International chit chat

[NoChanceToDance]

Royal Ascot heroine Miss Andretti unlikely to defend King's Stand Crown


by Andrew O'Toole

AUSTRALIA MISS ANDRETTI seems unlikely to be on hand at Royal Ascot to defend her King's Stand Stakes title in 2008.

Lee Freedman, who trains the top-class sprinting mare, has indicated that Miss Andretti will not have a busy international schedule in future.

“I imagine it would beunlikely that she would do much travelling from now on,” said Freedman of Miss Andretti, who flopped last time out in the Hong Kong International Sprint behind Sacred Kingdom on December 9.

“We're a year down the track and it's a difficult and long undertaking to go to the UK. Going abroad may well rule out an early spring campaign for her in Melbourne, and that is her main aim at this stage.”

A proposed trip to Singapore in May was also unlikely, according to Freedman.
The trainer said that several factors contributed to Miss Andretti's out-of-character performance in Hong Kong.

He said: “The pre-departure quarantine at Sandown, coupled with two weeks at Sha Tin, did her no favours. Her demeanour altered somewhat and this added to the problemsshe had going right-handed.”

Flemington trainer Mark Kavanagh is hopeful of a British campaign for his multiple Group 1-winning mare Divine Madonna. She will “inevitably” be sold at auction at the end of her career said Kavanagh, who thinks this will be in either July or August next year.

“She has won four Group 1 races in Australia now, and we are just hopeful we can get her overseas somewhere and see what happens from there,” he said.

“I would rather go to England – they have got a straight mile race and races that are suitable for mares, so that would be a bit of fun I reckon.
I look all right in a top hat!”

“She is a well-known mare and they are a little bit keen to see her over there, so with a bit of luck we canget her there.”

Divine Madonna, a five-year-old by Hurricane Sky out of the Prego mare My Madonna, has raced 25 times, with eight wins and seven placings.

Her spring was highlighted by two excellent Group I wins in the Toorak Handicap (1600m) at Caulfield and the Meyer Classic (1600m) at Flemington.

[my miss storm cat]

Takeover Target wins in a photo...

Shocked Dance Hero was last.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FDHHxsiwHfQ

[NoChanceToDance]

From Coolmore.......

First Australian Winner For Hawk Wing
15th December 2007

Young shuttle sire Hawk Wing posted his first Australian winner at Flemington on Saturday when the David Hayes trained colt Joyful Warrior (2c Hawk Wing - Southern Quest, by Rainbow Quest) took out the open juvenile event over 1100 metres.

Having his first race start, Joyful Warrior settled just off the pace for Craig Williams and then gradually wore down the favourite Minnesota Shark to score by the best part of a length.

Bred and offered for sale by Queensland based farm Canning Downs, Joyful Warrior was bought by Hong Kong trainer Almond Lee for $110,000 at the 2007 Magic Millions Yearling Sale and was the most expensive yearling sired by Hawk Wing sold in Australasia this year.

A tall strongly built brown colt very much in the mould of his Group One winning sire, Joyful Warrior is the second foal of the winning Rainbow Quest mare Southern Quest.

A half-sister to several stakes-placed horses, Southern Quest claims champion filly Northernette as her third dam, a dual Group One winner of 13 races and full sister to influential sire Storm Bird.

Hawk Wing shuttled to Coolmore Australia for two seasons in 2004 and 2005, standing at a fee of $22,000 and leaving 136 live foals in total, the second crop to be offered at sales in Australia in 2008.

In the Northern Hemisphere, Hawk Wing will stand the 2008 season in Ireland at a fee of 15,000 euros and has done very well with his first NH crop which includes 28 winners throughout the Northern Hemisphere led by the stakes-winning filly Triskel and stakes horses Feared in Flight, Barking Wolf and Lazy Afternoon.

A Group One winner at seven furlongs as a juvenile, Hawk Wing also won at Group One level as a three and four year-old so his progeny can be expected to train on and improve further with time.

[my miss storm cat]

Three pictures..... good for him for hanging on!

http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/s...-10389,00.html