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FEATURE RACE COMMENT

 

YEAR: 1996

John Hay, There's A Franco & Wayne Francis
1996 NEVELE R STUD NZ OAKS

There was no-one more appropriate than Wayne Francis to step up and receive the trophy for the Nevele R Stud New Zealand Oaks.

One of the doyens of the New Zealand breeding industry, Francis won the race with his Holmes Hanover filly There's A Franco, who came from behind Highland Park and Party Party to win pulling away. As co-proprietor with Bob McArdle of Nevele R Stud, Francis sponsored the race, a Group race he won earlier with Preferred, a Boyden Hanover filly Malcolm Shinn raced with him.

His second winner was driven by John Hay, a very capable horseman he employed as private trainer at Spreydon Lodge nearly two years ago. He knew that Hay would take time to get the results he was hoping for. "When he came, he really had to start from scratch. They were foals and yearlings, and There's A Franco was one of those he has brought through from a yearling. There have been others, like Franco Hat Trick, who we just sold for big money, and No Way Franco who had more natural ability and more speed but got a virus, bled and will go to stud next season. We could actually have been in the nice situation of having two top runners in the Sires' Stakes Final and the DB Fillies final, but we have only the filly. I'm looking for a super horse, like everyone else, but I also have to apply commercial judgement and this is what I did in the case of selling Franco Hat Trick. I have the mother, and I have her daughters," he said.

For Francis, winning the Oaks was a thrill. In terms of prestige, it falls short of winning the New Zealand Cup and Inter-Dominion Grand Final, which he did with Stanley Rio, but owning the sire and dam gave him a different satisfaction this time. Tango Franco, a daughter of the grand racemare Tempest Tiger, earlier left This Time Franco, also by Holmes Hanover, who won the DB Fillies Final after finishing second in the Oaks a week earlier. Tango Franco was one of 20 mares Francis sent to the stud's new import Falcon Seelster this stud season. As pleased as he is with the combination so far, the conservative Francis predicts brighter days ahead..."this time next year, I'd be surprised if we can't look back and be pretty happy with the results."

The race itself was a tight, testing event, with some drivers electing to go for the penalty as they rejected the push-out rule outside the 1000 metres. Greg Hope was fined $500 for this, and it cost Barry Purdon, who followed him out, $350. The main sufferer was Impact, one of the favourites, who instead of improving three wide, had to do it four-wide. Talking on those tactics, driver Ricky May said tersely: "Sheer incompetence, that's all it was."

Hay was fortunate to escape injury in a smash in the race after the Oaks. He had blurred vision which prevented him for driving in the latter races, but the Oaks and a win earlier behind the Geoff Dunn- trained Never Going Holme in a Sires' Stakes heat minimised the seriousness of the mishap for him.

Credit: Mike Grainger writing in NZHR Weekly

 

YEAR: 2001

Croker winning the Southern Graduate
2001 PGG NZ YEARLING SALES SOUTHERN GRADUATE

Had a certain buyer put his finger up for one more $500 bid on Croker at the Sales last year, he would now be holding his hand out for a $13,750 cheque. That is how much the Falcon Seelster-Take My Arm colt won after taking out the PGG Yearling Sales Southern Graduate.

Croker ended up being a buy-back for his vendors John and Maurice McDermott when he reached $15,500 in the ring - $500 short of what the brothers were prepared to let him go for. The pair even turned down a subsequent offer on the day, but they are looking the winners now because Croker is going to target the Welcome Stakes this Saturday night before a heat and hopefully the Final of the Sires' Stakes Series.

Trained by Colin and Julie De Filippi, and now part-owned by Colin in partnership with the McDermotts, Croker ended a long drought for both brothers, especially John, by winning on Friday. Maurice last tasted success with Kedell at Rangiora in February 1999, and before that with Kedell's dam Scintilla at Addington in 1993, but John hadn't known that winning feeling since Olympic Medal scored at Addington back in October 1984.

A former employee of the Bank of New Zealand who specialised in rural finance for two decades, John also spent 18 years on the committee of the NZ Metropolitan Trotting Club and was the Club's representative on the Sires' Stakes Board for six years. Taking a break from both roles when the three Addington clubs amalgamated, John also had a change of tack following the passing of his father Eugene in October 1998 and joined his brother to run the 200-hectare family farm in Halswell, where they milk a town supply herd of cattle. A Past-President of the NZMTC, Eugene McDermott was well-known for co-breeding the fine pacer Robalan, and he was also the son of Eugene Snr who suffered a heart attack while driving Colonel Grattan in the 1939 NZ Cup.

The mare that got John himself started was Olga Korbut, a Lordship half-sister to Noodlum that he was given a half share in in return for grazing horses on the farm. Taken to C6 by trainer Freeman Holmes, Olga Korbut ran second in the 1975 NZ Welcome Stakes to Fancy Fred before going on to capture her last five races that season. "It has been a battle trying to continue her breed," McDermott said. "She only had the five foals and all but one were colts; I spent a lot of money trying to breed her by embryo transfer."

Since taking over the farm, McDermott is breeding from four mares - Scintilla, Vault (Olga Korbut's filly), Croker's dam, Take My Arm and Shining Cloud. "Kevin Townley trained Take My Arm for us. She went amiss a week before she was due to go to the Qualifying trials, but he thought she would be worth breeding from though. "She has a late colt foal at foot by Caprock, and was served by Il Vicolo." Take My Arm's first three foals are Boston, Barney Bear and Croker.

"He is a bit of a character, ducking out like he has done a couple of times," McDermott said of his latest winner. "Colin has always rated him though, and when a horseman like him says that, you take notice."



Credit: John Robinson writing in HRWeekly 11Apr01

 

YEAR: 2002

2002 PGG YEARLING SALES SERIES 3YO FILLIES

If you think Hot Shoe Suffle is good now, just wait until she grows into her massive frame. That is the warning from Hot Shoe Suffle's co-trainer Mike Berger, who believes the best is still to from the towering 16.3-hand filly. "She was big at two, so I hoped she would fill out this season but she hasn't; she has been growing up, not out," Berger said. "I think she could develop into an awesome mare at four and five. And when she does finally fill out - look out!"

Strong words indeed, but Berger had every reason to be bullish about Hot Shoe Shuffle after her performance in the $106,700 PGG Yearling Sales Series Fillies Pace. Aided by a masterful drive by regular pilot David Butcher, Hot Shoe Shuffle shifted out of the trail starting the last lap and secured the one-one behind fellow Falcon Seelster filly Angela Jane, who had circled the field three wide. From there they always had the drop on their biggest danger. To her credit Angela Jane forced the issued around the top bend and momentarily skipped a length or two clear, but she couldn't hold out Hot Shoe Shuffle's finishing punch near the line.

The victory was Hot Shoe Shuffle's eighth from 16 starts, and together with four seconds she has now netted her owners over $180,000. This is a super return on the $13,000 that the Hot Shoe Shuffle Breeding Syndicate parted with to buy her from the sales, and her record is even more impressive considering that Friday night was the first time in her career that she had drawn inside seven.

Winning the PGG Sales Series Pace was also some consolation for missing two big fillies' races at the Auckland Cup Carnival, the Ladyship Stakes and the Great Northern Oaks. "I found her one day with some grazing on a back leg, so she must have kicked through a fence or something," Berger said. "She was in work at the time, and it took ages for the bruising to come down. Most owners might have wanted to start in those races regardless, but her's were quite happy to bypass them. "They are a great syndicate to train for. It made my job a lot easier. It's hard enough getting a nice horse, let alone pushing her into races she is not ready for."

Two races that remain on Hot Shoe Shuffle's programme for the season are the Wayne Francis Memorial Oaks on May 3 and the Nevele R Fillies Final a week later. "She will go home and have a wee break now, and then we might tackle another heat of the Nevele R Series.

"One of he owners lives in Brisbane so there is a possibility she could go to Australia later in the season - it is only an option at this stage though. Being a lightly-framed filly it is easy to over-work her, it's just a matter of getting your timing right. Her best attribute would be her tremendous will to win. Even at home when she is jogging she has just got to get in front of any other horses that are with her."

Credit: John Robinson writing in HRWeekly 20Feb02

 

YEAR: 2003

Elsu wins the Derby from Light And Sound
2003 GEORGE CALVERT CLEANING NZ DERBY

Welcome back, Falcon Seelster. And what better way to acknowledge his return than the success of Elsu in the $100,000 George Calvert Cleaning New Zealand Derby.

The winner of the Sales Series Pace for 3-year-olds last November was back on the same platform after he called the shots over the last lap to beat Light And Sound. At one stage, brief though it may have been, Light And Sound appeared as if he would rally and take the challenge further. And had the race been a month and another race or so later, this may well have been the case. But this is little more than speculation because Elsu was superior on the night, and David Butcher was tactician supreme. He controlled the pace and wasn't worried he had Light And Sound on his back. "The draw was a big thing, but the race pretty much fell together. Considering the racing he's done, Light And Sound has done a huge job," said Butcher. He put trainer Geoff Small in the same category. "Geoff has done a super job. When Elsu came back in after his break, he only trialled fair, but Geoff has got him back to this level,"he said.

Butcher himself was lucky to be his partner. He got "both barrels" from a youngster earlier in the week, and feared he had broken his left leg. He was relieved of such anxieties by his doctor, and has since laboured on in some discomfort and pain.

Small had his own concerns as he tightened Elsu up for the Derby. "He became muscle-sore after he came back in after racing at Auckland. I could see how it happened. He did the damage skidding up to the fences before I brought him back in, and he was sore over the back. Clare McGowan has done a wonderful job using the machines on him, and Dave McGowan has carried on with the massage since we've been down in Christchurch." he said.

It is possible Elsu will campaign next in Australia, with the preludes for the New South Wales Derby on May 9 in mind for him.

Many of the owners of Elsu were on-course to enjoy the occasion, none more so than Joyce Walters, Geoff's aunty, who originally bought him as a yearling for $32,000 and now owns half of him. The rest is owned by the Double Up Syndicate, of eight sharholders, the estate of Dave Hudson and Pat Small, Geoff's mother. "I was a bit hesitant for a start, knowing there'd be eight or nine other people involved who I didn't know. But it's been brilliant. We've all had so much fun,I'd do it again," she said

Credit: Mike Grainger writing in NZHR Weekly

 

YEAR: 2004

2004 MACH THREE NZ STANDARDBRED BREEDERS STAKES

This time last year, Coburg had only just cleared maiden ranks. The Falcon Seelster mare got 'on the board' with a win at Alexandra Park on January 30, beating Pacing Grace by a nose to end a string of minor placings. Sure, there had been cheques arriving in the mail after all bar one of her first nine starts, but finally the Coburg Syndicate that raced her received one that had a bit of weight about it. And her trainer Mike Berger breathed a sigh of relief.

"When she was racing as a two and 3-year-old I remember telling the syndicate not to lose any sleep," Berger said. "Coburg always felt like she had the goods. And even though she had taken so long to win a race, I thought she was going to be something special one day." Twelve months later, that day is here.

Coburg is now the hottest mare in the country, and last Friday she completed the second leg of the 'double' when she won the $100,000 Mach Three NZ Standardbred Breeders' Stakes at Addington in devasting fashion. It was an even more dominant display than the week before when she had taken out the PGG Premier Mares' Championship, and it stamped her as a lady of real class.

A one and three-quarter length victory that could have been more, a 1:56.8 mile rate for the 1950 metre trip and near record time, and a chegue for almost $62,000... what a difference a year can make. Driver Peter Ferguson said he was 80 per cent confident when he steered Coburg onto the track for her warm-up, and by the time the race was underway and they had passed the 1000 metre mark he was "a hundred and ten percent". "She felt enormous," he said. "After we got a good run through to settle three-back, all I had to do was wait; if they came around, I was going. It wouldn't have mattered where she was in the running."

Ferguson has sat behind his fair share of good mares before, none better than Kate's First. "Coburg and Kate are actually similar types of horses," he said. "I don't like to compare different horses from different eras, and Coburg has got a long way to go to match Kate's deeds because she won an Auckland Cup, but it is their adaptability - they can race anywhere in the field. Coburg gives you a lot of confidence as a driver. If you get caught out wide or have to do a bit of workto get a possie, most horses will tire on you, but with Coburg you know that she will pull you through at the other end."

Ferguson has been in Coburg's sulky for the last six appearances following a suggestion by syndicate member Barry Gordon that he would suit the mare. The move has been well worth it, with four wins, a second and an unlucky eighth the tally for the new partnership so far. Both driver and trainer agree that there is no easy path ahead for Coburg from here, and just what her career entails for the remainder of the season is yet to be decided. "It could be hard work chasing the big 4-year-old races now, but I suppose you have really got to because there is nothing much else for her," Ferguson said. "Yeah, she's going to start running out of opportunities," Berger said. "We might even look at Australia, and see what races there are for her over there. She has probably done enough to secure her broodmare career though."



Credit: John Robinson writing in HRWeekly 4Feb04

 

YEAR: 2009

2009 NEVELE R FILLIES SERIES FINAL

A year ago, the connections of Lauraella had a nervous couple of weeks leading into the Harness Jewels at Cambridge. Because there were two massive hurdles to overcome, and one of them was out of their hands altogether...firstly, could the filly earn enough money to make the cut-off for the 2YO Diamond field - and furthermore, even if she did, could Mother Nature play her part and install enough power and balance into the lanky filly's frame in time to make her competitive. after all, Lauraella hadn't even won a race at this stage.

In the end the two mountains became molehills; Lauraella's third in the Sires' Stakes Fillies Championship on May 2 lifted her to eighth in the Jewels rankings, and then she went out there and romped away with the 2YO Diamond in NZ record time. Twelve months on, and it's a vastly different picture in many respects: Lauraella has hardly been beaten as a 3YO, and her earnings that count ($323,224) are nearly double that of her nearest rival Joyfuljoy, placing her at the top of the tree.

After her domination continued in the $150,000 Nevele R Fillies Series Final at Addington last Saturday, this year's Diamond looks hers to lose. "She's a brilliant retirement present," says Sandy Yarndley, adding the he and wife Jan are getting a big kick out of "following her everywhere". The couple began scaling down their mammouth involvement in the industry a couple of years ago when selling off most of their farm at Ohaupo to Ken Breckon. Sandy says they have still got shares in quite a few mares, but these days life is all about enjoyment. "I used to fit 'play' around work commitments, now it's the other way around," he smiled.
"I'm playing a lot more tennis, and we also bought a house at Thornton Bay on the road to the Coromandel; you catch snapper off the beach there."

Lauraella is raced by the Yarndleys together with Max and Judith Hunter, under the banner of the Hardwood Breeding Syndicate - named for the fact that the filly's dam Black Maire is named after "a type of hard wood." "We've known Max and Judy for about twenty-three years," Yarndley continued. "They'd raced the odd galloper before, and had been involved in quite a few syndicates with us too. So a few seasons back we offered them the chance to join us in this venture, and now we're all having a hell of a lot of fun."

Black Maire was a Falcon Seelster filly out of the Vance Hanover-Black Watch mare Corbie that won the Yarndleys four races and nearly $40,000. Having captured half of her 18 appearances and nearly $540,000 to date, second foal Lauraella has far exceeded all expectations. "And to think we were one bid away from letting her go at the Sales," Yarndley recalled. "I said to Pynes that if she reaches $80,000 - sell her; she'd gotten to seventy-five, and the next bid would've been eighty. Barrie Rattray from Tasmania was the underbidder, and I even went up to him afterwards and asked if he wanted to take her for the price we were after. But she was a real gangly thing by the time the Sales came around that year, and in the ring she didn't look half as good as she had three or four weeks earlier. Even last year, she was over sixteen hands when we turned her out as a 2YO after the Jewels - so she's always been a big girl."

Buoyed by the fact that Lauraella ended her first season by winning the Jewels at Cambridge, the Yarndleys and the Hunters also took a lot of heart from trainer Geoff Small's opinion. "Geoff always said that she'd need time," he said, knowing that what Lauraella achieved this season is still 'pinch yourself' stuff. A couple of months ago he even said to me how much she reminded him of Mainland Banner. For all his differences, I can't speak highly enough of Geoff and what he and the staff have done for this filly. And David (Butcher) is such a cool driver too."

With a lifetime involvement in harness racing, the Yarndleys are no strangers to success and have raced plenty of good fillies in the past. But it's Lauraella who is taking them to another level, and the juggernaut doesn't look like stopping anytime soon. "We've had horses like Hot Shoe Shuffle and Coburg, but they always seemed to run into one that was better. This year, I think we've got the one that's better."



Credit: John Robinson writing in HRWeekly 13May09

 

YEAR: 2010

2010 WAYNE FRANCIS MEMORIAL NZ OAKS

De Lovely showed talents her mother didn't whe she slayed the best fillies in town at Addington last Friday night. She sped away from 13 others in the $125,000 Wayne Francis Memorial New Zealand Oaks, cracking the New Zealand record of 3:11.8 set by Pullover Brown by running the 2600 mobile in 3:10.9.

This was a steamy mile rate of 1:58.1, and driver David Butcher said there was "no real let-up" in the tempo of the race from the start. Butcher was up and gone from the second line soon after the start, with the pace set at various times by the stablemates Meredith Maguire, then Secret Potion and from the 800m by Lancome.

Butcher had De Lovely tucked in within three lengths of the leader at that stage, and most were starting to feel the pinch turning in. De Lovely descended on them so quickly that she was level, past and clear inside 50 metres. "Her mother" - Copper Beach, who won the Oaks in 2004 - "couldn't have done that," said Butcher. "She could wind up and keep going, but this filly is better gaited and has more sheer speed. She could be as quick as anything I've driven, and that puts her up there with TinTin In America."

Butcher has noticed a new dimension to her growing abilities, and after a quiet race last week he wasn't afraid to see if she had it. "I asked a bit more of her tonight, and she stepped up a notch."

The race was also a triumph for the rising 29-year-old Falcon Seelster, who has had a long and remarkable influence as a sire in Australasia. Nevele R purchased the horse in 1995, and he has been notable for endless numbers of top performers, 269 who have gone 2.00 or better. As a broodmare sire, the exciting Franco Emirate is from the Falcon Seelster mare Elisit Franco, who won three of sixteen starts and is the dam of a yearling colt by Live Or Die.

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HRNZ Website

It was another classic David Butcher drive and another Geoff Small New Zealand Oaks. De Lovely burst away from her rivals in New Zealand Record time last Friday night to give Small his fourth win in the Group 1 feature.

The pace was on from the outside with Suidelike Meisie firstly then Meredith Maguire leading. Butcher was first to move from the midfield on De Lovely and once Secret Potion had found the front he ended up lobbing the one-one for the ride home. Lancome made a dashing move to lead down the back straight the last time but life didn’t change for De Lovely and Butcher until he showed her clear air rounding the home bend.

De Lovely burst out of the one-one like a cannon and quickly put the race beyond doubt. Lancome fought well and the remaining minors were battled out between Meredith Maguire, Royal Cee Cee and Secret Potion.

De Lovely pulled together a nice link with her win also. The Wayne Francis Memorial NZ Oaks was won by a daughter of Falcon Seelster, a stallion Francis was instrumental in bringing to our shores in the mid nineties.

The crowning glory of De Lovely’s win was the New Zealand record she posted. 3.10.9 clipped 0.9 of a second of another Small Oaks winner’s time, Pullover Brown, in 2003.


Credit: Mike Grainger writing in HRWeekly 26May2010

 

YEAR: 2011

DEATH OF FALCON SEELSTER

Nevele R Stud said goodbye to one of its favourite sons when Falcon Seelster was put down on Friday.

A former great racehorse and then champion sire, Falcon Seelster was 30 and in failing health. Stud General Manager Peter O'Rourke said it was a matter of ending his discomfort. "We'd hoped that there was a chance he could brighten up with the warmer weather, but that wasn't happening. He couldn't get up three days in a row, and then he couldn't get down to rest. We didn't want to see him suffer," he said.

Falcon Seelster was bought by Bob McArdle and Wayne Francis from Castleton Farms in 1995. He was a superior performer on the track, capping his career with a world record 1.51 mile on Jug Day and earning more than $US1m. For the start of his stud career, Falcon Seelster was a shuttle stallion until his status as an EVA Shedder prevented him from returning for good until 2003.

"With Holmes Hanover gone, it's the end of an era," said O'Rourke.

As a sire, Falcon Seelster surpassed his ability on the track with a galaxy of great performers - 11 Australasian Group 1 winners Elsu, $2m; The Falcon Strike, $1.2m; Howard Bromac, Seelster Sam, All Hart, Franco Seguel, De Lovely, Franco Jonquill, Seel N Print, Coburg and New York Fashion. Six of those horses were Derby winners, and two - Elsu and The Falcon Strike - were Australasian Grand Circuit champions.

He has sired eight in 1.50, including Attorney General, 1.48.4, Allstar Blue Jean, 1.48.8, Franco Catapult, 1.49.4, and Ross The Boss, 1.50. He has sired 108 Australasian winners of more than $100,000, 720 Australasian bred winners, and 88 in 1.55 or better. Seven have won more than $1m including Nevele R Stud sire, McArdle ($2.4m).

All told, his stock has won more than $110m.

Falcon Seelster is making his mark as an exceptional broodmare sire, his daughters having left Bondy, Laurella, Fiery Falcon, Franco Emirate, Fly Like An Eagle, Millwood Meg, Ohoka Arizona, Veste, Mr Yankee, In The Force, Rona Lorraine, Im Mark Antony, Mach And Me and Lilac Stride - all Group 1 Winners - plus Franco Jamar and Pembrook Benny.

He has 32 yearlings, 61 mares due to foal, and his frozen semen is available.

Credit: Mike Grainger writing in HRWeekly 21 Sept 2011



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