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Two winners headed by Senor Toba’s victory in the Frank Packer
Swettenham Stud shuttler Toronado (High Chaparral) sired a stakes double on Saturday, headed by Senor Toba’s (3 g ex Bahamas by Teofilo) victory in the Frank Packer Plate (Gr 3, 2000m) at Randwick which saw the stallion’s global stakes tally swell to 12 and in landing the Group 3 the gelding becomes the stallion’s seventh black-type winner in Australia.
Ridden by Hugh Bowman, Senor Toba appreciated the solid tempo set by the Waller-trained Achiever (Pride Of Dubai), finishing strongly to score by a length and a quarter from High Supremacy (Savabeel). Achiever stayed on well to finish another head away in third.
Senor Toba broke his maiden at Moonee Valley on January 15, while he was last seen running a disappointing eighth over 1400 metres at Randwick-Kensington on March 25 and Waller said the gelding would now be aimed at the Queensland Derby (Gr 1, 2400m) at Eagle Farm on May 29.
“It's been good to see him turn it around today,” said Waller. “We always knew he would stay, until he's got up to this distance you haven't been able to see the best from him so it's a sign of good things to come for sure, very bright future.
"We'll be heading that way (Queensland Derby). We even thought South Australian Derby but that comes around a little bit quicker, that's only two weeks away. We had in the back of our minds that it would be one of the two.
"He is a lovely type, works with you, does everything right. He won his second start at Moonee Valley and we gave him a bit of a break to get him ready for those, well I thought South Australian Derby, but he showed me he might be able to go the Queensland path with a bit more time."
The gelding was purchased by Hermitage Thoroughbreds for $180,000 at Book 1 of the Inglis Premier Yearling Sale in 2019 and he is out of the winning Teofilo (Galileo) mare Bahamas, who is herself a daughter of Listed winner St Trinians (Black Hawk), making Senor Toba a three-quarter brother to Group 2 scorer Affair To Remember.
Meanwhile at Caulfield, Still A Star (4 m Toronado - Lita by Casino Prince) provided the stallion with the second leg of his stakes double when she landed her sixth stakes race in the Anniversary Vase Handicap (Listed, 1400m).
Last seen being narrowly denied a victory in the Victoria Handicap (Gr 3, 1400m) at Caulfield on April 3, the Bill Ryan-trained four-year-old mare defeated Missile Mantra (Smart Missile) by a length and three-quarters, while Riddle Me That (Deep Field) was another head away in third.
The mare was purchased by Monica Ryan for a mere $13,000 at the 2018 Magic Millions Tasmanian Yearling Sale from the Alva Stud draft and she has now won nine of her 16 starts, which has seen her accrue $664,490 in prize-money.
The win was made particularly more special given Ryan is suffering from incurable lung cancer and he said the mare would now be sent for a spell with the intention of trying to win a Group 1 with her next season
Still A Star is one of two winners out of dual-winning Casino Prince (Flying Spur) mare Lita, who is herself a daughter of Group 3 winner Royal Asscher (Stravinsky).
Further back this is the same pedigree as Group 2 winner Ruud Not Too (Bernardini) and Group 3 scorer Our Cashel (Sir Tristram).
Toronado’s Australian stakes winners are headed by his only Group 1 winner in Masked Crusader, who finished a good fifth in the All Aged Stakes (Gr 1, 1400m), having drawn barrier 12, while in Europe his son Tactical will shoot for 2,000 Guineas (Gr 1, 1m) glory at Newmarket next Saturday.
