The recent winner of the Listed Trevor Eagle Memorial 3YO, Espresso Martini (High Chaparral[IRE]- Keepa Cruisin) is the latest smart filly to emerge from The Oaks Stud.
By the Champion sire High Chaparral(IRE) she is out of the group one winning mare Keepa Cruisin, a half-sister to the Champion mare Seachange.
According to Rick Williams she was an athletic sharp filly at the sales, typical of the fillies in that family that have been a great advertisement for Dick Karreman and The Oaks Stud.
“She was always an impressive filly and as a yearling was very neat and short coupled like a lot of the family. They are not an overly big family, Seachange wasn’t that big, but they are all strong,” he said.
“We sold her to James Harron for $150,000 at the sales in 2017 and she is raced by a syndicate, and the way she went past the leader she will certainly get a mile.”
The leader was another High Chaparral(IRE) Jip Jip Rock, racing in the colours of Barneswood Farm, Sarah Green and Ger Beemsterboer, who went into the race on the back of a maiden win a few weeks earlier.
Espresso Martini also went into the race on the back of her maiden win, prior to that she had had two starts running third on debut in mid-October over 1200 metres, before running second over 1400 metres at Waipa a fortnight later to another Oaks bred and owned filly Phoenix Rising, and beating subsequent Gr.3 Lucia Valentina Wellington Stakes winner Crown Prosecutor.
She improved on that run to win her maiden at Te Aroha over the same distance before stepping up to 1500 metres in the Trevor Eagle Memorial at Ellerslie, cruising past the leader in the last 50 metres to win by a long neck.
“It will be interesting to see what happens if she goes to the Eight Carat,” said Williams, “as we will meet that filly of the Williams’s again and the other one of theirs that won the Gr.1 1000 Guineas Media Sensation.
“It’s a great family of course, and it keeps on producing winners.”
Seachange (by Cape Cross[IRE]) is probably the most famous of those winners winning 14 races, including seven at group one level. She was the Champion New Zealand racehorse twice and in 2008 was also the Champion Sprinter. Her group one wins include the 1000 Guineas, Telegraph Sprint, the Waikato Draught Sprint, the Stoney Bridge Stakes –twice and the Mudgeway Partsworld Stakes twice.
She won the Gr.3 MRC Mannerism Stakes and was group one placed a further five times.
Keepa Cruisin (by Keeper[AUS]) a half-sister to Seachange was also a group one winner winning the Gr.1 Levin Classic over 1600 metres. She also won the Gr.3 WRC Desert Gold Stakes at three, and was second in the Gr.1 1000 Guineas, Gr.3 Taranaki 2YO Classic, Gr.3 Stoney Bridge Stakes, LR Soliloquy Stakes, LR James and Annie Sarten Memorial, and third in the Gr.1 Thoroughbred Breeders Stakes and Gr.2 Eight Carat Classic.
Korau Star a brother to Seachange won eight races and was group one placed in the Easter Handicap at Ellerslie, while another half-sister Another Syn (by Mukkdamah[USA]) has produced Magic Talent a winner of five races who was placed in the Singapore Derby. Their dam Just Cruising(AUS) produced eight named foals, with six to race and they were all winners.
Just Cruising(AUS) was by Broadreach out of the stakes placed winning mare Glide By and was a sister to the successful sire Yachtie (AUS).
“Keepa Cruisin has left a couple of minor winners by Sahkee’s Secret(GB) in Justa Secret and Coasting,” recalled Williams, “she missed after that and while she was empty I took the opportunity to send her to Australia to High Chaparral.
“It was a mating that worked on paper and on type, and we were more than happy with the result.”
Following that mating Keepa Cruisin has been several times to Reliable Man(GB) whom The Oaks have a substantial shareholding in. Williams is also a big fan of the Reliable Man(GB) mating on paper and the foals it produces.
“I like the two-year-old Reliable Man filly. In my view, she is a much nicer horse, she was purchased by Michael Kent from South Australia and will be trained by his father in Adelaide.
“Keepa Cruisin has a filly foal at foot by Reliable Man(GB) and on the strength on that filly I sold, and the current foal, she has gone back to him.”
The Oaks does not have a yearling out of Keepa Cruisin to sell this year, but they do have a Tavistock filly out of Seachange in Book One.
“She also slipped to him earlier this year, but has gone back to Darci Brahma and is safely in foal again. Her foals are starting to come up.
“Sea Goddess (by Darci Brahma) who won her maiden here for us while with Ralph Manning (Seachange’s trainer), has transferred to David Hayes and she has now won twice and been placed from four starts for that stable. She is having a spell and David Hayes thinks she is not far off racing in group company.
“We sold Pelican, her foal by Fastnet Rock(AUS) last year at the sales and she has had one start for a win for David Hayes, going out hot favourite at Adelaide. He really rates her. So I may well send her back to Fastnet Rock(AUS) at some stage.
“The family is performing well just now, and leading into the sales we need that. I just wish Winston would make some decisions on the Messara report,” he concluded, “we need it right now.” – Michelle Saba
