 | RACING HISTORY |
YEAR: 2011
FEATURE RACE COMMENT
2011 NEW ZEALAND SIRES' STAKES 3YO FINAL
Cup Day was like a day of redemptions in some respects. Last year, Terry McDonald had the favourite for the Cup in Stunin Cullen, but the former Sires' Stakes 3yo Final winner disappointed and is now on the sidelines with a fractured knee. This year, McDonald won with Terror To Love. Last year, Jim and Dr Susan Wakefield had the favourite for the Sires' Stakes in Empyrean. That Christian Cullen colt had won seven straight and was getting a good trip home from the back of Gold Ace when he galloped at the 400m. This year, the Wakefields won with Texican.
For trainer Cran Dalgety, who won a Sires' Stakes 2yo Final a few years ago with Smiling Shard, this was also his first win in the 3yo Final. "Jim really deserved this after spending a lot of money at the yearling sales over the years," said Dalgety. "We bought this fellow at a time when we were just looking for Bettor's Delight colts from In The Pocket mares. He was a bit over budget, but we got him and I figured we would deal with the consequences later," he added. Dalgety had a budget of $40,000, but he paid $70,000 for the first foal from the good mare Bury My Heart at Karaka.
Dalgety wasn't getting too excited about Texican until he gave him a shot at the last Sires' Stakes 2yo heat at Alexandra Park on Inter-Dominion Final night in April. Fifth on debut a week earlier at Rangiora, Texican downed Chancellor Cullen that night and Dalgety began to think "he might be okay". Second in last season's Sales race soon after to Western Cullen, Texican was out of luck in the Sires' Stakes 2yo Final, but his form ha been exemplary this time in.
He was a big second to Smiling Star in the Sires Stakes heat at Forbury Park when resuming, and won the penultimate heat at Addington. One of five heat winners to draw the last five barrier positions for the final, while Chancellor Cullen drew worse on the outside of the front row, Texican was soon in the three wide train and went to the death passing the 1000m, before Dexter Dunn handed up to Mark Dennis. A quarter down the back in 27.7 had left the pacemaker Chancellor Cullen vulnerable in the run home after an early burn, and Dunn angled Texican into the clear late to have the last say over the hard charging Ideal Scott, with Smling Star a game third in a battling finish. Besotted, like Ideal Scott a son of American Ideal, finished strongly for fourth as Mark Dennis and Lets Elope also beat home the fading Chancellor Cullen. The last quarter in 30.1 had been about the slowest in a 1:56 mile rate as Dunn also won his first Sires' Stakes Final on Cup Day.
If the day was supposed to be some sort of celebration after all the hardship experienced by Christchurch folk over the last year or so, few would have deserved to party more than the 78-year-old Jim Wakefield. "I had five properties in Christchurch and four of them have been written off," said Wakefield. "Luckily we had one left to live in at Rangiora. We had London Pride and London Express as Sires' Stakes horsesback in the late 90s, but nothing until Empyrean," he added.
Empyrean, who has been through a "colty stage", has been showing signs of getting back to his best this season, although he was disappointing two races after Texican's success, as was Bettor's Strike in the Cup for the Wakefields. But nothing mattered much after the Sires' Stakes. This was the Wakefields first Group One success since Dalgety produced Sparks A Flyin to win the Fillies Final at Addington 10 years ago.
Credit: Frank Marrion writing in HRWeekly 10Nov11