Going Fifteen Rounds with Vinnie

Greg Tobin - Tuesday May 9

Yarraman Park’s I Am Invincible has experienced any number of highlights over the past couple of seasons: Home Affairs, Imperatriz, In Secret, Lombardo and Marabi to name just a handful of his Group 1 winners.

Not surprisingly, such success has been reflected in the sales ring with 17 of his yearlings already in 2023 knocked down for $1 million or greater.

However, his most recent stakes winner – #95 – is the largely unheralded 7YO gelding Fifteen Rounds who captured last Saturday’s Listed Australian Turf Club Trophy at the Sunshine Coast for some very happy owners.

Fifteen Rounds as a yearling

From the multiple stakes winning North American mare, Sugar Bay, Fifteen Rounds was originally sold to Joe Pride for $200,000 at the 2017 Inglis Easter Yearling Sale, but wasn’t sighted until late in his 2YO season, winning a Kembla maiden.

Advertisement

Despite a few placings, Fifteen Rounds didn’t salute at his next 11 outings and was subsequently sold for $30,000 at the 2020 Inglis August Online Sale.

Transferred to Darren Egan and then Barry Lockwood in August 2021, Queensland’s sunnier climes and nifty ‘footwork’ have obviously worked wonders for the gelding, winning four of his last five starts and, heading into the ATC Cup, a half length second at Doomben in April.

With a record of nine wins and 11 placings from 38 outings, Fifteen Rounds is rapidly approaching $400k in prizemoney – the vast majority of that stake since his online sale.

Bred by Ron and Rod Dufficy, the former was quick to praise Lockwood for his management of the horse, declaring on Twitter that the Eagle Farm trainer was a “genius (at) managing horse’s feet”.

Fifteen Rounds certainly has had plenty of issues with his feet, causing massive headaches for all three of his trainers.

“Darren got a couple of wins out of him at Dubbo on soft and heavy tracks which obviously aided the horse, and when he came here to me there was just no foot … nothing to nail them on to,” Lockwood recalls. “We’ve had to glue them on and carefully manage where he races but it seems to be working because he’s won six in town and now a stakes race.

“We’re not getting too far ahead of ourselves, but at this stage we’ll run him in the (Group 3) BRC Sprint (at Doomben) on Saturday week and if he’s still going OK, we might have a crack at the Ramornie (12 July).”

Seems you can knock a Vinnie off their feet but they’ll keep getting back up!

Advertisment
More Reading...
Knights Choice a True Underdog Story
Punters were left stunned when the Queenslander Knight's Choice and Japanese visitor Warp Speed (JPN) emerged from the pack to fight out a dramatic finish to the $8,560,000 Group 1 Lexus Melbourne Cup (3200m) at Flemington.
Rosemont and Partners Stakes Quinella on Cup Day
Written Tycoon posted his second new stakes-winner on Melbourne Cup Day when promising three year-old gelding Catoggio took out the Listed VRC Amanda Elliot Stakes (1400m)  for Rosemont Stud and partners, who also race the second horse Bosustow.
Cup Day Stakes-Winner for So You Think
The Listed VRC TAB Trophy (1800m) for three year-olds on Cup Day at Flemington drew a competitive field of up and comers with So You Think gelding Opening Address stamping himself as a bright prospect for the future with a stylish victory.
2024 Melbourne Cup Result - It's Knights Choice
The 2024 Melbourne Cup has been run and won with Knight’s Choice, a five-year-old gelding by Extreme Choice victorious.
Kiwi Bred Gringotts Wins $3million Big Dance
Talented New Zealand-bred gelding Gringotts(NZ) (Per Incanto) delivered a big payday for his connections with victory in Tuesday’s A$3 million Big Dance (1600m) at Randwick.
El Vencedor wins G3 Balmerino Stakes
El Vencedor is making a habit of picking up major victories at Ellerslie, adding the Gr.3 Balmerino Stakes (2000m) to his burgeoning record at Tuesday’s Melbourne Cup Day meeting.
Slick 7YO a New Stakes-Winner for I Am Invincible
Champion sire I Am Invincible is closing in on the milestone of 100 stakes-winners with seven year-old gelding Fifteen Rounds adding to the tally when landing his first Black Type victory in the $160,000 Listed Australian Turf Club Trophy (1200m) at the Sunshine Coast on Saturday.
Kiwi Bred Grey Wins Subzero for OTI at Flemington
New Zealand-bred gelding Cloudland proved a handful for James McDonald at Flemington on Tuesday, but the champion jockey was in a forgiving mood after they had claimed top honours in the Subzero Handicap.
Storm Boy Headed to Ireland
Coolmore have today announced via Twitter that top class Justify (USA) colt Storm Boy will be continuing his racing career in Ireland in 2025 under the care of Aidan O’Brien.
All Too Hard's Arran Bay Brave in the Furphy Plate
Phillip Stokes admitted his preference was to run Arran Bay in the Listed John Letts Cup at Morphettville but was overruled by the owners, who made the correct decision in favouring the Listed Furphy Plate (1800m) at Flemington.