|
4.
First Stakes
Winner For Nothin’ Leica Dane
|
02/12/2002 |
|
Danehill’s
VRC Derby (G1) winning son Nothin’ Leica Dane sired his first stakes winner on
Saturday when his first crop daughter Superior Star earned a hard fought short
head win in the Group 3 Champion Fillies Stakes over 1600 metres at Ascot.
The Neville Parnham-trained three-year old filly defeated Miss Belhus (Don’t
Say Halo) by a short-head with the favourite Trimagic (Tribu) three-quarters of
a length back in third place.
It was the second win in 7 starts for Superior Star who has also been placed 4
times in her short career.
Offered by Bendaree Park Stud, Appin, NSW, at the 2001 Magic Millions Gold Coast
sale, Superior Star was purchased by agent John Chalmers for $65,000. She is the
second foal of the unraced Pasakos mare Musters who died earlier this year.
Musters proved a sales ring bargain as she was purchased for just $2,000 as a
racing or breeding proposition at the 1997 Australian Easter Broodmare Sale. Her
first foal, a filly by Simonstad named Oh Julia , was purchased for $20,000 at
the 2000 Magic Millions Summer Sale. Musters produced a full sister to Superior
Star in 2000 and John Chalmers snapped her up at this years Magic Millions
Summer Sale for $19,000. The last foal produced by Musters is a bay colt by
former Coolmore Stud shuttle stallion Honour And Glory.
A daughter of the Sir Tristram mare Ma Vie, Musters is a half sister to Station
Hand (Rancher) the winner of 7 races and almost $558,000 including the 1994
Carlyon Cup (G1) and split Durbridge and Mahogony in the 1994 Australia Cup (G1)
before running third in the same race the following year behind Starstruck and
Jeune.
The fourth dam of Musters is one of the truly great broodmares in the New
Zealand Stud book. Her name is Micheline a daughter of the grand staying
influence Le Filou. A stakes placed winner of 6 races Micheline had plenty going
for her when she entered stud. A daughter of the 1976 Broodmare Of The Year,
Dulcie (Duccio), Micheline is a full sister to the outstanding gallopers Fulmen
(Brisbane Cup), Gay Filou (Toorak H.) and Fileur (C.B. Fisher Plate. Micheline
is also a half sister to the great galloper Balmerino whose globetrotting
efforts did as much as any horse to advertise the quality of New Zealand
bloodstock.
After winning one and placing in two of his four starts at two Balmerino was to
prove one of the best three-year olds to come out of New Zealand. He was to
start in 18 stakes races, winning 14 and running second three times. That season
his victories included five Group 1 races, N.Z. Derby, N.Z. 2000 Guineas,
Brisbane Cup, Rawson Stakes and QTC Grand Prix. The following season Balmerino
won the Air New Zealand Stakes (G1) in track record time and the AJC Autumn
Stakes (G1) and the Tuluca Lake Purse at Hollywood Park. As a 5yo Balmerino
competed exclusively overseas. He won the Listed Goodwood Valdoe Stakes and the
Goodwood Clive Graham Stakes and also finished first in the Group 1 Milan Gran
Premio del Jockey Club and Coppa d’Ora but was relegated to second. Even more
impressively Balmerino was a gallant second in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe
(G1) to duel Arc winner Alleged. The champion son of Trictrac also had to settle
for the runner-up spot in the Group 1 Epsom Coronation Cup, Group 1 Sandown
Eclipse Stakes, third in the Group 3 Hardwicke Stakes, fourth in the Group 1
Prix Ganay and fourth in the Grade 1Washington D.C. International. When his
career came to a close Balmerino’s honour roll included Champion N.Z.
Three-year old, Champion Australian Three-year old, Champion Older Horse in
England in 1977 and Champion Older horse in France in 1977, a year that he was
awarded an annual Timeform rating of 133.
Obviously a lot was expected from Balmerino’s half sister Micheline when she
entered the broodmare paddocks. She did not let anyone down. In 1970 Micheline
produced a quality bay colt by the top stallion Pakistan II. Named Purple Patch
the colt became one of the most popular racehorses in Sydney in the middle
seventies. Blessed with an overpowering finishing burst that carried him to 20
wins including the George Main Stakes, Rawson Stakes, Warwick Stakes and Theo
Marks Quality, Purple Patch was more often than not ridden by leading young
apprentice Allen Denham.
Three years after foaling Purple Patch Micheline produced a grey filly by
Sovereign Edition. If Purple Patch was a favourite among Sydney racegoers the
little grey filly Surround was to become an idol in Melbourne. Trained by the
late Geoff Murphy Surround went on to win 16 ½ races and at one stage had an
undefeated sequence of 10 wins. As a three-year old Surround was to smash the
course record in the W.S. Cox Plate as well as adding the eaten states Oaks
trifecta, the VRC Oaks, AJC Oaks and QTC Oaks.
Eight years after producing Surround Micheline was to produce another popular
racehorse. The grand old galloper Lord Hybrow (Trictrac), a three-quarter
brother to Balmerino, won 12 races including the Brisbane Cup (G1), Channel 9
Cup (G1) and P.J. O’Shea Stakes (G2) for earnings of over $1.3 million.
Interestingly Lord Hybrow’s earnings were over double the combined earnings of
Purple Patch and Surround, an indication of the escalating prizemoney.
Two years before Surround won the 1976 VRC Oaks a filly named Leica Show
defeated the top class filly’s Cap d’Antibes and Rainburst in the classic.
Leica Show’s half sister Pretend To Leica is the second dam of Superior
Star’s sire Nothin’ Leica Dane who retired to Martin Hawcroft’s Byerley
Stud near Sandy Hollow NSW in 1998.
A contemporary of the outstanding racehorses Octagonal, Saintly and Filante,
Nothin Leica Dane won 6 races including the VRC Derby (G1) and AJC Spring
Champion Stakes (G1), while he split the outstanding stayers Doriemus and
Vintage crop in the1995 Melbourne Cup.
Like Balmerino two decades previously. Nothin’ Leica Dane was to contest the
Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe. However the powerfully built son of Danehill was
not racing at the best of his form when he left Australia and, after a torrid
run, he finished down the Arc although he did regain some prestige when second
in the Prix Foy (G3) at Longchamp.
As with Danehill’s Irish Derby winning son Desert King, who is having a
phenomenal run of success at present, owners will be rewarded if they show some
patience with the stock of Nothin’ Leica Dane. Certainly the Champion Fillies
Stakes winner Superior Star, which sports a double cross of Northern Dancer and
Sir Tristram, looks to have a bright future.
|
|
|
