by Lloyd Jackson
At just her fourth raceday appearance Shout The Bar (Not A Single Doubt) certainly had her work cut out against rival star fillies Probabeel (Savabeel) and Funstar (Adelaide) when taking out the Vinery Stud Stakes (Gr.1, 2000m) at Rosehill on Saturday, March 28th.
Her performance was aided by a clever ride from Adam Hyeronimus, leading somewhat comfortably from the jump then applying the pressure from the 600m. Having saved some of her energy earlier in the race she therefore had some reserves when tackled several times. Challenged hard from the 300m she never relented, fighting back strongly when looking vulnerable.
Although a mild surprise, considering the quality of her opposition, the victory was no fluke and her record now stands at four starts for three wins and a stakes placing (second in the Gr.3 Kembla Grange Classic).
She might have arrived at Rosehill unbeaten. Tactics similar to those employed in the Vinery were used at Kembla Grange and saw her leading to the last stride only to be nabbed on the line in the 1600m feature.
The filly has two champion sires close up in her pedigree, namely O’Reilly (Last Tycoon), sire of her dam Drinks All Round, and Centaine (Century), sire of her grandam Tattinger. However, like many good ones, she descends from a mare by Foxbridge (Foxlaw) who was not only Champion New Zealand Sire for eleven straight seasons, he repeated the dose by claiming eleven successive New Zealand Broodmare Sire titles as well. Many well established families have been propelled by his presence.
Revered in Australasia, Foxbridge stood at Trelawney Stud, Cambridge, owned by Seton Otway. A number of breeders owe huge thanks to both the stallion and Otway for their decades-long successes.
The “Belle” family, a dynasty established by James and Annie Sarten and continued by their daughter Marie Leicester, began with Belle Fox (Foxbridge).
An incredible 24 Group One winners (more than 100 stakes winners) descend from Belle Fox. The earliest was Supreme Court (Fair’s Fair), an Ellerslie Railway Handicap (6f) winner in 1956. The most recent is Dreamforce (Fastnet Rock), winner, two Saturdays ago, of the George Ryder Stakes (1500m).
In between are the fabulous ten-time Group One star Melody Belle (Commands), grand campaigner and seven-time Group One winner Grand Armee (Hennessy), Triple Crown Champion Two-Year-Old Dance Hero (Danzero), Golden Slipper Stakes (Gr.1, 1200m) victress Belle Du Jour (Dehere) and Star Belle (Summertime), the winner of winner 18 races including the Great Northern Triple Crown (Guineas, Derby and St Leger).
Hardly a season goes by without another star stepping up and maintaining the Belle family’s
Group-winning tradition.
Haunui Farm and the Chitty family were similarly blessed when they acquired their foundation mare Foxona (Foxbridge) in 1960. Seventy years and seven generations on, Foxona’s presence has been immortalized at the stud with her own Wall of Fame, such is her importance to the stud’s beginnings.
Prince Ruling (Ruling), Rosie’s Girl (Zamazaan) and New Zealand Two Thousand Guineas (Gr.1, 1600m) winner Magic Cape (Magic Albert) are just three of the 42 stakes winners descending from Foxona.
The famous “Heights” family is represented by W S Cox Plate (Gr.1, 2040m) winner Battle Heights (Battle-Waggon), one of twelve Group 1 winners and 47 stakes winners that descend from Merry Fox (Foxbridge).
Well known breeder Tim Douglas had enormous success with his branch of the family during the 70s and 80s and in more recent times top class representatives such as multiple Group One performers Sky Heights (Zabeel), Viewed (Scenic) and the brilliant seven-time Group One winner Weekend Hussler (Hussonet) have kept the Merry Fox flag flying.
At the 1963 Trentham National Yearling Sale Christopher Grace of Surrey Farms in Bulls took home a Le Filou (Vatellor) half-sister to the classy 26-times winner (14 stakes) Tatua (Sajakeda). He had won only six races at the time. Their dam, Te Awa was a Foxbridge mare who won the Railway Handicap (Gr.1, 6f) at Ellerslie. Named Hakawai, she won the Wakefield Challenge Stakes (Gr.3, 7f) at two, seven races in total but unfortunately died at four. Christopher again bought into the same family when purchasing Clearness (Without Fear) from the late Colin Hayes.
Clearness’s dam Clearaway was a Le Filou three-quarter blood sister to Hakawai and six generations on Chris keeps breeding good winners from the family, the best of which are Telegraph Handicap (Gr.1, 1200m) winner Morar (Otehi Bay), dual Group winner O’Malleys Boy (Dance Floor) and Wellington Cup (Gr.2, 3200m) winner Graphic (Volksraad).
And so to Shout The Bar, a Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott Racing purchase for $200,000 at the 2018 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale from the Newhaven Park draft. As previously referenced, the filly also descends from a Foxbridge mare. Her female family might not be quite as prolific as those mentioned above however her family is not without its stars.
Te March (Foxbridge) was a wonderful producer and is from the “March” branch of the colonial Yatterina family. She foaled three stakes winners, namely Straight Lead (Underwood), Straight Irish (Pride Of Kildare) and Straight Time (Summertime). Te March’s granddaughter Gretel (Golovine) produced the Iron Horse March Legend (Idomeneo).
Trained originally by the great Bill Sanders, March Legend was as tough as old boots and raced 20 times as a two-year-old. You read that correctly – 20 races as a two-year-old.
In 1974 he lined up in and won the very first 2YO race of the season, the Kindergarten Stakes (800m) at Avondale on August 31st. He added the Wellesley Stakes (Listed, 1000m) at Trentham, further wins at Wanganui and Ellerslie then had the audacity to show up at Awapuni in April to take out the Manawatu Sires’ Produce Stakes (Gr.1, 1400m).
One week after the Sires’ Sanders stepped him out against the older horses over a mile (as a two-year-old, mind you) and came away with a third placing in the All Aged Stakes (Listed, 1600m) at Te Aroha behind Battle Eve (Battle-Waggon) and Melody Belle (Taipan II) – yes there was another Melody Belle.
At three, March Legend added five more wins including the Harcourt Stakes (Gr.3, 2000m), Canterbury Gold Cup (Gr.3, 2000m) and Waikato Guineas (Gr.3, 2000m) plus finished second to champion Balmerino (Trictrac) in the NZ Two Thousand Guineas (Gr.1, 1600m).
March Legend raced on, scoring the Marlboro Mile (Gr.2, 1600m) at Trentham in his 5YO season, the Lion Brown Sprint (Gr.1, 1400m) at Te Rapa the following year and at seven, Ellerslie’s George Adams (Tatt’s) Handicap (Gr.2, 1600m).
In all he won 20 races, won at Group 3 level in Brisbane and ran second in the Queen Elizabeth Randwick Stakes (Gr.1, 2000m) behind Shivaree (Sharivari).
Racing as a seven-year-old entire is unheard of these days.
Shout The Bar’s connection to March Legend is via Gretel’s Australian-bred half-sister Kaitaia (Power House) who produced Caulfield Listed winner Guerilla (Mussorgsky). Kaitaia is the fifth dam of Shout The Bar and fourth dam of Doncaster Handicap (Gr.1, 1600m) victor Rangirangdoo (Pentire).
Drinks All Round, Shout The Bar’s dam was a winner in Sydney while her grandam Tattinger was a half-sister to three-times Group 2 winner Satinka (Stravinsky) as well as three-times stakes placed She Wishes (Kenfair), dam of Rangirangdoo (above).
At time of writing Shout The Bar was scheduled to run against Probabeel again, this time in the Australian Oaks (Gr.1, 2400m). It would be some effort to lead all the way at Randwick but if she has inherited some of March Legend’s toughness, who is to say she can’t?
