Table of contents for September 2023 in Turf Monthly

Cape Of Good Hope is an intriguing prospect this year at Bombora Downs in Victoria. There are obvious factors that will count against him from a commercial aspect, but there are some factors that will certainly have smaller breeders looking closely at his pedigree. Firstly, let us look at his racetrack performance, and this is the first of the intriguing factors. His first start was as a 2yo in Ireland over seven furlongs finishing unplaced. He broke his maiden at his third start over 7.5 furlongs at Tipperary before heading to Newmarket to run second to Quorto in the Group 2 Superlative Stakes. After an eleven-week break, Cape Of Good Hope ran third in the Group 3 Royal Lodge Stakes at Newmarket over a mile. He was off the scene…

Paulele certainly has lived in the shadows of the dominant Darley machine. Even going to stud, the homebred pales against the champion Anamoe. At another stud, it is likely that Paulele would have gone to stud with a lot more fanfare but as we know, at this point of a stallion’s career it is opportunity that will be the telling factor. There is no doubt that Darley will give Paulele his opportunity to be a success. Because of the sheer quality of Darley’s offerings, we hope that local breeders will realise what a gem they possibly have in Paulele. On the track, the colt started his career on 28 November 2020 winning over 1000m at Moonee Valley, coming from midfield. It was then to Sydney where he led all of…

Prince Cortauld is another of those top quality racehorses who seem destined to be relegated into the mists of time. His performances on the track though belie the esteem in which he should be held. The NZ bred Prince Cortauld won 24 races from 47 starts including 18 stakes races in Australia. He was to travel to the US for a time when he was to run third in the rich Washington Invitational. He was bred by Ken Austin at his Inglewood Stud but was passed in as a yearling when he did not meet his reserve of 500 guineas. Prince Cortauld was reportedly a handsome yet compact brown colt and was by Sun King, the son of Hyperion out of the mare, Capricious by Night Raid. The colt was…

Bruckner joins an interesting mix of stallions at the wonderful Widden Stud in Victoria this year. His racing performances may not match some of this season’s newcomers, but his pedigree and type must go a long way to making up for any perceived shortcomings. He was after all a $725,000 yearling at the 2020 Melbourne Premier Sale, a sale not usually known for this level of purchase. On the track, Bruckner commenced his career on 12 Febuary 2021 by running third in the Black Opal Preview in Canberra. He then went to Sydney to run down the track behind Magic Millions winner, Shaquero in the Pago Pago and Tiger Malay before going to the paddock. Bruckner won his maiden at Kembla Grange at his first start as a 3yo before…