| HORSES |
YEAR: 1989
TE PHYNO - Mystery Mare
Here was a mare who might have started life with a lurid name but who did not appear to have a breeding future bright enough to light a match. She did not race but that was the whole point with this family. In fact most of her female ancestors going back over a century hadn't either. However one or two had left useful enough horses along the way to ensure no armed men advanced on them at dusk for the long goodbye.
At first Te Phyno's career looked typical. Her first foal won once in 36 starts in Australia and that was in Hobart. The second never raced. Then a miracle occurred. Two of her next four foals were not only classic winners but of both sexes. Caps Off won the 2000 New Zealand Oaks by a head from hot favourite Tupelo Rose, driven by Colin DeFilippi and trained by Bruce Negus. The owner was Trevor Casey having his first classic success. That was a career highlight, though she took a 1:52.5 mile time in the US.
That might easily have been dismissed as one of those things but two foals later from her first visit to Badlands Hanover came Badlands Bute. For Lincoln and Tony Herlihy in the Great Northern Derby he beat keen rival Advance Attack by a neck with horses like Tribute and Bailey's Dream close behind. He was beaten a head in the Queensland Derby and in the days when Auckland was paying $20,000 stakes he assembled a healthy bank balance but never made the big time as an older horse.
Some subsequent foals were okay, especially when the mare could get back to Badlands Hanover, but nothing like classic material.
So how had this happened? After all only mares as great as Scuse Me are usually capable of leaving both Derby and Oaks winners over a period of four or five foals. Not unraced unknowns. Doesn't happen. It was probably because both Badlands Hanover, and Caps Off's sire, Caprock, were from the Oil Burner line. Te Phyno lifted her game when she struck 'oil', or so it seemed.
Credit: David McCarthy writing in Harnessed June2016
YEAR: 2008
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It might be a tad too soon for the 'C word', but the 'F word' certainly got mentioned more than a few times after the running of the Group 3 Nevele R Stakes on the card of the Cheviot HRC meeting at Addington on Sunday. 'Freak', I mean, because the winning performance of Hemisphere was exactly that - freakish! And only time will tell whether she achieves 'Champion' status one day, because it's a little bit harder to be dubbed that, but no-one could doubt that she's already started down the right path.
In a display of pure ground-devouring speed, Hemisphere started her run from near last on the home turn, coasted up to the leaders in second gear and simply breezed on by. The effort was franked by driver John Hay's comments afterwards... "I was surprised how quickly she got around them," he said. "She reached the lead within a couple of bounds, and then knocked off."
Hemisphere is the pride and joy of her 53-year-old Invercargill owner/breeder John Higgins, a neighbour of the filly's trainer Murray Brown. Higgins reckons he's raced "about a hundred" horses over the years, on both sides of the Tasman, and is starting to concede that his latest winner could easily be his best yet.
Hemisphere is an all-Nevele R product, being by Badlands Hanover from the OK Bye mare Trans Tasman, the latter a half-sister to the likes of Caps Off, Glencoe MacDonald and Badlands Bute that Higgens bred after Danny Boyle lent him Te Phyno for a year. "Trans Tasman was mad, and never raced," said Higgins, who has been a life insurance broker for 35 years. "And Hemisphere was striking as a filly, nothing worried her. She was real quiet early, but was always first to the gate and first in line for her feed." That might go some way towards explaining Hemisphere's stature now, because for a 2-year-old she is tall and built like a tank. She's not really quiet anymore either, as hand-in-hand with her size is an apparent fondness for lashing out with those powerful back legs.
Higgins, Hay and Brown are obviously all good mates, and he jokes about the time he came close to selling his star filly. "John was down our way one day, and I asked him if he wanted to take Hemisphere home with him and put her in the Ready-To-Run," Higgins recalled. "And he said 'nah, I can't be bothered - keep her and race her yourself."
Now you get the feeling that even good money couldn't pry the filly from Higgins's grasp, and he humbly thanks a lot of people for the position he finds himself in today..."Maurice Kerr for the way he broke her in; Ray Faithful for the second prep; Murray and his wife Marilyn of course, and 'Archie' Armour for the way he's looked after her in her early trials and workouts - he always thought that she was a Group 1 filly. You don't like to get too carried away, but after what she has done to date it's hard not to get excited," Higgins said. Hemisphere will stay at Hay's in the meantime and then head north for next month's Caduceus Club Classic, followed by the Sires' Stakes Fillies Series and ultimately the Harness Jewels.
It hasn't all been positive for Higgins though, because he recently lost Hemisphere's yearling full-brother at the breaking-in stage when he died of a suspected heart attack. Also the dam of an as-yet-to-be-sighted 4-year-old Caprock mare and the 3-year-old Safely Kept gelding Pontificate who has had one start for a fourth, Trans Tasman was given a year off after her second Badlands Hanover and is in foal to Courage Under Fire.
Credit: John Robinson writing in HRWeekly 12Mar08
YEAR: 2005
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| Badlands Bute |
To start with, there is Danny Boyle, the bustling PR operator for Nevele R Stud who bred the colt in partnership with his brother-in-law Ron Stewart and Tim Mills, Chief Executive of the Canterbury Jockey Club. Next comes Badlands Hanover, the sire they matched with their Nero's B B mare Te Phyno, to leave Badlands Bute.
He is seen at the 2003 Inter-Dominion Yearling Sale by John Street and Graeme Blackburn, principals of Lincoln Farms Ltd, who paid the trio $33,000. They then graciously leave him in the care of Ray Green and Robert Mitchell after Ray Norton retired, when they could have easily taken the hand of caution by sending the promising youngster to a stable of greater renown. And it was wrapped up by a steady drive from Tony Herlihy, who knew the key to Badlands Bute winning depended upon the use of his lethal sprint inside the last 200 metres.
Badlands Bute is one of Badlands Hanover's first crop and was, in fact, his first siring success in New Zealand, winning at two in February last year. He was a Norton horse at first, and it was no secret he was one of the best amongst the yearlings handled at the time. The retirement of Norton turned the spotlight on Mitchell and Green, two of the 'boys' who suddenly had the job of making decisions, not taking them. With the exception in particular of Attorney General, Street and Blackburn said the rest of the team was theirs and the operation was over to them. Were they lucky to keep Badlands Bute? "We kept him hidden, but we all knew how good he was. We really wanted to keep this particular horse. We said they would do us a favour if he stayed, and they honoured that," said Green.
Both were well experienced horsemen. Mitchell had been a Norton 'lad' since 1978, and Green was working with horses when he was 17 and recalled being with Peter Wolfenden at the time he had Cardigan Bay. "I was his best boy," Green says.
In any event, they welcomed the chance to manage Lincoln Farm's classy team when the opportunity came, and with two derbies won already - Badlands Bute having also taken the Great Northern - they can feel well satisfied at being put to the test, and passing it. They have a team of 30, the oldest being four, and 10 of them yearlings. Nine of them came from the PGG sales, including three by Badlands Hanover, two by Presidential Ball and two by Artiscape. "Our operation is heavily subsidised. We have six on the staff - Shane Smith, John and Bruce Bedwell, Terry Fletcher, Ned Jelicich and Paul Curran, who will be heading back to Canada soon. It's a luxury, the way we do it. I know Ray would be very proud of both of us," Green said.
Badlands Bute, whose next start will be in the New South Wales Derby - where runner-up Baileys Dream is also heading - gave the partners mild concern when Herlihy began the last lap three-deep, following Baileys Dream and Ewie Duncan. "I was a bit worried that we'd cooked our goose at that point. But then he's deadly with a late sprint. That's his forte," he said.
Credit: Mike Grainger writing in the NZHR Weekly