Trainer Jan Bowen has been careful choosing suitable races for her stable favourite Casino Kid and it paid off in the NSW Jockeys Association Hcp (1600m) on Saturday.
The 5yo son of Vinery sire Casino Prince was racing second-up and he responded to a well-judged Sam Clipperton ride to defeat last-start Rosehill winner Contributingfactor (The Factor) on a Soft 5 surface at Randwick.
Casino Kid has now won 5 races and been placed 10 times in 26 starts earning $341,525 for Newcastle owner-breeder Dan Morice and his son George.
Heavy tracks have ravaged NSW this year and, like most trainers, Bowen’s racing calendars are well-thumbed magazines at her stable office in Muswellbrook. “Casino Kid accepted for Rosehill in June before it was washed out,” she recalled. “But even if they raced, I would not have gone ahead and jeopardised one of my best horses.”
Casino Kid was nominated for two events at Randwick last month but was balloted out of the race over 1400m. “In hindsight, he was better off because the longer one was going to be the equivalent of at least a mile and I didn’t want to flatten him first-up,” Bowen reasoned. “I would have expected him to run a big race on a good track over 1100m but it was a Heavy 9 and he did extra well to finish fourth.
“He’s just a beautiful horse and was going along perfectly in the lead-up to Saturday’s win. I liked him from the moment he arrived here. He’s a nice mover, can accelerate and must be the most clean-winded horse I’ve ever trained.
“I couldn’t be happier and expect him to continue through the grades this preparation.”
Morice bred him by using Casino Prince over Cyclone Annie (Hurricane Sky) who is a winning half-sister to Ponton Flyer (VRC Kewney Stakes Gr.2). The mare’s final foal is an unraced filly by Press Statement named Crafty Krumpet.
In Macau, Casino Prince expat Star of Yiu Cheung went back-to-back in the Chairman’s Challenge Cup (LR, 1200m) on Sunday.
The Wayne Smith-trained gelding led all the way to score by three and a half lengths in 1:08.7s. The latest win sent his overall record to 13 wins in 22 starts for owner Leung Kit Faat.
Star of Yiu Cheung (7g Casino Prince – Call Collect by Charge Forward) graduated to the top-tier in Macau last year after a sizzling first-up victory over 1200m in May. He won by six lengths while clocking 1:07.2s to eclipse the previous Taipa turf record set by Warcat (Felix The Cat) in 2008.
Following his first Chairman’s Challenge Cup in July, he stepped up in distance for a five-length victory in the Macau Gold Cup (LR, 1800m) in August.
Star of Yiu Cheung was bred by Vinery and was pin-hooked a foal for $11,000 by Queensland-based Jorson Farm owner Tony Brown at the 2016 Inglis Australian Weanling Sale. He later made $50,000 at the 2017 Magic Millions 2YO Sale and was then sold off-shore after finishing second in a Hawkesbury 3yo trial for Brett Cavanough.
“He was a lovely type but was a late developer and Casino Prince is the sort of stallion that appeals to breeders who race his progeny,” Brown remembered this week. “But I know Richard Freedman was very keen and rang up to see if he could train him.”
Casino Prince (Flying Spur) is the Hunter Valley’s value-plus sire for owner-breeders at a $5,500 (inc GST) service fee. For bookings or further information, please contact Adam White (0414 800 918) or Harry Roach (0401 970 006).
