Boom sire ALMANZOR on Saturday sired a Caulfield Double and provided the Quinella in the Listed Heatherlie Stakes (1700m) when his son Rise At Dawn became the sire’s 19th individual Stakes Winner.
The day started well with the Ciaron Maher trained Convener scoring in a Bm78 before Rise at Dawn and Positivity went one-two in the Heatherlie Stakes LR 1700m.
RISE AT DAWN (black sleeves) and POSITIVITY (pink sleeves)
In-form Rise At Dawn got off the canvas to score a tough victory as he made it three wins in succession and both the Winner and runner-up are stakes-winning progeny of Cambridge Stud NZ stallion Almanzor, whose eldest Southern Hemisphere progeny have just turned four-year-olds and are making a terrific early impression.
The son of Almanzor Rise At Dawn is prepared by Ben, Will and JD Hayes, and has raced well through the winter months and may yet snare some further spring riches after his tenacious win on Saturday.
Ridden in his customary positive manner by Michael Dee, Rise At Dawn looked to be under siege deep into the home straight but dug deep to get the better of resuming stayer Positivity as less than a length covered the first six across the line.
He has now won seven (7) of his 12 starts and been placed on a further two occasions, with $492,085 in earnings to date.
“He is tough. He was definitely headed and fought back, and we really didn’t get out of our chairs until the last 50m, it was a great win,” JD Hayes said.
“We have just ever so slightly continued to raise the bar and full credit goes to the horse, he has been up a long time.
“He had a freshen-up and he has winter fitness, and it is just an incredible result.”
“If he is sound and well and licking the bin, he will tell us, but I am sure we can get a bit crafty in our placement, and there is a nice win in him,” Hayes said.
Winning rider Michael Dee said “I thought we were beaten at the top of the straight, but I think the horse knew what he was doing because we were headed there but he found a second-wind and lifted again.
“As we know, he is in a rich vein of form, but he is turning up every time and trying his best.
“I like his demeanour. He walks around the yard conserving a lot of energy and when the gates open, he knows it is race time, so he has some great attributes.”
ALMANZOR is a three-time Group One winning son of Wootton Bassett who is standing for $30,000 NZD this breeding season at Cambridge Stud NZ. He has now sired 19 stakes winners including Group One Winners Circle Of Fire and Manzoice.
Race Result - Tile Importer Heatherlie Stakes LR 1700m
Caulfield Track: Good (3) Time: 1:44.97
Rise At Dawn - 4g Almanzor (FR) x Kay's Awake (NZ) (Towkay (AUS))
Tnr: Ben, Will & JD Hayes Rdr: M J Dee 54
Inglis Premier Yearling Sale $90,000 Seller: Monovale Farm, Cambridge, NZ Buyer: Lindsay Park
Positivity - 4m Almanzor (FR) x Pussy O’Reilly (NZ) (O’Reilly (NZ))
Tnr: Andrew Forsman Rdr: H Coffey 54
NZB Karaka Book 1 $160,000 Seller: Woburn Farm Buyer: Mr B Kwok
Another son of ALMANZOR visited the Winners Circle at Caulfield.
Earlier in the day CONVENER turned his form around in dramatic style to earn himself an opportunity for a stakes tilt.
CONVENER
The French-bred son of Almanzor had gone winless for 16 months before he produced a stirring finish over 1800 metres to down his Benchmark 78 rivals and have trainer Ciaron Maher considering a sterner test.
“He’s got something there, but we haven’t been able to get it out of him until now,” Ciaron said.
“We could go down the path of the Naturalism (Gr3, 2000m) with a light weight, you’ve got to dare to dream.”
A $31 chance, Convener settled back of midfield before picking up ground from the 600 metres and finished strongly for rider Ben Allen.
“The blinkers were off, and he was much better, more relaxed. The firm track is more his go.” he said.
“We got into a perfect spot to put him to sleep and got a good suck into the race and he was too good.”
Convener was a two-time winner over ground in England before exported to Australia where he has now doubled his career winning tally.
ALMANZOR (FR) - Sire
ALMANZOR current stats: as at 2-9-24
Runners Winners Wins SWnrs SWns SP Earnings
441 225 389 19 (10) 24 (12) 24 $21,002,795
In Australia:
110 56 99 6 (4) 8 (5) 6 $9,200,379
In NZ:
91 46 81 7 (5) 8 (5) 11 $3,476,102
Almanzor has again emphasised his standing in the Southern Hemisphere as a pre-eminent source of top-quality distance performers.
New Zealand-bred horses won 28.4% of Group One races in Australia last season from 8% of total runners.
With lush pastures and a temperate climate, New Zealand has a natural advantage when it comes to raising horses. New Zealand-bred racehorses are renowned for their quality and soundness, and they adapt well to a range of racing environments around the globe.
In particular, middle-distance and staying horses excel from being raised on their lush paddocks.
A recent article compared ALMANZOR to the legendary ZABEEL and highlighted how ALMANZOR is off to a faster and more productive start in his stud career than ZABEEL was at the equivalent stage.
A DYNAMIC Review:
Race Record: ALMANZOR (FR)
11 Starts 8-0-1 £737,230, €1,901,600.
Champion 3YO Colt in Europe in 2016, Champion 3YO in Ireland & France in 2016 (Int.). 8 wins-3 at 2-from 1400m to 2100m, £737,230, €1,901,600, Chantilly Prix du Jockey Club, Gr.1, Leopardstown Irish Champion S., Gr.1, Ascot Champion S., Gr.1, Deauville Prix Guillaume d'Ornano, Gr.2, Chantilly Prix de Guiche, Gr.3, Grand Criterium de Bordeaux, L, 3d Chantilly Prix de Fontainebleau, Gr.3.
He entered stud in France in 2018. (oldest 5yo's)
He entered stud in NZ in 2018. (oldest 4yo's)
Dynamic Syndications at the Magic Millions in 2024 purchased Lot 429 a fantastic staying prospect.
OUR COLT
ALMANZOR (FR) from ANCHOVY (IRE) a daughter of GALILEO to be trained by ….. CIARON MAHER !
The colt comes from one of the BEST FEMALE FAMILIES in Europe.
He has crystal clean X-Rays and a perfect Grade 1 Endoscopic evaluation.
Even before the win of CIRCLE OF FIRE – we knew this was a sensational mating offering a Score of A+++ and a Q6 Rating.
We bought our colt to aim at Derbies; Cups and the $1m Magic Millions Stayers Race.
See For Yourself: Under Saddle
Almanzor x Anchovy from Dynamic Syndications on Vimeo.
Whilst there has been three (3) stakes winners bred on this cross to date producing three (3) Gr1 Winners:
AL RIFFA, (Gr1),
ZELLIE (Gr1) and
CIRCLE OF FIRE (Gr1).
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Dynamic Syndications placed him into the care of
Australia's Number 1 Stable for Winners the past two seasons
CIARON MAHER Racing
AT THE SALES:
Lot 429 - Almanzor (FR) x Anchovy (IRE) from Dynamic Syndications on Vimeo.
Magic Millions Lot 429 - Almanzor (FR) x Anchovy (IRE) colt - Auction Video from Dynamic Syndications on Vimeo.
At play in the paddock
We have some exciting updates with the colt, who is now broken-in and moves beautifully under saddle.
First Ride with Shane Rose
Keep an eye on our potential CUPS KING !
Hoofnote: If you wish to find out more - chat with ADAM WATT on 02 9540 1511 or 0409 464 378.
Adam & Dean Watt - Dynamic Syndications - Join Us in the Winner's Circle!
If you harbour a dream of Blue Riband Classic Races such as Derbies and Cups this is your colt!