STUART RAMSEY, the breeder of the Hong Kong superstar Able Friend, arguably the best Australian produced performer of this time, has strengthened the appeal of the stallion yards at his upmarket Turangga Stud, Segenhoe Valley, Scone by adding the Group1 Tale of the Cat miler Trusting.
He is scheduled to stand the 2015 season on $11,000 alongside the Fusaichi Pegasus Golden Slipper runner up Zizou, a proven sire of winners to stakes level, and Money or the Gun, a winning son of Octagonal and Canny Lad’s stakes winning sister Sister Canny.
An imposing looking 16.0 hands bay,Trusting has moved to Turangga after three seasons at Nathan Tinkler’s dispersed Patinack Farm, Sandy Hollow and the production of over 100 foals in the first two crops. They include offspring of daughters of Galileo, More Than Ready, Encosta de Lago, Pins, Not a Single Doubt, Danehill Dancer, Rock of Gibraltar, Shamardal, General Nediym, Octagonal, Fastnet Rock, Choisir, Grand Lodge, Stravinsky, Flying Spur, Danzero, O’Reilly, Beautiful Crown, Fusaichi Pegasus, Lion Hunter, Tiger Hill, Quest for Fame, Carnegie, Desert Prince, Show a Heart, Husson and Casino Prince.
Another good horse bred in the Hunter Valley by John Camilleri’s Fairway Thoroughbreds and a very rewarding investment for Tinkler at $300,000 at a New Zealand sale yearling, Trusting earned his good broodmare support for stakes performances from 1200m to 2400m. He ran 24 times in earning $925,600 and, after a two lengths winning debut at Canterbury as a late 2-year-old, included in his efforts wins in the Warwick Stakes-G2 (Randwick,1400m), Chelmsford Stakes-G2 (Warwick Farm,1600m, favourite) and Hill Stakes-G2 (Rosehill Gardens, 2000m, favourite, 3.8 lengths.
Seven good Group1 performances were seconds in the Epsom (Randwick, 20 starters, favourite, beaten a head), George Main Stakes (Randwick), Golden Rose (Rosehill Gardens, to Denman), thirds in the Chipping Norton (Warwick Farm, won by Shoot Out), Kingston Town (Ascot, Playing God), fifth in the Emirates Stakes (Flemington, a three-quarter length, 16 ran) and seventh of 17 in the Metropolitan (Randwick, favourite). He was beaten only nose when second as favourite in the Group 3 Caulfield Guineas Prelude.
Trusting has very good breeding, being by one of the best Storm Cat sires, Tale of the Cat, and from Legible, a Zabeel mare who ran 15 times for Lloyd Williams for five wins. At her last two starts, she followed a second in the Moonee Valley Gold Cup with a win in the Sandown Classic.
A daughter of the Nijinsky sire Tights, Legible’s dam Waihora’s Lass won eleven races in New Zealand to Group 2 and was Group1 fourth twice. She was a from Indhira, a Taipan half-sister to the Sobig Group race winning fillies Little Papoose (won South Australian Oaks, second Victoria Oaks) and Big Sioux (won South Australian Bloodhorse Breeders Stakes).
A leading American sprinter headquartered at Coolmore’s Ashford Stud in Kentucky who visited their Hunter Valley complex 2003-2010, Trusting’s sire Tale of the Cat has world wide statistics according to Arion Pedigrees of 1288 winners (98 SWs) of over 3,700 races. Two fleet footed Australian sons who have sired stakes winners are Real Saga (Glenlogan Park, Qld) and Purrealist (Chatswood Stud, Vic).
Another son of Tale of Cat used in Australia, albeit for only one season, 2012 at Arrowfield, has been his greatest racing son, Gio Ponti.Twice Champion American Male Turf Horse and their Older Champion Male in 2009, he was first or second in 14 Group1 races (seven each) and earner of over $6million.
Gio Ponti’s first American crop are 2-year-olds and his first Australians, like those by Trusting, are to be this age on August 1.
His American sire dynasty has only had small representation to date, but it has been spearheaded by dual hemisphere used Lion Heart, the source of over 680 winners of 2,000 races. One of Lion Heart’s sons, Spendthrift Farm, Kentucky based Arkansas Derby winner Line of David, has provided in his first crop Firing Line, runner up to American Pharoah in the Kentucky Derby.
Firing Line was unplaced when American Pharoah backed up with a dominating win on a bog track in the Preakness Stakes, but on this occasion the runner up was Tale of Verve, a representative of the first crop of the Tale of Ekati, a Tale of the Cat dual Group1 winner standing at Darby Dan Farm, Kentucky.
Two sons of Tale of the Cat doing well as sires in New Zealand are Falkirk (Windsor Park Stud) and Battle Paint (Chequers Stud). A New Zealand foal who became a prominent sprinter in Australia, Falkirk has supplied six stakes winners, including Fay Fay (won Hong Kong Derby) and New Zealand Group1 placed Durham Town, Jaggard,Trepidation and Glorious Lad.
Battle Paint, an American bred good class performer in Europe, is the sire with his oldest three of Affleck (champion Singapore 2yo 2014, Singapore Guineas winner at 3) and Battle Time (currently one of the best 2yos in New Zealand).
Brian Russell Bloodstock Media Service
