Coral Beach 2yo Gr3 winner in Ireland
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THUMP Gr2 winner
Harlem: winner of the Australian Cup Gr1 (Twice)
Astute Bloodstock Sale Stats
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Buy of the Weekend: Astute purchase Cherish Me Blue Diamond-bound
Buy of the Weekend: Astute purchase Cherish Me Blue Diamond-bound
Cherish Me’s (Brazen Beau) dominant debut in the Geelong Diamond earned her a G1 Blue Diamond spot. We spoke with Louis Le Metayer of Astute Bloodstock about why he was drawn to the filly, and Andrew Baddock discusses her exciting close relation on offer at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale.
The Ciaron Maher-trained Cherish Me (Brazen Beau) made a bold statement on debut, charging home from near last to thrash a strong field in the $150,000 Geelong Diamond (1100 metres) on Saturday and in the process booked herself a spot in the G1 Blue Diamond Stakes.
A $280,000 Magic Millions purchase by Louis Le Metayer’s Astute Bloodstock (FBAA) from the draft of Segenhoe Stud, Cherish Me put the writing on the wall after an excellent Cranbourne jump-out over 800 metres when let balance up early before finding the line to win under minimal pressure. It was almost a case of déjà vu on race day as Thomas Stockdale let the filly find her feet early, settling well back, before sweeping down the outside for an eye-catching 2l victory.
“She trialled similarly to how she raced just then; she sat off and she's got a really smooth, long action and can build and go through her gears,” stable representative Jack Turnbull said post-race.
“So well found by Louis Le Metayer, Astute Bloodstock, similar group to A Little Deep and it looks like we've got another smart filly."
French bloodstock agent Louis Le Metayer has a proven track record for finding top-class horses, both tried and from the yearling sales, most notably sourcing Group 1 The Galaxy winner Shelby Sixtysix (Toronado {Ire}) and G1 Australian Cup winner Harlem (GB) (Champs Elysees {GB}).
Astute Bloodstock has also had a fruitful partnership with Ciaron Maher over the years, combining for winners such as G2 Furious S. winner Tiz Invincible (I Am Invincible) and recent Listed Chautauqua S. winner A Little Deep (Deep Field). Le Metayer is hopeful that Cherish Me will be the next stakes success for the combination and astonished at the filly’s natural precocity.
“It’s a dream result to start with,” Le Metayer said. “Credit to the whole Ciaron Maher team, we’re delighted. We hope she is a very good filly. It was a great way to win.
“We never really put our horses under much pressure when they are young, and we generally tend to ignore the early races, but she just did it under her own steam. She just wanted to do it, so we just kept going.
“She obviously has the natural talent and the natural precocity, but she is a big strong girl so, we think she is only going to improve.
“She (Cherish Me) obviously has the natural talent and the natural precocity, but she is a big strong girl so, we think she is only going to improve.” - Louis Le Metayer
“We have never seen her lengthen like that at trackwork or in any of her gallops because we have never really pushed her, she just did it naturally which is lovely to see.”
Le Metayer shared that the filly came through the run unscathed and would now have one more start before having her third and final run this preparation in the G1 Blue Diamond Stakes at Caulfield in mid-February.
“She is going to go to the Blue Diamond at her third start,” Le Metayer said.
“We are just thinking about what is going to be her next start. It may be the Blue Diamond Prelude or the Chairmans. Ciaron was saying he may try to plot the same path as Loving Gaby through the Chairman's Stakes but nothing is set in stone.
“So, she will only have three starts this prep. She will go out after the Blue Diamond.
“She looks like a stakes filly, for sure. She needs to step up and be very competitive at her next start to warrant going to the Blue Diamond but the good thing is we have time on our side, the Blue Diamond isn’t until February 22nd.”
All the ingredients for greatness
Cherish Me was a standout filly at the Magic Millions last year according to Le Metayer, who felt the filly ticked all the boxes.
“We bought her here at the Magic Millions from the Segenhoe draft and she was our favourite filly,” he said.
“She has a phenomenal physique, she’s by a proper sire – a champion sprinter and she has proper female family so, all the ingredients were there. Luckily for us when we bought her, the stallion probably wasn’t the flavour of the month, and we were able to buy her without breaking the bank.
“She (Cherish Me) has a phenomenal physique, she’s by a proper sire – a champion sprinter and she has proper female family so, all the ingredients were there.” - Louis Le Metayer
“It was also the farm she came from. We’ve had a bit of lucky buying from Segenhoe. We’ve bought shares in Tiz Invincible who came from Segenhoe and then obviously Amelia’s Jewel was born at Segenhoe. We’ve had a bit of luck from that farm and actually both the fillies we bought last year were from there.”
Cherish Me is the fifth winner from metro-winning mare Hold Me Closer (Danehill Dancer {Ire}), making her a half-sister to G3 Caulfield Classic winner Thought Of That (So You Think {NZ}), whom Maher also trained, and G2 Bill Stutt S.-placed Daily Bugle (Press Statement).
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