filly, Unchain My Heart came from a stout female line and wasn’t unlike this filly as a type.

Al Maher has been a really good sire with his progeny producing better than 10% stakes winners to

winners. Only the best sires achieve this figure.

His 32 stakes winners include some outstanding females including Delicacy, Majestic Music, Speedy

Natalie and of course Unchain My Heart.

Miss Cutie is by the Champion sire Street Cry and was a metropolitan winner and placed in Sydney as

a two year old. This is only her second foal with the first being placed recently at Sandown.

Miss Cutie comes from a very good female line that includes the high class Group 1 performers

Defier and Traveston Girl. I also like the line of dams with Street Cry, Grand Lodge, Marscay and

Salieri the dam sires of the first four dams.

The 2nd

dam is a half-sister to Defier who was a wonderful galloper winning three times at Group 1

level and in excess of $2.9 million.

All in all Miss Cutie presents as quite a complete package.

Unchain My Heart Cost $45,000 Earnings $595,580

Sold for $160,000 Gold Coast National Sale

SIZZLING DEDICATION COLT

Sizzling colt out of Dedication 2015

$8,500 per 10% share (5% shares $4250) - Tony Gollan to train at Eagle Farm

This is a cracking colt and he certainly attracted my attention at the sales where he was one of only

two colts I had vetted. He is well grown and a very athletic individual. He has a wonderful attitude

and is nice walking horse.

I love his pedigree and more than that I was instantly attracted to him when I inspected him. If you

don’t like a horse when you first inspect it you should never buy it.

In my opinion this colt was as good an individual as I inspected in the sale.

I really liked what I saw in a number of the progeny of Sizzling at this year’s sales. To me it is a no

brainer that he will be a success at stud. He was a terrific racehorse and precocious two year old from

the most dominant sire line in Australia for the past 20 years out of a ‘black type’ mare by one of the

greatest sprinters of the modern generation in General Nediym.

Sizzling’s pedigree page is very strong with a host of very good horses down the page. In fact it

couldn’t be any stronger with both the 2nd

and 3rd

dams being superior producers.

I love the General Nediym (1st dam), Alzao stakes winner (2

nd Dam) and Without Fear stakes

producer (3rd

dam) down the page. Estate Label, the 3rd

dam was a very high class producer also

throwing the outstanding two year old filly Loving Cup.

I must say I had a bit to do with both sides of this pedigree with Sizzling’s sire Snitzel being out of

Snippet’s Lass. Both General Nediym and Snippet’s Lass were trained by Bill Mitchell when I was

his Racing Manager. They were both high class racehorses with Snippet’s Lass being one of the

toughest mares I have had anything to do with.

Dedication is a young well related mare by a sire that has had a great impact in Australia through his

daughters at stud and provides a perfect outcross to the many Danehill line sires we have standing in

Australia. A close look at this female line displays plenty to be enthusiastic about.

Firstly, Singspiel has crossed beautifully with the sons of Danehill with the high class Australian

Group 1 winners Helmet and Epaulette being amongst the thirty two Group winners his daughters

have thrown.

Secondly, there are several examples of Danehill working in this pedigree headed by Alverta, the

Group 1 winning daughter of Flying Spur, Group 3 winner Aerobics and stakes performers Violet

Lane and star Mystic.

UPDATE

30/04/17 - I inspected this colt at Fulmen Park last week and he heads to the breakers tomorrow. He is a cracking horse that has gone forward since I purchased him at the

Adelaide Magic Millions. He will be a very good addition to our Brisbane stable.

14/05/17 – The breaker is very pleased with the colt. He has a great attitude and is coping well with the breaking in. The breaker said he is a lovely horse to work with.

16/05/17 – I booked two of our mares to Sizzling. I am impressed with his progeny.

SIZZLING SENRO KISAKI FILLY

Sizzling /Senro Kisaki filly - Patrick Payne

10% shares $17,500 5% shares $8,750

I really liked what I saw in a number of the progeny of Sizzling at this sale. To me it is a no brainer

that he will be a success at stud. He was a terrific racehorse and precocious two year old from the

most dominant sire line in Australia for the past 20 years out of a ‘black type’ mare by one of the

greatest sprinters of the modern generation in General Nediym.

Sizzling’s pedigree page is very strong with a host of very good horses down the page. In fact it

couldn’t be any stronger with both the 2nd

and 3rd

dams being superior producers.

I love the General Nediym (1st dam), Alzao stakes winner (2

nd Dam) and Without Fear stakes

producer (3rd

dam) down the page, on both sides of the dam’s pedigree. Eastate Label, the 3rd

dam

was a very high class producer also throwing the outstanding two year old filly Loving Cup.

I must say I had a bit to do with both sides of this pedigree with Sizzling’s sire Snitzel being out of

Snippet’s Lass. Both General Nediym and Snippet’s Lass were trained by Bill Mitchell when I was

his Racing Manager. They were both high class racehorses with Snippet’s Lass being one of the

toughest mares I have had anything to do with.

Senro Kisaki is the dam of our promising filly and recent winner Husson’s Kiss, also 3rd

in the

Tasmanian 1000 Guineas. Senro Kisaki is also the dam of the highly progressive Hong Kong galloper

Victory Marvel, a five time winner in Hong Kong this season. This is only Senro Kisaki’s 4th foal.

This filly is much stronger than Husson’s Kiss was at the same age. Senro Kisaki is out of a Danehill

Dancer mare. Danehill Dancer has gradually moved up the broodmare sire’s list and is now 14th on

the list which is a very good effort considering he was 39th four years ago.

As a type this filly is faultless and I really like the mating of Sizzling over Senro Kisaki. This filly

was bred by Ian Smith who bred the Champion sprinter Silent Witness as well as many other fine

gallopers.

This was a really tough sale with many of the yearlings struggling with the oppressive conditions.

This filly didn’t miss a beat and handled everything with ease. She has been paid up for the rich

Magic Million Series and is strong enough to perhaps get to the Gold Coast in 2018 but should train

on to be a wonderful three year old. I love this filly.

UPDATE

11/05/17 - I inspected this filly at Ascot Farm. She broke in enormous and has really developed as well as I could have hoped for. Her ½ brother Victory Marvel is one of the

most progressive horses in Hong Kong where he has won 5 races in Hong Kong this season.