A high profile female family that centres around Group I MRC Blue Diamond winner Catchy, who sold at the Inglis Chairman’s Sale this week for $800,000, was in the spotlight on Saturday producing two new stakes-winners.
First to salute was Zoustar mare Floozie, who won the Listed Gold Coast Silk Stocking for her new owners Yarraman Park, read about her here.
The second arrived in Adelaide where the Tom Dabernig trained mare Cleo Cat, maintained her excellent strike rate when scoring a commanding win in the Group III SAJC Proud Miss Stakes (1200m) at Morphettville with Jordan Childs in the saddle.
The four year-old daughter of American Pharoah (USA) has been handled patiently and that patience has certainly paid off.
She made a winning debut at Werribee in February last year and has been only beaten once since with her race record reading seven wins from eight starts with prizemoney topping $260,000
"We couldn't be happier and today we ticked off that all important Black Type. It was a little bit quicker second-up than I normally would run a mare, but her win at Warrnambool was a three horse race and I didn't have to travel. It was like a trial,” said Tom Dabernig.
“Last night, when I brought her over, she had eaten all her feed by 6pm and I had to give her a bit of a top up of the feed she was doing that well. I was confident that she had travelled over well.
“The big field, the wide gate, and a couple of the fancied horses that were the speed horses in the race came out and we came out so well. I didn't expect to see her lead, but she put herself there comfortably and I think she is a well above average mare."
The 59th stakes-winner for Triple Crown winner American Pharoah, Cleo Cat was purchased by her trainer for just $50,000 from the Coolmore draft at the Inglis HTBA Yearling Sale and has proven an inspired choice for her big group of owners.
“She was not an expensive yearling but she always showed us she has ability. She's one of those horses that keep winning,” Dabernig added.
“The day she got beaten was at Geelong it was 36 degrees and she pulled up with heat stress and was only beaten 1.4 lengths, so I think that was an excuse for sure. Hopefully we can keep her winning.”
Cleo Cat was bred by well-known bloodstock agent Colm Santry, who has had a long association with the Jenkins family, who have nurtured this female line for many years.
She is the best of two winners from well bred Fastnet Rock mare Angel Face, who is also the grand-dam of stakes-winner Chilled and has now been retired from stud duty.
Angel Face is a three-quarter sister-in-blood to Blue Diamond winner Catchy, who is the dam of the earlier stakes-winner today Floozie.
The family also produced another metro winner today with Lulumon (4m Vancouver x For Lulu) winning at the Gosford standalone meeting in the Benchmark 78 event and a two year-old from the family Tyrone’s Power (2c Yes Yes Yes x For Lulu) is expected to run in the Inglis Scone Challenge next Friday.
The centrepiece of this prolific winning family is Catchy, who was bred by the late Joy Jenkins and foaled and raised at Coolmore before being sold in their draft at Inglis Easter back in 2016 for $220,000 to Robert Crabtree of Dorrington Farm.
Crabtree is scaling back much of his bloodstock portfolio following the sale of Dorrington Farm and Catchy was sold in the Noorilim Park draft this week at Inglis Chairman’s for $800,000 to Irish breeder Flash Conroy of Glenvale Stud.
She will remain in Australia and be based at Coolmore where she was born.
