There are few more genuine racehorses in training in the west than the bonny mare Jaz Session.
The five year old daughter of Sessions broke through for a richly deserved first stakes win and became the eighth stakes winner for her sire overall with a pulsating victory in the Listed Scenic Blast Stakes at Ascot.
The Justine Erkelen trained Jaz Session joins last year's victress Twain's Angel, Angelic Miss, Cool Trade, Scuffs, Zanella, Twilight Spy and Lady Belvedere as female winners of the 1200m feature (previously the Australia Day Stakes) now named to honour WA's legèndary Royal Ascot conquering sprinter Scenic Blast.
Jaz Session was a hot favourite to get the job done stepping up to 1200m after a determined win in the rich Epona Classic on Westspeed Platinum Raceday and two subsequent stakes placings at shorter trips.
With regular jockey Shaun O'Donell aboard the good looking mare went to post at the head of the market with Madhi Girl (Winning Rupert) who beat her home in the Listed Summer Scorcher, and the Listed Miss Andretti Stakes runner up Cut The Talk (Oratorio) coming in for their share of support.
Hardy veterans Ice Pick Nick (Frosted) Man Crush (Manhattan Rain) and Devoted (Xtravagant) were speckled at longer odds in the ten horse field.
Jaz Session jumped beautifully with roughie Sky Duke (Playing God) up there early as Cut The Talk with great gate speed forged to the lead for Laqdar Ramoly.
Man Crush and Madhi Girl were prominent with Ice Pick Nick behind them.
At the 700m Cut The Talk led them at a good clip pace three quarters of a length to Sky Duke Man Crush and Holly Watson were getting a dream run on the rail behind them and Jaz Session sat on his outside travelling sweetly.
As the field approached the turn Madhi Girl was stuck in traffic behind the leaders as Sky Duke hit the wall and Ice Pick Nick took off around him. Wind and the Lion (Written By) got into his slipstream as Cut The Talk booted clear in the straight.
Jaz Session always had him covered though and came with her trademark big burst of acceleration down the middle of the track. Behind her Madhi Girl saw clear air and Ice Pick Nick was coming home hard!
At the 100m Jaz Session hit the lead as Ice Pick Nick tried hard to get there but the mare went to the line strongly a length clear of her rival
Eight starts into her preparation Jaz Session is still at the top of her game and trainer Justine Erkelens will consider heading to the Cyril Flower Stakes.
“I couldnt be happier. She had a super run and she let down really nicely” she said.
“I train her from the paddock because she's a fair sized horse. She mows the grass all day long. If you keep them really fresh you can keep them up for a long time, and I think that's what works with them.”
“She comes home, she eats that fast, she licks the bin, she comes in with a heart rate of nothing - so until she tells me she's had enough we'll continue on our way.”
The mighty Scenic Blast aka “Clyde” at twenty one years young was on course in the stalls, loving the atmosphere and enjoying a constant stream of visitors and pats from industry folks and public alike.
Justine wasn't slow to point out the great sprinter to her mare, who was stabled nearby.
“ He's such an amazing looking horse still. I said to her, look at him! Run like him! So there you go” She laughed.
Jockey Shaun O’Donnell was rapt with the result.
“I'm absolutely ecstatic. She deserved a Listed win this horse, for all her efforts - she's had a few runs this time in but you wouldn't even know.
"She just loves the game and Justine's kept her up so beautifully, she's done a great job. Today the speed was there, we just had to get that nice cart up behind them and she's got a good turn of foot especially over 1200m. Today she held them easy!”
Jaz Session was bred by Greenfields Lodge owner Tony Patrizzi, and was a $24,000 buy for John Chalmers Bloodstock/ Erkelens Racing at the 2022 Perth Magic Millions.
The tough mare has now had 22 starts for 8 wins and nine placings for her proud owner Ian Rickwood, and she has notched up $402,880 in earnings to date.
Now she’s got her black type win and further enhanced her residual value as a broodmare when the time comes.
Her dam Jaz Me Up by War Chant won just one race at 1600m, but placed seven times and was a hard knocking and competitive mare on the regional circuit. She has passed on that gritty character to her daughter, with sire Sessions providing the dose of brilliant class and speed he is renowned for.
Greenfields Lodge have bred all Jaz Me Up's foals, and have built up this family through three generations.
Her first foal was a filly by another Lonhro son who stood in WA in Demerit, and she was a $28,000 buy for trainers Richard and Chantelle Jolly at the 2021 Perth Magic Millions.
Named Jazz Affair, the now six year old has been an absolute gem for her owners racing in South Australia and Victoria, posting wins - 5 in all - in metro Adelaide and Melbourne.
Jaz Session was the next foal for Jaz Me Up, followed by another filly, Snip The Strap (Snippetson) in 2021 who has had three starts to date.
Jaz Me Up's 2022 foal - another filly! - was by Gingerbread Man and sold at the MM Perth Winter Yearling Sale for $30,000 to John Chalmers. Named Jazz Me Baby she is also trained by Justine and has raced once.
Jaz Me Up has not been served the last three seasons
Her dam Mount Difficulty was by the noted broodmare sire Tale Of The Cat She was a winner and dam of only three foals, all fillies, two winners - and was half sister to the talented race filly Why She Left (Al Maher) who sadly died young.
Third dam Entrant by broodmare sire supreme Royal Academy was placed, and dam of only four She was a daughter of Rosy Clouds by the even greater broodmare sire Sir Tristram, unplaced in just five starts and a good producer from just five foals, her best being Entrant's half sister Romare (Marscay) who won the 2004 Listed Dark Jewel Classic and was a grand producer.
Daughter Long Wink by Stratum is the dam of the 2024 G2 Reisling Stakes heroine Emo's Cube (Rubick), while Eramor by Stratum is a producer, and Horshoe by Commands is the dam of G3 winner Emerald Kingdom and Listed winner Steel Frost.
Rosy Clouds had two influential half siblings Verscay (Marscay) and Vertingly (Bletchingly).
Vertingly was a superfast juvenile colt who won a G3 Blue Diamond Prelude and Maribyrnong Plate.
Verscay is the ancestress of the mighty G1 winning Queensland sprinter and warhorse Rothfire and the flying Listed winning Perth filly Sniparoochy (Snippetson).
There is a lot from this family on offer at the upcoming Perth Magic Millions.
Lot 173 consigned by Westbury Park on account of Kingstar Farms is a filly by O'Reilly's fine son Brutal who is doing the job at stud, from an unraced half sister to Rothfire by the Gold Coast MM Classic winner Sizzling from a good producing Zabeel mare.
This filly is extensively linebred to My Babu, a pattern which appears in many good horses but juveniles in particular.
The ancestress of this family is the French bred Democratie and it's the damline of the mighty Red Ransom - G1 winner Rothfire by Rothesay is bred on this cross.
Jaz Session's second dam Toujours Vert is closely related to 4 x G1 winner Riverina Charm who became a great broodmare for Pencarrow Stud in NZ and to Great Vintage (4th in Vintage Crop's Melbourne Cup!) and Ivy Cottage, the granddam of G1 sprinting mare Neroli by Viscount and G1 winner Benfica by Lonhro.
This is also the family of champion Japanese sprinter Agnes World, the damsire of the good sire Better Than Ready, and from another branch of Democratie came a real breedshaper in our part of the world, Showdown!
Jaz Session was the second winner on the day for Sessions after his talented son Urquhart's Bluff took out the 1100m third race of the day to make it three wins and three placings from nine starts for trainer Paul Jordan.
The beautifully bred Sessions is still going strong at Oakland Park Stud and he has 10 lots catalogued in the upcoming MM Perth Sale, four fillies and five colts.
Sessions stands at Oakland Park on a fee of $9,900.
