News by Chris Roots and the ‘Sydney Morning Herald’ dated March 12, 2015 – 4:58PM
At every turn First Seal has stood out. That level of success is precisely what the China Horse Club wants to be involved in.
“She was brought for $700,000 by Duncan Ramage and we thought she was outstanding then, and nothing has really changed,” China Horse Club racing and bloodstock manager Michael Wallace said.
“She has won the Flight Stakes and from everything we are told from the trainer and jockeys, and what we can take from her sectional times, she’s going to get better. We understand it is a big step up to a Coolmore Classic against the old mares but we think she is very special and she is up to it. We are very proud that she is carrying our colours.
Watch these colours: Firs Seal and the silks of the China Horse Club in action. Photo: Getty Images
“She is the sort of horse that we want to own. That races and wins at the top level. It gives our members a great introduction to racing.”
The China Horse Club is a relatively new player on the global stage but has shared in the success of Australia in the English and Irish Derbies last year. Tropaios carried their silks to win a Singapore Gold Cup in 2013, but First Seal is different.
“Australia was exciting for our members but it wasn’t in our colours,” Wallace said. “First Seal was brought by us at the sales and has raced in our colours with partners. She will be carrying them during one of the great carnivals of the world and hopefully winning.
“She is our flagship horse in this part of the world. We have brought into some good horses like Dissident that won an Orr Stakes in our colours but there is something special about having a horse from the start.”
From the time she was knocked down to Bart Cummings for $700,000 at Karaka, to when trainer John Thompson saw her in a paddock and jockey Blake Shinn threw a leg over her, First Seal has impressed.
Thompson was given the chance to train her after preparing horses for the China Horse Club event in Inner Mongolia. He remembers the first time he saw her.
“I came back from that [meeting in Mongolia] and they asked me to go and rank 25 horses in a paddock,” Thompson said. “She was clearly a stand-out. It was her, then a gap. When they rang me [and] said they were sending her to my stable I was pretty happy and she has just done what I expected she could do when I saw her in that paddock.
“She just goes out and does the job on the track in the morning and on raceday. She has earned her right to be in a race like the Coolmore and it will decide where she goes next. There are plenty of options for her, including the Doncaster. But as I have said all the way along, we will make decision about where she will go after each start.”
Shinn has been part of First Seal’s rise through the ranks and understands the importance of the China Horse Club.
“They are going to be colours we will see for long time and they are going to be very successful,” Shinn noted. “She has given them a group 1 winner already and I’m confident that there will be more.
“She is an exciting filly. We have an awkward draw on Saturday and a fair share of weight for filly but she has earned that. She is the sort of horse that gives you confidence because you know what she can do when you let her go.”