No runners today

No runners in the next couple of days.

The Lucky Mascot that has finally taken off

Danny Power from the thoroughbred.com.au reviews the origins of the Lee Freedman trained Koala Bear, the winner of the Listed Cinderella Stakes

"It was Easter 2004 and I was where anyone with an modicum of interest in thoroughbred breeding in Australia would want to be - scouting the Inglis sales complex at Randwick in Sydney inspecting the cream of Australia's yearlings.

Certainly, Inglis at Easter can be a time for play, jumping from marquee to marquee, but I was in work mode doing the inspections for a close friend, who was on the search for a well-bred filly.

As I was building a nice list for my buyer, I arrived at the small draft of New Zealand breeder John Thompson, from Rich Hill Stud, Matamata.

When I asked to see "his filly", Thompson hesitated. "We are just starting to walk her out as she had a bit of an accident. There's a bit of skin missing, but she's starting to move well now."

The "bit of an accident" was an understatement. The filly, by Zabeel from the classy Stakes-winning Centaine mare Arletty, was lucky to be alive. When she flew in from New Zealand to Sydney, she spooked while being unloaded at the airport, got away from her handler and charged around grounds at Mascot airport.

This was a worrying and dangerous time for all involved. The filly was proving hard to catch and she had slipped on the tarmac. Take offs and landings from Australia's busiest airport were put on hold. Airport officials alerted the ground staff that if the filly couldn't be caught quickly, there was no other option other than to destroy the rampaging horse.

Fortunately, the terrified filly ran herself into a corner, enabling the frantic handlers to grab her.

Thompson said that the gun was virtually cocked. "Much longer and she was a goner," he said.

This beautifully-bred filly came through her ordeal remarkably well. She had lumps and bumps all over her but she paraded like a professional. Tall and athletic, she walked with enormous strides. I loved her and when my mate arrived, she went to the top of the list.

I remember our strategy was that the filly, because of her visible injuries, was likely to go through the ring under her value, so we expected her to be inside our budget’s extreme of $250,000.

Sheikh Mohammed's men and others must have had the same idea, and had, of course, a bigger budget. The filly sold to the Sheikh's John Ferguson for $480,000 and we left empty handed.

The filly's fateful story provided her with the clever name Lucky Mascot.

But the story didn't have a happy twist; the filly was very slow, placing only once in seven starts before she was retired to stud. Lucky Mascot's first mating to Exceed And Excel (by Danehill (USA)) failed to produce a foal and her second, to Shamardal (USA) (by Giant’s Causeway (USA)), also was a disaster when her filly foal died soon after birth.

The mare's luck may have well have been used up dodging planes on the Mascot tarmac.

Third time lucky. Lucky Mascot returned to Exceed And Excel, producing another filly, a fine specimen like her mother. Last Saturday, that first live foal, named Koala Bear (pictured), won the Listed Cinderella Stakes (1050m) at Morphettville for Darley and trainer Lee Freedman."

Results 1 - 10 of 240 documents

Log in for all the latest information on your horse and VIP stable news for owners.

The Freedman brothers took a decision in 2002 to switch from a metropolitan training regime to a unique environment on the Mornington Peninsula - they built the world-class complex known as Markdel

Badger discusses Breeding

Breeding for Market and for Racing by Grant Pritchard-Gordon of Badger's Bloodstock