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Cannonball! Australian Sprinter Out To Make A Splash At Royal Ascot

Australian sprinter Cannonball (Aus) (Capitalist {Aus}) is being predicted to make an explosive impact at Royal Ascot by majority owner James Harron who insists the Peter and Paul Snowden-trained colt will post “a very big performance” if the ground is good or better in the G1 King's Stand S.

A general 10-1 chance to emulate last year's winner Nature Strip (Aus) and the brilliant Scenic Blast (Aus), Miss Andretti (Aus), Takeover Target (Aus) and Choisir (Aus) by winning the King's Stand for Australia, success for Cannonball would also reverberate as far as Northern Ireland.

Harron's adopted home may be Australia, where he has operated numerous successful colts partnerships for well over a decade now, but the Northern Irishman has long aspired to bring one good enough to one of the first big meetings that first enthralled him with the sport. In Cannonball, he is confident that he has found the right horse to make the long trip worthwhile.

He said, “I truly believe that we haven't seen the best of Cannonball yet and I am hoping and praying for a fast track at Ascot on the Tuesday. If we get that, you will see a very big performance.

James Harron | JH Bloodstock

“You'll see him in the mounting yard and be able to point him out as the big Aussie sprinter–he's a magnificent animal, big and strong. He really does command a lot of presence in the ring and is cut out for the job.”

Harron added, “It would be absolutely huge if he were to be successful. Hard to put it into words, I guess. It would certainly be one of my career highlights and it's just wonderful to be able to bring a lot of the owners over from Australia so, for them to be able to experience what Royal Ascot offers, and if he could be successful, it would be an experience that money couldn't buy.

“It would be amazing for all the team, amazing for Peter Snowden [joint-trainer] himself, who is flying over to Ascot along with his wife Lyn, and of course Brett Prebble [jockey] who has been doing so much work with us in Australia. It would be so satisfying to share that experience with everyone who works so hard and has been great supporters of ours.”

Victory would no doubt be made extra special by the fact that Cannonball is by Capitalist, the Golden Slipper-winning two-year-old and just about the most successful young stallion to have come through Harron's colts partnerships.

Cannonball will be Capitalist's first ever runner in Europe and, according to Harron, the three-year-old has a lot of the right qualities needed to win the King's Stand.

Harron said, “He's a very, very fast horse. Physically, he's developed extremely well as he's gone through his three-year-old year. He really thrives on good ground, has a high cruising speed and he can roll off fast sectionals. Five furlongs on good ground is right up his alley and it's those reasons that made us think that the King's Stand was the race that would be most suited to him.”

He added, “It's a huge effort to travel a horse to the royal meeting from Australia. There's a lot that goes into the organisation of it all and, from a logistical point of view and a staffing point of view, it's a huge effort. You have to give the trip a lot of consideration given the value of the horse you are travelling and because we've got such wonderful prize-money and other options that also need to be considered at home in Australia.

“It's something you take very seriously, not to mention the quality of the opposition in Europe, which is very much respected. Coming into the King's Stand, you have the brilliant mare Highfield Princess (Fr) (Night Of Thunder {Ire}) and many more to be fearful of, so it's certainly a huge challenge. But the great Australian sprinters have paved the way for this sort of a trip and that gives us confidence that we can come to Royal Ascot and be competitive with Cannonball.”

One of the shrewdest operators on the international stage, Harron can also count Foxwedge (Aus) and King's Legacy (Aus) as graduates of his successful system of buying yearlings with the view of turning them into multi million dollar stallion prospects.

He is also one of the slot holders in The Everest, a race he has won twice–with Redzel (Aus) in 2017 and Giga Kick (Aus) last year–and manages a number of high profile owner portfolios and broodmare bands.

There are few better versed on the global bloodstock market than Harron, who bought Cannonball for AU$975,000 as a yearling from Newgate Stud at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Sale. He explained that, whilst he is shunning potentially lucrative pots in his homeland in favour of running at the royal meeting, the potential upside to the trip is creating a stallion with global appeal.

He said, “Being from Ireland myself, Royal Ascot is something that will always be in the back of my head when I potentially have the right horse to travel across. We were always thinking that Cannonball's profile fitted the bill given his best distance is five to five-and-a-half furlongs. Now, he may get six furlongs strongly as he gets older and more seasoned but, right now, the King's Stand trip looks to be in his wheelhouse.

“The other thing with this horse, he's run three or four times on soft ground and he just doesn't like it whatsoever-he's very ineffective on it. We were aware of that coming into the autumn, when he got his ground when returning from a decent break to beat the older horses at Rosehill and then he backed that up a week later to run third–unlucky not to be second–in a Group 1.

“That gave us the confidence to pull the trigger on Royal Ascot. He's on the up and is improving. We got together with all the connections to discuss it and we just had the confidence that Cannonball was the right horse to have a go at Royal Ascot with.”

Harron added, “Royal Ascot is such a prestigious event. It's an incredible week's racing and, in terms of this colt, he's beautifully-bred and is by Capitalist, who is obviously very close to our hearts and is doing an amazing job as a stallion at home in Australia. This will be Capitalist's first ever European runner, not to mean Royal Ascot, and if Cannonball was to be successful, it would obviously be huge for his potential stud value. This is the world stage and all eyes will be on the King's Stand. It's a true test of speed, which of course is very desirable for people in Australia. We wanted to give him the opportunity and he certainly won't let us down. We will find out exactly where he fits in.”

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Rajasinghe: ‘A Few People Have Cottoned On To The Stats’

Everybody loves a bargain, especially in January in the midst of a cost-of-living crisis. The latter may barely have affected the bloodstock sales so far, but a knock-on effect may be felt if smaller or syndicate owners start to reduce their racing investment, which in turn would surely have a bearing eventually on the lower end of the yearling market. The top tier generally takes care of itself, while the middle market has been given a great boost by increased international participation, though that in itself is not necessarily a great boost for the long-term health of racing and breeding in Britain and Ireland.

Breeders with mating plans still to be decided, and who may be wincing at some of the stallion fees advertised, could do worse than adding the name of Rajasinghe (Ire) to their list of sires under consideration.

We talked to Rajasinghe's owner Phil Cunningham back in April just ahead of the son of Choisir (Aus) being represented by his first runner, Talamanca (GB). That Mickley Stud-bred gelding has now run 11 times for three wins and is the most prolific of his sire's runners. As noted by Brian Sheerin when assessing the last year's freshman sires in Saturday's TDN, the group numbers only 10 to date, but remarkably eight of them won races in 2022, and three achieved an official rating of 80+, headed by the listed-placed Waiting All Night (GB), a Cunningham homebred.

Last spring, Cunningham told TDN: “He's had limited numbers and limited support so I think we've got to do it the hard way, which is to do it ourselves.

“We've got a nice little crop this year, some more next year and a few more the following year. Hopefully he will become more popular with everyone else by then and he'll have a few more runners.”

Doubtless the owner-breeder is delighted with the start made by his stallion, who, like Cunningham's dual Classic winner Cockney Rebel (Ire) before him, is standing at the National Stud. The Newmarket farm is sure to have plenty of visitors this spring, with Stradivarius (Ire) still exerting plenty of pulling power and Lope Y Fernandez (Ire) likely to be busy again. But those visiting should not ignore the well-made son of the late Choisir, who was a very good stallion in his own right and whose prowess continues to be so well advertised by his Irish-based son Starspangledbanner (Aus).

It doesn't necessarily follow that Rajasinghe will be similarly successful, and of course he will need to build on that 80% strike-rate with some proper stakes horses if he is to take his career to the next level, but he has dropped enough hints during the last year that he can get your mare a runner if given the chance.

So far, outside the backing of his owner, he hasn't been given many opportunities. He had 24 foals in his first crop, 14 in his second, which are the juveniles for this coming season, and 26 born in 2022. Only once has he covered a black-type winner, and in his most recent season he is listed with Weatherbys as having covered just nine mares, mostly owned by the Cunningham family. One of the outside breeders, Morecool Racing, will be pleased to have supported him again this year as, since they sent New Road Side (GB) (Paco Boy {Ire}) back to be covered, her Rajasinghe son Hougoumont (GB) has won two of his four starts for Julie Camacho.

The majority of the stallion's offspring of racing age are in the stable of Richard Spencer, the retained trainer for Cunningham's Rebel Racing and for whom Rajasinghe was a breakout star when winning the G2 Coventry S. in 2017 in Spencer's second season with a licence.

The Newmarket trainer admits with a smile that he is of course biased, but he is also well placed to have a handle on plenty of Rajasinghe's runners so far. He says, “He's basically stamped his offspring very much like himself. He was very laid-back. He thrived on his work and was very easy in himself and had a great attitude with everything he did.

“From the mares that have been sent to him, and this is no disrespect to any of them, they weren't the best mares that you could have asked for, but he has definitely upgraded them judging on progeny they've produced in the past. Their attitudes are great, wind great, and for what is on offer for breeders at that level in England, you can't really find anything much better, I don't think, on the market.”

Spencer continues, “I know I'm probably biased, but we've had such great success this season from the horses that have run, and everything has won or been placed. The ones that have been placed that haven't won will win. And the ones we haven't run, for various little reasons, that will run in this year coming have all got ability to win races. There's not one amongst them you think, 'Oh God, we're not going to win with him.'

“They are all capable of winning, from relatively low-grade mares, and they've got size and scope. I think a few people have cottoned on to the stats, but I think [his offspring] are value for money and real 'trainers' horses' at the moment, whilst they're able to be bought.”

Spencer has had a fresh intake of horses who have just turned two and says that better results could be seen this year.

“I genuinely think the ones we've got coming through are a better quality again. Phil had some some fillies with decent ratings that have gone to stud to support him and I think in the next couple of years we'll see even better quality coming through,” he notes.

“So it's exciting from our side of things, seeing it behind the scenes with what we've got to come, and with the GBB scheme running as well now, which is fantastic, it's a big incentive to be sending a mare to a British stallion.”

Rajasinghe was 15th overall in the first-crop sires' table for Britain and Ireland on prize-money. When judged by number of individual winners, he achieved a top-10 finish with far fewer runners than any of his rivals in that top echelon–and of course on his percentage of winners to runners he was best of all at 80%.

For a stallion standing right down the bottom of the fee table at £3,000, a strike-rate at the top of the table should perhaps open a few eyes, hopefully followed by a few wallets.

The post Rajasinghe: ‘A Few People Have Cottoned On To The Stats’ appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Leading International Sire Choisir Dies At Age 22

It is with great sadness that Coolmore announces the passing of Choisir at the age of 22.

The Paul Perry-trained sprinter was a tough and consistent galloper, with his domestic race career highlighted by victory in the Group 1 VRC Lightning Stakes at Flemington.

He will be remembered most however, for his wins in the G2 King's Stand Stakes and G1 Golden Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot in 2003, where he became the first Australian horse to win at the Royal meeting.

In doing so, he would pave the way for a host of Australian-bred sprinters to taste success at Royal Ascot, including his son Starspangledbanner who emulated his success in the Golden Jubilee Stakes.

As a sire Choisir was ever consistent, producing an incredible 100 stakes-winners in 12 countries and 11 Group 1 winners throughout the world. His legacy will live on through his sons and daughters at stud, where he has already proven himself a successful sire-of-sires and broodmare sire.

Coolmore Australia Principal, Tom Magnier paid tribute by saying, “I was lucky enough to be at Ascot in 2003 to witness his incredible triumphs on the Tuesday and then the Saturday where he was ridden by Johnny Murtagh.

“It was a great achievement for his trainer Paul Perry and paved the way for future Australian sprinters to compete with distinction on the world stage.

“Since he retired to the farm in 2003 he has been a favorite with all those who have worked with him, especially our long time Stallion Manager Gerry Ryan who was particularly fond of him. Choisir was the ultimate professional in all he did and every Stud dreams of having a stallion like him.

“We are so grateful to him and he will be sorely missed by the entire Coolmore team.”

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Trailblazing Choisir Dies At 22

The dual Royal Ascot winner, Group 1-winning sprinter and influential sire Choisir (Aus) (Danehill Dancer {Ire}) has died at Coolmore Australia at the age of 22.

Trained by Paul Perry for Terry Wallace and Partners, Choisir can be considered an equine pioneer for the role he played in opening the floodgates through the early part of this century for Australian sprinters to travel north during the Southern Hemisphere winter and put the locals in their place.

A top-class 2-year-old who was placed in all three legs of Australia's juvenile Triple Crown, Choisir went on to win the G2 Emirates Classic and G1 Lightning S. at Flemington at three before departing for Britain. He first set foot on the English turf on June 17, 2003, and in three starts in just over three weeks, he ensured that his name would be remembered and revered for decades to come.

On the opening day of Royal Ascot, he was sent off an unconsidered 25/1 chance under Johnny Murtagh for the King's Stand S., which was then still a Group 2. A strong field which included Oasis Dream (GB), Elusive City, the previous year's winner Dominica (GB), and eventual runner-up Acclamation (GB), was blown away by the Aussie raider's dominant performance, which saw him break sharply and make all to win by a length.

More deference was paid when he returned to Ascot four days later, stepping up a furlong for the G1 Golden Jubilee S. Choisir still wasn't favourite, however, with the British crowds unused to a horse backing up so quickly in major races. That honour went to Henry Candy's 3-year-old filly Airwave, who was carrying 10lbs less than Choisir, whose Southern Hemisphere birth date meant that he was considered a 4-year-old despite still technically being three. The extra weight failed to halt him in notching a rare double at the Royal Meeting, the first time this had been achieved since the great Irish mare Stanerra won the G2 Prince of Wales's S. and G2 Hardwicke S. 20 years earlier.

Choisir met Oasis Dream and Airwave again in the G1 Darley July Cup on what would transpire to be the final start of his career, but this time he had to settle for second behind Juddmonte's Oasis Dream, who later dropped back in trip for an emphatic victory in the G1 Nunthorpe S. on his next outing.

Choisir's glorious form on both sides of the world made him of obvious appeal as a shuttle sire, following in the footsteps of both his sire Danehill Dancer and illustrious grandsire Danehill. He started his stallion career in Australia at Coolmore, where he covered for 17 seasons until his retirement just over a year ago. During that time he also shuttled for 10 years to Ireland, standing initially at Castle Hyde Stud, before joining Coolmore's main farm in 2008.

His 100 stakes winners in 12 different countries include 11 individual Group 1 winners. Choisir's Australian-bred son Starspangledbanner (Aus) emulated him by winning the Golden Jubilee S., and went one better in the July Cup, as well as winning two Group 1 sprints at Caulfield, before beginning his own successful shuttle career. Despite suffering fertility issues in his early years which halted his trips north, Starspangledbanner resumed covering at Coolmore in Ireland after a two-year break and his own leading offspring are headed by The Wow Signal (Ire) and State Of Rest (Ire).

Choisir is also represented at stud in Australia by Aquis Farm's Group 1 winner Divine Prophet (Aus), while four-time Group 1 winner Olympic Glory (Ire), the sire of G1 Prix Jean Romanet winner Grand Glory (GB), is at Haras de Bouquetot in France, and G2 Coventry S. winner Rajasinghe (Ire) is at the National Stud in England.

Another of his Royal Ascot winners, the Wokingham S. victrix Laddies Poker Two (Ire), went on to become the dam of the dual Classic winner and four-time Group 1 scorer Winter (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), and in this sphere Choisir's influence continues to be felt.

He is also the broodmare sire of G1 Prince of Wales's S. winner My Dream Boat (Ire) (Lord Shanakill) and July Cup winner Oxted (GB) (Mayson {GB}), while another of his daughters, the listed winner Choose Me (Ire), has produced two Group 1 winners to have starred on QIPCO British Champions Day in Persuasive (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}) and Creative Force (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), as well as the listed winner and group-placed Tisbutadream (Ire) (Dream Ahead).

“I was lucky enough to be at Ascot in 2003 to witness his incredible triumphs on the Tuesday and then the Saturday where he was ridden by Johnny Murtagh,” said Coolmore Australia's Tom Magnier. “It was a great achievement for his trainer Paul Perry and paved the way for future Australian sprinters to compete with distinction on the world stage.”
He added, “Since he retired to the farm in 2003 he has been a favourite with all those who have worked with him, especially our longtime stallion manager Gerry Ryan who was particularly fond of him. Choisir was the ultimate professional in all he did and every stud dreams of having a stallion like him. We are so grateful to him and he will be sorely missed by the entire Coolmore team.”

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