Indholdsfortegnelse for December 2020 i Turf Monthly

As we mentioned, the dam of Grand Flaneur, First Lady was mated seven times in succession with Yattendon with Grand Flaneur the third of those. The first foal of First Lady was First Lord. He was a moderate racehorse running unplaced at two but winning the Free Handicap at the Sydney Tattersall’s Midwinter Meeting over 1200m. He raced in some of the better races as a 3yo including the Mares’ Produce but could not run a place. First Lord was entered for the Melbourne Cup but never made the trip south. He was sold to William Busby for 300 guineas and ended at stud where he produced the 1893 Queensland Cup winner, Avenue. Chatham traces back to Grand Flaneur’s sister Pareseusse who was the only full sibling of Grand Flaneur…

Malt King traces to Grand Flaneur through his dam, Patrona, a daughter of our Champion. He was among the greatest milers of his time winning six of his 12 stakes races over that journey. Malt King was a son of Malster, a winner of six stakes races including the AJC and VRC Derbies. The colt started his 2yo career with a third in a Nursery Stakes at Rosehill in November 1908. A spell saw him return to run second at Warwick Farm before he stepped out in the AJC Sires Produce. He was to run second in a field of 10 behind the wonderful galloper, Prince Foote with whom he was to have a good rivalry. At his final 2yo start two days later, Malt King turned the tables on…

Dalrello was the Queensland Horse Of The Year in 1974 and 1976, and runner up to Charlton Boy in 1975, but oddly never won any of the big Brisbane races. Instead, most of his success came in Sydney. Firstly though, Dalrello was by the imported Irish stallion Aloe, a son of Alycidon who also was to sire champion mare, Mode who won the Qld Grand Prix, Oaks and Brisbane Cup. Dalrello was out of a Widden bred mare called Deligraphy by the top racehorse, Delta and traced to the wonderful daughter of Grand Flaneur in Equation. He was bred by Ray Murdoch and Deligraphy was named the Broodmare of the Year in 1976. The mare had raced twice for a second in a Maiden at Charleville before winning at Barcoo…

Iglesia won six of his 22 starts in a career that kicked off as a January 2yo with a win at Rosehill. Within a month he had won the Silver Slipper before a brief let-up saw him taste defeat for the first time in the Todman behind Laurie’s Lottery. He drew 14 in the Golden Slipper and was back near the tail before finishing brilliantly to finish fourth behind Prowl. He struggled to fifth in the Champagne Stakes behind Dracula at his only start over a mile. Iglesia was off the scene for over a year and it was February 2000 before the colt was to record his next win, in a Welter at Rosehill. He transferred stables by the end of the year from Jack Denham to Russell Cameron…

The Melbourne Cup has been run and won again. The Irish visitor Twilight Payment is the first winner to have led all of the way since Might And Power in 1997. Part owned by Lloyd Williams, it was the seventh time that he has shared in the ownership of a Cup winner which is a truly amazing result. It was Twilight Payment’s eight win from his thirtieth start and his second in Australia having run in last year’s Cup. He was born in 2013, a son of Teofilo out of the Irish mare, Dream On Buddy by Oasis Dream. Twilight Payment had his first start in a race at Navan racetrack in Ireland. The 3yo finished fourth of eight in a 3yo maiden on 15 May 2016 beaten 2.5 lengths…

The champion racehorse added the Australian Champion Sires Title to his resume in 1894/95 and sired 23 stakes winners in total. He produced two Melbourne Cup winners in Bravo in 1889 and Patron in 1894. The Cup was Bravo’s only stakes win although he had performed well including twice running third in 1888 and 1889 Caulfield Cups while starting favourite both years. His win was also the first time that a Melbourne Cup winner had sired a Melbourne Cup winner. Bravo won seven of 12 races as a 2yo. He won the Members’ Handicap at Randwick and was taken to Melbourne for the Cup in 1886 won by Arsenal where he finished 11th. He was then sold to Mr WT Jones of Ballarat for 1000 guineas. He was out of…

On 14 June 1958, a 2yo filly named Wiggle entered the record books by becoming the first and only 2yo to win the major Brisbane sprint, the Stradbroke. She carried 7 stone 5 lbs (46.5kg) in the field of 18 beating the well fancied imported runner Yahabeebee. Wiggle started her career on 4 January that year running fourth at Canterbury. She won her next five starts including the Champagne Stakes in Sydney beating Mighty Kingdom and the TM Ahern in Brisbane. Wiggle was then unplaced in the Lightning in a field of 22 over the 1000m trip before her Stradbroke victory. She returned in the Spring to win the Hobartville before running third to Grey Ghost in the Chelmsford behind Prince Darius a week later. She went to Melbourne where…

Time And Tide was also gelded before his first start, and the slightly parrot mouthed gelding won at his first racetrack appearance in the Canonbury Stakes, a race also won by his older brother. He had his second start in the Debutante Stakes at Caulfield winning by a half-length from Arbitrator. Next up Time And Tide was beaten by champion filly, Heirloom in a head to head battle in the Maribyrnong Plate. Jockey George Moore dropped his whip inside the last furlong and many claim this made the difference in the end. He was beaten only a half-head in race record time. Time And Tide was sent for a spell and came out on 16 February to comfortably win a 2yo Handicap at Rosehill starting a 9/2 on. Harry Plant…

Horlicks started her career in New Zealand for owner Graham de Gruchy of Hastings on 30 December 1986 running second in a 1300m maiden. She won at her second start over the same distance, and was to have her first stakes win in the Dulcie Stakes in May 1987 at her eighth start. She was trained by Dave and Paul O’Sullivan and her regular rider was brother, Lance. She had won five stakes races before crossing the ditch and her first race in Australia was a good second to Our Poetic Prince in the Cox Plate of 1988, beating home another NZ favourite in Bonecrusher who finished third. She did not return to Australia for another year, this time winning the Mackinnon Stakes at her only start here en route…

Tommy Hales who was to become one of the first jockeys to be inducted to the Hall Of Fame was to use a 3 pound saddle on Grand Flaneur in the Cup and had carried some 28 pounds of lead to make up the additional weight in the Derby a few days before. Hales was reported in a Melbourne newspaper as saying that he considered Grand Flaneur the ideal racehorse who “would go as far as you wished and stay as long as you wanted him.” Hales was born in Portland, in the western district of Victoria in 1S47, but went to South Australia as a boy, living in Penola. His family tried to have him learn as a blacksmith, but after an unsuccessful stint he tried his hand at…

Sobar was one of the enigmas of Australian racing. For a time in his 3yo season, he was rated as the equal to the mighty Tulloch. Sadly a tendon injury saw him fail to recapture his form but he would show glimpses at times of what might have been. He started his career at Flemington in March of his 2yo season running second beaten only a short half head by Arabian Breeze when ridden by Len Hill. His second start came only a few weeks later when he won the Caulfield Orrong Handicap over 6 furlongs by an impressive three lengths when ridden by Harry White. Sobar had shown connections enough to give him a let up before setting him for a Spring Carnival with high hopes. Sobar returned to…

General Nediym became a hugely popular racehorse in Queensland. He was by the relatively unfashionable Irish stallion, Nediym, a son of Shareef Dancer by Northern Dancer who had won the Irish Derby and King Edward VII Stakes. Nediym stood at Ron Ashdown’s Glengarry Stud alongside Heart Of Darkness, Tong Po and Snappy Landing. General Nediym was offered at the Magic Millions sale but was sporting a bandage having hurt himself. Ashdown insisted that the injury was superficial, but it certainly put off a lot of potential buyers. He was knocked down to Tosh Murphy who took the horse home. After having his vet look at the injury, they determined that he was unlikely to race, and approached Ashdown who agreed to take the yearling back. It was a wise move,…

Strawberry Road was perhaps Australia’s first true International Ambassador of the modern era, competing in six countries in a remarkable career. He was an unfashionable colt who not only became the first Australian horse to win Group 1 races in three countries, but also a successful stallion in the US upon retirement. He was the pinnacle of the hobby bred horse, with his breeder Jim Pantos purchasing his dam as a weanling. When Giftisa showed little on the racetrack, she was sent to a relatively unknown first season stallion in Whiskey Road, a son of Nijinsky, who had commenced his stud career at Strathallan Stud at Braidwood NSW outside Canberra in 1977. The resultant foal was kept and raced by Mr Pantos and George Georgopoulos from Canberra. They sent the…