Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Praesent id dolor dui, dapibus gravida elit. Donec consequat laoreet sagittis. Suspendisse ultricies ultrices viverra. Morbi rhoncus laoreet tincidunt. Mauris interdum convallis metus. Suspendisse vel lacus est, sit amet tincidunt erat. Etiam purus sem, euismod eu vulputate eget, porta quis sapien. Donec tellus est, rhoncus vel scelerisque id, iaculis eu nibh.
Laurel Oak are absolutely thrilled to have secured the Fastnet Rock colt out of the Group One winning mare Zarita, from the Magic Millions Sales, for Tony Noonan to train.
Our Fastnet Rock/Zarita Colt
Fastnet Rocks were on the initial inspection list without any real expectation to buy. This colt was Laurel Oak’s top pick after pedigree analysis and vet check and we did not have any expectation to be able to buy him. Rather we went through the protocols in case a trainer we knew bought the horse and we could take an interest.
As we were sitting with Tony watching the sale as he came and both of us commented how much we had liked the horse. The way the Fastnets had been selling we expected to be observers only. When bidding started to stall at $200k we decided to chime in and have a go, and were able to outbid David Hayes buy him at $250k plus GST.
We were thrilled to be able to get him and he is arguably the best-pedigreed horse that we have ever bought, and he has a real stallion’s pedigree if he can succeed on the track.
While all shares in this exciting colt have been allocated, Laurel Oak will be actively buying at the upcoming yearling sales around Australasia, and, if you would like to join the Laurel Oak team, please contact our office to find out how.
Return Journey’s owners were delivered a late Christmas Present when she won impressively at the Caulfield Boxing Day meeting.
Despite heading to this race looking to settle off a hot speed, Return Journey, ridden by Jake Noonan, ended up jumping too well and settled right on the speed.
Approaching the turn, Jake brought the Dylan Thomas filly out to clear galloping room and she quickly set up a lead and never looked like being beaten, where she came away for an impressive 1.75 length victory, at the juicy odds of $31!!
All along we have been expecting this filly to excel once she reached distances of a mile and beyond, and if this is the case, we are in for an exciting career.
Return Journey took her record to 3 starts for two wins and a third and $58,600 prizemoney.
The filly has now headed for a well deserved break and will be much improved next time in.
Roman Alliance scored his third win from eleven starts with a gutsy Canberra victory on 30 November at his first run for the month.
After finishing last as favourite, having been trapped wide at Queanbeyan at the end of October, this KEITH DRYDEN-trained galloper returned to the track ridden by Grant Buckley. Although Roman Alliance over-raced early, Grant managed to get him to settle well enough and then, under vigorous riding in the straight, prevailed over favourite, Paramount Pete, to score a good win.
Roman Alliance’s victory was another success for a Laurel Oak breeding syndicate as he was bred by the Miracle Queen syndicate, and bought by Keith Dryden and Laurel Oak at the Melbourne Premier Sale.
After a good debut third at Kyneton on their Cup Day, Return Journey returned to that track for her second start. Ridden by apprentice Brad Wallace, this Tony Noonan-trained filly did everything with a bit of authority. Having been trapped wide early from her wide draw, Brad took her up outside the leader, and on straightening she quickly put the issue beyond doubt.
The filly is somewhat of a conundrum as she has brilliant natural speed yet is bred to run 2400m, so we don’t quite know yet how far she will ultimately get.
We would like to race her with cover, but until now the horses she has trialled against haven’t been fast enough to keep up with her, so the next stage of her learning curve will be back over 1000m at Caulfield on Boxing Day, where she is more likely to find faster horses to give her a chance to get some cover.
Return Journey was one of three winners for Tony over two days, and one of four for him over the week, so it was good to see his stable back to its winning ways.
Return Journey will likely have only the one more start before going for a break to consolidate what she has learned so far.
Return Journey wins at Kyenton