Tuesday, 19 June 2012: Multiple US Grade 1 winner Winchester has arrived at the Malua Racing Stables of John Sadler and Troy Corstens where he is being readied for a Cups campaign this spring.
 | Winchester
Photo by Racing and Sports | |
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Winchester arrived at the Flemington stables of Malua Racing last week after being quarantined in New Zealand for a month.
The Theatrical entire has caught the eye of all involved with the multiple US Grade 1 winner since entering his new home including Malua Racing's General Manager Troy Corstens.
“We've had him in the stables for about a week and a half,” Corstens said.
“Anthony Mithen (Rosemont Stud) put a group together and purchased him from the US, asked us if we would be interested in training him and of course he didn't have to ask twice.
“He is a beautiful horse, we are very pleased with him.
“He is quite a big horse, but not too big, about 16.1 [hands]. He is very athletic, well proportioned, just a really strong looking type.”
Formerly trained by leading US horseman Christophe Clement,
Winchester 
became a multiple Grade 1 winner in America.
Career highlights consist of successes in the 2010 Belmont Park Manhattan Handicap (2000m), the 2010 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic (2412m) and the 2011 Sword Dancer Invitational Stakes (2412m).
In each of the victories Winchester has settled near or at the rear of the field prior to winding up strongly in the straight.
“I've watched a couple of his runs,” Corstens said. “He looked really good, very impressive.”
With such a record, Winchester is fully qualified for the Group 1 Melbourne Cup on November 6 and is almost assured of being allocated a weight that guarantees him a start in the two mile Flemington feature.
“A horse like this going into the spring, if we can get him up and going there is no doubt he can be a Cups horse,” Corstens said.
“He is already fully qualified.
“It is great as you can target the races you want to target, you don't have to worry about where you are going to run, where we need to get a placing or whether we are going to get in because we know we're already there.”
The only query surrounding Winchester is his ability to run out the 3200m with 2412m at this stage the longest trip the stallion has raced over.
“He hasn't got the typical build of a stayer,” Corstens said.
“If you said he was a miler you wouldn't question that at all.
“He looks amazing, he is just a really nice horse to look at.”
Winchester last raced in October when he was unsuccessful in recording back to back Joe Hirsch Invitational Stakes wins behind Aidan O'Brien's former star
Cape Blanco .
He was initially retired by the previous owners following the run before Antony Mithen's Rosemont Stud purchased the stallion prospect for racing.
The seven-year-old was given a generous spell and after being quarantined in New Zealand for a month is ready to begin preparations for his 2012 Melbourne Cup campaign.
“He has just been ticking over for about four weeks and he is about ready to step up and start a bit of pace work in the next week or two,” Corstens said.
“We'll look to a first up run for him in around late August.”
Some of Winchester's career highlights can be viewed on the links provided below.
 | | Posted by theking, on 23-6-2012 11:50:38 AM
Magi,
If we are going to simply look at
"USA bred"
you will find that there a multitude of them.
Take Melbourne Cup winners for instance.
2010 Americain (USA) 2005
2002 Media Puzzle (USA) 1997
1990 Kingston Rule (USA) 1986
1986 At Talaq (USA) 1981
1980 Beldale Ball (USA) 1976
”
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| | Posted by theking, on 23-6-2012 11:38:20 AM
Crotts,
Re my comments about Takeover Target getting beaten fair & square.
I was NOT simply trying to get people going!
Perhaps I am a tad biased as I backed Honor in War
that day but I truely believe
(as did the stewards)
that TT was in fact beaten fair & square.
There is NO arguement here as even against the howls of the masses of popular public opinion the stewards based on cold hard evidence subsequently agreed with me!
I in fact tipped that there were not only grounds for protest
(as soon as they went past the winning post)
but that it would
(if the stewards were fairdinkum)
be upheld.
The only thing that worried me at the time was that the weight of popular opinion MAY well sway an objective fair decision.
PS
This was one of the extremely rare times that either a protest or photo finish "EVER" seems to go my way, hence my recolection of a USA horse winning in a good race in Aus so clearly.
”
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| | Posted by Magi, on 23-6-2012 8:50:50 AM
Going back in time, USA horses in ANZ not total rarities. Sharivari is a notable example, extremely high class sprinter-miler in NZ, later good sire (Shivaree, Golden Rhapsody etc). He won the 1200m Railway at Ellerslie on Jan 1, then the George Adams Mile at Ellerslie THE NEXT DAY, then the Telegraph carrying the grandstand. Kingston Rule was another USA-bred who won a fairly important race. ”
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| | Posted by sg29, on 23-6-2012 7:09:05 AM
How many horses come from America to Australia? I can only think of H&W, Unusual Suspect and Cannonball in recent years, and only one of those was a flop. ”
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| | Posted by Crotts, on 22-6-2012 4:29:32 PM
Sorry Honour in War is the only acception, every other horse from America has flopped not just the cups horses. Don''t know how u came to the conclusion that H&W beat TT "fair & square" guess yr just trying to get people going! ”
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| | Posted by theking, on 22-6-2012 9:52:53 AM
For what its worth?
Interesting to note that Winchester and the
2002 VRC Melbourne Cup winner Media Puzzle (USA)
were both sired by 4 time G1 winner Theatrical (IRE).
”
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| | Posted by sg29, on 21-6-2012 5:16:59 PM
Considering how Unusual Suspect performed last spring, this horse has to be respected as he''s better performed. ”
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| | Posted by theking, on 21-6-2012 10:43:56 AM
Crotts.
Re your:
"Not big on US horses coming to Aust as they have all flopped so far"
Perhaps you may well have only been referring to "cups type horses" but one yank horse that comes to mind that had some success racing here was Honor in War who beat Takeover Target fair & square in a 1400m Villiers.
That was a a pretty fair effort in my book!
PS,
Hi George!
”
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| | Posted by stevez, on 21-6-2012 3:05:46 AM
Seems like previous owners decided he had had enough. Second last run, either hates wet tracks or was very, very tired. Maybe has stallion prospects, but wouldn''t think he could be resurrected to race in top grade. Fairly lightly raced is in his favour. ”
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| | Posted by Anonymous, on 20-6-2012 8:57:48 PM
7yo, retired by his previous owners, a year between runs and likes to race from behind. I think I''ll take out a loan to back him in everything. ”
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| | Posted by Poindexter, on 19-6-2012 3:14:53 PM
Ewe Nailed it with the USA Horse Racing comment ”
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| | Posted by Crotts, on 19-6-2012 1:42:18 PM
Watch these replays guys & take note of the sectionals, this horse can sprint hard & win over 2400m off very slow & very fast paces. Not big on US horses coming to Aust as they have all flopped so far but he has arrived in plenty of time to acclimatise & if he doesnt recieve a big weight could be one to watch. ”
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