News that Merlene’s two-year-old daughter Merlene de Lago (by guess???) has won a stakes race on debut in South Africa comes as no surprise to me.
She was a crackerjack yearling ($775,000) at last year’s Magic Millions Gold Coast. On my scale of ratings she was an 8.5, which was the highest rating band I gave for any filly at that sale. To give a yearling 8.5 I have to see it walk on water.
Like her dam, Merlene de Lago wasn’t big but she had an engine room like a tank and my summary was,“she looks like what she’s bred to be”. I noted that her near fore knee wasn’t perfect whereas her Golden Slipper-winning mother had a matching imperfect pair.
There were eight other fillies I rated 8.5. Three others have already raced, these being:
Sugar Babe (NZ) (Exceed And Excel-On Type) – stakeswinner of two of her three starts, trainer Lee Freedman. $500,000.
Kimillsy (Danehill Dancer-Lady Fidelia) – 2nd at her only start, to She’s Meaner, trainer Kim Waugh. $235,000. Regrettably, I was underbidder.
Blue’s Queen (Rhythm-The Baggy Green) – unplaced at her only start, trainer Tony Vasil. $145,000, again underbidder.
Just for the record, those yet to race are:
Zuhoor (Lonhro-Nesnas), trainer Gai Waterhouse, $200,000 (an Emirates Park buy-back).
Saranah Gold (Encosta de Lago-Plaisir d’Amour), trainer Peter Moody, $450,000.
Sweet Inspirations (Flying Spur-Baresque), trainer Gary Portelli, $100,000.
Miss Baker (Reset-Broadway Dance), trainer Bart Cummings, $140,000.
Cavities (Lonhro-De Lollies), trainer John O’Shea, $250,000.
You needed merely a cool $2,795,000 to buy these nine. A bit beyond me but apparently no problem to some people. However, they did range from $100,000 to Merlene de Lago’s $775,000.
I haven’t seen a single Magic Millions yearling yet (not one of the 1,811) but am scheduled to lob there next Sunday and am getting emotionally prepared for the experience.
Last year I stayed until the final Day Eight, only to get knocked off by Kevin O’Brien and Ron Maund on the filly I stayed back for. I’ve done the sensible thing this year and booked out after day four. If I can’t find a good horse in the first 900 I don’t want to know. I'm sure there will be good horses amongst the remaining 911, but how can a mere mortal get to see them all? There are another 1,230 to come in Sydney!
Magic Millions have very kindly sent me two interleaved catalogues. The first contains the first five days’ selling, the second contains the next three. The first book is 7.5 cms thick and weighs more than my kitchen scales can handle.
I can’t wait to see Gai’s version once she’s stuck in all her data labels.
Bike? Check. Glasses? Check.
Tilly, super cool biker chick.
Melbourne Underbelly?
Looks like it, but actually the Main Man at 'Orange' ... if great coffee, fine food, sumptuous wines, funky atmosphere and fab service are your go, 'Orange' at the Windsor end of Chapel St, Melbourne, is the place. Ask for Anthony and tell him his old man sent you.
SOME RECENT PURCHASES and RECOMMENDATIONS
Thousand Guineas Prelude winner Ortensia, trainer Tony Noonan. Love those nostrils and ears (the filly's).
Fastnet Rock/Rare Insight 2YO colt. Tr J O'Shea
Danzero/Global Dance 2YO colt. Tr G Waterhouse
Canadian 2YO stakeswinner and young broodmare Chelsey's Image (Holy Bull-Lucky Chelsey), in foal to Dylan Thomas (Ire)
Golan/Double Owe 2YO colt, named Double Whisky. Tr C Waller
Redoute's Choice/Volted In 2YO filly. Tr G Waterhouse
Hussonet/Portrayal 2YO filly, named Bolocco Miss. Tr C Waller
Anabaa/Regal Fun 2YO colt. Tr C Waller.
High Chaparral, sire of the Kaapentyne 2YO colt. Tr C Little.
More Than Ready/Rachael's Pride 2YO colt, named Our Corsa. Tr C Waller
Charge Forward/Zerlina 2YO filly, named Passing By. Tr Robert Price
A P Indy's successful sire son Malibu Moon, sire of USA stakeswinner and young broodmare Grant's Moon, booked to Show A Heart.
USA stakeswinner and young broodmare Les Ry Leigh (Broken Vow-Azusa), in foal to Rock Of Gibraltar (Ire)
Hussonet's G1 winning 2YO champion filly La Chiflota
Group winner Rockwood (Rock Of Gibraltar-Foxwood, by Centaine). Tr G Waterhouse
Gr 1 winning mare Absolut Glam (Snowland-Pine Away, by Pine Bluff). Tr D O'Brien.
7 comments:
Don't s'pose you want to publish your list of colts, Steve?
Happy to put my knackers on the line, I've only my reputation to lose (what reputation?). My 8.5s, in ascending order of cost:
Safe Sanctuary (Iglesia-So In Need), $150,000 - David Hayes, well beaten in 2 starts.
Secret Savings-Zenaat, $230,000 - went to South Africa.
General Nediym-Dulcinea, $250,000 - don't know what's happened to it.
Oracy (Zabeel-Lady Dehere), $400,000 - in South Africa.
Earthwatch (Exceed And Excel-Biscay Bird), $460,000 - Lee Freedman, last at only start.
Fist Of Fury (Hussonet-Venticello), $470,000 - John O'Shea, unraced.
Bid Spotter (Redoute's Choice-Isolda), $850,000 - Graeme Rogerson, 3rd in Breeders' Plate only start.
Grande Jardin (Redoute's Choice-Liberty Rose), $1.5 million - Lee Freedman, 2nd, stakes-placed, only start.
It should be appreciated that in any rating system involving so many candidates (about 500 colts) there will be many others rated plenty good enough - there's more than half a dozen good horses in a sale that big! So in terms of buying my choices wouldn't be restricted to just those eight (even if I did have a big budget). Amongst the many others I was perfectly happy with were Geared Up (Testa Rossa-Certain), $100,000 - which I bought - and Mr Profumo (Falvelon-Kiss And Covert), $80,000, which I didn't.
I didn't have Sebring in my top list, but I wasn't alone in that. You've got to get up early to beat Gai.
Much appreciated, Steve. I'm very interested in what attributes in a yearling push various buyers' buttons.
If I could prevail further upon you, and for my own edification, do you happen to have your ratings for lots 44, 89, 94, 136, 173, 181, 204 and 249 handy?
To make any sense of my ratings you have to know that my bottom number is not 0, it is 4.0 - 4 is the Chinese death number and a horse rating 4.0 is one that's alive and little else. Invariably it takes a 7.5 to get me keenly interested, it's what I call my "buy line". So a 7.0 is for me a nice average horse with some detractions, anything below that is on a slippery slope. But back to your numbers: 44-7.0; 89-7.0; 94-8.0; 136-7.0; 173-7.0; 181-7.0; 204-6.5; 249-6.5. Why are these horses of particular interest to you?
Just looked back over my list from last year - or rather my trainer's 'on type' list, and was interested to compare his notes with yours.
I didn't see any of them before they went through the ring, but ended up with a piece of a couple.
I had about 10 marked myself, with my only claim to fame so far being that one of them was All American.
All American was above my buy-line. My client was as enthusiastic about his pedigree as I was about his type and we were set to bid on him until we received a veterinary opinion which deflected us. He's a damn good horse. C'est la vie. You have to hand it to Singo - he may have all the money to do what the heck he likes, but he's doing it very well.
hi just wondering if you rated any horses at the 2009 inglis premier sale in melbourne?
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