Headwater led Australian stallions with four winners on Saturday and for an encore his Hong Kong expat We Are Hero spaced a Sha Tin sprint by four lengths on Sunday.
Morphettville winner Dancing Stream was the catalyst for the Vinery sire’s successful weekend in the Transliquid Services Hcp (1200m) at Morphettville. Given time to mature by trainer Gary Searle, she won at Gawler and Balaklava during a 3yo autumn prep and is ready to rise through the grades this season.
“She won that easily in the end!” Searle-Callanan Racing reported on Saturday. “It was great to see this lovely mare get the chocolates and she was aided by a lovely ride from our stable apprentice Ellis Wong.”
Dancing Stream was bred at Vinery by Conor Phelan and sold as a foal for $26,000 through Vinery’s draft to the 2019 Inglis Australian Weanling Sale. Her unraced dam Cha Cha Chestnut (Elusive Quality) has a pedigree dominated by Champion European 3YO Filly Balanchine (Storm Bird) who won an Irish Derby and English Oaks for Sheikh Maktoum.
Apart from his Australian quartet, Headwater also unveiled an early-comer from his latest 2yo crop in New Zealand. Te Akau Racing filly She Turns Heads looked the winner when she kicked clear in a nursery at Te Rapa only to be collared by her stablemate Tokyo Tycoon.
She Turns Heads was also bred and sold by Vinery as a foal for $30,000 at the 2021 Inglis Australian Weanling Sale. She changed hands again when bought by Te Akau Racing’s David Ellis for $170,000 at this year’s NZB Karaka Yearling Sale. “She’s an outstanding individual and was very well-liked during pre-sale inspections,” Carlaw Park’s Nick Fairweather said. “She’s one of the nicest fillies I’ve ever pinhooked.”
She is a half-sister to unbeaten NZ 3yo Scribe (Press Statement) who was sold to Hong Kong clients of trainer David Hayes. Now named Naboo Legend, he led a Happy Valley barrier trial on Saturday and went to the line under a hold when runner-up over 1200m. Headwater 3yo Innoconstruction scored an all-the-way trial win at Sha Tin last Tuesday for trainer Francis Lui. He won a Ballarat maiden when racing as Le Messager earlier this year before being sold off-shore by owner-breeder Warren Gellard.
The Hong Kong connection continued at Sha Tin on Sunday with We Are Hero. He gave Hugh Bowman an armchair ride down the straight clocking 56.34s in the Chevalier Engineering Hcp (1000m).
We Are Hero had won a Mornington maiden for local trainer Jason Warren and is now trained by Manfred Man. His dam Kinsella (Shamardal) is a half-sister to Group 1 winner Ike’s Dream (STC Queen of the Turf Stakes). “That was very impressive and I’m a little surprised by the ease of the win,” Man admitted. “He had trialled well and Hugh was happy when we switched him back to five furlongs.”
Headwater has 12 yearlings catalogued for the Gold Coast Magic Millions and they will be popular with Hong Kong buyers starting with the colt from Kiss For Gran (Lot 30) who being offered by Alexia Fraser Bloodstock. He’s a close relation of Mighty Stride (Rich Enuff) who won on debut for trainer Ricky Yiu at Sha Tin last Sunday.