Perth Stakes-Winner for Giant’s Causeway
22nd November 2008
Improving three year-old Liquidation (3g Giant's Causeway x Artel, by Danehill) posted his first Black Type success when taking out the Listed WATC Placid Ark Stakes at Ascot in Perth on Saturday.
The Darryn Pateman trained gelding had won two of three previous starts since resuming from a spell of 28 weeks and went into this assignment in top form albeit facing a jump in class.
Ridden just off the pace in fourth position, Liquidation (pictured) found the line strongly to win the 1200 metre event by a short neck.
“This horse is thriving and has progressed so much this preparation,” said Darryn Pateman.
“He's come forward. We looked after him - we didn't rush him back for the Guineas or anything - and now it's starting to pay a few dividends."
Liquidation was bought for $45,000 by his trainer at the Astrik Dispersal of stock at the Magic Millions Perth Winter Sale in 2006, while his dam Artel was also sold that year in a similar Magic Millions run dispersal at the Gold Coast where she made $200,000 and was subsequently exported to Korea.
Liquidation is the second foal and first stakes-winner for Artel, a half-sister by Danehill to stakes-winner Imaginaire from former outstanding West Australian mare Beaux Art, winner of nine races including the Group One WATC Derby and placed in the Group One Caulfield and Sydney Cups.
Liquidation has the overall record of three wins and two placings from eight starts and prizemoney in excess of $115,000 with plans in the pipeline for further stakes assignments.
"He will run in the Lee Steere Classic in a fortnight," Pateman added.
"And hopefully I can talk Andrew (Mallyon) into coming back to ride him again."
Victorian based apprentice Andrew Mallyon was rightly impressed by the performance of Liquidation.
“He is a very nice horse," he said after the race.
"The penny hasn’t dropped with him yet and once it does he will make the grade.”
Giant’s Causeway shuttled to Australia for three seasons and is now permanently based in Kentucky where he is the leading sire of individual stakes-winners in North America this year.
Giant’s Causeway also had a smart winner at Randwick where the Kevin Moses trained five year-old gelding Causeyacan (5g Giant's Causeway x C’Yaontheotherside, by Hermitage) scored a good win in the open handicap over 1400 metres stamping himself as a contender for the Group Two AJC Villiers Stakes next month.
“I’ve always had an opinion of him,” said Moses.
“He’ll back up and have another run in two weeks [Festival Stakes (1500m) at Rosehill on December 6] before he goes to the Villiers [1600m at Randwick on December 20].
“We actually thought he’d get back much further than he did today. We were pretty confident, in this grade he didn’t have much to worry about.”
A modest purchase for Dean Watt’s Dynamic Syndications, Causeyacan was secured for $75,000 from the draft of Strawberry Hill Stud at the 2005 Magic Millions Yearling Sale and has won six of nine starts earning just shy of $1331,475 in prizemoney.
Causeyacan is a half-brother to stakes-winner Chickens, being from the Hermitage mare C’Yaontheotherside.
