Lonhro's Dam Shaping As A Mother Superior

Sydney Morning Herald

Monday March 17, 2003

MAX PRESNELL

With the emergence of Niello as a Golden Slipper prospect, his dam, Shadea, is taking on Oceana proportions.

Oceana produced champions Todman, the winner of the 1957 Golden Slipper, and Noholme, successful in the Epsom and Cox Plate among other races.

While it is perhaps premature to make the comparison, Lonhro, the black flash and his full brother Niello, have stamped Shadea as an outstanding producer.

Like Todman, bred by one of Australia's racing greats, the late Stanley Wootton, Lonhro and Niello, particularly if he gets away with the slipper at Rosehill on April 12, might be difficult to place at stud in Australia despite being very valuable commodities.

No doubt history will remember Jack and Bob Ingham, who make up the Woodlands Stud syndicate, in the same category as Wootton, who felt the best way to handle the full-brother problem was to sell Noholme to the United States, where he became a significant influence on American bloodlines.

Todman and Noholme were by the mighty Star Kingdom, imported by Wootton from Britain, and Oceana produced only two others Shifnal and Faringdon, also by the stallion, with a ``good rating" on the racetrack. Four others, Todhurst, Star Ocean, Walton and Greatness, were ``poor".

The best of Shadea was produced as a result of her mating with Octagonal.

After all, she had five foals prior to Lonhro, three by the outstanding Danehill, without creating a flicker of what was to come because of the Octagonal influence.

Shadea, foaled in 1988 and by Straight Strike out of Concia, still has a way to go before she can be compared with Dark Jewel, Australia's greatest broodmare.

Unlike Shadea, Dark Jewel produced top performers from most stallions, with the best coming from Rego. Baguette, by Rego, was a Golden Slipper winner.

Shadea, though, still has Octagonals on the way another colt and a filly in the immediate future.

SHOOTING VICTIM BACK: The ``miracle recovery" award has gone to Luke Quintano, a Warwick Farm strapper. Quintano, the son of trainer Steve Quintano, was given a brief leave of absence from hospital recently to attend a function at the El Toro Hotel.

Only a few weeks back Quintano was in intensive care after being gunned down from behind outside a local nightclub. Quintano, a non-drinker, has no idea why the shooting occurred.

Matt Henderson, an Australian Jockey Club employee, helped him back into the swing on his home territory.

FARM'S FUTURE DOUBT: It was difficult to imagine on Saturday the crowd of more than 30,000 that attended Warwick Farm when it reopened for racing after World War II in 1952.

The race trains to the gates, no longer running, were a great form of transport but, with the freeway access, the car trip to the Farm these days is a breeze from the eastern suburbs.

Yet, despite the assurance of Australian Jockey Club chairman Bill Rutledge on Saturday, the Farm's future as a racing venue is suspect. Rutledge is a man of goodwill, well tuned to the public and what it thinks of closing race tracks.

However, Chipping Norton day is now the only Saturday program run at the Farm and it is difficult to see where any funds have been spent recently on public facilities. It needs work but future committees will be able to ask that with only one Saturday meeting how can improvements be justified?

Should the Kensington circuit at Randwick, operational again on Wednesday, finally be finetuned to a reasonable racing state, there will be little use for Warwick Farm midweeks, either.

As a racecourse it would be allowed to die of shame.

Only dinosaurs, such as Rutledge, will remember its worth and the break from the monotony of headquarters. The Farm has a certain ambience but it doesn't show up on the balance sheet.

Due to lack of traffic, the racing surface was in good order for the Chipping Norton after an earlier dead rating. Word from the betting ring indicated the section near the rail was suspect but this wasn't confirmed by results nor by the opinion of leading rider Darren Beadman.

Warwick Farm carried a ``no bias" rating in The Sun-Herald, while the Melbourne Age reported that at the corresponding Flemington meeting in Melbourne the ``best going in straight races was on the outside rail, while around the turn the rails was the place to be".

GAI'S BLOW FOR EQUALITY: Gai Waterhouse has again breached a bastion of male domination the Carbine Club of NSW.

It was once a ``men only" luncheon gathering for members, but Waterhouse was the first woman granted admission recently and others followed.

HORSE TO FOLLOW: Hierogram, prepared by John Hawkes, showed her potential for longer races when fourth to Bollinger in the Surround Stakes at Warwick Farm on Saturday, an event in which Gai Waterhouse had the top three placegetters and Hawkes the next two.

DISAPPOINTING: Due to a stone bruise, the outstanding mare Miss Zoe had to be scratched from the Liverpool City Cup at Warwick Farm on Saturday and is under a cloud for the remainder of the autumn. Trainer Les Bridge will attempt to race her at Canterbury next Saturday night as a last-ditch attempt to get her ready for the Coolmore Classic and the Doncaster.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

`Darren Beadman said it's a shame to take his five per cent but I'm happy to pay it'

Big JACK INGHAM, part-owner of Lonhro, after the combination had won the Chipping Norton at Warwick Farm on Saturday. There would have been a nice uproar from the jockey if he didn't.

© 2003 Sydney Morning Herald

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