In this week's Rowe on Monday column, journalist Tim Rowe finds out what's in store for $3 million Sunlight winner Private Harry, checks out the progress of $1 million yearling Espionage ahead of racetrack return and delves into the complicated world of land deals and racing - this time in Malaysia.
Private Harry doing just fine as Doyle and Driver ponder colt’s future
Nathan Doyle was letting the dust settle on Private Harry’s Sunlight achievements at the Sunshine Coast by spending the two days since focused on finding the Newcastle trainer’s next stable star.
Doyle and Private Harry’s co-owner, syndicator Sean Driver of Kurrinda Bloodstock, are on the Gold Coast for the Magic Millions sale, which starts on Tuesday, while the exciting three-year-old colt is already in the paddock as the winner of four races from as many starts.
In the space of two months and more than $1.3 million in the bank.
But it won’t be long and the son of Darley shuttler Harry Angel will be back in work with Doyle and connections to ponder what an autumn campaign looks like.
“Our ultimate aim will be black-type obviously, but I haven't sat down with the guys and had a chat as yet because, before Saturday, we had a benchmark 72 horse,” Doyle said.
“We just wanted to see where he sat coming out of Saturday's run and he's probably more than overachieved and shown he's up to the grade, so we'll sit down in the coming week and see what we do with him next.”
When asked about Group 1 Sydney sprints, The Galaxy and TJ Smith Stakes, Doyle was non-commital but he oozes confidence in the lightly raced Private Harry, who won a 900m Newcastle maiden in early November.
Private Harry wins the $3 million Sunlight. (Vision TouTube)
The colt ran in the Sunlight slot owned by B2B Thoroughbreds’ Ricky Surace, who purchased a small share through Inglis Digital in Private Harry which valued the horse at more than $1 million in November.
Doyle and Driver are yet to receive calls from fellow stallion investors about perhaps acquiring equity in the colt despite putting a 2-1/2 length margin on Golden Slipper winner Lady Of Camelot in the Sunlight.
“But I won't say it's not coming down the track, but we'll just look after the horse first. That's my job and I'll let them sort that out,” the emerging trainer said.
“He pulled up perfectly from the run. It was like he hadn't been around. He's already in the paddock and we’ll give him three weeks off and then we'll bring him back to the system.”
Connections conspiring a tilt at Lightning for Espionage
Coolmore minted stallion prospect Switzerland as a Group 1 winner in the spring - the colt producing a brilliant display in winning the three-year-old Coolmore Stud Stakes - and it’s Flemington again where another potential stallion destined for Jerrys Plains will be looking to land a Group 1 of his own.
Espionage, a three-year-old son of Zoustar whose spring was cut short before it even started due to injury, is closing in on a barrier trial and a possible tilt at the Black Caviar Lightning Stakes at Flemington on February 15.
Coolmore bought into the James Harron-controlled Espionage, a $1 million Magic Millions graduate bred by Gerry Harvey, last winter after the colt’s Group 3 Kindergarten Stakes success in the autumn.
Harron reports that the Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott-trained Espionage is back in full work at Randwick.
Kindergarten Stakes winner Espionage is on the comeback trail. (Vision: YouTube)
“The guys reported that he worked extremely well (last) Tuesday morning and like everyone in the stable has been very happy with him,” Harron said.
“You know, we haven't quite got to see the Espionage that everyone's been sort of talking about and waiting to see, but hopefully we'll see it in the next four to six weeks.”
Coolmore winner Switzerland, who is trained by Chris Waller, could also resume in the Lightning while the longer-range plan is for the colt to travel to Royal Ascot in June.
Penang sell-off falls flat - for now
Race clubs wanting to sell off racetracks to developers isn’t restricted to Australia.
The Melbourne Racing Club’s proposal to sell off Sandown appears dead and buried and the Australian Turf Club’s controversial idea to dispose of Rosehill for housing has to be on shaky ground.
And now, in the latest affront to racing, a tender process to sell the land on which the Penang Turf Club sits has fallen through, six months after the plan was vetoed.
One of three racecourses in Malaysia - the Perak Turf Club at Ipoh and the Selangor Turf Club in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur - Penang Turf Club members had voted to end racing after 161 years and sell the valuable 82-hectare parcel of land for what is reportedly worth more than 1 billion ringgit (A$358.72 million).
But interest has fallen flat, with the club’s general manager and secretary Leow Khin Ming confirming that the tender process, which closed last week, did not result in any successful offers being made.
He didn’t exactly, though, suggest that racing could suddenly become a long-term focus for the club once again.
“The club will now continue with alternative avenues for the realisation of its properties,” Leow told local news site Free Malaysia Today.
Penang Turf Club management and members who voted in favour of the plan (members will receive a portion of any sale proceeds should the site be sold) blamed changing times and high maintenance costs.
However, not dissimilar to what occurred at the Singapore Turf Club, there has been a lack of investment in the picturesque racecourse and, as a result, the club has struggled to maintain field sizes to conduct adequate race cards.
On December 29, the Penang Gold Cup was run and won with numerous horses trained at Selangor and Ipoh supporting the meeting.
That signature meeting was conducted in contrast to many of the scheduled meetings when a clearly unsustainable two and three race-cards have been run over the past two years.
