School Blue Produces Very Good Punches
24-01-2012
PUNCH ON, the filly by the Darley shuttled Ireland bred Danehill sire Tiger Hill bought for $16,000 out of the Basil Nolan Raheen stud draft at the 2010 Magic Millions Queensland breeders yearling sale, the QTIS 600 series, who beat off another Queenslander, the Easy Rocking gelding Easy Running, to nose to victory in this year’s running of the million dollar Gold Coast Magic Millions 3YO Guineas (1400m), is the second of the offspring of the broodmare School Blue to pack a punch on the local racecourse.
The other is her four years older half-brother Punch Up, a son of the Australian bred Sunday Silence sire Sunday Knight who so far has won six of forty starts. He won at the Gold Coast at his first two appearances and later registered four in Brisbane. Both Punch Up, a $10,000 Gold Coast yearling, and Punch On were shrewd buys for their part owner and trainer Peter Balzen of the Gold Coast.Their success will no doubt see Balzen and co-owners T. Ware, J. Grover and Mrs B. White keen to add their younger half-brother when he is presented through Raheen at this year’s QTIS 600 Sale, one to be held at the Gold Coast March 18-19.
He is one of 20 Raheen yearlings in the catalogue by their new sire Publishing, a Testa Rossa winner of six races1200-1400m, including the Standish at Flemington and the Carlyon Cup at Caulfield. Now raced on 12 occasions, Punch On was primed for this year’s Guineas with two good stakes efforts at Doomben in December, a neck second in the Mode Stakes and then a win in the Vo Rogue Plate. She is the fourth runner and winner for School Blue, an unraced daughter of the Mr. Prospector sire Geiger Counter and Blue Feather, and unraced Sadler’s Wells mare who managed one winner from eight foals. Geiger Counter is a half-brother to Special, grandam of Sadler’s Wells. Punch On, Punch Up and also School Rumble (by Sequalo), a $30,000 Inglis Classic yearling who was a handy sprinter in Perth, were all bred by Bill Duncan Bloodstock. He bought School Blue carrying the foal that was to become Punch Up for only $10,000 at the Magic Millions National sale at the Gold Coast.
Tiger Hill, the sire of Punch On and 60 other winners to date from four visits, 2005-08, to Darley in the Hunter Valley, is an Ireland bred son of Danehill who was a champion at three and four in Germany, being at his best at 2400m. He won ten races in Germany and crossed to France for a second in the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud and a third in the Prix de l’Arc deTriomphe. Headquartered in Germany, he has included among his European performers Rewilding (Group1 winner England, Dubai, third English Derby), Iota (won German Oaks) and Toughness Danon (third German Derby).
Courtesy of Brian Russell Bloodstock Media Service
