Snow Patrol an Ace in the pack for new kids on the block
This article was written by Lewis Lesbirel for The Thoroughbred Report Aus NZ.
New syndicators Ace Bloodstock recorded their first winner from just their third runner on Wednesday when Snow Patrol (NZ) (Contributer {Ire}) claimed the scalp of some highly-touted rivals to make a winning debut at Sandown. TTR AusNZ spoke to Darcy Mangan, co-director and acting syndicating manager for the burgeoning operation, to find out more about what the future holds for the hugely promising 3-year-old.
It may not have been the major Group 1 win that some of the team have become accustomed to, but the opening 3-year-old Maiden Plate at Sandown on Wednesday is a race that will live long in the memory of all those involved with Victorian outfit Ace Bloodstock.
That’s because the Mick Price and Michael Kent Jnr-trained Snow Patrol, a son of Mapperley Stud’s Group 1-producing sire Contributer (Ire), defied a three-wide passage in transit to run out a ready winner on debut, beating some G1 Cox Plate-nominated 3-year-olds in the process.
Sent off as a $9 shot off the back of a Cranbourne jump-out success, Snow Patrol sprung something of a minor surprise as the red-hot favourite Wolfy (NZ) (Tivaci) weakened out of contention, but according to Mangan, nobody was more surprised than Snow Patrol’s ecstatic group of owners.
“He definitely exceeded our expectations, and I think Mick and Michael’s expectations as well,” he said. “There was no great belief and they thought that he would need further, so we thought that this would just be a prep run.
“I was sort of asking the question that maybe we shouldn’t be going to town if they didn’t think he could win, and they said let’s just see how he measures up.
“It wasn’t like we all had a bet and were going there confident. A lot of people asked me how the horse would go and I said, ‘Ah he’ll need the run’. It was a bit of a shock, but a very pleasant surprise nonetheless.
“We have a lot of family and friends in the ownership and to have such close people to us in the horse is very special. To do it with Mick and Michael, who we’ve had a lot of horses with over the years, was just fantastic as well.”
The manner of Snow Patrol’s 1l success over Amigo (Snitzel), who was fifth in last season’s G3 Blue Diamond Prelude (Colts and Geldings), has prompted connections to aim high with the impressive debutant, so much so that Group 1 targets now lie in waiting should he improve as much as was initially anticipated prior to his racecourse bow.
“The first question I asked Mick and Michael was what is the plan for him next, and they both stated that we’ll put a big circle around the Caulfield Guineas with him,” Mangan revealed.
“I believe he has pulled up fantastically and he’s off to spend a week getting over his run down on the water walker.
“They have outlined a race for him in about a month’s time, and then the Guineas Prelude into the Caulfield Guineas, which is exciting.
“We didn’t think we’d get to this level so quickly, but I suppose that’s racing, isn’t it. You never know where it’s going to take you. We’re very lucky.”
A happy hunting ground
Having failed to meet his reserve of NZ$50,000 during Book 2 of the New Zealand Bloodstock (NZB) Karaka Yearling Sale, Snow Patrol, who hails from the family of Group 1 winner Sharvasti (NZ) (Montjeu {Ire}) and multiple Group 1 placegetter Eric The Eel (Olympic Glory {Ire}), was subsequently sent to the NZB Ready to Run Sale, where Mick Price Racing and Breeding secured him for NZ$170,000 from the Lilywhites Lodge draft.
Offered to Ace Bloodstock by Price’s training partner Michael Kent Jnr, who described Snow Patrol as “a horse they had to have”, Mangan and his team were only too happy to trust the trainer’s judgement.
Given Mangan’s affinity for Kiwi-bred horses and the success his family has enjoyed when buying out of New Zealand in the past, it wasn’t a particularly difficult decision either.
“We think the value in New Zealand is far superior,” he said. “We’ve had previous success with a horse called Yogi, who was bought out of New Zealand off a trial, I’m Thunderstruck was from New Zealand as well and Jungle Mangate was purchased from Westbury Stud.
“We have bought quite a few tried and trialled horses from New Zealand so we know they have ability, rather than going to a yearling sale and spending $200,000-$300,000, then waiting 12 months to see a result.
“Instead, you can go and buy a trialled horse in New Zealand, have it out here (Australia) in three or four months, sell it off and race it knowing that it has ability, rather than taking a punt on a yearling, which could go any which way.
“Going forward, I don’t think buying yearlings is going to be a big thing that we do. I think buying more tried horses and trialled horses out of New Zealand is probably somewhat more of a method we will use for buying horses.”
New Zealand-bred horses have made a habit of crossing the Tasman and beating their Australian counterparts in their own backyard, and the season just gone provided a timely reminder of the talent that is raised on the rich pastures across the ditch, with Kiwi-breds accounting for an astonishing seven of the eight Group 1 contests run during The Championships in Sydney this year.
While many Australian trainers have turned to Europe in the past decade in search of progressive staying types, Ace Bloodstock are happy to shop much closer to home for horses who fit that criteria, owing to one reason in particular.
“I think horses from Europe don’t always acclimatise that well here and they’re often bought for big money, whereas if you go to New Zealand and spend half a million bucks, you get more bang for your buck than you do shopping over in Europe,” Mangan said.
“It’s just a great place to shop for a horse. The breeding industry is a big business over there and we’re happy to buy there.
“I think the sprinting division is a bit saturated over here in Australia, everyone wants speed and there are certainly races for that, but there’s a bit of a hole in the market for those mile, mile-plus types like Snow Patrol. We’re happy to shop for those types of horses and that’s what New Zealand breeds for.
“It has been a happy hunting ground for us over the years and we’ll keep going back there.”
The same can be said of the Price-Kent Jnr yard, a stable with whom Mangan and his family have enjoyed multiple top-level successes over the past few years, most notably with last year’s G1 South Australian Derby winner Jungle Magnate (NZ) (Tarzino) and the sadly ill-fated Golden Eagle hero I’m Thunderstruck (NZ) (Shocking {NZ}).
Price, along with experienced bloodstock agent Phill Catalado in New Zealand, is heavily involved with the selection of Ace Bloodstock’s horses, and Mangan is more than happy to leave it to the experts when it comes to identifying future stars of the track.
“We believe that Mick Price has a great eye for a horse,” he said. “He often buys horses and sells them out himself and we often take a share, which we’ve had a lot of success with.
“That’s probably our main approach at the moment - we’ll have a chat to Mick, see what he likes, he’ll send us his shortlist and then we’ll have a look and discuss between us boys which ones we like.
“We use Phill Cataldo in New Zealand as well and he’s been great for us. We went over to New Zealand recently and met up with Phill, and he helped us pick out a filly that we bought at the weanling sale the other week.
“Between Mick and Phill, it’s proven that they have a great record and it’s a safe bet for us.”
‘She could be anything’
The filly that Mangan makes reference to is by Windsor Park stallion Vanbrugh out of an unraced half-sister to Group 3 winner Fairy Oak (NZ) (High Chaparral {Ire}), and was secured for only NZ$10,000 at the NZB National Weanling Sale in June.
Her addition took the Ace Bloodstock string up to 13 horses, 11 of which are in training with the Price-Kent Jnr partnership and one of which is last-start Listed winner She’s A Con (NZ) (Contributer {Ire}) who resides with fellow Cranbourne trainer Grahame Begg.
It is hoped that the latter, who was purchased out of New Zealand following her impressive last-start win, can be the flag-bearer for Ace Bloodstock during the upcoming Melbourne Spring Carnival, alongside her paternal sibling Snow Patrol.
“The plan is to kick her off on Sunday, 24th September in a Benchmark 70 over 1800 metres at Flemington,” Mangan said of She’s A Con.
“Grahame has earmarked that race for her and then I think it’s three weeks into the Pinker Pinker Plate at Cranbourne, and then after that we will just see how she goes.
“If she was to win that then certainly we would look at some stronger races for her, maybe the Champion Stakes on the last day of the carnival, but I’ll leave that for Grahame to decide.
“We’ll just take her through the grades and get her winning, but we’re very bullish about her. We think she could be anything.”
Similar sentiments apply to the regally bred Primal Spirit (NZ) (Charm Spirit {Ire}), an unraced 3-year-old who is slated to make his eagerly anticipated debut in the coming months.
“We’re really excited to see what Primal Spirit can do - he’s the half-brother to I’m Thunderstruck and is showing above average ability at this early stage of his career,” Mangan added.
“I think he’s back in work at the moment actually, so he’ll probably run within the next six to eight weeks.
“It’d be great for him to be a great horse for us going forward, being related to I’m Thunderstruck, and he’s another horse who we have a lot of family friends involved in.”
Feet on the ground
Having enjoyed many unforgettable days as part-owners of superstar racehorse I’m Thunderstruck, the Mangan family experienced heartbreak earlier this year when the apple of their eye sadly passed after injuring himself when waking up from a routine operation.
As a horse lover first and foremost, equine welfare is firmly at the forefront of Mangan’s approach to racehorse syndication, and despite being in relative infancy with only young, fledgling horses on the books, the team at Ace Bloodstock are already looking towards the future in terms of safeguarding their horses’ lives post-retirement.
“We are working towards putting on events and making sure that the welfare of the horse is priority, which is something we are definitely passionate about,” Mangan said.
“Most of our horses are just about to begin their careers, but it’s definitely something that we will work on in the coming years.
“That comes from the love of the animal. We believe that racehorses should be looked after and cared for throughout their whole lives, not just their racing careers, and that’s something that we will put a lot of emphasis on.”
Mangan and his Ace Bloodstock colleagues will also be placing a greater emphasis on quality over quantity, with their current string of 13 horses well in advance of where they envisaged being at this point in their venture.
“When we set the business up about 18 months ago we hoped to buy two or three horses in the first 12 months, and we’ve ended up with 13 horses now,” Mangan said.
“That’s purely by the phone ringing and people saying, ‘We want to buy a horse, can we get in one with you’. I think people have seen the fun and success that we’ve had with I’m Thunderstruck and want that for themselves.
“We’ll just continue to grow organically and keep the quality there, we don’t want to be the biggest and have too many horses. Finding nice types and selling shares to good people whilst having fun - that’s the key.
“If we could win the Caulfield Guineas with Snow Patrol and a nice Group race over the carnival with She’s A Con, I think that’ll really set us in the right direction.”
That it certainly would.