Almost Time….

by Brett Coffey on September 1, 2010

Ima High Rolla enjoying her last few days without a foal!

Well the 1st of September has rolled around again. Happy Birthday to all those Australian standardbreds out there who read the Patrician Park website.

Foaling season will start again shortly. We have a number of mares due in September and a number of those are maidens.

This time of year is one of excitement but also trepidation. For a breeder there are very few better moments than seeing new foals born and then grow up. It is just magical. On the flipside of that there is nothing worse for a breeder than losing foals and mares.

Unfortunately both of these scenarios can occur at this time of year.

Last season we had a very good foaling season with only one foal dying (still very sad) and of course one very premature foal. We were so lucky last year.

The season before was an absolute disaster where we lost five foals including two Art Major’s, two Western Terror’s and a Grinfromeartoear.

So we touch wood, keep our fingers crossed and pray that this year will be a good one and that we can have a trouble free foaling season and witness some beautiful babies grow up.

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Premiership Window

by Brett Coffey on July 18, 2010

Touch Of Tango as a yearling.

You hear a lot about a footy team’s premiership window. Some people believe in it other’s don’t, however history shows us that teams don’t stay at the premiership level long.

The same is generally true for horses. Sure there are horses like Blacks A Fake, Pure Steel, Village Kid, Our Sir Vancelot, etc that have stayed at the very top level for a number of years, but the greater majority of horses have very few chances to win a major race.

I started thinking about this after watching Touch Of Tango run an extremely game second in the Group One Sires Stakes Final for 2yo Colts and Geldings at Gloucester Park on the 6th of July.

This was Touch Of Tango’s second Group One placing after already finishing second in the $115,000 Sales Classic Final in April.

On both occasions he started from barrier eight, which is a big disadvantage.

Bob Melsopp has developed this colt all along and had a plan mapped out at the start of the season which culminated in the Sires Stakes Final. He didn’t want to go to the well one too many times as a 2yo which can be the undoing of many a good horse.

I admire Bob’s belief in this gelding and his plan to not over race him and put him out at the top of his game.

However has Touch Of Tango missed his chance at winning that Group One race? He wasn’t really a winning chance in the Sales Classic Final. While he won his heat impressively, drawing barrier eight while the other two heat winners in Blissful Boy and Bettors Ace drew well in barrier one and ten made it near impossible for him to win.

While in the Sires Stakes Final, Touch Of Tango started favourite. He was expected to win and only bad racing luck stopped him from claiming victory.

Some horses are natural 2yo’s and don’t progress as much as other’s from two to three. Also in WA we always have a number of very high priced 3yo’s imported from New Zealand to compete in our $200,000 Derby.

These things make it hard to win a big race as a 3yo in WA.

Having said all of that, here we have a horse who has been developed and trained by a very good trainer, not been over raced and been put out to spell sound and at the top of his game. These factors are very much in Touch Of Tango’s favour.

Is Touch Of Tango’s Premiership Window closed or is it still open? Time will tell.

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Exciting Night

July 5, 2010

Tomorrow night promises to be an exciting one!
Normally a Tuesday night in Winter involves trying to keep warm on the couch, however tomorrow night will be a “Winter Wonderland” at Gloucester Park.
The race meeting will feature 4 $100,000 State Sires Series Finals and 4 $22,250 Westbred races. There will be a number of Patrician Park [...]

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Goodbye to an old friend

June 11, 2010
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I didn’t really want to write this post. I have been putting it off.
Last Saturday we got our old mare Professional Lass euthanised. At the age of 31 it was time for her to go.
She had been going quite well up until a couple of months ago when things started to get worse for her. [...]

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Exciting Times Ahead

May 31, 2010

We are really excited about our current crop of weanlings. While our previous crop was  decimated through misfortune, so far, so good (well pretty good at least) with this year’s crop. All (except for Ebony Eye’s prem baby) are looking really good at this stage of their development. They are all different shapes and sizes, [...]

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Racing Roundup

May 28, 2010
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Just thought I would check in with a roundup of the Patrician Park breds racing over the next few days.
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Ghadasbest (Dream Away – Bayliner) is facing his stiffest test yet as he lines up in the Captain Sandy FFA at Tabcorp Park tonight.
He has drawn well in barrier one, however he comes up horses of [...]

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Gazzella Nera and our Premature Foal

May 24, 2010

Gazzella Nera (Northern Luck – Ebony Eye) finally broke through for a win on Saturday.
Showing a good finishing burst, Gazzella Nera won the C0 event in 2:03.3. The time or field was nothing sensational, however considering where she has come from it is a good achievement.
We always liked Gazzella Nera as a yearling and were [...]

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Twitter and Chillin Dylan

May 17, 2010

Just a quick note first up to let you know we are now on Twitter! Please follow us at www.twitter.com/PatricianPark for regular updates on all things Patrician Park.
How good was Chillin Dylan (Western Terror – Margareta Ville) on Friday night? Unbelievably so is the answer. His speed is just scintillating. No doubt the short field [...]

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The Mobster Hits the Track

May 14, 2010

Once again this Friday we are very fortunate to have a guest post by Cam Brown and once again it is a well written piece. For more more musings from Cam check out his twitter account – http://twitter.com/cambrown_. Also spare a thought for Cam as his filly So Not Blonde goes around in the Group [...]

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Go The Grin

May 7, 2010

We are very fortunate to have a guest post from Cam Brown this week. A former talented Harness Racing journalist, Cam is now studying at Curtin University but has come out of retirement to pen this article. You can get more insights from Cam on twitter at http://twitter.com/cambrown_
The Patrician Park owned and bred three [...]

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