Patience is a necessity in both the racing and breeding game and these mates have heaps.
Thirty years ago, six mates formed a partnership to buy a filly at the Ready To Run Sale, and found success with a stakes winner named Centainette, however the game is not that easy and it’s taken another 30 years to get the next one.
Well for three of those original partners anyway and ironically the success came with a six-year-old gelding they bred from a full-sister to that first racehorse and stakes winner. Patience was certainly required to wait for that next stakes winner.
Tony Cookson, Gary Glogoski, and Laurie Skinner, are among the breeders and owners of Camino Rocoso (Shocking [AUS]- Our Centasea[AUS]) who won the Gr.3 Barneswood Farm Trentham Stakes (2100 metres) at Trentham recently after leading all the way.
Trained in the South Island by John and Karen Parsons, the six-year-old son of Shocking(AUS) trekked north to Trentham on the back of a winning the Waikouaiti Cup over 1975 metres. The start before that he had over raced in the Tapanui Cup and finished down the track, but prior to that he had won the Cromwell Cup.
Former NZTBA Auckland branch treasurer Gary Glogoski was on hand at Trentham to witness the win and was naturally still raving about the win a few days later.
“I hadn’t seen him since he’d been down with the Parsons,” he stated, “and they have done a really good job with him.
“They have taught him a different racing style, allowing him to go to the front and let him run free. It worked in the South Island so we thought we would see if worked when he came north, and it did. They have managed to get the best out of him, by letting him run as he wants to.
“He showed good ability at three, but didn’t run live up to it at four, and eventually we thought it would be better to win a $25,000 race in the South Island, rather than running seventh in a $100000 race in the North. And so, it proved when he won his first two races down there at Blenheim, less than a month after he went down, winning on the Friday and the Sunday.”
As a three-year-old when trained by Murray Baker and Andrew Forsman, Camino Rocoso won three races, and finished the season being placed third in the Gr.3 Championship Stakes at Ellerslie. At four he recorded half a dozen placings but failed to win a race. At five he won the Taupo Cup and followed on from that with a third placing in the Gr.3 Anniversary Handicap but then went off the boil again, and in April was transferred to South Island and has added five wins to his total of nine much to the delight of the three original gentleman and their partners.
“Basically it’s the same partnership that raced Centainette 30 years ago,” he said, “and when Our Centasea(AUS) came up at the sales we decided to buy her. We also have her daughter by Captain Rio(GB), Pamela Place, and she has a two-year-old gelding with Nigel Tiley that we are racing and a yearling filly. Both are by Shocking(AUS), making them a three-quarter relation to Camino Rocoso.
“Laurie Skinner and I went to primary school together,” explained Glogoski, “so we have been mates for nearly 60 years.
“When I was at Ra Ora Stud we went to the Ready to Run sale and bought Centainette, Brian de Lore was working there at the time as well so he came in and Tony Cookson came in as he was a mate of Brian’s along with Tony Botica.
“We started out with five and when three left we recruited new partners, including twin brothers Pat and Maurice Prendegast who were mates and came in as the others fell away. Likewise, in this horse Pat has since passed away and his mates John Bradshaw and Graeme Coffer have come in.”””
Centainette was trained by Frank Ritchie at Takanini, in the 1988/89 season she had four starts and won three of them including the Gr.3 Redoubt Classic and was beaten by Cordero in the Gr.3 Taranaki 2YO Classic. He went on to win the Gr.1 Manawatu Sires’ Produce Stakes and was the champion Two-Year-Old that year, while Centainette was rated the third top 2YO filly of the year.
She was out of the Beaufort Sea(USA) mare Kurdasea a stakes placed winner, who later went on to leave the Champion Two-Year-Old Colt and successful sire Seascay (by Maizcay[AUS]) who won six races, including the group one VRC Nissan Stakes twice, and was group one placed a further 10 times.
Big offers were made for the flashy filly but with it being the boys first horse they were all turned down.
“We were full of high ambitions,” recalled Glogoski, “but unfortunately we lost her in a paddock accident, when she broke a leg, and we have spent the next 30 years trying to race one as good as her.”
In an endeavour to do this the boys purchased Our Centasea in 2007 in foal to Bachelor Duke(USA) at the Autumn Mixed Bloodstock Sale. At that stage she has already produced eight foals, including four winners, and an unnamed two-year- colt by Bellotto(USA) who was later name Littorio.
Two weeks after the sale he won a maiden race at Sale from the stable of Nigel Blackiston and at three was second in the Gr.1 VRC Derby, and the Gr.3 Randwick City Stakes, and third in Gr.1 Rosehill Guineas and the Gr.1 Australian Derby.
At four he won the gr.1 VRC Turnbull Stakes and was third in the Gr.1 Underwood Stakes and the Gr.2 Makybe Diva Stakes at Flemington. At five he won the Gr.1 BMW Handicap and at six came out and won the Gr.2 Makybe Diva Stakes.
The Bachelor Duke foal she was carrying was named Fullers Road, and the best he could do was a placing. Following that she had two visits to Captain Rio(GB) and produced a filly and a colt, the filly being the unraced Pamela Place, whom they retained and are now breeding from. The next foal she produced was El Duque also by Bachelor Duke (USA).
“Pat wanted to breed a stayer and Bachelor Duke(USA) fell into that category, El Duque won four races before his legs gave out on him,” he said.
It was also the late Pat Prendegast that selected Shocking (AUS) as a suitable consort for Our Centasea(AUS).
“Pat used to go to the Melbourne Cup every year and he was very keen on Shocking(AUS), and that turned out to be her last foal. At 28 she now resides at Tony Cookson’s Karaka property, along with a few other retired members of the family, who are spending their retirement being cared for by Tony.
“We are lucky to have Pamela Place and she resides at Hallmark Stud where all her foals have been reared and Camino Rocoso was as well. Denny and Mark (Baker) are fantastic horsemen and do a wonderful job.
“After we bred the first foal out of Pamela Place Out OF Aces (Swiss Ace[AUS]) we weren’t sure if we wanted to breed anymore so Hallmark used her and bred two colts by Super Easy. She didn’t leave very big foals, and that was part of our thinking behind sending her to Shocking(AUS) as well and that colt a three-quarter brother to Camino Rocoso, was a good size so we went back there and have a yearling filly as well. She has a lovely colt at foot by Satono Aladdin (JPN) and is back in foal to that stallion.
“We may possibly consider selling him at the yearling sales in 2021 as he is a colt and we can capitalise on the fact that he is by a first season sire and now there is another new stakes winner in the family,” concluded Glogoski, “and he may help finance the two that we are going to race while we search for our next stakes winner.” - Michelle Saba
