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Wow! Another year gone! As commented about a year ago, the sales catalogues have arrived, Christmas is looming large, and the cycle of yearling sales, racing carnivals and social functions starts all over again, and before we know it, we will be back here preparing for Christmas 2014.

But each year has so many challenges and so much enjoyment that all we can do is look forward to it, embrace it, enjoy it, and hope that we all stay healthy and can enjoy many more of them.

And nothing makes a year more enjoyable than winners. In 2013, REBEL DANE was obviously the Laurel Oak star, taking us to Group 1-winning heights that we have not enjoyed for ten years. He contested several Group 1 races, won at Group 1, 2 and 3 levels, while his best performance of all may even have been running a close second to Pierro at Group 2 level.

There were also plenty of winners amongst the support team, although not as many perhaps as in some of our recent years. But the signs are good that most of the Laurel Oak team will be winning in 2014.

Leading the charge in that regard was MAGNUS OPUS. The giant 3yo Magnus gelding debuted at Seymour at the end of November with a very impressive victory. Trainer Tony Noonan thought that he would likely need the education, and that the tight circuit over 1100m would be too short for him. However, after getting back early, he tracked into the race very well approaching the corner under Dwayne Dunn’s guidance, and then let loose in the straight for an impressive win.

Tony has given him a few quiet weeks with a view to bringing him back for a VOBIS Gold race at Caulfield on 4 January, followed by a 3yo race at Flemington over 1400m on 18 January.

Magnus Opus was our first exposure to VOBIS Gold and we are certainly impressed. The 3yo maiden win at Seymour yielded not just the $10,500 normal first prizemoney, and not just the $4,900 winning owners’ Super VOBIS bonus, but also a VOBIS Gold bonus, which was $14,000 to the winner. That resulted in an extremely healthy first prize of $29,400 gross (before jockey/trainer deductions) for a maiden win.

Magnus Opus, for a big, growing horse, showed great natural aptitude through his early 2yo training, and looked like he may defy his physical size by getting to the races early. However, in January he required a wind operation which set him back timing-wise. While the wind operation itself was successful, the extra time out no doubt gave him the time he needed to physically mature and furnish into a racehorse. The fact that he is still learning indicates that there is genuine upside to him.

Ironically Magnus Opus was bred by Peter Moody to a Brain-recommended mating and we bought him from the second session of the Melbourne Premier Yearling Sale for $35,000 plus GST. He is the reverse of the Black Caviar mating as his sire, Magnus, is out of Black Caviar’s female line, while his dam, McCune, is by Bel Esprit, the sire of Black Caviar. The pedigrees of both Black Caviar and Magnus Opus contain close-up linebreeding to Vain, which has likely injected some speed into both pedigrees, no doubt more into the great mare’s pedigree!

Making his debut in the Von Costa De Hero Maiden Plate over 1100m at Seymour , three-year-old Magnus gelding Magnus Opus jumped away fairly from the barrier and jockey Dwayne Dunn let the Tony Noonan-trained runner settle towards the back of the pack, with only three runners behind him

Racing wide, but with cover, Dunn started to make up ground around the outside of the field at the 600m mark and as the field cornered into the home straight, he was the second widest of the field, still needing to make up many lengths.

When asked for the supreme effort, he knuckled down extremely well to gather in Sharatan and pull away for a length-and-a-quarter victory.

In what was an impressive debut performance, Dunn had time to put the whip away and allowed the gelding to coast to the line, ears pricked, indicating that there is plenty of talent there.

Towering over his opposition, Magnus Opus is out of the unraced Bel Esprit mare McCune, herself a daughter of the Umatilla mare Lisa’s Game, a winner of the Listed Cranbourne Cup and a narrow runner up in the Group One Caulfield Cup behind the import Taufan’s Melody.

Secured from the Inglis Premier Yearling Sale for $35,000 by Laurel Oak Bloodstock / Tony Noonan Racing from the draft of Yallambee Stud, Magnus Opus (pictured above as a yearling) is owned a large group of owners; Laurel Oak Batman (Mgr: L J Mihalyka), Dr T P Clarke, A Dozen Pots (Mgr: T McDougall), Boeara Holdings (Mgr: Mrs D A Dunphy), W H A Rigg, B J Birney, B D Bryant, W R Haylen, P J Macbeth, Mrs J C McAuliffe, G S Tucker, M J Clift, W R Hayden, Mrs M V Horrig and a massive congratulations goes out to all concerned.

Fourth last time out in the Group Three Bobbie Lewis Quality over 1200m at Flemington, the Gary Portelli-trained Rebel Dane stepped up to the 1400m of the Group One Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes and returned triumphant for his connections!

Jumping away from a wide gate, Rebel Dane drifted back in the field trying to get a position, but unfortunately travelled wide for most of the trip, although he did have some cover.

With a good tempo set by the Peter Moody-trained Strawberry Boy, Rebel Dane followed the ghostly grey Linton as he made his run, and 250m from home pulled off his heels to chase down Fontelina who had gained a gap on the rails. Rebel Dane hit the front and held off the large charges of Solzhenitsyn and Speediness, with the final margin being a short half-head x short head.

Rebel Dane pictured in the red cap below after the field crossed the line. The footage of the race can be viewed below courtesy of TVN and The Racing Network.

“It’s a great relief. Bossy has had the belief that he was a Group One horse and we were hoping he was right,” Portelli said.

“Every trainer in the world wants to win Group One races and it’s hard to find these sort of horses.”

Achieving his first Group One victory, the highly-talented son of California Dane was bred by the Laurel Oak Texarcana Syndicate, who then couldn’t sell the colt, and made the decision to send him to Portelli to train, just like they had done many years prior with his dam.

“People spend a lot of money trying to find a good one, but luckily enough for me … they and bred an ugly duckling, couldn’t sell him, and I got him to train,” Portelli said.

“They’re great supporters. We’ve had a lot of luck over the years but nothing at this level and it’s great fun.

“Some of this horse’s owners even raced the grandmother, so there will be a lot of tears I expect.”

Boss said Rebel Dane did it tough racing three wide, but he had cover behind Stradbroke winner Linton who battled on courageously to finish fifth.

“He really dug deep and I have nothing but admiration for this colt,” said the champion jockey, who now has 86 Group Ones to his name.

Having now won six from ten career starts, the victory by Rebel Dane took his earnings just shy of $700,000 for his extensive group of owners.

After announcing his class in the Autumn with victory in the Group Two Royal Sovereign Stakes, as well as having finished a short head second to Champion Pierro in the Group Two Hobartville Stakes, Rebel Dane resumed on August 24 at Warwick Farm off the back of an easy barrier trial victory a month prior.

Contesting the Group Three Show County Quality, jockey Glen Boss, who had made a commitment to partner the colt throughout his campaign, jumped the four-year-old away fairly from the gates to settle in a mid-filed position.

With a good pace set up front by the Corumbene Stud-raced Ichihara, Boss bided his time until the colt was balanced and ready to assert his authority.

About six lengths off the lead half way through the race, Boss pushed the exciting Gary Portelli-trained runner wide when the field rounded the home turn and he sprinted with ease, pulling away to record a classy one-and-a-quarter length victory from Title and the Group One winner Norzita.

The elation from all concerned was quite evident after the victory, but none more so than from the exciting colt’s trainer.

“This is what you train racehorses for,” Portelli said.

“You get up at 3am every morning trying to find that good horse.

“I’ve had some nice horses over the years but this one might be something special.”

“It’s relief because you want to see them return and win like that,” Portelli said.

“But it is also excitement because he’s only a young horse and still lightly raced.

“No doubt he is starting to put the runs on the board now but every step from here on will be tougher for him.

“It is so easy to wrap a horse because everyone has the dream of training that really good horse but this bloke might realise that dream for us.”

Leading jockey Glen Boss was also highly impressed with the colt, riding him for the first time under race conditions.

“Gee, he gives you a feel this horse,” Boss said.

“I didn’t get anywhere near the bottom of him today. I gave him a couple of back-handers at the top of the straight and let him coast to the line.

“He’s a push-button horse with a great turn of foot. His win was arrogant.”

Portelli said it gave him added confidence when an authority such as Boss talked in such glowing terms about Rebel Dane.

“It just reaffirms what we always hoped we’ve got with this horse,” Portelli said.

“You think you have one that is really good but when blokes like ‘Bossy’, who ride top horse all the time, tell you the horse is very good, it is what you want to hear.”

With a large group of owners on hand to witness Rebel Dane’s second stakes victory, Laurel Oak would like to not only congratulate the owners, trainer Gary Portelli and jockey Glen Boss, but also the syndicate the bred and raced his dam Texarcana.

By More Than Ready, Texarcana has a two-year-old Bernadini filly, a Rothesay yearling colt and has a filly foal by Zoffany.