After the partial dispersal of the late Duke of Roxburghe’s Floors Stud, current stud manager Christopher Gillon will start Gillon Bloodstock @ Floors Castle which will utilise the property and formally begin on Jan. 1. An eight-year veteran of Floors Stud, the 37-year-old began as a stud hand and progressed to his current role. The Floors Stud facilities include a horse walker, lunge rings, turnout paddocks and the most amazing estate for hand walking yearlings. Gillon Bloodstock @ Floors Castle will be taking a limited number of boarding mares, weanlings and spellers. Next fall, Gillon Bloodstock will offer its own draft at all major yearling sales.
During Gillon’s tenure, the stud raised, produced and sold five individual seven-figure yearlings, including in 2020 the 2.1 million guineas Dubawi (Ire)-Cushion (GB) (Galileo {Ire}) yearling colt and the 1.1 million guineas Frankel (GB)-Attraction (GB) (Efisio {GB}) yearling colt.
Ed Sackville who was bloodstock advisor to the late Duke and has worked closely with Gillon commented, “The success the stud enjoyed with this years October sales are a true testament to Chris’s ability and professionalism. I will certainly endeavour to continue to support Chris in his new venture.”
Simon Marsh whose Kiltinan Castle Stud sold the mares and foals on behalf of Floors at the December Sales added, “In all my dealings with Chris he has been thoroughly professional and his attention to detail is excellent as has been borne out through the sale of the yearlings this year as well as the mares and foals that were all prepared by him at the stud.”
A good horse can come from anywhere, can come in all shapes and sizes. Perhaps no horse in the history of the Hong Kong turf embodies that idea more than the diminutive, but wildly talented California Memory (Highest Honor {Fr}–Kalpita, by Spinning World).
Brookdale Farm’s Fred Seitz acquired Kalpita privately after she was led out unsold on a bid of 48,000gns at Tattersalls December in 2005 and the mare foaled a grey colt Mar. 2, 2006. Hailing from the female family of champions Bosra Sham (Woodman) and Hector Protector (Woodman), the colt was consigned by Seitz’s Brookdale Sales to the 2007 Keeneland September and was off to Europe following a winning bid of $65,000. In an ironic twist, his third dam has come to include Gaudeamus (Distorted Humor), whose son Golden Sixty (Aus) (Medaglia d’Oro) is the early favorite for Sunday’s G1 Longines Hong Kong Mile.
Placed in his first two career starts in Madrid, Portus Blendium won his maiden at third asking at Dax in extreme southwestern France. He acquitted himself nicely at metropolitan tracks in early 2009, and it was a conditions victory at Chantilly that May that caught the attention of many, including Marie Yoshida.
“A good friend of mine, Francois Dupuis, contacted me and at the same time, my loyal and longtime Hong Kong client Dr. Thomas T.S. Liang was in search of a promising young racehorse. We contacted trainer Carlos Laffon-Parias, but it was only after his third-place finish in the Listed Prix Matchem that we were able to secure him.”
Ahead of Portus Blendium in the Matchem were future Godolphin star Cavalryman (GB) (Halling) and a future legend by the name of Cirrus des Aigles (Fr) (Even Top {Ire}). It would not be the final time the rivals met.
Portus Blendium made one final start in France, a third in the Listed Prix Tourgeville in August 2009, but tragedy struck a short time thereafter, as Dr. Liang passed away suddenly the following month. His final purchase was renamed California Memory by his family, who crossed their fingers that they might have a Derby runner on their hands.
Derby Dreams Dashed…
Under normal circumstances, it is tough to prepare a European import for a Classics season (for 4-year-olds in Hong Kong), but it was not straight-forward for California Memory. Having raced in France as a ridgling, he underwent gelding surgery once he got to Hong Kong, and made his local debut in February 2010, finishing 11th at long odds in the Hong Kong Classic Cup just one month prior to the Derby. It wasn’t meant to be. He returned a better horse that latter half of that season and would go on to win a pair of Class 1 handicaps, but he was no better than a 30-1 shot against the likes of veterans Irian (Ger) (Tertullian) and Viva Pataca (GB) (Marju {Ire}) in the 2011 G1 Hong Kong Gold Cup (2000m). Racing for Dr. Liang’s son Howard and with homegrown rider Matt Chadwick aboard, California Memory–all 981 pounds of him–got well back, but kicked hard in the final 200 meters to cause the boilover (see below), prompting commentator Darren Flindell to anoint California Memory a champion stayer of the future. A prescient comment, indeed.
“I vividly remember receiving a phone call from Howard Liang and there was so much emotion. I could not stop smiling and crying at the same time,” recollected Yoshida. “We could feel that something very special had just happened, as if Dr. Liang was there with us.”
WATCH: California Memory announces his arrival in the 2011 Hong Kong Gold Cup
A History Maker…
California Memory won the 2011 Sha Tin Trophy H. over an insufficient 1600-meter trip off a five-month layoff with 130 pounds on his back and was fourth at odds on in the G2 Jockey Club Cup ahead of that year’s Hong Kong Cup. Forced to race handier to a slow pace while facing true international competition for the first time, he was short of room at a crucial stage, but bulled his way through to defeat Irian, with his old mate Cirrus des Aigles fifth (video).
“We were so proud that this horse could represent Hong Kong and that Matthew Chadwick, who attended the Hong Kong Jockey Club jockeys’ school, would have such success,” Yoshida said.
If anything, California Memory was in even better form heading into the internationals of 2012. Having won the Jockey Club Cup this time around, he was the 17-10 favorite on the big day and it was an easy watch for his backers, as he ran to daylight after saving ground throughout and powered home easily best to become the first–and only–two-time winner of the richest of the HKIR (see below).
“Frankly, we were hoping California Memory could do it, but we did not 100% believe he could,” Yoshida reflected. “Tony Cruz had him in peak form and it was such a big honor for Howard Liang and his family to be there and race for Hong Kong. Everything happened in slow motion that day, it was surreal. It was a celebration of Dr. Liang’s life and the family’s long-term racing accomplishment in Hong Kong. Mrs. Liang and several grandchildren were there. It was just perfect.”
California Memory made the 2013 G1 Champions and Chater Cup (2400m) the last of his 12 career victories and earned him champion stayer honors that season. He retired from racing in 2015 with earnings of $6,687,501 and lives out his days at Living Legends just outside of Melbourne, where he shares space with other HKIR winners Silent Witness (Aus), Good Ba Ba, Peniaphobia (Ire), Mr Stunning (Aus), Beauty Only (Ire) and Designs On Rome (Ire).
Japan’s Win Bright (Jpn) (Stay Gold {Jpn}) could equal California Memory’s achievement when he goes out in defense of his title in Sunday’s Hong Kong Cup.
WATCH: California Memory goes back-to-back in the Cup
Few Thoroughbred operations can lay claim to truly changing the bloodstock landscape, but Ocala Stud did just that as a pioneer of the 2-year-olds in training sale concept, now a staple of the auction calendar in Florida and beyond
Ocala Stud sold its first crop of juveniles in 1958, and it has maintained the tradition of selling its homebreds at age two in the years that followed. The Central Florida operation has developed into a prominent breeder, seller, and stallion station, with 15 stallions set to stand at Ocala Stud in 2021.
The Florida Thoroughbred Breeders' and Owners' Association has launched a digital campaign promoting the successful history of Florida-breds born and raised in the Sunshine State.
The series titled “Florida Thoroughbred History Moment” features an opening and closing image of an old-timey newsreel much like those featured in movie theaters in the 1940s. Along with the sound of the whirr of the newsreel, each video is narrated by the distinctive voice of Hugh Kelly giving an even more nostalgic feel. Based in Florida, Kelly lends his voice perfectly to the series.
Each 'Florida Thoroughbred History Moment' vignette highlights a significant achievement in Florida-bred history focusing on the people, the horses and the farms that have contributed to its success since the industry kicked off in earnest after Needles' 1956 Kentucky Derby win.
Check out the previous installments of Florida History Moments here:
Judge Freda Wolfson, U.S. Chief District Judge in New Jersey, issued a ruling Dec. 3 in the New Jersey Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association case seeking “bad faith” damages from sports leagues, reports bloodhorse.com. The case stems from the fall of 2014, when those leagues—including the NCAA, NBA, NFL, NHL, and MLB—filed a temporary restraining order against the NJTHA, owners of Monmouth Park, to prevent the track from taking sports wagers.
On May 14, 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, allowing sports wagering to commence in states like New Jersey.
The leagues had set aside $3.4 million in an injunction bond for the case, covering the 28-day period of the restraining order, but the NJTHA was seeking up to $150 million in “bad faith” damages for being unable to hold sports wagering from October of 2014 to May of 2018.
While Judge Wolfson is prepared to consider awarding horsemen the $3.4 million amount of the bond, pending a hearing to determine “provable damages,” she will not consider the “bad faith” damages claim at this time.
