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Despite very small representation in that region, two sires at Adam Sangster’s Swettenham stud at Nagambie in Vlctoria have each had winners on top tracks in New Zealand in a week. The sires are the current Victorian based leading sire Bianconi, a son of Danzig, and the promising young Danehill winner getter Court of Jewels. The first leg of the double was provided by Mr Shanghai, a Graeme Rogerson trained 6-year-old Bianconi gelding who romped to a 2.3 lengths win at Te Aroha on November 25. It was an effort that suggested he has regained the form he showed in New Zealand at three. Since then problems have restricted his chances and he has only run16 times. The Court of Jewels success in New Zealand was secured at Avondale on December 2 by Adaline, a 3-year-old filly who was having her second successive win. A sister to Regally Red, a winner at two at Ballarat,and second at Flemington (a head) and Caulfield (on debut), Adaline was sold on behalf of her Victorian breeder, M.K. Tong, for $10,000 as a weanling at the Inglis Melbourne sales and resold as a yearling in New Zealand for $28,000. The dam Red Covet, a Flemington winner, is one of the110 (80.9% of his runners) in the only three crops by Australian champion 2-year-old St Covet.The death of this luckless short head Golden Slipper second at Queensland’s Glenlogan Park stud before he had his first runners turned out to be a tragedy. One of St Covet’s ten stakes winners is All ThrillsToo, a winner and third placegetter (behind Falvelon) in two attempts at the Hong Kong International Sprint. He is a three-quarter brother-in-blood to Red Covet., a half-sister also to the dam of the Show a Heart siblings Crossyourheart, a champion New Zealand 2-year-old filly, and Gotta Have Heart, a Melbourne dual Group 3. Adaline’s sire Court of Jewels is one of the most fashionably bred, low budget fee sires available in Victoria. Successful at the races at Melbourne, Adelaide and Sydney, this sturdy 16.1 hands bay is a three-quarter brother to Commands and Danewin and is from Nine Carat, a three-quarter sister by Sir Tristram to Horse of the Year Octagonal. Besides Adaline and her sister Regally Red, Court of Jewels is sire from limited opportunity of 16 other winners, including She Swings (two Adelaide wins in four starts), You Little Pearler (won Ballarat, Colac, fourth Sandown), Bad Angel (successive wins Hamilton and Horsham – 3.25 lengths in October), One More Carat (successive wins Bendigo, Ballarat – 2.25 lengths, fourth Moonee Valley), Offer Me Jewels (Northam, WA winner by 1.75 lengths, three placings Ascot, contested four stakes including WA Oaks), Speech Room (also won Northam and placed Perth; two stakes runs), Ned’s Court (two wins Warrnambool, three successive close seconds –Mount Gambier, Hamilton, Penola), Court Ya (won by 4.75 lengths Mornington in mid October; second Mornington, Cranbourne), Alezzie (six starts, win 2.25 lengths Wangaratta, second Benalla) and Tomba (four starts Singapore for a win). A current star in the Victorian sire ranks is Bianconi, the source of the winner of the first leg of the New Zealand Swettenham sire double, Mr Shanghai. Now reaping the benefit of the Sangsters decision to buy this former Danzig shuttle sire outright and make him a resident at the Nagambie stud, he has shown up as one of the best sires in the State in the past two years. He was Victoria’s leading active sire for 2008-09 numerically and second to Bel Esprit on earnings. Taking in the contributions from a small number of overseas runners, he finished the year with statistics of 95 winners of 129 races and $2,666,119. Contributors included the Australian stakes winners or placegetters Nicconi, Kelconi, Pacino and Monrfontaine. Bianconi looks set to easily surpass those statistics in 2009-10, racking up in the first 17 weeks of the racing year an impressive 58 winners, including two in New Zealand and one each in Singapore and Malaysia, of 77 races and earners of $1.7million. The leading Victorian based sire through to this week by earnings and numbers, 20th nationally by earnings and fourth by winners, he continued his consistent success when his Bruce Cross, Warwick Farm trained gelded son Starzando won his tenth race in winning at Rosehill Gardens on Saturday. Three weeks earlier, he lumped 67.5 kgs to victory in the historic Bong Bong Cup and earlier successes have included appearances in Sydney and Melbourne. (Brian Russell Bloodstock Media Service). |
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It appears Mick Price has another quality up and comer in the stable if 'Our Baby Bonus's win in yesterdays Luxbet.com Maiden Plate (1000m) at Bendigo is anything to go by.
Soldier's Tale is already receiving accolades for his 2009 foals at foot winning the 2009 Breednet Foal Gallery Reader’s Choice award. 
