Innehållsförteckning för August 2024 från Turf Monthly

Hawaii Five Oh is an interesting addition to the Australian sire’s ranks this year. He may not be the best performed and does not have the profile of some of the freshman crop, but he certainly has some attractions. They start with his racing ownership and he was raced by Gerry Harvey, John Singleton and radio broadcaster, Ray Hadley so this alone should ensure that some reasonable mares have a date with the stallion. Priced at $16500 and standing alongside the quality roster at Vinery Stud in NSW, Hawaii Five Oh should be on the radar for the right breeders. On the track Hawaii Five Oh started his career for trainer Michael Freedman with two educational Randwick trials in the Autumn of his 2yo season. He retuned to the track…

Last month we found out that Makarpura was the damsire of Biscay, arguably the most important sire son of the immortal Star Kingdom. Star Kingdom dominated the Australian breeding scene from the late 1950’s until the arrival of Sir Tristram and Danehill who reshaped the local thoroughbred. Biscay was from the fourteenth crop of his sire, who was to have only two more before his passing. This crop had only 22 named foals of which eight or 40% won metropolitan races with three of these winning stakes races. Trained by the great Angus Armanasco, Biscay commenced his career by breaking an Australian record in his very first start over four furlongs (800m) in the Debutante Stakes at Caulfield. He was to win the Maribyrnong Stakes easing down by eight lengths…

Blue And Gold was another good performer for Biscay who was to go on to become a good stallion. On the racetrack, the colt won eight of his 22 starts including both the AJC Breeders Plate and the STC Todman Slipper Trial. He was to go on to become an excellent stallion producing nine stakes winners that were to win across much of Australia. Begone was a son of Blue and Gold who won stakes races in both Melbourne and Adelaide. He won the Lighting Stakes, Adelaide Guineas and Da Costa Plate in South Australia, while in Melbourne won the CS Hayes Stakes at Moonee Valley and the Cresswick Stakes at Flemington. Play Or Pay was a Sydney based galloper that represented Blue And Gold well, winning eight of 35…

MAID OF THE LAKE Sydney Stock and Station Journal (NSW : 1896 - 1924), Tuesday 7 March 1922, page 7 HORSE TALK (By 'MERRIGANG.') MAID OF THE LAKE. Few men’s racing reminiscences — at least men now hale and hearty — are more interesting than those of Mr. P. S. Marshall, an old resident of Maitland. Recently I had a yarn with this old sportsman at the Country Club. The name of Maid of the Lake cropped up. She was a great producer and wonderfully prepotent, but nobody knew anything about her pedigree. According to Mr. Marshall, whose early investigations were keen, nobody knew anything about this great mare’s breeding, although yarns were circulated that she came from Scone, with a mob of horses, and was sold at Maitland Saleyards.…

Unlike most stallions that we look at, Biscay’s legacy is more enduring through his sons than his daughters. Of course, there are some notable exceptions, but Biscay had a remarkable 33 sons who followed him to stud. Remarkably, Star Kingdom himself had only 29 sons to go to stud. No doubt there was a huge appetite for the Star Kingdom sire line which had proved somewhat problematic in terms of establishing itself in further generations. To suspect that the Star Kingdom sire line would establish itself as the dominant sire line in Australasia was to ignore the history of sire lines throughout the world and that is a topic that we may one day further explore. We noted that Biscay was perhaps the last great sprinter by Star Kingdom making…

Christmas Tree was one of the most outstanding sons of Biscay and was out of the wonderful mare, Joy And Fun who was a daughter of Denise’s Joy. The colt was unbeaten going into the Golden Slipper, including a win in the Pago Pago Stakes. In the Slipper, he finished fourth behind winner, Marauding after having drawn in barrier twelve and racing three wide for the trip. Christmas Tree was to win three stakes races including the Roman Consul and Red Anchor in Melbourne. At stud, he produced only two stakes winners in Australia before being sent to NZ where he continued to have success. One the most important of Christmas Tree’s stakes winners was Frosty The Snowman, a grey gelding who won the Mitchell Mackenzie Stakes and is noted…