TWO of the world’s pre-eminent Thoroughbred sires Montjeu (Ire) and Fastnet Rock (Aus) have sired numerous Cup and Classic winners at major international racing venues.
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Now they can add Cups at two of Queensland’s iconic two-day country race meetings – the Cairns Amateurs in far North Queensland and the Birdsville Cup meeting held in far south west Queensland – held last Friday and Saturday, September 1 and 2.
The Cairns Amateurs Cup was won by Franked – an Irish-bred horse acquired as a Melbourne Cup hopeful – while the Birdsville Cup went to Fast Fella – a $200,000 Magic Millions yearling sale purchase.
Ranked is by Montjeu who shuttled for several seasons between Ireland and New Zealand while Fast Fella is a 5YO gelding by Australian-bred Fastnet Rock who has done the reverse shuttle between Australia and Ireland every year since 2005. A Group 1 winning son of Danehill, Fastnet Rock has 92 individual stakes winners across Europe, US, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand while Montjeu’s 62 stakes winners include English and Irish Derby winners and the 2012 Melbourne Cup winner Green Moon.
Fast fella at Birdsville
FIVE times now Fast Fella has lived up to his name and raced faster than all his rivals. With earlier wins at Ipswich, Toowoomba (two) and Roma, Fast Fella again proved too fast for 10 rivals in this year’s 135th Birdsville Cup (1600m).
Fast Fella is now the second Birdsville Cup winner for Roma trainer Craig Smith having won the Cup five years ago with Dancefloor Prodigy.
Birdsville transcends Queensland, with racegoers coming from all parts of Australia. Joining the festivities were Governor-General Sir Peter Cosgrove, Queensland Racing Minister Grace Grace and Senator Pauline Hanson.
Only lightly raced, Fast Fella has raced 23 times for five wins and seven placings. By Fastnet Rock from the winning Magic Albert mare Fabella, Fast Fella was sold for $200,000 at the 2014 Magic Millions yearling sale on the Gold Coast and began his racing career with Melbourne trainer Danny O’Brien. After four unplaced runs, Fast Fella moved north to Brisbane where Kelso Wood struck immediate pay-dirt with a first-up maiden win at Ipswich. That was the only highlight as his next seven starts only yielded a second and a third before he had a third stable change to Craig Smith at Roma.
Cairns Amateurs Cup ranks highly
CAIRNS hobby trainer Alwyn Bailey celebrated his biggest win of his 30-year career when former Irish stayer Ranked claimed the 2100m Cairns Amateurs Cup at Cannon Park on Saturday, September 2.
Racing Queensland webnews reports that Bailey, who turns 61 in December, was thankful of a Facebook friendship developed between his 30-year-old son Andrew and Ranked’s owner Maurice Agius for the 9Y0’s win.
“It’s a big thrill to win this race. I won an Innisfail Cup once in front of a crowd of about 2000 but this was in front of a crowd of about 10,000. I’ve really got to thank my son Andrew for getting this horse. He was on Facebook and became friends with his owner who promised to send up a horse for the Cup races,” Bailey said.
The horsed turned out to be Ranked, who originally raced in England as Rougement before being bought by Lloyd Williams as a potential Melbourne Cup horse. By Montjeu (Ire) from the Spectrum mare Spritza (Ire), Ranked won three non black type races at Newmarket and Leicester and was also Group 3 placed as a 3YO at Sandown Park.
“He was formerly trained in Melbourne by Robert Hickmott and then John Wallace on the Gold Coast had him. He originally was bought for $750,000 and came over with Green Moon for the Melbourne Cup but things went wrong and he had to have a couple of years off,” Bailey said.
Bailey will confer with Agius, who was in the US and missed the Cup victory, before deciding his future.“He’s a 9YO so I’ve got to consider that but he could head back to Brisbane now,” he said.
Ranked’s win capped a memorable carnival for jockey Wanderson D’Avila who recently lost a close friend from cancer. D’Avila rode three winners on day one of the Cairns Amateurs and landed a double on Cup day after scoring aboard the John Manzelmann-trained Telloff (F3 Bon Hoffa/Dynomitella) in the 3YO Handicap.
Former Sydney galloper Metallic Crown (G5 Northern Meteor/Pegasus Queen) began his north Queensland career on a winning note in the Open Handicap (1400m).
Ridden by Newcastle’s Robert Thompson, Metallic Crown is part-owned by former leading Gold Coast bookmaker Laurie Bricknell and was previously trained in Sydney by Chris Waller before joining Janel Ryan’s stables in Atherton. Metallic Crown’s win was his fourth in 23 starts.
Brisbane mare conquers Caulfield
QUEENSLAND-based multiple Group-winning and Group1-placed stallion Love Conquers All (Mossman/She's A Meanie) added a Group success when 4YO mare and Brisbane raider Savanna Amour posted the third black-type victory of her career in the Group 3 Cockram Stakes (1200m) for mares at Caulfield on Saturday.
Savanna Amour – who was sold to Ontrack Thoroughbreds for $100,000 at the 2015 Inglis Classic Yearling Sale from the draft of Toolooganvale Stud – improved her record to five wins (including the Group 2 Angus Armanasco Stakes and Group 3 Gold Coast Guineas) and two placings from 10 starts for $418,250 earnings.
A daughter of the Prince Salieri mare She’s A Meanie, Savanna Amour is from the family of Group 1 Golden Slipper winner and successful sire Marauding.
O’Shea fined $30,000
RACING NSW has fined former Godolphin trainer John O’Shea $30,000 for his role in failing to report a case of strangles last year.
The charges were issued in relation to the racehorse Polemic which was infected with strangles in August 2016. O’Shea pleaded not guilty to being a party to former Godolphin managing director Henry Plumptre in failing to report the condition as soon as possible (charge 1), and to providing false and/or misleading evidence to stewards (charge 2). He was fined $10,000 and $20,000 respectively with the total penalty being $30,000.
Eagle Farm tenders due soon
RACING Queensland contractors are close to finalising the tenders for the supply of sand and turf for the remediation of Eagle Farm race track.
The Monteith report, handed down last month, recommended a major refurbishment of the track including the total removal of the existing grass and thatch layer and re-blending the profile to include angular sand types to improve stability.
Tenders for turf and sand, which closed on Thursday, August 24, are being analysed closely to ensure the quality is up to the standard required in the quantity needed to complete the job.
The tender period for the construction elements concluded last week with assessment to begin on the submissions immediately. A superintendent for the project will be appointed soon.
In the meantime, Brisbane Racing Club has performed preliminary work on the track, removing the running rail and mowing the grass as low as possible while removing clippings and debris to prepare for the removal of the top 70mm of the surface. Work is expected to begin after the construction tender is awarded. The time-line for completion remains the end of April, 2018.