The
sheer delight of winning good races is always worth celebrating and Clyde and
Pat Buckingham certainly enjoyed Lasarla's upset win in Saturday's Group II NRM Auckland Thoroughbred Breeders' Stakes.
The Karaka couple, who race the daughter of Rip van Winkle under their Emblem
Ltd banner, were not lacking in confidence going into the 1400m feature at
Pukekohe.
"We had taken an indication from her last start second in Te Rapa [behind I Am
Poppy] and I suppose we were hoping for a place," Clyde Buckingham said, after
admitting they were still recovering from post-race celebrations.
"We had hoped she would win at Te Rapa and that would have seen her get into
the Breeders' but as it was we got a scratching which saw us make the field."
Had the smart judges been on their game at the NZ Bloodstock 2014 Select sale
session Lasarla may well have been carrying colours other than the Buckingham's
but the filly was passed at $20,000 and returned home.
Her dam is the Danehill mare Imco Main, the winner of eight races in Italy, and
presently the dam of seven winners. In
addition to Lasarla, Imco Main has also left the stakes winning Black
Minnaloushe gelding Changing Eyes, the winner of 10 races in Australia, he was
also Group Three placed.
Lasarla's second dam is the Darshaan mare Miss Darimda who raced once and is a
half-sister to three stakes performers including Top Waltz, winner of the Gr.2
Longchamp Prix Hocquart.
Despite having imported Imco Main, as part of his passion for European
families, Buckingham no longer owns the mare.
"We gave the mare away to Mapperley Stud, and she has recently foaled to
He's Remarkable," he said.
She was one of a number of mares they have quit recently - "we kept getting
fillies, and you know how hard they are to sell" - so their broodmare band
which usually stands at around six or seven is now down to three.
The beginnings of the broodmare band stemmed - as many good things do - from a
lunchtime conversation. Buckingham was
seated alongside then BBA agent Joss Collins and a conversation ensued about
what would be the best way to go about importing fillies from some nice
European families.
"I've always like European families, I never considered American," Buckingham
explained.
The upshot of the lunchtime encounter was his first imported mare Bold Faith.
"She was a daughter of Warning and went to Anabaa and we sold the colt for
$300,000 and that kicked us off," he said.
Another of the those imported mares was Quinta Special (by Spectrum) who left
the horse Buckingham labels as the best they have bred, the VRC Derby winner
Sangster.
While there is little argument that Sangster deserves that mantle at this stage
Buckingham is holding high hopes for Lasarla in her future racing.
"She is such a different type from the others, the mare is a short arse and
quite long, Lasarla is the nicest looking of her offspring and a very athletic
type," he said.
"We are probably going to look towards the 1600m Fillies and Mares race at Te
Rapa [Gr.2 Cal Isuzu Stakes, December 10] with her," he said. "We are rapt, as you can imagine." - NZ Racing Desk