Well-performed four-year-old Holymanz has arrived at part-owner Cambridge Stud’s training facility at Karaka to continue his build-up toward a potentially lucrative hit-and-run mission.
He is raced by farm principals Brendan and Jo Lindsay with Nicolas De Chambure of Haras d’Etreham, the French base of his sire Almanzor and associate shuttle stallion Hello Youmzain.
The Ciaron Maher and David Eustace-trained Holymanz sealed his trip across the Tasman for a crack at the $1 million Elsdon Park Aotearoa Classic (1600m) at Ellerslie on January 27 with a dominant last-start win in the Coastal Classic (1700m) at Geelong.
“He got here this (Thursday) morning and travelled well and he’s a pretty laid-back fellow, he’s the right horse to travel,” Cambridge Stud chief executive Henry Plumptre said.
“The question really is whether he’s up to the very elite level that Legarto is going to bring to that race.”
The stud’s private trainer Lance Noble will put the finishing touches on Holymanz leading up to the Classic.
“He’ll race in Ciaron and David’s name because he will probably go back there as soon as he’s run and if he finishes top three, we’d probably think about the All-Star Mile (A$5,000,000, 1600m) with him,” Plumptre said.
“The most important thing with him was to get him over that fall in the Australian Guineas (Gr.1, 1600m), it took him six months.
“Ironically, Legarto won the Guineas because she avoided the interference and we thought at the 300m when he was brought down that he was running into it pretty well.”
In the meantime, the farm’s focus will be on Trentham on Saturday with Habana in the Gr.1 Harcourts Team Group Thorndon Mile (1600m).
The son of Zoustar ran fifth after the false start in the Gr.1 TAB Classic (1600m) and then triumphed in the Gr.2 Rich Hill Mile (1600m).
“Habana is a horse that has really grown up in the last 12 months. He was a work in progress when we bought him after he won a trial very well,” Plumptre said.
“We had stallion aspirations, but he was a very highly strung, nervous individual and couldn’t keep condition on him.
“He’s taking it all in his stride now and using his energy in his races rather than before. He’s very workmanlike and wants to win.”
Cambridge Stud is also looking forward to the upcoming New Zealand Bloodstock National Yearling Sale and offering first crop representatives of multiple Group One-winning sprinter Hello Youmzain at Karaka.
“The colt out of Pretty To Sea (Lot 325) is the number one pick. The mare is a half-sister to the stakes winner Bonny O’Reilly and to the dam of Espiona (Gr.1 Coolmore Classic, 1600m),” Plumptre said.
“It’s a big family with Glamour Puss (dual Group One winner) under the third dam. This is Pretty To Sea’s first foal and he’s a beautiful colt, big, bold and strong.”
Another favourite son of Hello Youmzain is Lot 438, who is out of the Pivotal mare Steer By The Stars.
“She’s had a stakes winner (Never Back Down) in England by Kodiac so this is a three-quarter brother. This colt is a very nice horse,” Plumptre said.
Among the daughters of Hello Youmzain in the draft, Lot 626 is another eye-catcher.
“She’s a beautiful filly out of But Beautiful and she’s had a recent winner (Bella Waters) for Moira Murdoch that we own and to Immediacy,” Plumptre said.
The stud-bred son of Tarzino remained unbeaten on Wednesday when he followed up his debut maiden victory with further success for trainers Trent Busuttin and Natalie Young against older opposition at Sandown.
Lot 352 is a good-looking Hello Youmzain filly from the Pierro mare River Mist.
“She’s out of River Mist and is a strong type with scope and the dam’s got a Spirit Of Boom colt that we kept 20 percent of,” Plumptre said.
He sold for A$300,000 at the recent Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale with River Mist a half-sister to the Gr.2 Magic Night Stakes (1200m) winner Willow Creek.
An overall stand-out in the consignment is Lot 358, a son of a multiple champion stallion Savabeel.
“On paper, the Savabeel colt out of Romantic Time would be our number one draft pick because he’s a beautiful type and he’s a half-brother to About Time who won the Sir Patrick Hogan Stakes (Gr.2, 2000m) for us,” Plumptre said.
“It’s a very active pedigree and he’d have to be the one we are very optimistic about.”