Pride of Dubai gave us the ‘One to Watch’ on Thursday with an ultra-impressive six length winner at Kilmore, whose scintillating victory gives me an opportunity to share some insight into my world at Daybreak Farm.
Trained by Tony and Calvin McEvoy, three year-old filly Transplant was having her second start and first run back from a lengthy spell following an encouraging debut fifth in the Listed SAJC Queen Adelaide Stakes in May last year.
She was a heavily backed favourite and gave nothing else a chance when leading all the way under Luke Currie to win by six lengths.
It&rsqu
o;s fairly safe to say the stable will be looking for some nice little Black Type races for her during the coming Adelaide Carnival.
Transplant was a $60,000 Magic Millions purchase for McEvoy Mitchell Racing from the Kitchwin Hills draft and was bred by Sheikh Mohammed Bin Khalifa Al Maktoum, who bred and raced her sire Pride of Dubai.
She is the sixth winner from six foals to race from placed Fastnet Rock mare Dalleth, who has changed hands numerous times over the years, but was originally a $585,000 Inglis Easter purchase in 2008 for Ingham Racing.
Dalleth is a blue-blood being a grand-daughter of brilliant filly Bold Promise, whose descendants include Golden Slipper winners Merlene and Capitalist, not to mention Group I winners Miss Pennymoney and Dear Demi.
Until Transplant put her hand up today, the best winner to date from Dalleth was talented, but often wayward So You Think gelding Mission Dream, who won two of eight starts for Mark Newnham at Randwick and Gosford.
Mission Dream won by three and a half lengths at Gosford last July, but collapsed after the race due to respiratory issues, which ultimately led to his official retirement from racing which is where my personal world has collided with my work.
Late last year my daughter Jasmine rode Mission Dream when he was pre-training at Bella Lodge and fell in love with him, so given I have always harboured the desire to try a So You Think as a showjumper we kept tabs on him and when Mark Newnham called time on his racing career we were lucky enough to be given the opportunity to bring him home to Daybreak Farm.
Re-training of thoroughbreds is not for the faint hearted and Mission Dream is the fifth we’ve taken on here, all of them making a successful transition, but we are quietly hopeful he may well be the best.
A big scopey horse with natural athleticism, this lightly raced four year-old is the perfect blank canvas for a new career with the goal of Thoroughbred Sport Horse Jumping classes later in the year.
Stay tuned in coming months as Mission Dream begins his new life.
