A year after he made a hasty exit from the Philippines to Hawaii on the same private jet as President Ferdinand Marcos, Eduardo Cojuangco received some much-needed good news from Australia.
His homebred filly, Sandy’s Pleasure had won the 1987 Victoria Oaks for trainer Grahame Begg and jockey Jim Cassidy.
After returning from exile in 1989, and restructuring his business interests, Cojuangco also set about restructuring his Mudgee showpiece, Gooree Stud,
By 1990, gone were the stallions Tolomeo (USA), Maizcay, Squill (USA) and Sandy’s Pleasure’s sire Dash O’Pleasure (USA).
The son of Kentucky Derby winner Foolish Pleasure was exported to the Philippines in 1991 and few missed his absence.
Sandy’s Pleasure was by some way his best runner. Besides her Oaks triumph, she won a pair of Listed Stakes races and was placed in the Group II Wakeful Stakes.
It would be wonderful to report that Sandy’s Pleasure proved to be a gem at stud but that’s far from the truth. Although seven of her 11 foals reached the track and six were winners, her best performer won just two races in Sydney.
It was left to her daughters to extend the line and three, Springtime Romance (Last Tycoon), Fervent Hope (Bluebird) and Stately Drawn (Dehere) have produced stakes-placed winners.
But the star of the team has been the unraced Quest For Fame (GB) mare Quest For Pleasure.
Flogged off for just $3,000 to Bowness Stud in 2004, Quest For Pleasure is the dam of Torio's Quest (Oratorio (IRE) who turned his $15,000 purchase price as a yearling into a $916,000 windfall for owner Bert Vieira and trainer Brett Partelle. His five wins from 17 starts included the Group II Queensland Guineas at Eagle Farm, however, his biggest payday came in the $820,000 Magic Millions 3YO Guineas (1400m) on the Gold Coast in 2011.
Two years after Quest For Pleasure foaled Torio's Quest she produced Bippo No Bungus.
From the second of three Australian crops left by the superstar stallion in waiting, Dubawi, Bippo No Bungus was purchased by Western Australian trainer Neville Parnham for $70,000 at the 2011 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale.
She proved worth the money. After finishing runner-up in the Group II WA Guineas and Group III WA Champion Stakes at three, Bippo No Bungus opened her stakes account in the Listed Starstruck Classic at Ascot and placed in the Group II Sunline Stakes at Moonee Valley and the Group III Schweppervescence Trophy at Flemington at four.
By the time she was retired the daughter of Dubawi (GB) had compiled a record of 4 wins, 8 seconds and 5 thirds from 42 starts with earnings of $423,725
Yarraman Park Stud’s I Am Invincible was chosen as the first mate for Bippo No Bungus and she foaled a colt that was consigned by Yarraman Park to the 2018 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale.
He was knocked down to Harras Syndicate/Mulcaster Bloodstock for $500,000, which barely scraped him into the top ten priced lots by his sire at the sale.
His list of high-profile owners won’t be needing directions to the winner’s stall.
Named Lubuk (pictured as a yearling ) and sent to Chris Waller, the son of I Am Invincible made a pleasing racetrack debut when a fast-finishing fourth in the Listed Phelan Ready Stakes at Doomben on December 15.
Larry Cassidy takes the mount on Saturday when Lubuk gets his final chance to earn a place in the field for the $2 million Magic Millions 2yo Classic when he contests a highly competitive QTIS 2-Y-O Hcp (1100m) at the Gold Coast.
