Woodside Park Stud shuttler Cable Bay, a son of Invincible Spirit, had his first SA runner hit the track this week when Eric Sands’ well fancied 3yo filly Long White Cloud took forever to find her stride on debut at Durbanville on Tuesday before staying on well for third.
The race was won by the more experienced Peter Wrensch trained Gillian Anne.
Things didn’t go Long White Cloud’s way. She was slow off, raced green and was squeezed out shortly after the start. She also had to be switched out approaching the 400m to secure a clear run. She finished 2,75 lengths off the winner.
Purchased by Form Bloodstock off the Mountain View Stud draft at the 2019 Goffs Orby Sale for €130 000 (ZAR 2 293 000) Long White Cloud is out of the well-related unraced Street Cry mare Appleton Drove and races in the black and scarlet of Wilgerbosdrift.
Woodside shuttler Cable Bay
The highest rated 2YO in the UK and Ireland to go to stud the year he retired, Cable Bay was duly supported with a quality book of mares.
His first northern hemisphere crop resulted in 25 juvenile winners and eight stakes performers throughout Europe, highlighting the speed and precocity that Cable Bay possessed himself.
From Down Under it is reported that while it may have taken the Woodside Park Stud shuttler a while to kick off with his first Australian crop runners, it is worth noting the competition has been fierce.
As one of 26 individual sires to record a first crop winner so far this season in Australia, Cable Bay’s second winner, the Neville Parham-trained Flying Missile (Cable Bay-Magnus Missile, by Magnus) highlighted the class her sire can produce, scoring over 1100m at Ascot on Wednesday by almost 3-lengths.
Set to head to the Gr2 Karrakatta Plate (1200m), the lightly raced filly has now had four starts for her connections and has yet to finish out of a place.
With a higher winners-to-runners ratio so far this season than many other high profile freshman sires, Cable Bay’s progeny have shown ability in both the southern and northern hemisphere.
With some high-quality mares covered in his four seasons in Australia, where he has averaged roughly 100 mares each season, it will be interesting to see if they step up to another level as 3yo’s next season.
Long White Cloud should go close to making amends next time.
