Talented Ontrack Thoroughbreds sprinter Invincible Heart proved popular with buyers when offered at the Magic Millions Broodmare Sale on the Gold Coast. A daughter of champion stallion I Am Invincible, Invincible Heart was consigned by Randwick Bloodstock and proved to be a sought-after lot fetching $160,000 to the bid of prominent breeder and racehorse owner Ray Gall. The winner of three races and $141,000, including a victory at Flemington on Melbourne Cup Day, Invincible Heart was retired and offered for sale after failing to recover from a series of foot issues. “She was a very talented mare, and her form around a lot of very good race mares was outstanding. She beat subsequent Group One winner Silent Sedition at Caufield and behind her at Flemington on Cup Day were Spill The Beans and Group One performer Faatinah. “I think it’s fair to say that had she not have had those foot issues, Invincible Heart would have been a stakes winning mare, because she beat or was placed behind a host of horses who went on to success at the highest level. “It was fitting that Ray Gall purchased the mare because Ray raced I Am Invincible and is currently a major shareholder in the stallion. “It will be interesting to follow the career of Invincible Heart because she was a race mare with considerable ability and is a great type of mare who should let down into a very good broodmare. She’s got size and strength and I’m confident she will leave nice foals. “I Am Invincible has been a runaway success at stud and it now looks like his mares are poised to further his career now that they are retiring to studs around the country. “There was keen interest in daughters of I Am Invincible and the interest in Invincible Heart from prominent studs suggest there’s a lot more success for the stallion to come. “The Invincible Heart sale was a good result for the group who raced her as she was a $56,000 purchase from the 2014 Inglis Classic Sale so to achieve a return of $160,000 at a broodmare sale was a good result. “Brett Howard and his Randwick Bloodstock Team did a fantastic job preparing Invincible Heart and their expertise and contacts were crucial factors in achieving a great result for the ownership group,” said Grant Morgan. Ontrack mare Cymbalism found her way back to winning form with a bang on the Geelong synthetic track. The Denman mare made a promising start to her career with a third and a fourth at Canterbury and followed that with a convincing maiden win over highly rated Star of Monsoon at the Scone carnival last May. “She was a filly who took a fair while to strengthen and that’s why Chris Waller didn’t line her up until the autumn of her three-year-old season,” said Ontrack Thoroughbreds Managing Director Grant Morgan. “It’s fair to say that she didn’t live up to her initial promise, but she has been a mare who has taken a long time to mature and she often proved a difficult horse to ride because she doesn’t like being cluttered up or restrained. “A lot of jockeys made the mistake of taking a hold and trying to get her to settle and all that achieved was to fire her up. “We tried her in Victoria from Chris Waller’s Flemington stable, but she didn’t race generously so we gave her a let-up and transferred her to Chris Meagher at Mornington. She’s had three runs for Chris with yesterday’s win and a third on the Pakenham synthetic track. “Jake Noonan has done a good job in his two rides and he quickly summed things up and didn’t try and fight the mare. As a result, she has proved a lot more tractable and she travelled well in the running at Geelong before putting her rivals to the sword a long way from home. “Her win was very dominant, but to be fair it was what you’d expect given the strength of the field.” Grant Morgan said the future for Cymbalism remains to be decided. “We have entered her for the Inglis Great Southern Sale in Melbourne next month and we have to make a decision on her future. At Ontrack we endeavor to win Saturday metropolitan races for our owners, so we will need to reassess this mare in light of that expectation,” said Grant Morgan. A $130,000 purchase by Ontrack Thoroughbreds from the 2015 Magic Millions Sale, Cymbalism is from a family which produced plenty of good winners for the Ingham family’s Woodland operation. “Cymbalism is related to the good sprinters Yell and Anthems and she has always had her share of speed but has required time to strengthen and Chris has allowed her the time to build up and mature. She is not a mare who carries a lot of condition, so it comes as no surprise to see her develop with time,” said Grant Morgan. Congratulations the winning connections of Cymbalism: Ontrack Thoroughbreds Cymbal Syndicate, Beau River Racing Syndicate, Chris Burdon, Martin Connor, Denis and Margaret Frew, Mark Ostermeyer, Russell and Jacqui Pawley, Andrew Tranter, WBC Racing (Syndicate), Lang Brothers Racing, Ryan Lawlor, A Connor Syndicate, D and R Syndicate, Lisa Saxton. A large group of Ontrack Thoroughbreds clients and guests took the chance to take a close look at the new Eagle Farm infield stables complex.
An enthusiastic crowd of around 80 people were onsite to see a parade of Ontrack horses and get a to take a look at Meagher Racing’s setup at the Eagle Farm Racecourse. “Ontrack Thoroughbreds’ Open Day at Meagher Racing Open Day has been in the pipeline for a while but the arrival of several young horses from New Zealand and the Queensland winter carnival provided the perfect timing,” said Ontrack Managing Director Grant Morgan. “We wanted to give our clients the chance to catch up with their horses trained at the track at an easier time than early morning trackwork. “For many clients the day also provided the chance to have their first look at a couple of young horses we bought in New Zealand in 2017. “We have a Savabeel-Jungle Juice filly and a Makfi-Notre Amour colt that we purchased at the Karaka Sale in 2017 and they flew into Brisbane on Friday. They were broken in and pre-trained in New Zealand and are now settling into their new home,” said Grant Morgan. Around 50 Ontrack clients and colleagues gathered for a fantastic evening with leading Sydney trainer Bjorn Baker on the Gold Coast.
Ontrack Thoroughbreds took the opportunity to host the evening with Bjorn Baker in Queensland to prepare talented mare Test The World for last Saturday’s Group Three BRC Sprint at Doomben. Ontrack’s Grant Morgan said the cocktail function at Spendlove Café at the Ferry Rd Markets provided a chance to mix and mingle away from the pressure of race day. “Bjorn is now Ontrack’s major Sydney trainer and we’ve had great success with the stable. Mr Pedantic was our first winner from the Warwick Farm base and Test The World has done a terrific job with six wins and a black type placing in the Silk Stocking at the Gold Coast. “The Spendlove Café function provided a perfect opportunity for our clients to meet Bjorn and spend time with him away from the hurly burly of race day commitments. “Bjorn has been one of the success stories of Sydney racing after setting up his own training operation at Warwick Farm in 2011 with only two horses. He now has 92 boxes and last season trained 115 winners to finish sixth on the extremely competitive New South Wales trainers premiership. “We’ve got some nice young horses from the summer round of yearling sales in Australia and New Zealand heading to Bjorn’s stables and look forward to continuing our relationship with his stable,” said Grant Morgan. A large crowd enjoyed a special day at Canungra’s Woodside Park as Ontrack Thoroughbreds paraded some of its 2018 yearling purchases.
Master horse breaker Greg Bennett has set up a breaking and pre-training at Woodside Park and around 70 people attended the Ontrack Yearling Parade. Ontrack colts by Brazen Beau, Spirit of Boom and Dissident were paraded, along with fillies by Epaulette and Brazen Beau. “It was great to get such a great turnout,” said Ontrack Thoroughbreds Managing Director Grant Morgan. “We had a mixture of old and new clients, so it was great to catch up with some old friends and meet some new faces. “Greg Bennett and his team have a done a great job breaking in and preparing these young horses for the yearling parade and the horses all parading in fantastic order. “The autumn at Canungra has been great and Woodside Park is in tremendous order, and the condition of the horses definitely reflects this. “They all broke in perfectly and are currently having a spell to allow them to develop and grow and we will leave them out for the month before they come back in for a ‘refresher course’ with Greg Bennett. “They’re all nice horses and we couldn’t be happier with their progress at this stage of their careers,” said Grant Morgan. The 2015 Inglis Classic Sale was proof positive that Ontrack Thoroughbreds principal Grant Morgan has a sharp eye when it comes to finding a nice horse at a good price.
Grant purchased four yearlings out of the sale for a total spend of only $240,000. His purchases were:
Fast forward to 2018 and here’s what Ontrack ended up with from the sale. Lot 81: Races as Dream Master and stats are 13 starts 3 wins and 3 places for $57,340. Lot 209: Races as Impregnable. 16 starts for 5 wins and 9 placings for $142,280. Lot 378. Races as Savanna Amour. 14 starts for 6 wins and 4 placings for $545,000. Lot 487: Races as Test The World: 12 starts for 6 wins and 6 placings for $334,725. Grant Morgan isn’t one for self-praise, so Ontrack’s Brian Lawlor believes the success of the 2015 Inglis Classic purchases deserves to be put into perspective. “Buying winners consistently at a yearling sale is one of the hardest things to achieve in racing. “Purchasers with much larger budgets than Ontrack don’t get anywhere near a 100% strike rate and when you consider that all four of these horses have performed on city tracks, the effort is enormous. “With Group 2 and 3 wins already on her CV, Savanna Amour is amongst the very best racehorses racing in Australia and she looks capable of success at Group One level, while Test The World gives every indication of succeeding in black type company. “Grant puts a terrific amount of time into buying each Ontrack yearling and his focus on concentrating on type when looking at a horse certainly paid off at this sale,” said Brian Lawlor. |
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