SONG OF TARA (IRE), a Sadler's Wells sire whose latest impressive winner is the well named Song and Laughter, an impressive winner over 1300m at this week's Warwick Farm Wednesday meeting, deserved far more appreciation from breeders than he received.
A Kevin Moses (Randwick)
trained 5-year-old chestnut mare with three wins from 11 starts to her credit,
she is another winner bred by Joe O'Gara, the Goulburn NSW businessman who
stood Song of Tara at his Tobermory Stud in the district.
Raced six times for two wins at 2400m, one of them Listed in France, and thirds at Group 2 (2600m) and Group 3 (2000m) England and Group 3 Ireland (2000m), Song of Tara is a brother to Salsabil (won English Oaks, Irish Derby, One Thousand Guineas), a three-quarter brother to the Sadler's Wells American Breeders' Cup Turf winner Northern Spur and a half-brother to Marju, a Last Tycoon English Derby third.
Retired at 22 in January 2014, the 16.1 hands bay Song of Tara was only used as a sire at Tobermory, serving in 16 seasons (only one mare in 2013 – unsuccessful) and finishing up with about 118 runners, 72 of which have been winners.
A big percentage of them, including all his seven stakes winners, bred by Joe O'Gara. He also raced the best two of them, No Wine No Song (trained by Kevin Moses; 10 wins, $1,415,690, winner and close third Sydney Cup, two each Group 2 and 3 wins, third also in Sydney in the Metropolitan and The BMW) and Spirit of Tara (7 wins, $805,600, Sydney Group 3 winner at 2000m, second Stan Fox-Gr.2, third Queen Elizabeth-Gr.1, fourth Chipping Norton-Gr.1, The BMW). Also, the O'Gara bred Shamrock Shore finished second in the Brisbane Cup-Gr.1, then over 3200m.
Song of Tara's latest winner Song and Laughter is a sister to four winners, including stakes placed Singing Flame (won Sydney, second Tulloch Stakes-Gr.2, raced by O'Gara, trained by Moses) and Let Them Have It (7 wins to 2000m, third AJC Summer Cup-Gr.3, fourth Canberra Cup-L).
They are three-quarters to Spirit of Tara and from What a Giggle, an O'Gara bred unraced daughter of another sire used at Tobermory, the spectacularly bred Air de France (USA). A winner of one race in France in only two starts, he was by Seattle Slew and from the Sea-Bird World Champion race mare Allez France. - Brian Russell Media
