June 19, 2015
Michael Schrapel, the mature age apprentice who has ridden at Nanango and Wondai this season, was justifiably jubilant after he landed a double at Kilcoy last Saturday.
The three kilogram claimer, having hit a few personal hurdles along the way, came north last year in search of opportunities that could revitalise his stop-start career.
The experienced horseman’s background includes pony club endeavours, competitive eventing, amateur race-rider in Victoria and a professional stint in South Australia.
Time was spent at Chatswood Stud and Sheila Laxon’s stable.
From infancy, a key association was with his father Brian, the Seymour racehorse trainer who was a member of fourth-placed 1972 Australian Olympic eventing team.
Schrapel, who is indentured to Shane Iverson, combined with Toowoomba trainer Jackie Crompton to take out the Beavis and Bartels Maiden Plate (800m) with the Freeze gelding Frostbite (11/1) and the Keith Beavis Memorial Kilcoy Cup (BM 65, 1500m) with the Mossman five-year-old Storm Magic (7/4).
The former southerner enjoyed his Cup triumph.
Ron Goltz on Bernadecio was stalking strongly approaching the home bend and, with the sitting shot, looked likely to prevail when he levelled up in the straight.
But Michael got his bay to rally strongly and the duo pulled away to be nearly two lengths clear on the mirror.
As the Ian & Di McCauley Brisbane Bloodstock QTIS Maiden for juvenile fillies (1200m) was restricted to female rider, Michael was ineligible to take the mount on French Concession in the final event.
The Captain Sonador two-year-old, prepared by Iverson at Toowoomba, bolted in with Skye Bogenhuber in the saddle.
A treble to match the one Schrapel recorded at Goondiwindi in April would have capped his day!
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Winner! Winner! Winner!
It is not often that a horse steps out on three successive Saturdays and achieves the hat-trick.
But last weekend, the Patrick Sexton-trained Winner Wimmer, with a recent Nanango BM 60 Handicap (1600m) and the Gayndah Cup (1400m) to his credit, did just that in easy fashion in the Eidsvold Cup (1350m).
The yearling sale reserve of $60,000 set by Lavin Park Racing and Breeding for the son of Real Saga and the Strategic mare Beesem was not reached.
Peter Lavin, director of soft-drink maker Wimmers, was in the youngster’s initial ownership.
The bay that boasts Eight Carat as its maternal tap root mare was trained by his daughter Caitlin on her Sunshine Coast farm.
On Saturday, Winner Wimmer, who was put on the market after nine engagements for two Caloundra successes, was again handled delightfully by Hannah English.
The Nanango rookie went went close to landing two Eidsvold winners on the second day of her career with Lucks In, just missing out in the BM 55 Handicap by a nose.
At Roma this Saturday, English will ride She Brings Joy and Lucks In for Sexton, Regal Prince for Augathella’s Raymond Frazer and Safe World for Taroom’s Rodney Hay.
Having already picked up a couple of Cups, Hannah, with an extraordinary 8:2-1-2 tally to date, will seek out some saucers on the dirt while her “luck’s in”.
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A Right Royal Rival
Tattersall’s prime feature day at the Gold Coast this Saturday wraps up Queensland’s 2015 winter carnival.
Arguably, both The Championships at Randwick in the autumn, the present Royal Ascot meeting, some other international festivals, injuries and retirements have been formidable obstacles when it came to attracting top echelon performers this time around.
Hopefully this state’s authorities will take a realistic view and not simply bump up the main purses as a counter-defence.
For starters, $2 million for the Stradbroke Handicap is more than enough.
Part of the purpose of the northern hemisphere missions is the prestigious breeding status that can be generated.
In short, cash and simpler logistics are not going to keep ambitious aspirants in Australia.
Shamal Wind, after her flop in the King’s Stand Stakes, goes on to a mating with Sea The Stars while her three male compatriots will all ultimately have stallion duties ahead of them.
Even if the 2015 squad draws a blank, others will beat a similar path next year, particularly given the lucrative linings of the six nation, ten event Global Sprint Challenge.
Flemington’s $500,000 Lightning Stakes in which Lankan Rupee accounted for Brazen Beau and Deep Field was the first show on the road.
The $1,000,000 VRC Darley Classic during Melbourne Cup week is the other opportunity Down Under.
The straight six sprint also carries a $600,000 bonus if the winner has also won a non-Australian series leg.
The pot of gold is the US$1 million bonus for a cuddy that takes out three legs, provided each one is staged in a different country.
Slade Power, with two English heats in the bag, came to Australia last spring.
He trailed ten others in at Flemington so the cream stayed in the refrigerator.
Interestingly jockey Zac Purton, having booted home Aerovelocity in the relevant races in Singapore and Japan, is in with a chance in the current Global Sprint Challenge.
Purton, meanwhile, is seeking his maiden native turf Group 1 on Peggy Jean at the Gold Coast on Saturday.
Royal Ascot’s GSC contribution is the £375,000 (A$750,000) King’s Stand Stand Stakes and the £525,000 Diamond Jubilee Stakes in which the Aussies Brazen Beau and Wandjina hope to collect the £298,000 first prize.
The other round that England hosts is Newmarket’s £500,000 Darley July Cup.
By the way, the purse for the Ascot Gold Cup (2.5 miles) was £405,315.
The Ubet BTC Cup and the Doomben 10,000 were worth A$500,000 and A$750,000 respectively.
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Bits And Bridles
- It goes without saying that racing is enduring a rugged time presently. Whilst the greyhound problems and the cobalt cases are serious, complex issues, the appeals system should be easy to improve.
- Luke Tarrant was suspended for six weeks for reckless riding at Doomben on 23 May. He has been able to ride on because the relevant panel is not meeting until 26 June. These circumstances send the wrong message. The stay of proceedings is embarrassingly long. Wonder what could be said in the inner sanctum of the Jockeys’ Room if Tarrant, in Saturday’s Tiara, noses out a jockey that he inconvenienced in the Grand Prix?
- It was great to see the underused talents of Jason Missen rewarded with a victory at Eidsvold. He secured the Suncorp Mundubbera Class B by a head on Scratchy, a member of the in-form Mat Reardon yard.His follow-up was a successful time with Fondue at Rockhampton on Thursday when he downed Tommy Berry on Malpara in the Maiden.
- Chapingah’s Tom Moloney’s training effort with Chief Chargingbear cannot pass unnoticed. After running last at Roma on 22 June 2013, the now ten-year-old was off the scene until he reappeared at Jandowae on 23 May this year. At Eidsvold, at his third start after the lay-off, the son of Chief Bearhart collected third money in BM company. He was beaten just over two lengths.
- Gympie resumes with its $10,000 RSL Cup program on Saturday after the annual lay-off for the local Show.
