After
41 starts: 7 wins, 3 seconds, 6 thirds and banking
$174,680 prizemoney, our 7yo bay gelding
MIDNIGHT AT ASCOT (Mossman x Time For Bed) has been retired from racing and will now turn his attention to other equine pursuits.
MIDNIGHT AT ASCOT
MIDNIGHT AT ASCOT was an honest galloper who may not have reached the dizzy heights some horses achieve in the racing industry, however to his loyal team of owners he was our champion.
MIDNIGHT AT ASCOT - as a yearling at the sales in 2008
Purchased for $55,000 as Lot 379 at the
Magic Millions Sales on the Gold Coast in 2008 from
Gerry Harvey’s Baramul Stud draft, we always held hopes he would develop into a nice horse for our team as a 3yo and older horse over sprinting trips.
“Scotty” as he was affectionately called around the stables, never let us down.
However the early days were very much a roller coaster ride. Originally trained at Rosehill by David Payne, the horse won a Rosehill barrier trial by 7.5 lengths heading into his debut run and we thought he was well above average.
However as history would show, he subsequently had 11 starts and the best he could achieve was just one 3rd placing at Wyong and meager earnings of only $3,450.
A few owners were loosing faith at that time so he was entered into the Inglis June Sale as lot 101 in June 2010. However after some convincing it was decided not to sell the horse.
Some soul searching then followed and it was decided that he wasn’t handling the pressure of a city stable life, so our best chance was to move him to our provincial trainer,
Darren Smith at Newcastle where he would be in a relaxed rural environment.
This move proved to be the right one and Scotty responded.
Darren trained him to compete in 30 races for: 7 wins, 6 seconds and 5 thirds and contributed $171,230 to his bank account. Scotty won at distances of: 1100m, 1150m (2), 1200m, 1280m, 1300m, 1400m.
From the 30 starts Midnight At Ascot ran under Darren’s care, he picked up a prizemoney cheque on 25 occasions.
MAGIC MILLIONS Country Cup Winner
His major race win during his career was the
2011 Magic Millions Country Cup 1400m. Backed in from $7.00 into $4.00 and first past the post he then had to survive a protest. This presented us with an occasion we will never forget.
MAGIC MILLIONS Country Cup
Strangely, just a couple of hours later at the Magic Millions Sales on the Saturday evening,
Midnight At Ascot’s Testa Rossa half brother went through the salering and was too good a buy to miss out upon, so was knocked down to Dynamic Syndications for $95,000. He races under the name
Curfew and is exceptionally promising, having had 4 runs to date for 1 win and 3 seconds.
However from my own personal viewpoint, the most satisfying run by Scotty was his outstanding effort when 3rd in the
Lightning Hcp LR at Randwick to Title and Rarified, when blocked for a run during the race.
To get his name into
bold Black Type on the pedigree page was very well deserved for this honest horse and due recognition to his owners.
Wyong Springtime Stakes Win
Wyong Springtime Stakes
Whilst he was not in the superstar category he more than paid his way. He made us all very proud.
Newcastle Provincial Cup Win
Newcastle Provincial Cup
Congratulations to our owners that enjoyed the thrill of owning such an honest racehorse:
Dynamic Synds, Midnight At Ascot Synd (A Bradley) G Helmich, C Johnson, A Battese, R Caruso, Tifineo Synd, Mrs J Smith, F J Murphy & D Watt.
As the ultimate feel good story, Midnight At Ascot’s young girl strapper Kendal had fallen in love with him over the 3.5 years of looking after him daily. So in recognition of her dedicated work and her TLC of our Scotty, the owners decided to gift Midnight At Ascot to Kendal, ensuring he has a wonderful home. Kendal plans on educating him to dressage and other equine pursuits and who knows? Maybe one day in the future he will add further to his successful resume.
Good Luck Scotty – Thanks for the Memories