turf monthly
July 2024
THIS MONTH TEA ROSE MAKARPURA
BEAU VITE TED McMENAMIN
Editor’s Letter Socks Nation caused one of the biggest Group 1 upsets we have seen in Australia for many years, bringing back memories of some of the great upsets of history. The likes of Ajax at 40/1 on being beaten by Spear Chief in the All Aged Stakes, and Dandy Andy winning the Australian Cup at 125/1 in what looked to be a match race between Vo Rogue and Bonecrusher. The big difference was that there was no short-priced favourite in the Qld Oaks this year, and in fact, Scarlet Oak who started the $4.80 favourite was to finish last of the eighteen runners. The big talking point of Socks Nation’s win though came through reference to her sire, the shuttle stallion Sioux Nation by Scat Daddy. He came to Swettenham Stud in Victoria for only one season in 2019, covering only 54 mares. The stallion is owned by Coolmore Stud who stand the stallion in Ireland for a current fee of €27,500. At the same time that they were shuttling Sioux Nation to Swettenham, they were standing two more sons of Scat Daddy in Caravaggio and No Nay Never, and later Justify who has proved an outstanding success. What is interesting from a pedigree perspective is that while Scat Daddy never came to Australia, both his sire, Johannesburg and his grand sire in Hennessy both shuttled to Australia without cementing the influence of the immortal US stallion Storm Cat. It is likely significant that while the Storm Cat line is considered a speed line, Hennessy was to produce the Qld Derby winner Half Hennessy as well as the star middle distance horse, Grand Armee, while Johannesburg produced AJC Oaks winner, Once Were Wild. The other significant sire line tracing to Storm Cat is that of Giant’s Causeway and his son Shamardal, again both stallions who had brief shuttle careers in Australia yet now have cemented themselves into influential positions in Australian pedigrees. Sioux Nation himself was a good 2yo and is noted as a 2yo producer in the Northern Hemisphere so it is again problematic that his standout performer has won over a mile and half. One breeding theory that is never
CONTENTS 4
Tea Rose
10
Beau Vite
12
Beau Vite At Stud
16
Ted McMenamin
28
Makarpura
popular is that the influence of the sire and dam is not predetermined. It is just as likely that Socks Nation got almost none of her ability from her sire but most from her female line that includes local stars like Freemason and Shogun Lodge who both performed over longer distances. While shuttle stallions are now such an important part of Australasian breeding, we are always going to see instances where overseas success does not translate into local success and vice versa. The question in this case is whether one local success would translate into significant future successes, and how much risk should local breeders take with shuttle stallions. Until next month
Ross Prowd COVER PHOTO JOLIESTAR by Zoustar winning the 2023 MRC One Thousand Guineas
Turf Monthly ABN 64 892 144 940 Phone 0412 712 181
Email editor@turfmonthly.com.au 2 Swan Street PARKSIDE Q 4825
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TEA ROSE
TRACING TO OTTERDEN
The Tea Rose Stakes started in 1980 as a Listed Race Tea Rose was by Mr Standfast, out of the Rivoli mare, over 1400m. The first winner was a portend of what Tea Table. The dam of Tea Rose, was by the former was to come with Golden Slipper star, Dark Eclipse AJC Derby winner, Rivoli. George Anderson had taking out to the inaugural event. In 1983 the race was trained both her and her dam Tea for Two for Mr J.H.S. upgraded to Group 3 level, and two years later, it was Barnes. As her pedigree suggests, Tea Rose was bred upgraded to a Group 2 event over 1500m when won in Queensland by EED White. She was a tall chestnut by another good filly in Shinakima. The race was not carrying a white blaze and a rear white stocking. held in 2007, and in 2013 officials reduced the distance Leading Brisbane trainer George Anderson shared back to the original 1400m. That year it was won by in the ownership of Tea Rose and she was taken to another star filly in Guelph who had won the ATC Sires Sydney to race as all but the sand track at Albion Park Produce and Champagne Stakes as a 2yo. But who was had been closed due to the war. She was ridden by the Tea Rose, the filly whose name the race carries? good jockey Ted McMenamin who we will learn more
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Shannon and Tea Rose fight out the Sires Produce
Tea Rose resumed on her last day as a 2yo to win a Nursery Handicap at Moorefield carrying 9st 10lb (61.5kg). She then was unplaced behind Shannon in the Hobartville Stakes but Anderson, who had great faith in the filly sent her up against the champion Flight in the Canterbury Stakes the following weekend. She won at odds of 33/1 and, after she won The filly won a juvenile stakes race in Sydney and the Rosehill Guineas impressively she was sent out had twice run second behind the star colt, Shannon as the favourite for the Derby. Shannon had been twice in minor races at Randwick prior to coming kicked at the barrier in the Guineas, and while it to public notice by running a narrow second to that might have contributed to his performance there colt in the Sires Produce. McMenamin was convinced where he also lost a plate and suffered interference., it that Tea Rose should have won the race as she struck did not matter to punters who supported the filly in bad interference in the race, having to be treated the Derby heavily. Support further increased when in the unsaddling enclosure for a deep wound she she won the Craven Plate again beating Flight. In the had suffered on her near hind. Blood flowed freely Autumn, Tea Rose was ridden by Harry Darke and and immediate vet attention was necessary. While the pair drew outside of Shannon in barrier four for Shannon was sent to the paddock after the run, Tea the Derby. The race was to prove something of an Rose went on to the Champagne Stakes the following anti-climax with Tea Rose settling just behind the week. Due to her injury, the filly was unable to gallop leaders off a strong pace. Tea Rose easily outstayed between races and failed by only a half-neck on rain the field to win by two lengths from Removal with affected ground to defeat the winner, Scaur Fel who Prince Verity in third. had won the Gimcrack Stakes earlier in the season.
of later in this edition. McMenamin was also the rider of the star Beau Vite. What connects these two quality racehorses is the stallion Sheen who we introduced last month, and his daughter Otterden. We saw that Otterden was the dam of Martian and indeed Beau Vite is out of the Martian mare, Dominant. Tea Rose sees Otterden as her fifth dam.
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The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954) Sat 14 Oct 1944 Page 6 A.J.C. Derby, 1 1/2 m. (2.25) Accession: No colt has had a more fitting preparation than this fellow but his ability to carry 8 10 has to be queried on the grounds that he is not a big horse. Accession won the Canterbury Guineas carrying 8 5 but the additional 5lb this week might worry him Prince Verity: Won a mile and a quarter Novice at Rosehill two starts ago and displayed stubbornness at the barrier in last week’s Clibborn refusing to leave the machine. Yesterday morning he twice got rid of his jockey at V P and is apparently developing an aversion to racing Shannon: When the Derbv horses went into winter retirement Shannon was rated the best of his age. He lived up to his reputation at his first attempt this season by winning the Hobartville Stakes and his only appearance since then was his unplaced effort in the Rosehill Guineas which went lo Tea Rose. However there were excuses for him in that race, as he was badly kicked at the post by Vermeil, and according to his jockey, D Munro, was winded by Vermeil's attentions. His heel is now troubling him, and it is questionable whether the preparation and racing he has had this season is sufficient to fit him for the Derby. Lancaster Pilot: Has not the credentials to win a Derby. Beau Monde: Placed at each of his last three appearances. Accession beat him in the Canterbury Guineas, Tea Rose and Melhero finished ahead of him In the Rosehill Guineas, and last week he ran second to Removal in the Clibborn. Removal: No Derby candidate has made more progress than Removal has In the last fortnight Each day sees him a fitter colt, and there was abundant conviction about his win In last Saturday's mile and a quarter Clibborn Stakes in which he carried 8 5. Removal has also won over a mile so it is evident that he relishes a bit of distance. May be Tea Rose’s most formidable opponent on Saturday Murray Stream: Had his chance in last Saturdays Clibborn Stakes but made a quick surrender soon after turning into the straight Silver Link: Has run several decent races but the fact that he so far has been unsuccessful should eliminate him from being a winning possibility Tea Rose: The only filly in the field and one of the greatest of her sex we have seen in years No filly since Picture has won the AJC Derby Even the mighty Flight had to strike her colours in last year’s Derby to Moorland but Tea Rose has performed more elegantly in her Derby lead-up than Flight did. She has beaten the best of her own age and the best of the older w f a horses in her last three outings taking the Canterbury Stakes 6f Rosehill Guineas 9f and Craven Plate 10f
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BEAU VITE
MULTIPLE RECORD HOLDER
Daily Mirror (Sydney, NSW : 1941 - 1955), Thursday 13 August 1942, page 23 BEAU VITE'S RACING DAYS OVER Beau Vite's racing days are over declared trainer Frank McGrath this morning. "I cannot say that I am greatly surprised. I WAS doubtful about the champion in the autumn and I expected him to go at any time. He stood up to his preparation in good style, but I was pleased when the big racing ceased." Beau Vite pulled up lame after a gallop on Tuesday. "The trouble is located in the pastern joint," said McGrath. Mrs. Ralph Stewart, owner of Beau Vite is in New Zealand. McGrath has sent word to her about mishap. The weight-for-age star has been one of the favorites TURF MONTHLY 8
for the Caulfield Cup and Melbourne Cup since the weights were issued. "His withdrawal from these races will not help us to any extent” said a pre-post operator. “There has been practically no support for the New Zealand horse. Practically no horse." Won £26,680 Beau Vite has been given 9.12 in the Caulfield Cup and 2lb less in the Melbourne Cup. A six year old, he won 31 races and £26,680 in prizemoney for his owner (Mr Ralph Stewart) who recently passed away. He raced three times in the Melbourne Cup, his best performance being third last season with 9.10 on his back. His last appearance was in the Sydney Cup at Rosehill in April. He was third to Veiled Threat and Velocity.
1940 Cox Plate Beau Vite defeats Ajax
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eau Vite deserves his place in Australian Racing Hall Of Fame. In all he was to win 30 stakes races including becoming the third horse to win two Cox Plates, a race he won in both 1940 and 1941. The colt was a son of Beau Pere out of the Martian mare, Dominant. Beau Pere was interestingly a half-brother to Mr Standfast who was the sire of Tea Rose who hailed from the female line of the daughter of Sheen in Otterden, the dam of Martian. Beau Vite was bred in New Zealand and started his career there as an early two-year-old. He was unplaced in his first four starts but showed promise by running third behind another quality son of Beau Pere in Beaulivre who himself was to go over to an outstanding career. Beau Vite then won three straight races at Trentham including the Challenge Stakes where he defeated Beaulivre. He then ran third in the Sires’ Produce at Manawatu before finishing off his 2yo season with seconds behind Beaulivre in the Champagne and Challenge Stakes at Canterbury.
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s a 3yo, Beau Pere headed to Sydney where he beat Gold Rod at his second start in the Canterbury Stakes. After a second in the Chelmsford, he won the Clarendon Stakes before running fourth in the AJC Derby behind Reading. After a second behind High Caste in the Craven Plate, the colt went to Melbourne to run unplaced in the Caulfield Stakes before losing his rider in the Cox Plate. He ran fourth again behind Reading in the VRC Derby and was unplaced in Rivette’s Melbourne Cup. The colt then returned to NZ where he was to win eight of his next ten starts which included two seconds. Among these race wins were victories in the Great Northern Derby, two St Legers and the Awapuni Gold Cup. It was not until he was a 4yo that the stallion returned to Australia. After two unplaced runs, Beau Vite with Ted McMenamin on board won six straight races including the Metropolitan, Cox Plate and Mackinnon Stakes. He finished fourth behind Old Rowley in the Melbourne Cup and four days later ran second behind High Caste in the Fisher Plate. Beau Vite returned to NZ to win the Auckland Cup and Clifford Plate. He was back in Sydney for the Autumns where he won the Rawson Stakes, Autumn Plate and AJC Plate and was placed in the Chipping Norton and All Aged Stakes. TURF MONTHLY 9
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he horse returned in the Spring to finish unplaced in the Canterbury Stakes before winning the Chelmsford, Tattersalls, Colin Stephens and Craven Plate in Sydney. He went to Melbourne where he failed in the Caulfield Cup before again winning the Cox Plate and Mackinnon Stakes. He ran a great third when carrying 9.10 (61.5kg) in the Melbourne Cup won by Skipton. He then finished second behind High Caste in the Fisher Plate. Beau Vite then returned in the Autumn to win the Autumn Plate at Randwick before he finished third in the Sydney Cup. At this stage, chronic leg issues saw him retired to stud. During his career he held the Australasian records for 2000m and 2600m. Incredibly his record for the 10 furlongs stood for sixteen years.
TURF MONTHLY 10
Beau Vite winning the 1941 Cox Plate beating Tranquil Star and Laureate
BEAU VITE AT STUD
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eau Vite was to stand initially at St Aubins Stud at Scone for Mr WJ Smith. His sire Beau Pere was to stand at the same stud before being sold to movie magnate, Louis Mayer to stand at his Californian farm. The stallion was later to return to NZ. Beau Vite was to have only moderate success siring twelve individual stakes winners. His best was likely to have been Lancaster who won five stakes races including the AJC Plate and QTC Brisbane Cup and Metropolitan Handicap. Like many stallions, especially staying types, the legacy of Beau Vite remains through his daughters. While there are few champions that we can trace back to this stallion, there are plenty of good gallopers who owe their ability in some part to this champion racehorse in Beau Vite.
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Dane Ripper 1997 Cox Plate
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urprisingly Queensland and WA both have seen ancestors of this stallion do them proud. In the case of Queensland, we saw a daughter called Belle Spi leave a line that was to produce top gallopers in Dane Ripper who won four Group 1 races in the Cox Plate, Stradbroke Handicap, Manikato Stakes and Australian Cup, I Am A Ripper who won MVRC Champagne Stakes, VATC Angus Armanasco and QTC Sir Douglas Wadley, and Murphy’s Blu Boy who was a 2yo sensation of his time winning his first four starts by large margins including travelling to Melbourne to win the Blue Diamond Preview.
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he good stayer All Shot who we have written about before is another who traces to a daughter of Beau Vite, this time through a mare called Fifth Note. Also from this line we see good WA horses Storm Shot, Stormy’s Son and Vain Crusader. This line was to also produce the NZ bred Lord Silver Man who won the 1977 Hobartville Stakes. He was to go to stud and his daughters produced a line that was to give us a good filly called Camino Rose who won the Group 1 Coolmore Classic in Sydney. Another good NZ bred horse was Magistrate who also traces to mare by Beau Vite. Magistrate was to star in WA winning the Perth Cup in both 1981 and 1982 and he also added a Bendigo Cup and two Werribee Cups to his Australian record.
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Beau Vite winning the 1941 Mackinnon.Stakes
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hile these were all wonderful gallopers, the Beau Vite mare Sheba was to eventually lead to a champion in Tie The Knot. He was a son of Nassipour out of the Whiskey Road mare, Whisked who won the Group 1 VATC One Thousand Guineas in 1990 as well as coincidentally the Tea Rose Stakes. At stud she produced two other stakes winners in Dream Ballad and Hood but it was Tie The Knot who was to arguably match Beau Vite in ability. While Beau Vite had more success in Victoria than in NSW, Tie The Knot was a Sydney champion, recording 19 of his 20 stakes wins there. His only Melbourne success came in the 1998 Underwood Stakes but his record there was still outstanding despite his lack of wins. He was to run second in the VRC Derby, Yalumba Stakes behind Northern Drake, and Cox Plate behind Sunline. He was also to run third in the Norman Robinson, Caulfield Cup behind Taufan’s Melody, and the Yalumba Stakes behind Sky Heights and Shogun Lodge. He was also to race twice in the Melbourne Cup with his best result a sixth behind Jezabeel and Champagne where he was beaten less than three lengths despite being in front of only two horses at the 800m mark. In Sydney Tie The Knot was simply a star. He won a host of races including the Group 1 Sydney Cup twice, the Chipping Norton Stakes four times and the Ranvet Stakes and Mercedes Classic twice.
Tie The Knot 2002 Chipping Norton TURF MONTHLY 14
TED McMENAMIN THE SWORDFISH
Ted McMenamin Tells Life Story WIFE PROVED JOCKEY'S GUIDING STAR Early in 1932 a young man, Ted McMenamin, stepped off the Wagga train at the Central Railway Station, gazed nervously at the city sights and city traffic, and regretted his attempt to gain fame in Sydney. Today McMenamin, by his consistently brilliant riding, has become the idol of city racegoers. Yesterday McMenamin brought his winning tally to 20 victories in the last 15 days. As told to A. W. Dexter by E. McMenamin I WAS so upset by city conditions that I nearly packed up and fled back to the peace of my hometown. I was so used to the country, that I couldn't settle down. The city didn't appeal to me, and often, when I was finding the going hard, I practically decided to throw it all up and go back home. I was born in Sydney, but almost before I can remember, my parents moved to the Wagga district. There I learned the rudiments of horsemanship by dashing wildly about the bush on ponies, but the idea oi a jockey's career did not enter my head for years. At that time, however, my uncle was a successful rider in Townsville, and suddenly, I thought I would like to emulate him. Twenty-two years ago, when I was little more than a handful, I was apprenticed to Bob Skelton, then the 'Pony Baron,' who was winning hundreds of races on A.R.C. tracks. I can't remember much about those times. But I know I didn't get many rides, and I quickly returned home, a disillusioned boy. I rode my first winner 18 years ago, but I cannot remember whether the winning horse was Lady Urney, at Wagga, or Blaboke, at Junee. Fortunate Holiday In September 1927, I felt the need of a holiday, so I made a second trip to Sydney. Nothing was furthest from my mind than race riding, yet that holiday provided me with a great opportunity. Trainer George Foulsham had a horse called Social Success, a brilliant galloper, who, however, seldom left the barrier with his field. Foulsham had tried several Sydney Jockeys and was practically at his wits' end. I was not anxious to take the mount, but finally I consented to ride Social Success in a High-weight Handicap at Gosford, and the horse won. Offers were made to me to remain In Sydney, but the call of the country was too great. At my next trip to Sydney I again built up a record of one ride one win. But this time it was not an accidental mount.
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Plans had been prepared for an assault on the Sydney bookmakers with a Junee horse, Alroon. I was the rider, and Alroon landed a plunge by winning the Moorefield Hurdle Race in June 1930. I believe I would still have been a country jockey, only that my wife imbued me with ambition. She kept pointing out the greater chances in Sydney. She was convinced that I was a good jockey and finally, in 1932, I gave in. Again my first Sydney ride was a winning one. On April 30 1932, I won the Rosehill Hurdle race for Peter Riddle, on Bill Jim. Good For Years I had no confidence in myself as a flat rider, and it took the combined efforts of Mr. Mack Sawyer, Mr. Fred Cush and my wife to force me to give up hurdle riding. And now, having been lucky, enough to make a success of flat riding, I have no Intention of retiring. I feel that I have many years of riding ahead of me, and I will keep going just so long as I retain my form. I have been lucky almost throughout my career. For two years after I started to ride over hurdles, I did not have a single fall. My worst accident was on a green horse. Glamara, in a hurdle race at Wagga, 13 or 14 years ago. Glamara crashed straight into the running rail and broke it. Part of the rail went through one of my legs and a bolt pierced my arm. In addition, I have had broken collarbones and broken arms, but I am one of the fortunate ones who have escaped from hurdle riding without having my health impaired. Sarcherie Best Sarcherie is the best horse I have ever ridden. She was a marvel, and I don't think I have ever seen a better mare. I rode her in two of the Melbourne Cups in which she was placed, and I believe one of her most remarkable performances was in the Newmarket Handicap in 1938, when she was at the end of her career. The distance, six furlongs, was too short, and she finished only tenth, but she was flying over the good sprinters at the finish, and she was only three or four lengths away from Ajax.
TURF MONTHLY 18
Yaralla AJC Breeders Plate winner and Jockey Ted McMenamin
Truth (Sydney, NSW : 1894 - 1954), Sunday 25 February 1945, page 4 McMENAMIN TO DITCH DUNGAREES FOR SILKS TED McMENAMIN rides again! The former champion jockey will come out of retirement next week and will be seen in the saddle at the A.J.C. Autumn meeting, if not before. IT is indeed great news, as McMenamin is one of the most accomplished horsemen this part of the world has produced in the last decade or two, and he said at Randwick yesterday that he has assured himself that he will be as good as ever he was. Circumstances which forced Mac out of the game last March have so improved that now he will be able to devote his undivided attention to jockeying. Everyone knows that Ted is a grazier. He has an extensive property, Woodlands, Denman, in the Hunter Valley, and it was because he was unable to secure sufficient and competent labor, and had to do three men's work himself, that McMenamin was unable to give the time he wanted, to his job of jockeying. The labor problem became so acute that Ted had no alternative but to hand in his licence. However, during his 10 months retirement from the saddle many of his friends and owners for whom he had ridden in the past were always at him to come back. McMenamin gave scant consideration to these pleas, but two months ago he was lucky enough to sign-up a 'crew,' which will take all the worries of 'Woodlands' off his shoulders. 'I feel like a two-year-old,'' he told us, ‘And believe it or hot, I am lighter now than when I was riding.' Ted is a dynamic worker, and his sterling condition today is attributable to the fact that he never stopped working during his retirement. McMenamin's re-entry to the riding fold will fill a much needed want as the standard of jockeys in Sydney today outside about a dozen riders is 'not so hot.' Ted will don his heavy sweaters tomorrow and do road work each morning for a week before he commences to ride work. He will swim, have salt-water baths and punch the ball at Coogee daily, and considers that well within a fortnight he will be 'at his top.' It is almost certain he will do some riding for the Fred Cush stable, an establishment for which he rode innumerable winners when previously a hoop. Truth, together with all racegoers, wish Ted a speedy return to form.
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Sun (Sydney, NSW : 1910 - 1954), Sunday 13 April 1941, page 1 RIDE OUT A FINISH WITH TED McMENAMIN : : By E. McMENAMIN, as told to A. W. Dexter. IT'S a great game, this riding in races, and I wouldn't change my career for anything. When a jockey's getting the most out of a horse, he doesn't think of anything else. Often I don't even hear the noises of the crowd. It's like someone reading a book while the wireless is turned on. If it's an interesting story, he doesn't even hear the radio. Lots of people have said to me, "You must be so tired you can hardly stand up after some of your big races." But it wasn't a Cup or a w.f.a. race that gave me my toughest and most exciting ride. I'd say the hardest finish I've ever ridden was in a hurdle race at Rosehill in May 1936. I'd just promised my wife and my two friends, Mr. Mack Sawyer and Mr. Fred Cush, that I'd give up hurdle riding. I was going to try my luck on the flat, and my mount in flat race, Loch Garry, was going to be my last over jumps. You know how it is, when you're leaving something, you want to leave behind a good memory. I wanted to win my last hurdle race, and I couldn't think of anything else for days before Ihe race. Bui it's the same in racing as in ordinary life. What you want most is hardest to get, and I still don't know how I won on Loch Garry. For the last five furlongs, a horse called Foxlike raced alongside me. I pulled every riding trick I knew, bul I couldn't get away from him. Then we were over the last jump, I pulled Ihe whip on Loch Garry, I hit him harder than I've - ever hit another horse in my life, and you can imagine how I felt when he poked his head in front just as we hit the finishing line. There's no rule about using the whip when you're flat out for the winning post. It all depends on the horse you're riding, the way he's going, or the jockeys you're up against. TURF MONTHLY 20
There's Beau Vite. I suppose he's the best horse I've ever ridden. You'd think he couldn't do a thing wrong. But he wants to loaf when he thinks he's got a race won, and you have to keep him up to his job. I suppose most people imagine I'm driving Beau Vite with the whip at the end of his races, but 1I don't hit him more than once in ten times. The other nine times I wave the whip past Beau Vile's eyes. He thinks he's going to be hit, and that's enough to make him stretch out. Sometimes I hit a horse with the whip because I know he's loafing, and just waving it at him won't frighten him. Sometimes I hit a horse to find out whether he has a little something in reserve that will win for us. Bul if I find that my mount can't go any faster and can't even run a place, I don't keep on whipping him and giving him a hiding. The hardest finish to ride is on a horse who has led most of the way. He's still in front half a furlong from the post, but he's starting to tire and is coming back to his field. You know he's dying under you, but you have to sit still. If you hit him with the whip, you know he's likely to curl up and stop to a walk. But, whatever you do, you'll' be criticised. If you win by nursing Ihe horse and helping him to keep a balanced stride, someone will say you rode too confidently. If you lose, they'll say you threw the race away by not using the whip. A jockey has lo judge for himself when to use the stick. Sometimes he'll start to use it before the field turns info the straight. He thinks he might catch the others having a doze and steal the race. Other times he has to wait right until Ihe last minute, hoping he'll shock his mount into a last-minute effort that wins races. And then a lot depends on what jockeys are ahead of you or are challenging you. All races aren't run the same way. There's a big difference between sprint and long distance riding. In In short races, you have to be more alert and take advantage of every opportunity. You can't give anything away. A head gained at the start is a head saved at the finish, and those heads count a lot in the long run. I'd sooner ride in a weightfor-age race than any other. The best jockeys are stacked up against you, and the TURF MONTHLY 21
Maurice McCarten, Billy Lapin and Ted McMenamin
best horses start. The races are battles of wits from start to finish, and there's much more in them, than the public sees. Every jockey is trying to think a stride ahead of Ihe other chap. He's trying to work the positions and the pace lo suit himself. If the pace is too slow, he has to try and force the leaders along, without leaving his own mount too tired to fight on at the finish. If he's in front, and Ihe pace is too fast, he tries to slow down without making his horse fight for his head and knock himself out before Ihe straight. All the time, every jockey in the race is trying to put his rivals into a pocket. That's how many w.f.a. races are won. The jockey who can out-think the others will often sneak away before the turn, while the rest of Ihe riders are trying to get out of trouble, and he'll set up a break that is too much even for champions. Riding in most races is a cat and mouse business. You can't take your eyes off the other jockeys. You can't give anything away, and you've got to know the ability of the rival riders as well as the other horses. That's where tactics come in. If you see an apprentice scoot away before the turn, you can be pretty certain he's made his run too far from home, and that he'll come back quickly enough in the straight. But if jockeys like Darby Munro, Ted Bartle, Billy Cook, or Maurice McCarten do it, look out for trouble. You know they've' got something up their sleeve, and you've got to make sure you aren't caught napping. A jockey has to use different methods on different horses. That's why some of the leading jockeys seem to ride one way one day and a different style the next. All horses don't gallop the same. There's the heavy-headed sort who wants to have his head down near the ground. You've got to stop him. So you use the reins to hold his head as high as possible. TURF MONTHLY 22
Beau Vite beats Ajax and Beaulivre in the 1940 Cox Plate
Then there's the horse with a tender mouth. There's no horse harder to ride. He won't grab the bit, and riding him is like playing a big fish on a light line. You can't put too much weight on the reins or you'll hurt him, and he'll lose interest in the race. You have to kid to him. The horse who gallops kindly all the way is easy, but even then you have to make sure he doesn't burn himself out before Ihe finish by going too fast in the first half-mile. You have to keep a sluggish horse up to his work all the way. He has to be ridden out of the barrier, and you keep on scrubbing him along so that he won't drop too far out of his ground. He's so slow to pick up his speed that when he does drop back, many people think he's been interfered with. That's one reason you hear so many stories about "good things beaten." But mostly it's his own fault that he gets into a bit of trouble. He's too slow to go through openings. By the time he's made up his mind to go through, the opening has closed and he has to be pulled back again. Don't run away with the idea that a lot of interference goes on in races. What there is, is mostly accidental. A horse is going at 35 miles an hour, and he has only to change his course slightly and the other horses near him have to be checked a little. They ease back on others, and from the stands it looks as though the whole field is tangled. But it's just one of the ordinary things in a race, and most jockeys know how to look after themselves and get out of the trouble. There's no real secret about jumping a horse out of the barrier. You just watch the tapes, keep your balance, and kick hard and fast when you see the barrier move. The horse will do the rest. You've either got to be firm or kind with horses at the barrier. There's the nervous sort who won't go into line, possibly because he hasn't been schooled properly. You can’t bully him. You have to pretend to him and get his confidence. Then there's the stubborn horse who wants his own way. You've got to show him who's boss. Otherwise he'll do what he likes with you, and you'll never get him away with the others. I think two-year-olds are the most interesting things in racing. A jockey has to realise TURF MONTHLY 23
that they are just babies, going into something they know nothing about. It's like school to them. They have to be taught, and part of the teaching comes from the jockey. If a kiddie gets a hiding the first day he goes to school, he's frightened, and it's months before anyone can get him to forget it. It's the same with young horses. The way they’re treated in their first race or two has a lot to do with their future. Spurs aren't necessary on two-year-olds. They haven't had time or 'opportunity' to become rogues. Nine out of ten horses will do their best without being punished, although an occasional touch with the whip helps to keep their minds on the job and doesn't hurt them. Jockey McMenamin Says: Riding in most races is a cat and mouse business. You can't take your eyes off the other jockeys . Every jockey is trying to think a stride ahead of the other chap. All the time, every jockey in the race is trying to put his rivals into a pocket. How Well Known Jockeys Ride To Victory E. BARTLE . . . Often rides higher than others. Not always pretty but effective. M. McCARTEN . . . Arches his back and gets back in saddle, but look at his record E. McENAMIN . . . Sits close to horse. Rely on balance and judgment of pace. D. MUNRO . . . Dynamic in a close finish. Is the hardest whipper in Australia. J. THOMPSON . . . Likes driving a horse with hands and heels, instead of using whip. It's nice to ride in big races and thrilling finishes, but it wasn't so nice in the Town Plate at Goulburn a couple of years ago. That was the queerest thing that ever happened to me, and it could have cost me a serious injury. I was riding Tickle, and I must have anticipated the start. When I jumped away, the tape of the barrier tangled around me and I carried it away with me. All the way during the race I felt it twined around my chest, and every now and then I felt a jerk at my body. As the ends of the tape were trailing behind me, as I thought, I imagined that other horses were galloping on them. I didn't know until after the race that the other ends of the tape were caught around the legs of the second horse, Glenwitch, and that he had been nearly jerking me out of the saddle every time he stretched his legs. Glenwitch's rider, Pink, saved me from a serious fall after we'd passed the post. He rode alongside me and sang out, "Keep close to me and pull up with me, Ted." We eased down together, and then he showed me what had happened. If Pink hadn't thought quickly or had pulled up suddenly, I would have been catapulted from the saddle. Then there mightn't have been any Ted McMenamin to send a wish that you back the programme at Randwick tomorrow.
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Beau Vite Cox Plate Day
Border Morning Mail (Albury, NSW : 1934 - 1935; 1938 - 1953), Wednesday 11 April 1951, page 9 Former star Ted McMenamin now owner of flourishing stud at Bonegilla Several years ago, before World War II, a thoroughbred stallion made famous by the turf deeds of his son roamed the pastures of a Kiewa River property at Bonegilla. The stallion was Greenstead, and his son, Greensea, one of the best horses ever to race over the hurdles in Australia. Think of Greensea and you think of his jockey, Ted McMenamin, now owner of the Glencroft Stud, Bonegilla, Greenstead's former "home". For some years a trainer after he retired from race riding during the war years, Mr McMenanin is still associated with several of the horses he rode to victory in a turf career which began in the Wagga district. In Sydney he was four times second and twice third on the jockeys' premiership list and became known as one of Australia's best jockeys. His highest number of wins in the metropolitan area in one season was 119. Since coming to Glencroft 18 months ago he has built the stud a complement of 22 broodmares and recently paid 14000 gns. for the stallion, Makarpura, an English Derby winner formerly owned TURF MONTHLY 25
by King George VI. The horse arrived in Australia two months ago. He was the second best horse in England in 1946 and was chosen for Mr McMenamin by Mr Staney Wootton, recognised as one of the best judges of horses in the world. SYMPHONY, MAINSTAY OF STUD Tap root of the stud is Symphony, an Eastern Monarch mare, out of Tumsa, whose progeny have all won races. Outstanding among them are Lucky Stream, best of her age in Sydney as a two-year-old, and Syncopation, another good Sydney youngster. Symphony's foals have sold for a total of 12,000 gns. One of them, a colt by Confessor, brought top price of 1700 gns. at the Sydney yearling sales on April 2. Symphony now has a foal at foot by the imported stallion, Stockade. Among the Glencroft mares is La Vallee, a full sister to Kingsdale, who, ridden by McMenamin, won the Doncaster Handicap. Another is Impulse, a half-sister to the successful Sydney horse, Herbert River. Mated with the former class galloper Yaralla, Impulse's first foal was Star Quest, a winner of several races in Sydney. The mare now has a bay foal at foot by the imported French sine, Bois 0’Rose.
Beau Pere
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MAKARPURA QUALITY STALLION
M
akarpura was by Big Game out of the Gold Bridge mare, Cap D’Or. He was imported to Australia for stud duties as a 4yo, and had been a good sprinter in England winning the New Stakes as a 2yo in 1948. His dam Cap D’or had herself been a good racehorse being unbeaten as a 3yo. Makapura had been a 14,000 guinea purchase as a yearling by the Gaekwar of Baroda. Baroda was a dynasty of the Hindu Maratha Confederacy and its later state of Baroda in western India from the early 18th century until 1947. Makarpura sired a total of fifteen stakes winners including dual Warrnambool Cup winner, Puramaka and dual WA Railway Stakes winner, Tudor Mak. His half brother, Bold Buccaneer also came to Australia for stud duties where he had some success siring six stakes winners including Rosehill Guineas
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and Rawson Stakes victor Bold Pilot, AJC Breeders’ Plate winner Front Cover, and 1957 QTC Hopeful Stakes winner Tobermory Bay. Another sibling, the Champion 2yo English filly, Fair Dinah was to become a prolific broodmare, whose family still continues in many countries today. Another of Makarpura’s stakes winners was the 1960 QTC McDougall Stakes winner, Miss Copley who was to go on to be mated with the foundation stallion for the Kruger brothers new stud near Warwick in Qld called Lyndhurst. The result was a colt called Charlton Boy who was to become a star of the local turf during the 1970’s. He raced 57 times, for 20 wins, 12 placings, and a little over $150,000 in prize money. He won four of his eight starts as a 2yo, with all of these being at Eagle Farm with Larry Olsen in the saddle. Among his wins was the Sires’ Produce over 1400m. At three, he won four of fifteen starts including the Qld Guineas. He was later to win the Delaney Quality now the BTC Cup and went to Sydney to win the Tramway Stakes. As a 5yo he linked up with a new jockey in Mel Schumacher who won nine races on the gelding starting with the Gold Coast Newmarket and including the 1974 Doomben 10,000. Charlton Boy had previously been second twice in the race, behind Craigola in 1972 and his great rival Bengalla Lad in 1973. Charlton Boy was to have his last win as a 6yo when he lumped 65.5kg to win a Doomben Flying. Incidentally, Charlton Boy hails from the same female line as Beau Pere, the sire of Beau Vite.
Symphony with her Stockade foal TURF MONTHLY 29
Again it was daughters of Makarpura that were to continue his influence. There was none better than Magic Symbol who was out of the Newtown Wonder mare, Magic Wonder. The mare was owned by famed horseman Stan Wootton who had been instrumental in the purchase of Makarpura for Australia as well as the stallion who was to sire the mare’s most important progeny. That stallion was Star Kingdom and with Magic Symbol, they produced Biscay, Star Of Heaven and Tattenham. Biscay needs little introduction, but this brief piece will hardly do him justice, so we will talk more of him next month. Suffice to say that he was the sire of Bletchingly who was a three-time Champion Sire. Star Of Heaven won nine of his 22 starts. Despite being a top 2yo winning three races at that age, he did not win a stakes race but was placed in both the VRC Sires Produce and Golden Slipper. He was to later run second in the VRC Lightning and win both the Craven A Stakes and Linlithgow Stakes. Star Of Heaven was sent to the USA in 1965 where he had one minor win from eight starts. He returned to Australia where he had good success as a sire without reaching the heights of his more famous brother.
Biscay from Stallions TURF MONTHLY 30
Zousain - an emerging sire son of Zoustar
Star Of Heaven produced eight stakes winners including Goodwood winner, Heavenly Time, Craiglee and JJ Liston winner, Pleach, SA Oaks winner, Use The Space and top 2yo, Star Shower who won the Merson Cooper, Maribyrnong Plate and Blue Diamond Stakes. Oddly, Star Of Heaven is becoming increasingly difficult to find in pedigrees, especially through his daughters. We do see some excellent gallopers though who still trace to the stallion. The top mare Piavonic is one and in 2001, she won both the Manikato Stakes and Norman Carlyon Stakes at Moonee Valley. At stud, she was to produce Von Costa De Hero by Encosta De Lago who won the 2008 Sires Produce. He has had an ordinary career at stud producing only two stakes winners in Lord Von Costa and Von Costa Glass. Admiral Star who won both the WA Guineas and WA Breeders Champion Stakes is a son of the US stallion Star Of The North who also traces to a daughter of Star Of Heaven. Another was Raise A Rhythm by Raise A Cup who won the Maribyrnong Plate and Blue Diamond Prelude before producing Oamaru Rhythm who won the Listed Leslie Frogatt Stakes. She Flys by Nuclear Power is another speedy filly from the family who won the VATC Debutante Stakes and Merson Cooper as a 2yo. She was also to produce the black type placegetter Alice Blue Gown. Another son of Star Of Heaven in Theus was to stand at stud in Tasmania with good local success. A more critical son of Star Of Heaven was Gosh who had two stakes winners who were both fillies. The first was Goleen who won the 1984 Flight Stakes and One Thousand Guineas as well as Judyann who also won the Flight Stakes as well as the Surround Stakes and WA Oaks. Interestingly it was through his son, Star Shower that Star Of Heaven has had more of an influence. Star Shower produced six stakes winners of which the popular Drawn was the best. He won five stakes races in the 1985 Caulfield Guineas and the 1986 TURF MONTHLY 32
All-Aged Stakes, Rosehill Guineas, Apollo Stakes and Shannon Quality. At stud he produced Smart Alex who won the 1996 Queensland Cup. Another stakes winning daughter of Star Shower was Aspirations who won the Emancipation Stakes and was to produce Upwards by Clear Choice who won four Listed races in the QTC Thai International Airways Stakes, Neville Sellwood Stakes, Sky High Stakes and Frank Underwood Cup. It was a daughter of Star Shower in Meteor Mist that ensures that the influence of these ancestors remains important in the modern era. Meteor Mist had five named foals and her best performer was Crestfallen by Rivotious who won seven races and was placed in the Qld Tatts Winter Stakes at Group 3 level and four times at Listed level. Her daughter, Moonlight Shadow by Flying Spur produced the Group 3 winner, Testashadow by Testa Rossa. When Meteor Mist was mated with champion stallion, Redoute’s Choice she produced Zouzou who went on to produce Zoustar by Northern Meteor. Zoustar won four stakes races in 2013 in the ATC Golden Rose and Roman Consul, the VRC Coolmore Stud Stakes and the BRC Sires Produce. He has gone on to be a sensation at stud and to date has produced almost 50 individual stakes winners including the likes of Sunlight, Zousain, Lean Mean Machine, Mizee, Zougotcha, Zoutori and Ozzmossis.
Zoustar
Tattenham in all had 30 starts for nine wins and of course was placed in the VATC Debutante Stakes. He was a winner of four races as a 2yo. At stud, Tattenham produced five stakes winners in Greek Prince (STC Winter Handicap), Regal Peak (Tatt's QLD Recognition Stakes), Tattenham Lad (STC Festival Handicap), Tattwood (QTC JF Meynink Stakes) and Timurkhan (AJC Canonbury Stakes). Again, it was his daughters that were to ensure his legacy. Gilt Kingdom was the one of two important Tattenham daughters. While unraced, she was to produce ten winners from fourteen named foals. Among these were Northern Realm who was stakes placed in the Listed STC Winter Handicap and won thirteen races, Fintona Belle who was third in the Listed Tasmanian Oaks, Auranch who won six races in all including the STC Silver Slipper before being sold to race in Malaysia, and Kenbelle who won three races including the Group 1 AJC TURF MONTHLY 33
Oaks and Group 2 STC Queen Of The Turf. By Kenmare, Kenbelle was mated with the shuttle stallion Bernardini to produce Boban who won eight stakes races. In all he was to win eleven of his 37 starts and over $2.8 million in prizemoney. BOBAN Boban started his career under the care of Anthony Freedman and had his first starts I Melbourne, winning at his third start at Sandown over 1400m as a 2yo. He was sent to Brisbane for the Winter and won the Listed The Phoenix coming from last at the 400m over 1350m at Doomben. After failing in the TJ Smith he went for a spell but his Spring campaign was cut short after only two starts. Boban returned under the care of Chris Waller in the Autumn and was placed in both the Hawkesbury Guineas and Fred Best Classic. He proved to be a different horse in the Spring of his 4yo season, remaining unbeaten in five starts that included wins in the Group 1 Epsom and Emirates Stakes at Flemington. The following Autumn saw him run just behind the placegetters in the Expressway and Apollo Stakes before winning the Group 1 Chipping Norton where he beat It’s A Dundeel. He failed at his next two runs and went back to the paddock. It was to be another twelve months before Boban was back in the winning circle, winning the Doomben 10,000 and then running a good second in the Stradbroke. After an eight week break Boban resumed by winning the Group 1 Memsie at Caulfield before running fourth in the Makybe Diva beaten only a half-length. He was to have only three more starts, finishing unplaced in all before suffering a bleeding attach and being retired. The other influential daughter of Tattenham was Kissalot who was a winner of three races up to 1280m. At stud she produced Macquarie Prince by Best Western who won nine races including the Group 3 Colin Stephens Handicap and the Listed STC Christmas and Winter Cups. A full sister to Macquarie Prince was Apache Girl who won at 1200m, and at stud she produced eight winners from ten named foals. These
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Boban 2013 Emirates Stakes
included Episode by Scenic who was one of the best of her age at three winning both the SAJC Australasian Oaks and SA Oaks as well as running second in the Qld Oaks. She was also to produce nine winners which included Book Of Kells who won five races including the Group 2 Tulloch Stakes, and First Seal who was one of the finest fillies we have seen in recent times. She was to win six races including the Group 1 Flight Stakes and earned over $1.2 million in prizemoney. FIRST SEAL First Sea is by Fastnet Rock and had only one start as a 2yo, running on well over 1250m at Canterbury. She broke her maiden first up as a 3yo and then ran a close second in a BM70 that was to prove a high class event with Sweynesse winning and Hampton Court in third. First Seal then won the Tea Rose Stakes before chalking up the Group 1 Flight Stakes. Both times she beat a good filly by the name of Winx, a filly that was later to go on to stardom. Next up First Seal ran second behind Hampton Court in the Spring Champion Stakes with Sweynesse in third. The Autumn saw her win the Group 2 Surround Stakes and run second in the Light Finger, Coolmore and Vinery Stud Stakes, never finishing over a length from the winner. She was off the scene for almost a year but returned to win the Millie Fox Stakes and then ran second in the Group 1 Canterbury Stakes behind Holler. The mare then finished unplaced behind Winx in the George Ryder and Doncaster before heading back to the paddock. First Seal returned for the Spring but had only three starts but still managing to win the Group 2 Tristarc Stakes. She returned for the Autumn but had only three starts, managing to finish third in the Group 2 Sunline Stakes but running unplaced in the Group 1 Coolmore and Queen Of The Turf before retiring.
First Seal
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