Shamus Award

shamus award cox plate sean buckley

The Cox Plate holds significant importance in Australian horse racing for many reasons including:

Prestige and Tradition: The Cox Plate is one of the most prestigious races in Australia and is steeped in tradition. It has a rich history dating back to 1922 and has consistently attracted top-quality fields of horses over the years.

Weight-for-Age Championship: The Cox Plate is regarded as the weight-for-age championship of Australasia. This means that horses of different ages carry different weights based on their age and sex. It’s considered a true test of a horse’s ability under these conditions.

Competitiveness and Field Quality: The race consistently attracts the best horses from Australia and around the world. The competitive nature of the Cox Plate ensures that only the top performers in the sport typically contest the race, making it a thrilling and high-stakes event.

Timing and Location: The Cox Plate is held in October each year at Moonee Valley Racecourse in Melbourne, Victoria. This timing places it strategically in the Australian racing calendar, following other major spring racing events like the Caulfield Cup and leading up to the Melbourne Cup Carnival. It’s a focal point of the spring racing season.

Impact on Breeding and Racing Careers: Winning the Cox Plate is a prestigious achievement that can significantly enhance a horse’s value as a breeding prospect. It can also elevate a horse’s racing career by solidifying its reputation as one of the best in the sport.

Historical Significance: Many legendary horses have won the Cox Plate, adding to its historical significance. Names like Phar Lap, Kingston Town, Shamus Award, and more recently, Winx, have left an indelible mark on the race and contributed to its enduring legacy.

Cultural Importance: The Cox Plate holds a special place in Australian sporting culture. It attracts attention not only from racing enthusiasts but also from the general public, drawing crowds and media coverage that highlight its significance within the broader community.

Overall, the combination of tradition, competitiveness, quality of competition, and historical significance has firmly established the Cox Plate as a cornerstone of Australian horse racing, making it a must-watch event for fans and participants alike.

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Tara Madgwick – Sunday July 10

Having delved into the 2021 mare book for Cox Plate winning sire So You Think last week, we thought it would be interesting to investigate another Cox Plate winning sire and this one covered the dam of the world’s best sprinter last spring.

As a Cox Plate and Australian Guineas winner, Shamus Award was the Champion 3YO of his generation, but it’s really only been in the last year that the son of champion sire Snitzel has been given the respect he deserves as a sire.

The current season has been a particular eye opener with Shamus Award producing six stakes—winners, all of them Group winners and three of them Group I winners in Incentivise, Duais and El Patroness.

Shamus Award started his career at Widden Stud, but is now in Victoria with Rosemont Stud, who set his fee at $33,000 last spring.

Breeders were quick to sniff out a sire on the up, still priced at value and Shamus Award covered 216 mares making him the busiest sire in Victoria and the second busiest in the country behind only Capitalist.

This year he has been priced more in keeping with his stature at $88,000 and will no doubt cover his best ever book of mares, but the foals in the pipeline for this year hold plenty of interest with one in particular set to garner international media attention.

A couple of the Group I producers covered by Shamus Award in the list below did not go in foal and Spectacula, (dam of dual Group I winner Global Glamour) sadly died in December last year.

We can however confirm that Nature Strip’s dam Strikeline is safely in foal and is due in late September.

STAKES WINNERS

MareBornCountryDamsireBest win
Mirjulisa Lass2007AUSDanasingaG1
Azkadellia2011NZShinko KingG1
Vintedge2005AUSFlying SpurG2
Winterinthewoods2005SAFWestern WinterG2
Tahanee2012ARGStormy AtlanticG3
Ana Royale2013AUSAnacheevaG3
Fancy Feet2009AUSFathG3
Hear The Chant2013AUSNicconiG3
Pixilim2013BRZAgnes GoldG3
Unchain My Heart2006AUSAl MaherListed
Sweet Cheeks2007AUSGeneral NediymListed
Sophia Babe2006AUSIglesiaListed
Marveen2005AUSOrientateListed
Blondie2014AUSReward For EffortListed
Cosmic Alert2015AUSStar WitnessListed
Scratchy Lass2011AUSU S RangerListed
Dance To My Tune2004CANStravinskyListed
Its Time For Magic2013NZPer IncantoListed

STAKES PRODUCERS

MareBornDamsireHorseBest Win
Strikeline2000Desert SunNature StripG1
Admirelle2003General NediymSizzlingG1
Condesaar2004XaarYankee RoseG1
Special Favour2009General NediymMr QuickieG1
Spectacula2004Testa RossaGlobal GlamourG1
Sure You Can2010O’ReillyEl PatronessG1
Generous Nature2003CarnegieSavvy NatureG2
Take All Of Me2005JeuneI’Ll Have A BitG2
Attessa2006Belong to MeHigh Seas BeautyG3
Condesaar2004XaarMiravalleG3
Crossyourheart2004Show A HeartSwearG3
Generous Nature2003CarnegieAddictive NatureG3
Hissy Miss2003Golden SnakeGlass WarriorG3
Is It A Mosquito2011Bel EspritSwats ThatG3
Love Of Liberty2009General NediymEllsbergG3
M’Lady Hallowell2011WantedHoi AnG3
Miss Ethics2003Count DuboisEthical SolutionG3
Quietzer2006More Than ReadyHear The ChantG3
Sovereign Charm2005Show A HeartSovereign AwardG3
Baize2008CommandsCorner PocketListed
Carolina Bella2006ZabeelMickey Blue EyesListed
Cheers Rihanna2009General NediymStruck ByListed
It’s You1999Celtic SwingYoureinListed
Lunar Lights2005BianconiHoney’S Steel GoldListed
Miss Encosta2006Encosta De LagoCaptain DuffyListed
My Tusker2001VolksraadGame KeeperListed
Sophia Babe2006IglesiaFinal SaluteListed
Special Mission2004TowkayRedoubleListed
Strikeline2000Desert SunThe BarristerListed

SIRES OF DAMS COVERED BY SHAMUS AWARD (6 or more mares)

In this table we’ve had a look at the sires of these quality mares that have gone to Shamus Award and looked to see the success rate of the nick in terms of winner to runner and SW to runner.

The overall statistics for Shamus Award are 64.5% winner to runner and 7% SW to runner.

Broodmare SireNumber of MaresWinner to runnerSW to runner
Bel Esprit1275%25% 1 SW 4 runners
More Than Ready (USA)12100%40% 2 SW (1 G1) 5 runners
Encosta de Lago860%10% 1 SW 10 runners
General Nediym875%20% 2 SW (1 G1) 10 runners
Star Witness820% 5 runners 1 winner 
Savabeel6No runners 

Read more at https://www.breednet.com.au/news/18259/shamus-award-%E2%80%93-the-rise-and-rise

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At the start of a New Year there is an excitement in the air about what is to come! We are excited about the prospect of getting to the track and seeing some exciting races in 2021.

We have been looking back at previous wins and of course a standout is the epic Shamus Award Cox Plate win! If you haven’t seen it already, have a look at this fantastic interview with jockey Chad Schofield who won the Cox Plate in 2013 with maiden Shamus Award. Incredible unseen footage of the epic race in which Chad was only an apprentice and Shamus Award was a maiden – creating a unique part of Australian racing history.

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The sudden blossoming of the young stallion Shamus Award, on the honour roll as the sire of the latest Group I Queensland Derby winner Mr Quickie, serves to highlight two memorable distinctions of his brief and unusual racing career.

Jockey John Allen rides Mr Quickie to victory in the Queensland Derby on Saturday
Jockey John Allen rides Mr Quickie to victory in the Queensland Derby on Saturday

Shamus Award won two races in 14 attempts, but the first was as a maiden in the 2013 $3 million Group I Cox Plate (2040m), striking a 20-1 victory as a three-year-old over older horses.

His second came five months later in the $500,000 Group I Australian Guineas (1600m) at set weights against his own age, leading future $7.2m stakeswinner Criterion by a comfortable one-length margin at the finish.

Another stark feature of Shamus Award’s track career is his Cox Plate win is the most recent Group I success in Australia by a three-year-old against older horses at a distance of at least 2000m.

Shamus Award after winning the Cox Plate
Shamus Award after winning the Cox Plate

Until two decades ago, wins by three-year-olds in features such as the VRC Australian Cup (2000m), ATC Tancred Stakes (2400m), ATC Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2000m) and BTC Doomben Cup (2000m) were not uncommon. But the trend dribbled down into the new millennium to reach the point of a 5½-year gap from the 2013 Cox Plate in which the classic generation has become invisible.

And this extremely disturbing phenomenon has led to the shameful standard of the Australian stayer today, freefalling to the bottom with continuing results such as the Group II Brisbane Cup (2400m) on Saturday when three Irish-bred runners filled the placings, adding to the unstoppable harvest of long-distance prizemoney won by northern hemisphere-bred imports in the past decade.

Shamus Award’s track career came to an end after he beat one of 15 home in the 2014 Group I Rosehill Guineas (2000m), won by Criterion.

He was a fourth crop foal of Snitzel, the proficient Group I sprinting son of Redoute’s Choice who was steadily building on the stud status he proudly owns today as he works towards his third successive sires’ crown.

And he was produced by a three-time sprint-winning daughter of the US-bred Success Express, a superb outcross force in Australian pedigrees — highlighted as the damsire of no less than three Cox Plate winners, with Shamus Award joining Pinker Pinker (2011) and Savabeel (2004).

Shamus Award was welcomed to the Widden Stud, in the NSW Widden Valley, for the spring of 2014, at a fee of $27,500. He proved a very popular first-season stallion, attracting 165 mares, and maintained high booking levels of 127, 130 and 157 mares for the next three seasons.

But the 2018 spring season saw a savage reversal with 84 covers, the decline in demand coming despite a 100 per cent fee reduction to $11,000 which was brought on by a modest turnout by his first crop runners of 2017-18.

The harsh reality that is the highly competitive commercial market of thoroughbred breeding led to a late-April announcement that Shamus Award would be moving to Victoria’s Rosemont Stud for the 2019 spring, his fee to remain at $11,000.

Some three weeks prior to this announcement, Classic Weiwei broke the ice as the first stakeswinner for Shamus Award, taking out the Listed Port Adelaide Guineas (1800m). Three weeks after the announcement, Shamus Award had his second stakeswinner with filly Etana claiming the Group II Doomben Roses (2000m).

At Eagle Farm’s action-crammed stakes race program on Saturday, Shamus Award hit pay dirt big time with Mr Quickie the best stayer among 18 three-year-olds in the $600,000 Queensland Derby (2400m).

Suddenly, racing looks to have in Shamus Award a sorely needed addition to the limited source of competitors that do not faint once they are tried beyond 1600m.

For his ninth win in only 13 starts and coming off a somewhat luckless third in the Group I South Australian Derby (2500m) on May 11, Mr Quickie was a clear winner by three-quarters of a length over Vow And Declare at the finish and held the win after stewards quickly dismissed a protest lodged on behalf of the runner-up. The irony of this protest was that Vow And Declare, by Declaration of War — sire of Group I Queensland Oaks winner Winning Ways — is trained at Flemington by Dan O’Brien and he was the man who prepared Shamus Award for his 14 starts, yielding two wins, eight minor placings and $2,473,500 in prizemoney.

Read more on this article by Tony Arrold at The Australian

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shamus-award-cox-plate-chad-schofield

A fantastic interview with jockey Chad Schofield who won the Cox Plate in 2013 with maiden Shamus Award. Chad was only an apprentice at the time and Shamus Award just a maiden. Together they created a unique part of Australian racing history. Shamus Award went on to win the Australian Guineas in 2014 and was also Three-Year Old Colt/Gelding of the Year in the same year. Chad Schofield has gone on to much success and is currently in Hong Kong where he is enjoying international racing life.

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Sean+buckley+ultratune

A look back at Shamus Award winning the Cox Plate in 2013! Featuring behind the scenes photos from before the race and some winning moments captured by Bruno Cannatelli at Ultimate Racing Photos. A proud day for Sean Buckley, Ultra Thoroughbreds, Chad Schofield, Danny O’ Brien and the rest of the team!

Sean+Buckley+Cox+Plate

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http://www.racingandsports.com.au/en/timeform/top-award-in-cox-plate-story-288688#.Um_wL6igiQ0.email#bwaHwJTRDIWXFjbB.97

 

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Sean Buckley Shamus Award

• Time-form Champion Australian 3yo 2013/14.

• The first horse in history to win the Gr 1 VRC Australian Guineas after winning the Gr 1 W.F.A W.S Cox Plate.

• His Gr 1 Cox Plate victory was one of the fastest ever run by a 3yo including 1.7sec’s quicker than successful sire Savabeel.

• His heroic, front running victory in the Gr 1 Australian Guineas saw him defeat Criterion, Eurozone etc.

• A multiple Group performer at Two and was an eye-catching third in Gr 1 Caulfield Guineas.

• A sale-topping son of one of Australia’s hottest young stallion’s Snitzel from successful dam-sire of sires Success Express.

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Champion sprinter Shamus Award has won the Herald Sun Champion Three-Year-Old Colt or Gelding of the Year award.

Sean Buckley_ Shamus Award

Shamus Award was trained by Danny O’ Brien and had great success this year.  The son of Snitzel won the Sportingbet Cox Plate (2040m), and became the first horse to also win the Group 1 Australian Guineas (1600m) in the same season. Read more at Racing.com  http://www.racing.com/news/2014-10-02/shamus-award-wins-3yo

Watch Shamus Award win the Cox Plate:

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