Aussies Explode Into New Year With Trifectas in NZ
12-01-2012
IT IS DOUBTFUL that the Australian breed has ever before got off to such as an explosive start to a new year overseas as it did at Ellerslie, Auckland, New Zealand on Sunday, day one of 2012. It saw Australian sired horses fill the trifectas in two major events over 1200m, the wfa Group1 Railway Stakes and Group 3 Eclipse Stakes, their first Group event of the racing year for juveniles.
The biggest triumph on the Ellerslie program was the game victory from a wide gate under top weight of the Australian bred, owned and trained Atomic Force in the historic Railway. Also overcoming a tardy start, the 6-year-old gelding by one of Coolmore’s leading dual hemisphere sires, Danehill Dancer, was appearing for the 36th time, recording his eleventh win and taking his earnings over $850,000. He had scored a big win in the Group1 The Galaxy at Randwick last April.
A three-quarter brother to a Hidden Dragon August 11 foaled filly who is lot 303 in the consignment from Robyn Wise in the catalogue for the Magic Millions yearling sale which kicks off at the Gold Coast on January 11, Atomic Force was bred by G.I. and K.E. Warfield, Back Plains, Darling Downs using the high class Luskin Star Sydney 2-year-old Show of Force. She is from a half-sister to Encounter, winner of six Group1 races, the AJC Champagne Stakes, Sires’ Produce Stakes, George Main Stakes, Chipping Norton Stakes, MRC Caulfield Guineas and Futurity Stakes, and a nostril second in the Golden Slipper.
Sold through the Raheen stud for $50,000 at the 2007 January series at the Gold Coast, Atomic Force is another good advertisement for the judgement of Dean Watt, the Director and Responsible Officer for the longtime Sydney based Dynamic Syndications. He has Atomic Force in the stables of prominent Newcastle trainer Darren Smith.
The second Australian bred visitor to win the Railway in the past three years, preceded by the Hussonet gelding Gold Trail in 2010, Atomic Force scored by a half length from runner up The Hombre, a gelded son of the Widden stud based Danehill sire Lucky Owners. He was1.8 lengths ahead of third placed Twilight Savings, a mare bred on a cross of Emirates Park stud, Hunter Valley sires, Secret Savings (deceased) and Danewin. The Hombre was bred in NSW by P.Yip and Twilight Savings was got at Emirates Park, but foaled in New Zealand. Both horses are based in New Zealand.
Warhorse, the General Nediym colt, who won the Eclipse Stakes for juveniles by 2.5 lengths, and runner up Irish Rebel, a colt by the same sire as Atomic Force, Danehill Dancer, were also New Zealand produced foals sired in Australia. Sold for $100,000 at the New Zealand yearling sales, Warhorse was got at the Widden stud in the last crop of General Nediym, sire also of Marechal, the fourth placegetter in the Eclipse. She was also produced in New Zealand, but the third placed Magic Shaft was bred in NSW by D.A. Blair and sold through Inglis to our friends across the Tasman for $26,000. He is from the first crop of Shaft, a Flying Spur Silver Slipper winner located at Darley, Hunter Valley.
Eclipse winning Warhorse is from Rathlin Island, a half-sister to the Danehill sire California Dane (Baerami stud, Hunter Valley) and one of the early mares supplied in Australia by the Storm Cat superstar Giant’s Causeway, a visitor to Coolmore for three seasons, 2002-04. From his home at Coolmore’s Ashford Stud in Kentucky, Giant’s Causeway has become recognised as one of the world’s best sires of this time.
Courtesy of Brian Russell Bloodstock Media Service
