OK, so we received no brownie points for bravery in selecting odds-on favourite Santos, a grandson of Emirate Park’s excellent broodmare Elated Lady, as last week’s Best On Breeding, however, we will be sticking with the Emirates Park theme for this week’s tip.
Back in 2002, Emirates purchased the imported mare Nanshan (IRE) off Rob Ferguson for $425,000 when carrying a filly by the great Zabeel.
Bred by Sheikh Mohammed, Nanshan (IRE) was a beautifully bred daughter of the superb racehorse Nashwan out of Pass The Peace (Alzao), the Champion 2yo filly in Ireland at two in 1988 when she won the Group 1 Cheveley Park Stakes at Newmarket.
Pass The Peace produced another Cheveley Park winner in Embassy as well as the Group II Pretty Polly Stakes winner Tarfshi.
When Nanshan (IRE) passed away in 2011 she had left nine winners from 11 foals however her only black-type performer was the Danewin filly Shaan who was third in the Listed James Carr Stakes at Randwick.
A solid if unspectacular record at stud.
But back to that Zabeel filly in utero when Nanshan (IRE) was purchased by Emirates Park in 2002.
Her name was Regard and she was purchased by trainer Graeme Rogerson on behalf of Lloyd Williams for $235,000 at the 2004 Magic Millions Yearling Sale.
She had just three starts, winning at Bendigo and Sandown and finishing second at Geelong, before finding herself back in the sales ring at the 2008 Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale where she was knocked down to Steve Brem, on behalf of Vinery Stud part owner Greg Perry, for $340,00.
Tragically, Regard was destined to have just two live foals before her death a few months after her mother.
The first was the champion, Atlantic Jewel.
Demi O’Byrne signed the ticket on behalf of a Coolmore Syndicate for the daughter of Fastnet Rock at the 2010 Magic Millions Yearling Sale.
What a superstar she proved to be. The winner of 10 of her 11 starts including four at the highest level and run down by Dundeel in the shadows of the post in the Group 1 Underwood Stakes, Atlantic Jewel was exported to Ireland in 2014 to begin her career as a broodmare.
The second and final foal of Regard was Commanding Jewel. The daughter of Commands followed her half-sister into the same sale ring a year later where she was purchased by Brad Spicer for $205,000.
Twelve months after Atlantic Jewel won the Group 1 One Thousand Guineas at Caulfield, Commanding Jewel added her name to the honour roll.
Commanding Jewel has a yearling colt by I Am Invincible and a filly foal by More Than Ready (USA). She was bred back to I Am Invincible last spring.
Four years after foaling Regard, Nanshan (IRE) produced a filly by General Nediym (pictured ) who was consigned by Emirates Park to the 2004 Magic Millions.
It was Graeme Rogerson again putting pen to paper but this one named Lady Beckworth carried the silks of Bruce Reid Racing.
A winner on the Kensington track at Randwick at her second start, Lady Beckworth’s form tailed off and her final three starts in a 12-start career came at Dubbo, Wellington and Cowra where she failed to add to her winning tally.
Covered by Not A Single Doubt, she was consigned to the 2011 Inglis Easter Broodmare Sale where she made $120,000.
But Atlantic Jewel and Commanding Jewel had yet to bolster the pedigree page so it was a different story at the Bell River Thoroughbreds dispersal in 2016 when Lady Beckworth was offered with a positive test to Hinchinbrook.
Newgate Farm’s Henry Field needed to go to $400,000 to secure the daughter of General Nediym on behalf of SF Bloodstock.
Just as significant was the fact that Lady Beckworth’s first visit to Hinchinbrook had produced the classy filly Flippant who had already claimed a pair of Listed races.
Last Saturday at Flemington, Flippant took her stakes tally to four when claiming the Group III VRC Frances Tressady Stakes while taking her earnings to $655,360 a significant return on her $220,000 purchase by McKeever B/stock at the Magic Millions.
Waiting in the wings was the third foal of Lady Beckworth, a Snitzel filly named I Am Excited who is raced by Bell River Thoroughbreds in partnership.
A 2yo winner at Warwick Farm, I Am Excited placed in the Group II Furious Stakes at Randwick and Group III Red Roses Stakes at Flemington before making a winning debut in 2018 over 1100 metres at Rosehill Gardens on February 24.
The David Pfieffer-trained filly gets her chance to open her stakes account in Saturday’s Listed Fireball Stakes (1000m) at Randwick where the Magic Millions 2yo Classic heroine Houtzen is likely to be the bookies elect.
A win by I Am Excited will certainly make Newgate Farm just that as they will be offering a full brother to Flippant at the upcoming Easter Yearling Sale.
