High hopes for stock of Brutus

Press, 22 September 1987, Page 41

High hopes for stock of Brutus

By

DAVID McCARTHY

A few years ago, when the Tuahiwi stable of Ray Harris was flying high, the major contributor to the headlines the racing team was hitting was the hardy Balios horse, Brutus, one of the top performers among Canterbury gallopers during this decade.

More recently the halcyon days have been difficult for the stable to regenerate and it is only fitting that Ray Harris is placing much faith in his former track star as a stallion in a bid to do just that.

One of the leading hopes for spring racing is the Bratus two-year-old,

Astoria, a winner at z the Riccarton Turf Club trials on Sunday and the stable has four others of a crop of eight in work. Astoria is from Manu Wahine, an unraced daughter of King Canary from a Summertime mare. Her first foal, Bennington, was held in some regard by the stable and set for the Haldon Plate but suffered sesamoid trouble in an accident and had to be put aside. Astoria has shown plenty of dash at trials so far, and while his raceday test at Riccarton will be more searching he could get his sire away to a good start for the season when he does appear.

Another Brutus youngster is a grey filly similar in colouring to her dam Ireland, by Lord

Kearsey, a Kumara winner over 1600 m a few years ago. There is a colt from the Royal Bid mare, Royal Linda, and a filly from the A Chara mare, Fijian Connection, which has some stout maternal lines. The other Bratus youngster is from the Fourkero mare Scampalong, a close

relation to the stallion, Grey Bird. The stable has high hopes for a Truly Vain filly from the First Consul mare Pat’s Request.

First Consul was a beautifully bred horse which failed to make the grade at stud in spite of plenty of opportunities. He now stands at a moderate fee in Australia but could show up as a broodmare sire if only because of the class of mare he served in his early seasons.

Pat’s Request is from the Trictrac mare, Triompher, and from a very good maternal line which includes a New Zealand Cup winner in Calibrate. Truly Vain, which is stood

at stud by Maurice Campbell, has made an early impression with his first crop according to Ray Harris.

“Maurice tells me there have been seven to the trials in the Central Districts and five of them have been winners,” Harris said.

A Knighthood filly from the Gold Sovereign mare, Laneside, and a Sir Bart youngster from the Holy Smoke mare, Adjani, make up the Harris stable of youngsters at the moment. But it is the Brutus juveniles which could be first to try out on raceday and Astoria could prove a worthy representative.

Part of a series on youngsters in training in Canterbury