There may only have been 17 two-year-olds who trialled at Rosehill this morning but there were a few good ones amongst them.
My interest in particular was in Wanted (2c Fastnet Rock-Fragmentation, by Snippets) which won the first of the heats.
Wanted is rather a prophetic name for the colt. I had the displeasure of being the underbidder on him at the Easter Sale last April.
He went for $800,000. Little doubt in my mind that he was the most imposing colt in the sale. Got knocked off by John Hawkes who it turns out bought him for the quixotic Eddie Hayson. Well done, Eddie, at last you’ve got yourself a proper horse. He trialled like a machine.
Wanted was bred by Ron and Deb Gilbert at Highgrove on the Darling Downs. Ron builds houses but he also builds beautiful horses (only one letter different). The previous Easter I thought his Falbrav colt was the standout horse on offer and said so in this blog, before he raced as Fravashi (see The Long Distance Curse, April 6).
If you’ve been looking at my sidebar photos, you’ll see I bought another Fastnet Rock colt for $800,000, out of Rare Insight (NZ), (by O’Reilly (NZ)), the equal top priced yearling by the sire along with Wanted. I had to knock off John Hawkes to get him.
If you’d have asked me before the sale if I was going to be all over Fastnet Rock (pictured above) I would have scoffed at you. I don’t get hung up on stallions, especially unproven ones. But that was the way things worked out. Whilst he had some clunkers, I was vastly impressed with the best of them. Their temperaments were superb.
I’ve written before that after inspecting the offerings I could usually forecast which horses Woodlands were going to buy when J Hawkes was in the chair. John wanted to buy both these colts, just as my client and I did.
Instead of opening our shoulders, shutting our eyes and bidding until there was no tomorrow on the Fragmentation colt (Wanted), we were doing mental gymnastics about how much to buy the pair etc, instead of concentrating on getting the first job done.
The Fragmentation and Rare Insight colts were quite different types of horses. They were with different vendors but were in the same little alleyway at the sales. Anyway, we determined we weren’t going to miss him, and didn’t. He’s grown about three inches in the last few months. He has a lot of the characteristics of his female line, plenty of quality and scope, but a later-maturing type than Wanted who is very ready-made which is the type of horse my client usually likes to buy. Such a horse was Fist Of Fury (Hussonet (USA)-Venticello, by Chimes Square) at the 2007 Magic Millions. Beautifully balanced and developed, he scored an 8.5 with me which means he’s an honourary member of the Holy Trinity, and, presciently, as a kind of wish-list, I even wrote my client’s name on the catalogue page. However, he was overseas at the time and didn’t take part but I doubt I would have been brave enough to top the $470,000 that was given for the colt. That looked serious money. Telepathic that my client should ask me about him later.
The other two-year-old which trialled at Rosehill with plenty in reserve was Little Surfer Girl (2f Encosta de Lago-Special Harmony, by Spinning World (USA)) which we have seen go around on a previous occasion. She may be one of the first of the new wave to wear cerise on raceday. She was second in her trial which was slowly run but she was barely out of idle. You don’t have to be a genius to buy a filly like her at the sales ($1.5 million), being by a champion sire out of such a terrific racemare, but it helps if you are a rich genius. Significantly she looked every bit as good as her page; she was another 8.5.
It may seem somewhat naive to be ramping up a couple of very expensive two-year-olds, especially after less than twenty-grander Whobegotyou has thumped the three-year-olds. But you can’t blame horses for the prices humans decide to pay for them and it just so happens that Wanted and Little Surfer Girl look the part – not just cosmetically but mechanically and athletically - cost heaps, and can run, evidently. Like Fist Of Fury, Samantha Miss, Time Thief, Wilander and a growing list of others of late. Sometimes you just get it right.
7 comments:
Steve I would be interested in what your notes said about Whobegotyou as a yearling?
I never saw him. My only brief at that sale was to look at fillies and colts by a specific range of sires, Commands, Giant's Causeway, More Than Ready, Tale Of The Cat, Mossman, General Nediym, Brief Truce, Red Ransom, Danewin, Rhythm, Rock Of Gibraltar, Arena, Flying Spur, Show A Heart, Danzero and Falvelon - all pretty much proven horses at the time. So I didn't see well over half the catalogue. Wish I had seen them all! I made two poor selections. Most of the Street Crys have been on the plain side, like they'd look good at Harold Park, and they didn't look particularly early. But as I keep saying to people who can't get 2YO stars out of their eyes, who gives a rat's if Weekend Hussler and Whobegotyou didn't win the Golden Slipper? No one's slitting their wrists over that now.
Don't profess to be much help to you but I saw him and cleverly managed to avoid him. My notes actually said..."good bone, mature colt (Aug foal) with an unsightly, swollen off fore."
Never had him vetted so perhaps another punter could shed more light.
The Rare Insight colt was as nice a yearling as I saw all year. The dam was top-class, much better than her bare form reads. Have looked at Fastnet Rock every year he has been at stud. I think he may be the ugliest horse I have seen in ages. He has a head that only a mother could love. Reminds me of someone, no not you Steve, Trissaro perhaps?
And there's Gallica, with her leg on backwards. When I was still at Gai's, we bought her older half-sister by Red Ransom at Magic Millions in 2004 ($145,000). She was fairly tidy in front but may have had some early help, but she turned in her near hind foot to a fair degree. Named Swing Session, she had 8 starts for 4 placings and believe it or not was sold off for just $22,000 at the Gold Coast in June, in foal to Danasinga. Someone's got themselves a lovely cheap mare. (Moral of the story - never sell a mare which has a Redoute's half-sibling still to run). To Anonymous, Fastnet Rock never won a beauty contest but some of his offspring do, so the mares must be influencing that. I'm quite happy to put my head forward as something less than a work of art. In the equine department, I've never forgotten a horse I saw 40 years ago in NZ named Bob's Your Uncle, by High Rank (GB)-Bella Luna, by Belvedere (Ire). He was the ugliest sonofogun in captivity, he made The Elephant Man look like Claudia Schiffer. Surely none of my readers would remember him?
If your eyesight is on a par with mine (which borders on lousy) then, in some photos, you can still see the blemish Jamie mentions on the outside of the cannon above W's off fore fetlock.
That's fascinating detail, jh. We really get down to the nitty-gritty on this blog. The whole damned game is a lottery - luck, skill and risk in uncertain quantities. It's clear to me that not only does one need good eyesight but the Third Eye as well. I wonder why he was named Whobegotyou?
Post a Comment