Moodie Brings His Contract Racing Team Back In-House Under Ellerton
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
INDUSTRY NEWS SALES NEWS ANOTHER TOP LOT FOR TRIBUTES FLOW DEEP FIELD AND CAPITALIST BOHERGUY STUD AS FOR BOB INGHAM COLTS STOP CLOCK AT BROTHER TO NEW TREASURE - PAGE 9 TAUPO - PAGE 10 BRINGS £190,000 - PAGE 11 Thursday, September 24, 2020 | Dedicated to the Australasian bloodstock industry - subscribe for free: Click here Moodie brings his Contract Read Tomorrow's Issue For: Racing team back in-house Maiden of the Week What's on under Ellerton and Zahra Race meetings: Hawkesbury (NSW), Brazen Beau colt lands Darley Spring Preview in first payoff of Lismore (NSW), Sale (VIC), Ipswich (QLD), remodelled business Woodville (NZ) Barrier trials / Jump-outs: Lismore (NSW), Flemington (VIC), Oakbank (SA) International meetings: Newmarket (UK), Pontefract (UK), Kempton (UK), Listowel (IRE), Turffontein (SAF) International Group races: Newmarket (UK) - Tattersalls Stakes (Gr 3, 7f) International sales: Hokkaido September Sale (JPN), Keeneland September Yearling Sale Books 3-6 (USA) General Beau AAP Mathew Ellerton and Simon Zahra, elected to BY TIM ROWE | @ANZ_NEWS MORNING BRIEFING retain his entire 2018 foal crop rather than put welve months ago David Moodie, some through the yearling sales and put them Monday trial for Nature Strip one of Australia’s most successful all in work at Flemington. The Everest (1200m) favourite Nature Strip owner-breeders for at least three The first dividend from that decision was paid (Nicconi) will have a barrier trial decades, was assessing his new yesterday when two-year-old colt General Beau on Monday before taking his seasonT crop of about 30 yearlings when he (Brazen Beau) emphatically took out the Darley chance in the Premiere determined to return to the formula which had Spring Preview (900m) at Flemington, stamping Stakes (Gr 2, 1200m) at been so successful in the 1990s and early 2000s. himself as a leading hope in Saturday week’s Randwick five days later The prolific Victorian breeder, in Maribyrnong Trial Stakes (Listed, 1000m) in the his trainer Chris Waller has consultation with Group 1-winning trainers process. Continued on page 2>> revealed. Morning Briefing page 5 >> Follow us @anz_news | 1 | Brought to you by Moodie brings his Contract Racing team back in-house | 2 | Thursday, September 24, 2020 << Continued from page 1 General Beau won Australasia’s opening Moodie’s colours of two-year-old race of the season by two and a quarter lengths over Finance Tycoon lime, purple and gold braces (Written Tycoon) and first season southern hemisphere-bred Frosted (Tapit) filly and armbands have been The Globe, who was another three quarters of a length away in third. synonymous with Victorian Moodie, in an interview with ANZ Bloodstock News after General racing, worn by the likes of Beau’s success, revealed that his Contract Racing business had undergone Blue Diamond Stakes (Gr 1, a change in direction after putting a number of his crop of foals born each 1200m) winner Paint (Raami), year on the market. elite sprinter Miss Kournikova “Interestingly, we did (sell yearlings) for the last ten years but I sat down (Mr Greeley), Spectatorial with Simon and Mathew a year ago and said, ‘look, I want to go back to the (Spectrum), Casual Pass grassroots where we started and we’re going to keep all the current crop of (Snippets), Black Bean (Raami) yearlings’ which are now two- and Sunburnt Land (Scenic). year-olds for the first time in He also took out the 2016 David Moodie GETTY IMAGES WE’VE GOT 30-ODD probably ten years,” Moodie said. William Reid Stakes (Gr 1, TWO-YEAR-OLDS IN THE “We’ve got 30-odd two-year- 1200m) with Flamberge (Exceed And Excel), trainer Peter Moody’s last SYSTEM AND WE’RE olds in the system and we’re off Group 1 win before bowing out of the game for an extended period. OFF TO A GOOD START. to a good start. We’re not going Pressed yesterday on the reasoning for keeping the Contract Racing THAT’S ABOUT THE to keep that record up, that’s for horses with Ellerton Zahra Racing, Moodie said: “At the end of the day, BEST STRIKE-RATE YOU sure, but hopefully there’ll be we decided what we used to do, we used to do quite well and had a lot three or four that come out of it of success over the years. Then, we branched out and started selling CAN HOPE FOR. that are highly competitive. yearlings and spreading horses around. - DAVID MOODIE “That’s about the best strike- “It was OK, but I’ve gone back to the model that worked from the very first rate you can hope for.” days of Hobsons Lodge we’re it’s all kept in-house. Continued on page 4>> “We will prepare him for the Breeders’ Plate. Kerrin McEvoy really liked his action and felt really good when he lengthened out and he called up to secure the ride on him as well, which is good and a nice endorsement from Kerrin.” Follow us @anz_news | 2 | Brought to you by Moodie brings his Contract Racing team back in-house | 4 | Thursday, September 24, 2020 << Continued from page 2 “There’s only two trainers now, Mathew and Simon. We’ve kept all the current crop of two-year-olds and they’re all being trained by the one (team). I still own a third of that business, so it all made sense.” Part of the “remodelling” is the upgrading and use of Moodie’s Yungaburra property at Newham near Mount Macedon to become a full-scale training facility as an adjunct to on-course stabling at Flemington. “There was pressure building as I had to make the decision whether to sell yearlings or not and I decided I was going to keep them all, (Ellerton and Zahra) are going to train them all and we’re going to set the farm up as a training facility as well, which we’ve done,” he said. “We’ve rebuilt the track, so we’ve effectively gone from 70 horses Brazen Beau DARLEY in work to 100-and-something with the aim of getting back into the top echelon of the trainers’ ranks. placed Double Jeopardy (Exceed And Excel) and a daughter of high-class “It’s still predominantly used for pre-training, with horses doing their Group 3-winning mare Nediym’s Glow (General Nediym). first month or five weeks here, but we can race out of here and we are One of about 50 broodmares owned by Moodie, Phosphorescence has already racing them out of here.” a yearling filly by Nicconi (Bianconi), her fifth foal, and a Shamus Award The first sign that Moodie’s conviction to revert to the “Hobsons (Snitzel) colt who was born a fortnight ago after being “zip from three”. Lodge days” became apparent about four weeks ago when the intensity of The potential turnaround in fortunes in the breeding career of General Beau’s training was increased, prompting Ellerton and Zahra to Phosphorescence has caught Moodie by surprise, so much so, he was put a bit of a rap on him. contemplating selling her only months ago. “He’s a nice horse and always has been. It’s very difficult to find those “The first three out of the mare haven’t set the world on fire. The horses who are up and ready at Canford Cliffs (Candescence) had a little bit of ability but he was difficult this time of year. They are one in mentally. The second horse (Sunlit Storm) was too big in a way. He was a HE’S A NICE HORSE 100, so he’s that sort of horse,” huge horse and he had that against him and he couldn’t get it together. AND ALWAYS HAS the former Racing Victoria “The third horse (Street Glow) is a little bit the same and all of a sudden BEEN. IT’S VERY chairman declared. she seems to have turned the corner. She was always a lovely horse, and DIFFICULT TO FIND “They’ve had a rap on him the Nicconi yearling is probably our best filly type wise (on the farm). THOSE HORSES WHO for a month, I suppose. He just “She’s also just had a foal (by Shamus Award) who is a good sort, so ARE UP AND READY AT started doing everything right. she’s got three not-so-good sorts to three very good sorts.” He is a beautiful animal.” She will return to Brazen Beau (I Am Invincible) this year while THIS TIME OF YEAR. From a long-time Contract Moodie, who has had a strong relationship with Darley for many years, THEY ARE ONE IN 100, Racing family, General Beau is will support two of its high-profile shuttle stallions this year in Too Darn SO HE’S THAT SORT OF a son of the Lonhro (Octagonal) Hot (Dubawi) and Blue Point (Shamardal). HORSE - DAVID MOODIE mare Phosphorescence who in He is also sending mares to Coolmore shuttler Churchill (Galileo) this turn is a half-sister to the stakes- year. Follow us @anz_news | 4 | Brought to you by Morning Briefing -Sponsored by Woodside Park Stud Thursday, September 24, 2020 2020 VIRTUAL ONLINE STALLION PARADE NOW MORNING BRIEFING Golden Rose Stakes (Gr 1, 1400m). A field of Oliver to ride AUSTRALIA nine will tackle the Rosehill feature with six of Vow And Declare Monday trial for Nature Strip them coming out of The Run To The Rose (Gr 2, 1200m), a race in which King’s Legacy trailed in last of the seven runners. The first three home in that race Rothfire (Rothesay), Ole Kirk (Written Tycoon) and North Pacific (Brazen Beau) all reoppose, and while Snowden rates Rothfire as a deserved favourite, he believes the Golden Rose will be a different style of race.