THE PETLEY REPORT (AUGUST 1 TO AUGUST 4): STAGE 4 RESTRICTIONS BUT RACING ALLOWED TO CONTINUE

By Jack Petley | Tuesday, August 4, 2020

Racing heads in Victoria were holding their breath when Premier Daniel Andrews held his press conference to lay down plans for the Stage 4 restrictions in the State … but they have now breathed a sigh of relief. At present, the industry will continue for the foreseeable future … but under very strict biosecurity protocols and with minimum participants. Phew!
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Keep an eye on Miss Divine, winner for Patrick Payne, last weekend at Moonee Valley. She has won three from four and the daughter of Super One looks to have the ability to go through the grades … but Payne, who had such a great day at the Sandown jumps meeting on Sunday, says he will not get too ambitious with the filly. Not yet. "Needs a little more time to strengthen," he said.
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It was a big day for the NZ bred jumper at the Sandown National meeting when the former South Island galloper Ablaze (by Raise the Flag) gained a brilliant end to end win in the National. Paddy Payne chimed in with that win with Slowpoke Rodriguez in the Crisp Steeplechase in the colours of ace Kiwi trainer Kevin Myers and then Francis Finnigan produced the NZ bred son of Mettre En Jeu, Wolfe Tone, for a decisive win in the lesser Hurdle event.
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The most impressive win there was that of Ablaze. He gave a faultless display of jumping from the front and his great stamina gained him that win with Bee Tee Junior closing late into second and the gallant Gobstopper, third. Star jumper Tallyho Twinkletoe faded to fifth under his big weight and he all but fell at the last fence but recovered, thankfully, for Steve Pateman.
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"I have never won a National Hurdle," said trainer Cairon Maher. "I got a great kick out of this. This has been phenomenal since coming over from New Zealand. He is a really neat horse." Now the Maher-Eustace star will head towards the Grand National Steeplechase where Ablaze will clash with Slowpoke Rodriguez and Tallyho Twinkletoe.
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Pateman said Slowpoke Rodriguez deserved to win a major. "He is an absolute dude of a horse," said the top jumps rider. Which Payne jumper will be ride in the Grand National? "I would lean towards Tallyho," he said. "He was awesome under his weight."
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And to add further to the NZ success the progressive galloper Tigre Royale, a bargain buy out of NZ, was successful for Archie Alexander and top rider Damian Lane. That win took his earnings to just under $200,000 and he cost a mere $8000 out of the Clearview Stud draft at the 2017 South Island yearling sale. "One of the easiest winners I have had here for a while," said Lane, just recently back from his highly successful foray on the Japanese scene.
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Bjorn Baker kicked off the new season with two winners at Randwick on the weekend, Kiss the Bride and Off Shaw. Baker had a very profitable 2019/20 season with 128 winners to his credit … 56 in the city. "Last season in terms of metro winners … it was a breakthrough for me," he told the NZ racing Desk." It might be hard to replicate this season but to get two on the first day of the new season is a real boost."
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Kiss the Bride is the first foal of I Do, who won 15 races including seven at stakes level with her most important win being the Makfi Challenge at Hastings. Baker went to $200,000 to take him out of the Karaka sale ring. "He didn't show me a lot early but he just keeps improving and it was a great ride by James McDonald." Baker was also full of praise for that win by Off Shaw, by Tobique and formerly with Bill Thurlow in New Zealand. "He is very genuine," he said of the NZ bred. The Kiwi is excited about his prospects for the new season and he says he has a "heap of young horse" in the stable. "It is an exciting time," he added.
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A host of star gallopers will be out at the trials at Rosehill today including Nature Strip, Master Crusader, Finche, Kinane, Verry Elleegant, Toffee Tongue and one of the star stayers of the last season, the Team Hawkes trained Master of Wine, already one of the favourites for the Cups in Melbourne.
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I note that Alligator Blood connections are looking at the WS Cox Plate and with that news the star galloper has been put at $15 for the Cox while he is already solid in the market for the Golden Eagle.
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There is no doubt in my mind that the four-year-old Catalyst will shine in Sydney this spring for Clayton Chipperfield and The Oaks Stud. The son of Darci Brahma ruled supreme in NZ last season and then in Melbourne made Alligator Blood pull out everything to beat him in the CS Hayes before the then three-year-old failed in the Guineas … but he had an excuse, he was feeling his joints. I am told he has come back in super order.
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Since being back in work Chipperfield told the NZ Racing Desk that Catalyst "is more switched on mentally "and the Te Awamutu trainer said he was looking forward to Australia with the top galloper. Catalyst will likely kick off in Sydney in the Shorts Handicap and then he will aim at the $500,000 Silver Eagle and the big one, the $7.5m Golden Eagle at Rosehill at the end of October … and he is also looking at maybe claiming a spot in the $15m Everest, so there is so much ahead for the galloper.
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There is another now four-year-old waiting in the wings who I feel will also make his mark in Sydney, namely Dragon Leap, who is with the strong Matamata yard of O'Sullivan-Scott and is owned by Hong Kong owners Heritage. He won the Avondale Guineas and the Auckland Guineas , but was just found wanting a little when finishing fourth in the Derby. Long-term the owners want him in HK but, beforehand, he will be in Sydney eyeing races like the Epsom Handicap and the $7.5m Golden Eagle. "Those are the two races we are hoping to get to, but he will have to perform to get into those," said Lance O'Siullivan of the son of Pierro. He added that the stable had the four-year-old to train this spring and then his future is HK, that is if he lifts his ratings.
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Dragon Leap will be joined in Sydney by the tough stayer Charles Road, already well known in the city having finished third in the Metropolitan Handicap and the St Leger. O'Sullivan said he will follow a similar path this spring. "He looks great and he is really coming up so well," said the former champion jockey.
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Another Hermitage owned galloper in the yard is the sprinter Spring Heat, winner of five of thirteen and aiming at the Railway at Ellerslie and the Telegraph at Trentham. The stable has yet to have a runner in NZ since it resumed but have Tweedledee, Divine Duke and Aero de Paris likely to run at Te Rapa on Saturday.
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And while on star Kiwis, I see that Melody Belle (a ten-time Group 1 winner) has opened up favourite for the Missile Stakes after that grand trials win. The star mare showed her readiness for major racing ahead in Australia when she came home hard at the end of the trial for Kerrin McEvoy to beat the top galloper Fierce Impact. Quackerjack was a solid third. Said trainer Jamie Richards, “She was out there to do a bit as she is an older mare now and she usually takes a run to come right.” There has been a solid entry for the race including Flit, Home Of the Brave, Kolding and the recent winner for his new trainer Joe Pride, Eduardo.
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Melody Belle’s stablemate Probabeel finished unplaced in her trial, but Richards said that while the mare, who will resume in the Show County Quality, was "outpaced a little … her last couple of hundred was very good."
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It has been a big season for Richards and Te Akau with the stable producing 12 Group 1 wins, nine in NZ, one in Melbourne and two in Sydney. When Advantage was successful in the Gr1 Bonecrusher Stakes at Ellerslie it was Richards' 32nd Gr1 win. "For a guy who is only 30 to have won 32 Gr1s, that is something special, "said Te Akau supremo, David Ellis. And Ellis is certainly looking forward to this season, with a strong team of young gallopers on hand, and a strong team to campaign in Australia under the care of travelling foreman, Ashley Handley. "We will be sending more horses over to her in the next week or so, "said Ellis.
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Big day for Kevin Myers yesterday at Awapuni winning five races including four of the five jumps races with Bakela, Ave Maria, Albaron and Napoleon … and on the flat with Aigne in the Parliamentary Handicap.
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The Auckland Racing Club has announced that it will be increasing stakes above the minimum levels for this season by contributing close to $1million of its own monies. "It gives the club great satisfaction to be able to offer stake top-ups for the season," said ARC Chief Executive, Paul Wilcox, who also announced that the Derby would retain a $1m stake, the Auckland Cup remains at $500,000 and the City of Auckland Cup, $200,000.
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Such bad luck for Windsor Park Stud with the death of the highly successful sire Rip Van Winkle following a short illness at the Cambridge property. He had just completed as wonderful season with his star gallopers including that fine galloper Te Akau Shark and the outstanding Shaune Ritchie trained filly Jennifer Eccles, the NZ oaks winner and due shortly to campaign in Australia. "It is a devastating blow for us and the industry losing a successful sire especially one who has enjoyed such success on the racetracks," said Windsor Park's Rodney Schick. "We can only look forward to the remaining crops to come and the impact his daughters are sure to make at stud."
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Rip Van Winkle, by Galileo, sired 31 individual stakes winners from 1200 metres to 2400 metres and sired Group one winners in all age categories. When trained by Aidan O'Brien he was twice named world champion miler with a Timeform rating of 134, the same as that achieved by his great sire.
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That was a big day for Mark Walker at Kranji on the weekend where he saddled five winners. He did recall that he had five before at the track … only to lose one when the winning jockey weighed in light … and he has also had five in his homeland when training out of Matamata for Te Akau. Walker’s winners were What You Like, I am Sacred, Sacred Don, Savvy Command and Amazing Choice with the Remarkable Stable group, made up of New Zealand friends of Walker. The day took Walker passed the 600 winner mark in Singapore, a notable milestone. Walker says that, with racing back on at Singapore, he almost has his staff numbers at full strength. "There have been some long and frustrating days,” said Walker, “but we are getting close to normality.".
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Big day for the UK rider William Buick at Goodwood a few days back, he rode four winners, three seconds and a fourth in eight rides. Wow.
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The brilliant Battaash smashed his own track record when he won the King George Qatar Stakes at Goodwood for the fourth successive year. The Charlie Hills galloper sizzled over the five furlongs to clock just under 56s. "He is a six-year-old now and he knows more about racing then most of us do," said Hills, who said the galloper is now likely to head to the Nunthorpe and then maybe the Breeders’ Cup."
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Frankie Dettori and John Gosden won the German Oaks with Miss Yoda.
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Meantime the news out of India is not that great. There are nine racetracks in the country and none have held meetings behind closed doors. I gather that there is hope that racing will be back up and running in a few weeks, but the financial standing of the sport is very poor.

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