Belladeel bound for bigger things

Chris Waller has high hopes for the future of Belladeel (Dundeel {NZ}) after the colt's impressive maiden win over 1400m at Warwick Farm on Wednesday.

Bred by long-time Waller supporter and friend Tony Muollo, Belladeel sat just behind the pace and kicked clear in the straight to beat Tactical Formation (Mossman) by 1.3l with the early leader Big Data {NZ} (Dalghar {FR}) finishing third.

Waller was happy to see Belladeel make considerable improvement from his first up fifth earlier this month and said he had gained a lot from that experience.

"He's a very good colt. It was good to see him do things right today. On debut, he was a little bit keen, today we made him get cover and he wrestled James a little early but settled nicely. The leader gave a really good kick, but once he set his sights of home, he reeled the leader in and won with a bit of authority," he said.

Waller said there was no doubting that the colt had the class to contest better races in the autumn, but that it was his maturity that would determine how far he goes this preparation.

"I think he can find himself in some good races. Whether it comes up a bit quick in the autumn, it will only be because of timing. With the hot weather, you have to be careful about pushing him too hard."

"He can certainly get there if we wanted him to, and I think typically of the Dundeels, you'll see them come out and fire now they are turning into later 3-year-olds."

The best and worst of Hawkshot

Talented but wayward Darren Weir 3-year-old Hawkshot (Fiorente {Ire}) showed his good and bad qualities but could be headed for better things after returning to the winners' circle at Sandown on Wednesday.

An impressive winner on debut at Ballarat last March, Hawkshot had been frustrating for connections since, doing plenty wrong in his races. He did the same on Wednesday, over racing when restrained off a slow pace early causing jockey Mark Zahra all sorts of headaches.

"I was doing a lot of apologising," Zahra said post-race. "I was running horses off and running back in. In his defence, they walked, but he makes things tough."

However, having finally found his rhythm as the field rounded for home, Hawkshot then knuckled down, charging home from last to win impressively over the 1200m.

"It was a good turn of foot, he won comfy in the end," Zahra said. "All the effort now has to go into getting him to relax. If he can get that right, he can go to a very good level."

The highly-rated More Sundays (Fastnet Rock) settled back at the tail of the field with Hawkshot but failed to run on.

Hawkshot was Fiorente's first ever winner with his maiden success last year and becomes the Sun Stud stallion's 11th individual winner for this season.

SA industry calls for government action

Key members of the South Australian Thoroughbred industry will meet on Thursday to discuss the funding issues which have shocked the industry and have seen several high-profile trainers leave the state.

South Australian racing faces a growing crisis after jockey Jamie Kah joined trainers Lloyd Kennewell and Philip Stokes in relocating to Victoria as a cloud hangs over prizemoney levels.

Funding for feature races has been slashed as the state government has demanded the industry state a business case for maintaining or increasing prizemoney levels going forward.

Thoroughbred Racing South Australia met with the state government last Friday and will inform the broader industry members this week where negotiations are at.

Sam Hayes, who runs Cornerstone Stud, told RSN that Kah's decision to relocate is another blow to an industry that is wracked by uncertainly.

"Other people in our industry are making decisions and unfortunately, Jamie's decision is that the grass is greener across the border, which is understandable I guess," he said.

The state government has said it will confirm funding arrangements for the industry in the state budget in May, but Hayes said the ongoing uncertainty would have a significant effect on the Magic Millions Adelaide Yearling Sale in mid-March. He has called for clarity to come sooner.

"That's the point we are trying to make with the state government. We can’t wait for May or June, we need to know sooner," he said.

"We've got our yearling sale coming up in March and there are a lot of investors and owners making decisions on where they are going to race horses and there are a lot of breeders deciding where they are going to be based and so it's a pretty critical four weeks."

Maloney makes speedy return

Gold Coast-based hoop Ryan Maloney will make a much quicker return to the saddle than expected after recovering from broken ribs and a punctured lung.

Maloney will take four rides at Ipswich on Friday, less than a month after he fell after the completion of a race at Doomben.

Maloney told Racenet that he had used a hyperbaric chamber to aid his recovery.

“In the second week of being out, I didn’t feel like I was getting better, if anything I was getting worse,” Maloney said.

“I’m not one to lay around and wait for things to happen so I did some research and found this place with a hyperbaric chamber."

“Every second day I would go and sit in it for an hour and within a week I’d improved to the point where I was feeling no pain."

“The final x-rays I had recently showed no dramas and I’ll be back on Friday.”

Maloney has reinvigorated his career since moving to the Gold Coast to link up with Toby Edmonds, riding 58 winners this season at a strike rate of 26%.

Rogerson has confidence in 3YO

Trainer Graeme Rogerson is hoping More Wonder (NZ) (Mossman) can turn his fortunes around against the older horses in Saturday’s G1 Harcourts Thorndon Mile at Trentham.

The 3-year-old, who Rogerson trains in partnership with wife Debbie and grand-daughter Bailey, finished a luckless fourth in last Saturday’s G1 Levin Classic after being held up significantly in the home straight.

“He’s a real good horse,” Rogerson said. “He should have won another four or five races, but we look forward and not back.

“He’s back at Tuhikaramea and he looks fantastic, he is a tough horse, a real good horse but he just hasn’t had the chance to show it. I think he was unlucky in the 2000 Guineas where he missed the start.”

Rogerson said More Wonder, who will be having his 15th career start, should handle the quick turnaround to Trentham without issue.

“He is a great doer and is just a tough horse. I like him. He’s a racehorse and he is doing it well. He probably wouldn’t be backing up if he had won last week.”

Team Rogerson will also be represented in the Thorndon Mile by Contessa Vanessa (NZ) (Bullbars), who finished 12th in the Gr Rich Hill Mile at Ellerslie on New Year’s Day.

“I just don’t know whether she just had an off day or what it was, or if she was in season,” Rogerson said. “We will see how she goes on Saturday, she is a good mare.”

Classic countdown on

This year’s Inglis Classic Yearling Sale will run for a record five days with 1013 yearlings in the catalogue.

The Inglis Race Day at Warwick Farm on Saturday February 9 – featuring the $2 million Millennium for 2-year-olds and the $1m Inglis Sprint for 3-year-olds – leads into the start of the Sale, beginning at 6pm that night at Riverside Stables.

This year’s bumper catalogue is the largest ever offered at Classic.

It contains relations to 76 Stakes winners including Group 1 winners such as Youngstar (High Chaparral {IRE}), Your Song (Fastnet Rock), Under the Louvre (Excellent Art {GB}) , In Her Time (Time Thief), Headway (Charge Forward), Long John (Street Cry {IRE}) and Signify (Perfectly Ready).

There is also the progeny of 103 stakes winning mares, including 10 Group 1 winners.

Progeny of 110 sires including Snitzel, I Am Invincible, Zoustar, Exceed And Excel, Fastnet Rock, Written Tycoon, Hinchinbrook, Lonhro, Not A Single Doubt, Pierro, Sebring, Spirit of Boom, Star Witness and Choisir are represented as well as 22 first season sires such as Vancouver, Pride of Dubai, Exosphere, Press Statement, No Nay Never (USA), Super One, Rich Enuff, Bull Point, Contributer, Criterion, Headwater, Kermadec, Outreach, Panzer Division and Real Impact.