Former Brisbane racecaller Alan Thomas will host our Tony Gollan Cocktail Party next month.
The event will be staged at Fiction Bar and Restaurant at Raby Bay, Cleveland on Thursday the 19th of September. Thomas has recently launched a new 'blog' site which features stories of his colourful career in racing, rugby league and general sports. The blog is called 'The Sports Whisperer'. Visit the blog at thesportswhisperer.blog The evening will celebrate a new partnership between Ontrack and Queenslands leading trainer, Tony Gollan. Spaces for the event are limited. Follow the links below to book. The weather was perfect and the horses great when Ontrack Thoroughbreds held its Spring Horse Parade at Fenwick Farms, Canungra.
About 100 Ontrack clients took the chance to inspect the young horses purchased by Ontrack’s Grant Morgan at the June Magic Millions Sale on the Gold Coast. “The yearlings were broken in by Greg Bennett and his team at Fenwick Farms so the Open Day provided a perfect opportunity to reveal these nice young horses to clients. “Greg and his team do a wonderful job and the young horses paraded beautifully in front of the crowd,” said Grant Morgan. Ontrack Thoroughbreds’ classy sprinter Tavisan showed his true colours with a dominant Moonee Valley win to claim his first Saturday metro scalp. Tavisan scored by two lengths after using his brilliant early speed to get over from a wide draw and control the pace. “He’s always been a very fast horse from the jump and jockey Ben Melham took bad luck out of the equation by using that tactical early speed to control the race,” said Ontrack’s Managing Director Grant Morgan. “At this meeting last year Tavisan gave a glimpse of his potential when he had subsequent Group One winner Brutal all out to beat him in the Listed McKenzie Stakes. “He lost his way a little bit as a colt so we bit the bullet and gelded him and he’s come back from that in fantastic fashion with two wins and a close third. “The horse showed good ability from day one and our New Zealand breaker and trainer Jacob McKay pegged him as a good horse very early. “In fact Jacob was convinced he could win a nice two-year-old race in New Zealand, but a few bad draws and rain affected ground hampered him over there. “He has proved that assessment spot on since joining Mick Price and Michael Kent Jnr at Caulfield and his Australian record is nine starts for three wins and four placings. “He’s only ever failed over 1600 metres in the Caulfield Guineas and at his last start as a colt in the Rubiton Stakes so the stable has done a fantastic job with the horse. Trainers Mick Price and Michael Kent Junior are keen to make the most of the Benchmark system turning their focus to a possible next start in Sydney with the promising Sprinter. Now rated 86 following his Moonee Valley win, Tavisan seems destined to head back to stakes class but Price and Kent would like to pick off another Benchmark race. With little in that realm for Tavisan in Melbourne over the coming weeks, a trip North for his next start now looks likely. The Sydney options for Tavisan are Rosehill 14 Sept BM88 (1100m) or Randwick 21 Sept BM88 (1200m). Both races carry overall prizemoney of $125,000. Congratulations to our owners: Congratulations to our owners: Ontrack Thoroughbreds No 1 Syndicate, Phoenix Thoroughbreds, Adrian Abrecht, Jim Lagos, Lewis Prince, Eric Newsome, David Worthley, Vin Harink, Mark Snowden, Mark Ostermeyer, Neil Evison, Mark Horn, Lisa Saxton, Bebe Mawer. by Grant Morgan: SHOWCASING (GB) isn’t a name many Australians are that familiar with. But they should take note. The son of Oasis Dream was up until recently a regular shuttle visitor to New Zealand’s Haunui Farm from his Northern Hemisphere base of Whitsbury Manor Stud in the UK. On the racetrack Showcasing carried the Frankel and Enable colours of Khalid Abdullah. He was a talented racehorse winning the Group 2 Gimcrack Stakes at York in record time over the 6 furlong (1200m) course for trainer John Gosden. But its been at stud that Showcasing is really starting to excel as a topline sire both on the track and in the sales ring. This season his son ADVERTISE has shot Showcasing into the spotlight. Owned by Phoenix Thoroughbreds, Advertise has had a stellar three year-old year claiming Group 1 victories in at Royal Ascot in the Commonwealth Cup (6 furlongs – 1200m) and at his most recent appearance at Deauville in the Prix Maurice de Gheest (6.5 furlongs – 1300m). In between those Group 1 victories, Advertise was runner up in the time honoured Group 1 July Cup at Newmarket (6 furlongs – 1200m). Those achievements sit nicely against his Group 1 victory as a two year-old in the Phoenix Stakes (6 furlongs -1200m) at the Curragh. With earnings now over 900,000 pounds, Advertise can lay claim to being one of the best sprinters in the world for his trainer Martin Meade and regular partner Frankie Dettori. Meade now also puts the polish on former Australian sprinter Houtzen. No doubt a glittering stud career awaits Advertise for Phoenix Thoroughbreds who are now one of the bigger players on the worldwide stage, including significant investment in Australia. Whilst Advertise was winning the Prix Maurice de Gheest at Deauville in July, a daughter of Showcasing was also flying the flag for her father at the picturesque French track. TROPBEAU, a two year-old daughter of Showcasing claimed the Group 2 Prix du Calvados (7 furlongs – 1400m) for trainer Andre Fabre during the summer carnival at Deauville. Tropbeau has won 3 of her only 4 outings at two and looks a filly with Group 1 potential. Showcasing has already produced a top flight three year-old filly in QUIET REFLECTION. Like Advertise, Quiet Reflection claimed the Group 1 Commonwealth Cup (6 furlongs – 1200m) at the second running of that event in 2016. Also at Royal Ascot this year for Showcasing was Group 1 runner up SOLDIERS CALL. Already a Group 2 winner at Doncaster, Soldiers Call was a gallant second behind Champion Sprinter Blue Point in the Group 1 Kings Stand Stakes (5 furlongs – 1000m). In Australasia, Showcasing has flown under the radar for most and is a particularly underestimated sire. But further analysis shows he has been a strong performer in this part of the globe too. Showcasing stood his first New Zealand season in 2011 and his final down under coverings were in 2017. His final Southern Hemispher covers went through the ring as yearlings this year. He regularly covered books of around 100 mares. This has resulted in 157 winners from 274 individual runners. He has produced 18 stakes winners and a further 16 stakes placegetters in the Southern hemisphere over 6 crops of racing age. Showcasing has proven to be prolific sire of two year-olds in both Hemispheres. In the Southern Hemisphere he has produced 43 two year-old winners from 108 individual two year-old runners. These included the Queensland two year-old HARDLINE who claimed the 2015 Karaka Millions for Eagle Farm trainer Liam Birchley. Another Eagle Farm trained Showcasing also proved a high class performer for Showcasing. The Desliegh Forster prepared CYLINDER BEACH won up to Group 3 level winning 6 of his 19 starts. In New Zealand, Showcasing has been represented at the top level by Group 2 winners XPRESSION and SHOWBOY who both claimed the Wakefield Challenge for two year-olds run over 1200m at Trentham. Continuing the theme of precocity for Showcasing were Group 3 two year-old winners BIT LIPPY and CAORUNN who both claimed the Taranaki 2yo Classic (1200m) at New Plymouth in their juvenile years. Last season Showcasing was again represented by a strong lineup of both two year-old and three year-old winners in New Zealand. Two year-old filly RAINBOW DASH won the Listed Waikato 2yo which followed on from her runners up cheque in the Group 2 Matamata Breeders stakes earlier in the season. FLAUNTING was another two year-old filly by Showcasing to score at Listed level last season in the Castletown Stakes (1200m) at Wanganui. Yet another Showcasing 2yo filly ALL ABOUT MAGIC won the Listed Champagne Stakes at Riccarton for the Pitman yard. On the three year-old scene, Showcasing also has some promising performers heading into their four year-old year this season.
(OUR) INTRIGUE was runner up in the Group 2 Ellerslie 3yo championship in the summer over 2100m for Tony Pike. She looks a sure fire stakes winner in the coming season. As does stablemate WEKAFORCE who was Listed placed at three. Showcasing closed off the 2018/2019 New Zealand season as the leading sire of 2yo winners in New Zealand with 12 winners of which 3 won at stakes level. This was from just 22 individual runners. Showcasing stands the 2019 Northern Hemisphere season at Whitsbury Manor for a fee of 55,000 GB pounds ($100,000 AUD). This year his fee rose 20,000 pounds from the previous mark of 35,000 pounds for 2018. Showcasing’s rise to prominence had significant impact on his Northern Hemisphere yearling sales prices in 2018. His progeny commanded prices of up to 850,000 pounds. In Australasia, Showcasing’s final group of New Zealand bred yearlings sold in 2019 fetching up to $170,000 again proving to be great value. Based on his brilliant figures in Europe, buyers of these could well be rewarded in the seasons to come. Champion trainer Tony Gollan’s flying start to the new season has been welcomed by Ontrack Thoroughbreds. Gollan won four races at Saturday’s Doomben meeting to give him seven metropolitan winners with the new season less than two weeks’ old. Ontrack Managing Director Grant Morgan said it was this sort of success which led to Ontrack forming an association with the Tony Gollan stable at Eagle Farm. “I bought two horses at the recent Magic Millions Sale for Tony to train. He’s won the last six Brisbane metropolitan trainers’ premierships so it’s a great time to form a relationship with Queensland’s leading stable. “Ontrack’s goal is to find young horses capable of winning Saturday city races and nobody has more success in Queensland at that premier level than Tony Gollan. “With improving stakes levels in South East Queensland and the successful redevelopment of the Eagle Farm track, it’s an exciting time to be involved with racing here and there’s no better time to have nice young horses heading to the Gollan stable. “I bought a smashing colt from Real Impact’s first crop for Tony as well as a half-sister by Foxwedge to Tony’s talented sprinter I’m A Rippa. Tony has prepared I’m A Rippa to win in excess of $1.2 million, including a rich Magic Millions race and a Group 3 at Doomben.
“Both are really nice horses and being Magic Millions graduates they are eligible to race at the $10 million at the Gold Coast for their entire racing careers,” said Grant Morgan. Tony Gollan said Saturday’s four winners represented the fourth time he had saddled up a quartet of winners on the same card. "It's always good to have multiple winners on a Saturday and credit must go to my staff," Gollan said. A trip to Hong Kong for the rich International meeting in December remains a live chance for classy Queenslander Houtzen.
The Magic Millions winner failed at Royal Ascot in her only UK start in June and she’s down to run in the Group Two King George Stakes at Goodwood early tomorrow morning over 1005 metres. Aquis Stud is now controlling owner in the mare and Aquis CEO Shane McGrath said there are a lot of options being considered for the daughter of I Am Invincible. Houtzen will be sent to stud to be served by Lope De Vega but there are several races still potentially on the table, as long as she performs well at Goodwood. “If she jumps away at Goodwood we will know exactly where she is at. “If she puts her hand up there is no reason you couldn’t keep going and there could be some lovely races for her. “Hong Kong in December would even be a possibility,” said Shane McGrath. Ontrack Thoroughbreds Managing Director Grant Morgan said a run by Houtzen in Hong Kong in December would be a major attraction for those attending the big International Meeting. “In recent years the quarantine rules have made Hong Kong a difficult venue for Australian and New Zealand horses, but those issues look likely to be resolved in time for this year’s big Hong Kong International Meeting. “It would be fantastic for those on Ontrack’s Hong Kong tour to see a classy Australian sprinter like Houtzen take on the exciting local horses and other internationals,” said Grant Morgan. |
PREVIOUS ARTICLES |