Beer and Skittles

Albury trainer Mitchell Beer will seal his first Southern District Racing Association premiership at Corowa on Monday in a year that has been like no other. The former Victorian trainer has several strong chances headed by last-start Narrandera Cup winner Power Me Up ($3.10 favourite on TAB) as well as the consistent Seventh Seal ($8). Beer has been training out of Albury for three years and being based in the border city has tested the resolve of all involved with the stable during COVID-19. “Frustrating is an understatement. We have had a good season, but the logistics of being based on the border has been difficult,” he said. “This will be my first SDRA premiership and it’s nice to have after a tough year. The stable has had more seconds (36) than winners (31) which is frustrating, but you can also look at that and know if the horses aren’t winning they are at least right there.” One horse that has been doing plenty of winning is Power Me Up (Pins) – a $20,000 purchase that continues to go from strength to strength. The gelding has won four of his past five starts and will carry the same weight (55.5kg) as he did when he won the Narrandera Cup.

Coming towards the end of the current racing season, Clanbrooke Racing has had a whirlwind set of results. With 4 winners in the last 10 days, we are pleased to announce we have had a record season. We now stand at 28 wins for 20/21 and we think we can get to 30 over the next 10 days. What has been really impressive during this last month is that the winners have come from 4 different trainers in 2 states. 

Tony and Calvin McEvoy produced Juconni to win at her first start at Pakenham - she is a rising 4YO who has been nurtured along by her patient owners but the wait is now worth it. Cairon Maher and David Eustice had Mawaany Machine up and running to win a 120 Hurdle at Pakenham on their big Jumps day. The ghostly grey led all the way to take his hurdle record to 2 wins and a third from 3 starts. The Grand National beckons. Power Me Up gave Mitch Beer and us another Country Cup at Narrandera on Sunday. This gelding , who was purchased on the On-line Inglis platform for only $20k, has now won 4 of his last 5 starts. And yesterday one of our oldest friends, Mark Minervini, saluted at Wyong with Go Gazza. Gazza is from the family of our wonderful G1 winner and now top-class broodmare Arapaho Miss.

Our congratulations and thanks to all our valued owners who have helped to make this a record year and also to the wonderful trainers we have. We will have a full round-up of the year once we move into August but until then, there is still work to be done.

July 15
Think Bold is here to stay

Andrew Eddy @fastisheddy

Courtesy Racing.com

Former star jumper Bashboy (Image: Slickpix)

Dean Humphries has always enjoyed exploring the conflicts and contradictions of the thoroughbred breeding game, so you can imagine his anticipation ahead of Saturday's 1800-metre Byerley Handicap at Flemington.

Running though his mind before the race will be confusing images of sprint stars Nature Strip and Written Tycoon, interspersed with visions of marathon super jumper Bashboy.

Carrying Humphries' Clanbrooke Racing's royal blue with gold stripes and hooped sleeves in the race will be first starter Think Bold, who presents a challenge to breeding experts as he makes his debut in the longest two-year-old race of the season.

Think Bold is by star sprint stallion Written Tycoon out of Stakes-winning Perugino mare Bashful Girl, whose mother Strike High is something of a wonder in breeding circles.

She is the full sister of Bashboy - one of the best long-distance steeplechasers in Australia in modern times - and her half-sister Strikeline is the mother of none other than flying speedster Nature Strip.

"It's a great little pedigree but with Bashboy in it and Nature Strip, it's hard to know what you'll get," Humphries said.

"He's thrown to the staying side rather than the brilliant side of the family but hopefully there is some sting in the tail, especially first-up.

"We think it's an interesting experiment.

"When you put a steeplechase horse like him that could go four miles up with Written Tycoon and Nature Strip, it's deadset interesting what you are going to get out of it."

Humphries said he had long doubted the gelding would race as a two-year-old after he gained the horse from long-time friend and breeder Ian Macdonald.

"We both thought he was just going to take a bit of time and thought he might not get to the track this time (preparation) but he has taken more steps than we had envisaged and I think he took (trainer) Phillip (Stokes) by surprise a bit too.

"Once we put him on the track, he might be one of those horses that has white-line fever. He's gone ahead very quickly.

"He's had two trials and while neither was fantastic, he improved sharply between them and I think Phillip thought we'd decide we'd find out what he's got.

"He (Stokes) mentioned that he might start him over a mile and I thought 'That's OK, he might take him to Bairnsdale or Moe for a mile maiden', so my eyes did open up when he said we were going to Flemington on Saturday.

"I think he (Stokes) wants to find out whether he can stay.

"I am going to be happy for him to run home and run through the line and then look at him for the next 100 meres and see what he does there."

Humphries and Clanbrooke Racing have syndicated a number of horses out of Bashful Girl, including Think Rich (Written Tycoon), Think Winning (Exceed And Excel) and Think Poised (Sepoy) but Think Bold is the most promising.

"I think he's the best type even though he was big and awkward, he was the best type of all of them I've seen," he said.

13.05.2021

Welcome home Cliff

When Clanbrooke first became involved with Syndication, our initial trainer was a young gun from a property at Narbethong not far from the shores of Lake Eildon. Cliff Brown had been training for a few years and had just started to make a name in the Industry. Those initial years saw such good horses as Cheviot and Markham both win the G1 South Australian Derby with the latter going on to record a great third in the Melbourne Cup behind Might and Power and Doriemus. This was followed by the classy Tarnpir Lane who took the G1 Rosehill Gns and Memsie S. along with a myriad of other Group placings. Then along came the horse that put Cliff and Clanbrooke together – Emission. Emission was a multi Group winner and placegetter and unfortunately three times G1 placed – in great races such as the AJC Queen Elizabeth S., VRC Emirates S. and the VRC Mackinnon S. It was not long after that Cliff was offered the opportunity to take up a contract in Singapore, a sojourn that lasted some 13 years in which time he trained another 8 G1 winners.

But life has now turned a full circle and Cliff and family have returned to Victoria and taken up Training Stables on the course at Mornington. Clanbrooke has already bought into an All Too Hard yearling as we look forward to the next phase of Cliff’s journey. We have a group of wonderful trainers now at Mornignton. Besides Cliff, read Pat Carey, Matt Laurie, Jason Warren & Dean Krongold, Tony Noonan, stables that would suit every owner. So welcome home Cliff, let’s get back into sharing winners.

04.05.2021
MAWANNY SALUTES AT WARRNAMBOOL

Congratulations Everyone on " The Machine's " great win at the Bool today, his first start over the jumps and doing it at the famous May Carnival was a beautiful tonic for us all.

We Won the George Taylor Memorial....George was on the committee at Warrnambool for 22 Years and raced over 100 winners in his Ownership career....including being the Managing Owner of the great Galleywood who won the 1986 Grand Annual Steeplechase.

George was awarded Life Membership of the Club in 1996 and was awarded the Order of Australia Medal in 2008.

Mawaany looked a treat in the yard and was very relaxed from the time he arrived at the course. Even when racing in transit, he had his head on his chest, conserved his energy and dictated the terms in pace.

Great to share it with Steve Pateman ( our trainer of Mapping as well ). A great heady ride and a wonderful training achievement to get a horse to win its first start over the jumps. Well done to Maher / Eustice Racing and their Team.

Our Thanks also goes to Australian Bloodsock lead by Jamie and Luke. Clanbrooke has a strong association with them and it is great to share winners with their team.

Enjoy the celebrations and we look forward to a new part of his career just beginning.

Mawaany still has a bit to learn. He baulked at a couple of jumps and he kicked one over...but that means there is room for improvement.

Cairon Maher told me after the race that he may now mix his jumping with a bit of flat racing as well.

He was great on the flat today, he really stretched out in the straight when the jumping was over.

Go Mawaany.

Congratulations to all our 2019/2020 Owners

We already have 2 Winners early in the new season and we look forward to building a new library to present to you in 12 months' time. We hope your horse/s are a part of it.

Best Wishes

Brooke, Dean and Chris

CLANBROOKE RACING 2019-20

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