Sydney’s midweek meeting on Wednesday was shuffled to Newcastle, one of a number of rescheduled fixtures in light of COVID-19. The Newcastle meeting hosted seven races, among which was the first, the Astern at Darley H. over 1300 metres.
Eight horses were in the field, all of them newly turned 3-year-olds, and the expected favourite was the Newgate-China Horse Club colt Publicist (Written Tycoon). However, he was unplaced to second-favourite Coodarady, who won the race in honest fashion for the Chris Waller stable.
Coodarady was having his first official start. He won a trial at Rosehill only a fortnight ago, which was enough to convince the market of his starting price of $5.50.
The gelding jumped from barrier two on Wednesday with Alysha Collett and, within a few lengths of the jump, he had taken the lead. He was closely followed on his outside by Publicist, who had drawn wide.
The pair towed the rest of the field into the straight and, while Publicist faded quickly, Coodarady plugged along untroubled. Within the 100 metres, he was approached by Rocklily (Exceed And Excel), but the final margin was 0.09l between them, with Mikasa (Maurice {Jpn}) 1.23l to third.
The time was 1:18.63 on a Good 4, the final 600 metres in 35.38s.
An exciting debut win for the #MillParkRaised & @inglis_sales Easter sold Coodarady, with the 3yo son of @NewgateFarm’s Capitalist being a half to our G1-winning yearling graduate Booker 🙌🏻@anz_news @TDNAusNZ @cwallerracing @DKepitis @CoolmoreAus @TomMagnier @PencarrowStud pic.twitter.com/ewycrreIb6
— Mill Park Stud (@millparkstud) August 11, 2021
Unexpected transit
Charlie Duckworth is the racing manager for Chris Waller, and he was trackside at Newcastle on Wednesday.
“It was a really good start,” Duckworth said of Coodarady’s maiden effort. “He’s only had the one official trial with our track rider Daniel Cremin in the saddle. We were a little bit reluctant to ride him how he has ended up being ridden today. We wanted to get a bit of cover as we felt he might get a little bit lost, but he began well and Alysha took the race by the horns. It proved a winning move in the end.”
“We wanted to get a bit of cover as we felt he (Coodarady) might get a little bit lost, but he began well and Alysha (Collett) took the race by the horns. It proved a winning move in the end.” – Charlie Duckworth
From his inside draw, Coodarady was the best out of the gates, which surprised Duckworth.
“We thought he would be fourth, fifth or sixth, getting a cosy run and a bit of a drag into the race, being an inexperienced horse,” he said. “He wandered around a little bit in the last 200 metres, so there’s improvement there to come, but he looks to give the owners plenty of excitement.”
Alysha Collett said the gelding was very good in a race that didn’t have a lot of speed on paper.
“Once we got the opportunity, with the rail out five metres, to dictate from the front, he was always going to be hard to beat,” the jockey said. “He did get very lost, which we probably expected. He’d only had the one trial, but you can tell he’s a nice horse going forward.”
Collett said Coodarady wanted to over-race in the early parts and that she nursed the horse to the line when he was tackled by Rocklily. She expected he would get a mile easily, albeit progressively.
A pedigree on the rise
Coodarady is raced by a syndicate that includes Coolmore, Wynaus, Westerberg, Sir Peter Vela, Woppitt Bloodstock and Peachester Lodge, among others.
He was purchased by Tom Magnier at the 2020 Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale, a $380,000 buy from the draft of Mill Park Stud, and it was good shopping.
Coodarady is the fifth foal from the broodmare Noondie (Flying Spur), making him a three-quarter brother to G1 Oakleigh Plate winner Booker (Written Tycoon) and her full brother Banquo. Banquo was a Listed winner, while Booker’s recent claim to fame, on top of her glittering track career, is her $1.6 million pricetag when she sold to Tom Magnier at last year’s Inglis Chairman’s Sale from the draft of Yarran Thoroughbreds.
Coodarady was foaled in the Hunter Valley, but was reared at Mill Park Stud in South Australia and studmaster Chris Watson said the gelding was the product of a very fine family.
“Noondie was owned by some very good friends of ours, the Freebairns,” Watson said. “They bought the mare off the track and we looked after her here and helped them along with mating suggestions. Luckily enough they managed to get Booker from the first couple of foals, so that was very exciting for the family.”
“Noondie was owned by some very good friends of ours, the Freebairns. They bought the mare off the track and we looked after her here and helped them along with mating suggestions.” – Chris Watson
Booker was, in fact, the first foal from Noondie after a meeting with Written Tycoon, and her third foal proved to be Banquo by the same stallion. She later visited Starspangledbanner and, in 2017, a union with Capitalist produced Coodarady in 2018.
“This family has just been the perfect mix,” Watson said. “If you could get a lovely mare that produces fantastic-looking progeny that sell very well, the absolute ultimate of that is to get that transposed to a good racetrack result as well. It’s been very exciting to see this family come on.”
In 2019, the Freebairns and their partner Phil Rigg sold Noondie at the Inglis Chairman’s Sale.
She went to Mitchell Bloodstock (FBAA) for Yarraman Park Stud for $600,000, prepared for sale by Sledmere Stud. It was a simple case of striking when the iron was hot.
“They just made the decision to sell her on while she had some value in her,” Watson said. “And Yarraman managed to get out with their first foal from her.”
Yarraman Park bought Noondie in foal to Written Tycoon, and that colt sold at this year’s Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale for $620,000, going to IRON/George Moore Bloodstock. Just like that, Noondie had paid for herself with a little bit to spare.
She went to I Am Invincible last season and Arthur Mitchell confirmed that she will return to the super-sire again this spring.
