Racing Around the Globe

By Harley Walden

Yes He Khan

A horse born in Tasmania, sold for the cost of a good lunch, resold twice more, owned by a Manchurian billionaire who keeps wolves as pets, and trained in New Zealand. It’s a script even the most fertile of imaginations would struggle to dream up.

Such is the incredible story of Mongolian Khan, the winner of the world’s richest 12 furlong handicap, the $3 million BMW Caulfield Cup run in October last year.

However, this is a horse with more than a strange background.

His Caulfield Cup win came on the back of a dominant three-year-old season when he won the New Zealand Derby and ATC Australian Derby.

At Caulfield under star Kiwi jockey Opie Bosson, the Murray Baker-trained son of Holy Roman Emperor produced one of the best Caulfield Cup-winning performances in recent memory.

His time of 2mins 27.76secs was quick in this modern age of watered tracks and Bosson, under instruction from Baker, made it a staying test from the 500 metre mark, when he set Mongolian Khan alight after settling sixth.

Mongolian Khan held off the late challenge of Ed Dunlop’s Gold Cup victor Trip to Paris and the former dual German Group 1 winner Our Ivanhoe.

It was only Mongolian Khan’s 14th start and took his bank balance to $3.7m. Not bad for a horse who sold for just $9,000 at the 2012 Inglis Great Southern Weanling Sale at Oaklands Junction in Melbourne.

 

A Sea of Pink

Coffs Harbour Racing Club hosted the 10th annual Pink Silks Ladies Race day on Sunday, January 10.

As part of their ladies race day this year there was very special and uniquely all-female element to the day as one of the seven races was the Pink Silks (for fillies and mares; Benchmark 55 Handicap, 1300m) and with prize money of $15,000, the race is restricted to lady riders only.

Offering the jockeys a special bonus, local Coffs Harbour trainer Jim Jarvis and his wife Kris have donated beautiful bracelets valued at $1250 from EJ & Co Equestrian Jewellery, to be awarded to the first, second and third jockeys.

The event was also called by longstanding and respected racecaller, Victoria Shaw – Australia’s only female racecaller.

This year’s event was taken out by Bonve Cheval prepared by Brett Bellamy and ridden by Molly Partridge.

Having started from humble beginnings, the first Pink Silks Ladies Day was held on in January, 2007, with the aim of raising $10,000 to go towards breast cancer research.

On the inaugural Pink Silks raceday more than $25,000 was raised and since then has raised in excess of $425,000 in the nine years.

The club’s Ladies Day committee realised there were so many other women’s health issues where specifically local awareness and funding was needed within their region.

They have since become a registered charity that has bought equipment, funded local awareness and recovery programs, donated to several national research bodies and last year donated $10,000 to the National Jockey’s Trust as one of their beneficiaries.

On the disappointing side of a successful meeting came the emotional interview with Priscilla Schimdt as she announced her retirement from the saddle.

Priscilla claims the number of falls she has incurred throughout her riding career has taken toll on her body and will now follow a path in the racing media.

 

Frankel Colt Stops the Show

A stunning colt by world champion Frankel brought the Karaka Premier Sale to a spectacular close late last month when he was purchased by a powerful group of international racing figures for the top price of $NZ1.3 million.

Carded as Lot 445, the third last of the day, the tension was palpable as a packed audience greeted the colt’s entrance to the arena.

An opening salvo of $500,000 was quickly brushed aside as the bidding raced to a cool $1 million before slowing as a pair of heavyweights traded bids.

At the conclusion a syndicate comprising Coolmore’s Magnier family, the Niarchos family of Greece, Dubai’s Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa al Maktoum and Apollo Ng from Hong Kong snared the colt for $1.3 million from underbidder, Melbourne trainer Peter Moody.

With 316 sold, 18 more than last year, the aggregate for the two-day sale finished at $55,687,500, a whopping increase of 24% from last year and the highest figure for the Premier Sale since 2011.

The average price for the sale was $176,226 compared with $150,881 last year, another big increase of 17% and the highest average price since 2010.

Also increasing by 17% was the median price as it reached $140,000, up from last year’s figure of $120,000.

All of these milestones were achieved at a clearance rate of 78%, better than last year’s 75%.

Another sign of strength was the number of horses sold for over $500,000 with 10 horses reaching or surpassing that mark, comparing with just three last year. Further to that, there were 45 horses sold for $300,000 or more, up from 29 last year.

The diverse buying bench was underpinned by 12 countries purchasing horses at the sale including Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Singapore, Ireland, Japan Macau, Netherlands, United Kingdom, USA, South Africa and Malaysia.

Australia was the leading country by spend, purchasing 135 horses for $22,870,000, an increase of 12% from last year’s spend of $20,412,500.

The resurgent Australian market increased its spend for the second consecutive year.

Just before missing out on the top lot of the day, Peter Moody struck by purchasing the second highest priced of the sale in partnership with First Light Racing and Paul Willets for $825,000, a Savabeel colt out of O’Reilly Rose catalogued at Lot 442.

The colt is the highest priced Savabeel to ever be sold at auction.