Sunday, May 10, 2020 | Dedicated to the Australasian bloodstock industry - subscribe for free: Click here Northern hemisphere Read Tomorrow's Issue For: The Week Ahead gamble pays off with What's on Race meetings: Wagga (NSW), Russian Camelot Wellington (NSW), Ballarat (VIC), Toowoomba (QLD), Kalgoorlie (WA) O’Brien’s European-bred colt takes out South Australian Derby in Barrier trials/ Jump-outs: Wagga (NSW), brilliant fashion Wellington (NSW) International meetings: Tokyo (JPN), Kyoto (JPN), Niigata (JPN) International Group races: Tokyo (JPN) - NHK Mile Cup (Gr 1, 1600m). Niigata (JPN) - Niigata Daishoten (Gr 3, 2000m) Sales: Inglis Australian Broodmare Sale (Online) immediately with Russian Camelot, a lightly- LATEST NEWS FROM THE WEEKEND'S RACING raced colt, now one of the most promising middle-distance horses in the country. Russian Camelot ATKINS PHOTOGRAPHY Born on March 29, 2017, and giving away The disappointment of being beaten to the about six months in age to his Derby rivals, BY TIM ROWE | @ANZ_NEWS punch by the fellow Australian partnership Russian Camelot also became the first northern he genesis of the startling South for Schabau, who incidentally is undefeated hemisphere-bred three-year-old to win a Australian Derby (Gr 1, 2500m) after three starts at Flemington last year, led to Classic in Australia. win by Russian Camelot (Camelot) Victorian trainer Danny O’Brien and UK agent “What he has done is extraordinary and it’s yesterday came more than two Jeremy Brummitt embarking on an ambitious a bit naive to think that you’re going to buy an yearsT ago when connections of the northern plan to source European yearlings to race extraordinary horse every year. The age gap is hemisphere-bred three-year-old were trumped Down Under. significant and it is naive to think that you could by another syndicate who were also attempting With the backing of principal owner overcome it with every yearling you send down to buy promising German horse Schabau John Wheeler, O’Brien’s and Brummitt’s raid there,” Brummitt told ANZ Bloodstock News (Pastorius). on European yearlings has paid off almost last night. Continued on page 2>> Follow us @anz_news | 1 | Brought to you by Northern hemisphere gamble pays off with Russian Camelot | 2 | Sunday, May 10, 2020 << Continued from page 1 “I think it’s an unusual circumstance of the best horsemen in Ireland,” and it’s been very cleverly handled in that Danny didn’t really test that he said. maturity until close to the end of his three-year-old season. Apart from the initial “He’s going to kick over as a four-year-old in a couple of months and selection process, one key he’s left it as late as possible to try and get him up in distance. element Brummitt believes has “It’s not that punishing to go for a mile and half if you’re in second been crucial in the success of gear for a mile and a quarter.” Russian Camelot is the fact that Brummitt bought Russian Camelot from Ireland’s Camas Park Stud he was broken-in in Australia. for 120,000gns (approximately AUD$240,000) from Book 1 of the 2018 “I think that is an interesting Tattersalls October Yearling Sale on behalf of O’Brien’s clients who point. I thought it might make harboured the desire to bring him to Australia unraced. more sense to break them in here The agent takes up the Russian Camelot tale from there. (in the UK) and use their residual Jeremy Brummitt TATTERSALLS “Danny had asked me to go and find him a (tried) horse and for a year fitness from the sales, but Danny I was looking and finally I found Schabau, but then we were outbid on was keen to get them down there as soon as possible and do the whole him. When we were outbid on Schabau, I convinced Danny to buy some process there and it’s obviously worked,” he said. ‘undamaged goods’ and so we bought two that year and we bought three “He’s got three two-year-olds (from Europe) and they are all where last year. I now hope that we might be at the sales this year, too.” you would want them to be at this stage. The down-to-earth Brummitt was not laying claim to being a genius “They could be as slow as a tugboat or another Russian Camelot, by any means when asked about how he identified Russian Camelot, who but the process has worked very well in terms of acclimatisation and was Lot 441 at the October sale. maturation of those horses, so I don’t think we’ll be changing the formula.” “I try very hard to avoid the things that agents normally trot out about The current two-year-olds in Victoria under O’Brien’s care are by a good horse, but I thought he was very athletic, very balanced and he Australia (Galileo), Sea The Stars (Cape Cross) and another Camelot clearly had a lot of scope to improve and he came off a farm (run by) one (Montjeu). Continued on page 4>> Tattersalls October 1 Derby Winner RUSSIAN CAMELOT SOUTH AUSTRALIAN DERBY, Gr. 1 sold Tattersalls October Yearling Sale, Book 1 Camas Park Stud by Next Sale: Craven Breeze Up Sale June 23 to Jeremy Brummitt Contingency Breeze: Week beginning Monday 8th June for 120,000 gns in IRE and UK Jenny McAlpine Tel:+61 411 504803 [email protected] www.tattersalls.com Follow us @anz_news | 2 | Brought to you by AUSTRALIAN BROODMARE SALE JUSTIFY THE AUTUMN SUN FIRST PREGNANCIES TO EXCITING YOUNG SIRES SUCH AS... Ace High • Brave Smash • Encryption • Grunt • Harry Angel • Justify Lean Mean Machine • Mendelssohn • Real Steel • Santos • Saxon Warrior Showtime • Prized Icon • Written By • The Autumn Sun • Trapeze Artist BRAVE SMASH TRAPEZE ARTIST AUSTRALIAN BROODMARE SALE inglis.com.au Northern hemisphere gamble pays off with Russian Camelot | 4 | Sunday, May 10, 2020 << Continued from page 2 Brummitt said: “I am very lucky to scratched at the barriers in a Melbourne city race, forcing O’Brien to take work with such a supportive sponsor as Danny O’Brien and John Wheeler. the colt to Pakenham where he scored a comprehensive seven-length win I appreciate working with two people who let me get on with the job.” before he again missed a key lead-up race due to a minor throat infection The agent also predicted that the best may be ahead for Russian and poor blood count. Camelot and did not rule out the colt becoming an elite contender over Jockey John Allen undertook two weeks of isolation in Adelaide to shorter distances. ensure he could ride Russian Camelot after regular jockey Damien Oliver “I have no doubt that when he matures that he will be quick enough at declined the offer due to the coronavirus restrictions. a mile against the opposition in Australia,” he said. "When I got offered this ride it became a bigger carrot to head to “Horses don’t get quicker with age; they get stronger and more mature. Adelaide," Allen said. Mentally, he’s too immature for them to chase him into the bridle and ask "Danny filled me with confidence. He said ride this horse like the him to run as fast as he can, but once he’s got more time under his belt and best horse. He was confident if he was close enough on the corner that he he’s a more seasoned racer, I think Danny will be able to pull him back to would have a better turn of foot. shorter distances and have him travel a bit closer in the run. "It proved that way. He was just the superior horse. Obviously he's an “I am not suggesting there’s anything inherently more valuable about exceptional horse. A lot has been made about his preparation but I think that, but a lot of people think they can only step up in distance as they get the bigger factor is he’s still six months younger than all these horses. older. You have to train the mind as well as the body and if you’ve got the "If he can beat them now and he's only just turned three, imagine mind right they can often step back.” what he can do in six months or a year’s time." Dalasan’s jockey, Jason Holder, said the winner was just too good for ‘Derby win very satisfying’ the Leon Macdonald and Andrew Gluyas-trained colt. Russian Camelot ($2.90 favourite) defeated Dalasan (Dalakhani) “We had a nice run in transit and presented to win, but the other horse ($3.80) by one and three-quarter lengths with Victoria Derby (Gr 1, 2500m) was too good,” Holder told Racing.com. winner Warning (Declaration Of War) another length away in third. Damien Thornton, who was attempting to ride his second Group "Obviously we're really excited. He's a horse that we've had a huge 1 winner in as many weeks after Toffee Tongue (Tavistock) landed the opinion of," O'Brien said. Australasian Oaks (Gr 1, 2000m), said third-placed Warning was “honest”. "We've had him since he was a yearling and this was a race that we've been “I would have liked to get rolling earlier, but the best horse won,” the aiming him at for the better part of 12 months. He's turned up and delivered. Victorian jockey said. "It's very satisfying. It's never been done before - a northern Russian Camelot (3 c Camelot - Lady Babooshka by Cape Cross) has hemisphere horse has never won a Derby in Australia.