You read it on The Breed first – one of Europe’s most exciting stayers Alandi has been bought by leading Melbourne owner Lloyd Williams.

Rumours swept Melbourne on Friday that the dual Group 1 winner will be trained by Lee Freedman, but Freedman has revealed that he has bought the Sir Michael Stoute-trained Doctor Fremantle (by Sadler’s Wells), who won the 2009 G3 Arc Trial at Newbury, and last season came fourth behind New Approach in the G1 Epsom Derby.

The John Oxx-trained Alandi, a son of Galileo boasts a record of eight starts for five wins and two seconds. He has won his last three starts, including the G1 Irish St Leger (2800m, The Curragh) in September and the G1 Prix du Cadran (4000m) at Longchamp on October 4.

Alandi, who was raced by The Aga Khan and comes from his “A” family, is out of the Darshaan mare Aliya, who was a winner ov er 2400m and is a sister to The Aga Khan’s disqualified French Oaks winner Aliysa (to a positive swab).

The breed’s Stephen Howell spoke to Freedman about his latest foray into Europe, but Freedman at that time refused to disclose the names of all his purchases.

FREEDMAN BUYS UP IN ENGLAND

Imported revelation Speed Gifted is out of this year’s Melbourne Cup, but trainer Lee Freedman already is looking to next year’s Cup – with Speed Gifted and new English purchases.

“We’ve been very active this week and bought another four horses,” Freedman, seven times Victorian champion and five times winner of the Melbourne Cup, told thethoroughbred.com.au today. “One will be a big surprise, a very good class horse.

“Badger (Freedman’s European-based bloodstock adviser Grant Pritchard-Gordon) was involved in pre-selection. John Walker (Freedman’s Melbourne vet) vetted them and Anthony (Lee’s brother) went over on Friday night and did the deals.”

Freedman said two horses were bought at the same sales as last year’s imports and two were bought privately.

Last year the stable put together a group of owners – managed by the Ball & Chain syndicate – and bought six horses at Tattersalls October sales at Newmarket. In the wash-up, Freedman also was given the former Luca Cumani-trained Speed Gifted to train by French owner Jean Marc Charmat.

Sales purchases to win in Australia have been Speed Gifted (three city wins, including the G1 Metropolitan (2400m) at Randwick, from five starts), Sound Of Nature (at Sandown and Geelong, as well as running second in the G2 Crystal Mile at Moonee Valley on Saturday), Timetable (2), Trenchtown (2) and Woodcutter (1).

The sales website www.tattersalls.com listed the two public purchases as the geldings Fanjura, for 210,000 guineas (almost $395,000), and Ajhar, for 65,000 guineas (almost $122,000).

Fanjura – pictured –  (b g 2005, Marju (IRE)-Accelerating (USA), by Lear Fan (USA)), with four wins from 13 starts, was trained by Barry Hills; Ajhar (b g 2004, Diesis (GB)-Min Alhawa (USA), by Riverman (USA)) won 3-13 when trained by Marcus Tregoning for Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum.

Three of Fanjura’s wins were in July-August at Sandown (2) and Ascot, all over 2000m. Ajhar’s latest win was over 2000m at Newmarket in August.

Freedman said he expected the horses to arrive in Australia early next year. The hope is that one or more can join Speed Gifted (b g 6, Montjeu (IRE)-Good Standing (USA), by Distant View (USA)) and one or more emerging three-year-olds already in the stable on a spring cups path.

Belleluia is having her first start tomorrow (Saturday) at Traralgon. She is No. 6 in race 3, 1.47pm, barrier 3. Luke Currie will ride.

For full details and form for the race, click here

Only four of the 12 starters have had a race, so we the form is a bit unknown, but Belleluia has trialled nicely and worked well. She will run a very competitive race.

THE TRAINER’S COMMENT:

Here’s what trainer Robbie Griffiths has to say:

Belleluia is in great order and this looks a nice race to kick off her racing career. She has only had one trial and still looks a little wooly in the coat but her track work has been excellent and I think she will run a nice race here with further room for improvement in the future. She has drawn a nice barrier in 3 and with her natural ability she looks one of the better chances in this event. Luke Currie takes the ride.

Good Luck

Robbie.

TICKETING

The Latrobe Valley Racing Club, which administers racing at the Traralgon racecourse have kindly offered the following benefits for Thoroughbred Magazine Club members for tomorrow’s race meeting.

It’s Ladies Day, a feature meeting for Traralgon, therefore Thoroughbred Magazine Club members are required to pay general admission. However, we have an allocation of 20 members and mounting yard tickets for Belleluia.

Unfortunately, due to commitments at Flemington, a representative of the The Thoroughbred cannot attend Belleluia’s debut run, but make yourself known to representatives of the Griffiths stable.

Admission is as follows:

Adult $20

Concession: $16

Child: Free with parent – otherwise $20

Pensioner: $16

EVENT INFORMATION CAN BE FOUND at Country Racing Victoria’s website

The Thoroughbred’s popular breeding analysis and commentary THE BREED is now an online blog.

Visit The Breed to read about the injury to Gerald Ryan’s rising star colt Therock and Lloyd Williams’ buying spree in Europe that included St. Leger winner Alandi. 

The Thoroughbred’s in-depth Perth preview reveals the chances in the Quaddie legs and all races at Ascot on Saturday.

The best bets are in races two, three and eight, and we’ve found each-way value in race five.

To find out what our form analyst is tipping CLICK HERE

Belleluia is in great order and this looks a nice race to kick off her racing career. She has only had one trial and still looks a little wooly in the coat but her track work has been excellent and I think she will run a nice race here with further room for improvement in the future. She has drawn a nice barrier in 3 and with her natural ability she looks one of the better chances in this event. Luke Currie takes the ride.

Good Luck

Robbie.

We have accepted with Belleluia to run at Traralgon on Saturday in an 1100m event for 3YO fillies. Luke Currie has been booked to ride her.

I felt that Traralgon was a better option than Sunday’s maiden at Kilmre. The filly has done well since her trial and she has worked nicely this week. She’s ready to go to the races.

Full race details will be online later this morning.

Imported revelation Speed Gifted is out of this year’s Melbourne Cup, but trainer Lee Freedman already is looking to next year’s Cup – with Speed Gifted and new English purchases.

“We’ve been very active this week and bought another four horses,” Freedman, seven times Victorian champion and five times winner of the Melbourne Cup, told thethoroughbred.com.au today. “One will be a big surprise, a very good class horse.

“Badger (Freedman’s European-based bloodstock adviser Grant Pritchard-Gordon) was involved in pre-selection. John Walker (Freedman’s Melbourne vet) vetted them and Anthony (Lee’s brother) went over on Friday night and did the deals.”

Freedman said two horses were bought at the same sales as last year’s imports and two were bought privately.

Last year the stable put together a group of owners – managed by the Ball & Chain syndicate – and bought six horses at Tattersalls October sales at Newmarket. In the wash-up, Freedman also was given the former Luca Cumani-trained Speed Gifted to train by French owner Jean Marc Charmat.

Sales purchases to win in Australia have been Speed Gifted (three city wins, including the G1 Metropolitan (2400m) at Randwick, from five starts), Sound Of Nature (at Sandown and Geelong, as well as running second in the G2 Crystal Mile at Moonee Valley on Saturday), Timetable (2), Trenchtown (2) and Woodcutter (1).

The sales website www.tattersalls.com listed the two public purchases as the geldings Fanjura, for 210,000 guineas (almost $395,000), and Ajhar, for 65,000 guineas (almost $122,000).

Fanjura (b g 2005, Marju (IRE)-Accelerating (USA), by Lear Fan (USA)), with four wins from 13 starts, was trained by Barry Hills; Ajhar (b g 2004, Diesis (GB)-Min Alhawa (USA), by Riverman (USA)) won 3-13 when trained by Marcus Tregoning for Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum. 

Three of Fanjura’s wins were in July-August at Sandown (2) and Ascot, all over 2000m. Ajhar’s latest win was over 2000m at Newmarket in August.

Freedman said he expected the horses to arrive in Australia early next year. The hope is that one or more can join Speed Gifted (b g 6, Montjeu (IRE)-Good Standing (USA), by Distant View (USA)) and one or more emerging three-year-olds already in the stable on a spring cups path.

The extension of the amazing training effort of Bart Cummings in winning the Tatts Cox Plate with So You Think – the colt who is the least experienced winner in the history of the great race – is that, perhaps, the colt is as much of a freak as his trainer.

While So You Think probably won’t wear the “greatest ever” tag, at this stage with no ceiling on his ability, he’s the only conveyance currently going around where you couldn’t definitively dismiss the possibility.

The good news is that after reading, seeing and hearing the relentless promotion behind the biography of AFL great Wayne Carey over the past couple of weeks, this column can confidently predict that regardless of what heights Bart’s boy reaches, our admiration of his on-track performances will not be dented by confessions of binge-drinking and illicit drug consumption.

And any womanizing will be documented in the Stud Book, rather than Women’s Day or New Idea.

HOW DO DUD THE SPONSOR – EASY LESSON

Speaking of the Cox Plate, because of the archaic media practice that this sport continues to accept, for the second week in a row, the major sponsor was dudded.

BMW missed out on seeing their logo predominantly and rightfully displayed behind Bart Cummings the week before – when he was interviewed after Viewed’s Caulfield Cup success – because half a dozen journalists with their respective voice recorders were the back drop to the great man’s post-race chat.

Apart from looking sloppy, it shows a lack of understanding of the electronic age we live in, and the monitoring systems corporations use when evaluating their return on expenditure when sponsoring major events.

If the winning trainer’s only interview, is in a controlled area with full signage, (and no, not the cheap, tacky and inappropriate – suit and baseball cap) then that’s obviously the only source for TV news services to show Australia wide.

That extensive exposure will in turn make feature-race naming rights a more valuable commodity, which – to spell it out – will also boost prizemoney.

Anyone have any objections?

THE FAST CATS DON’T GET THE MILK

Apache Cat’s win in the Group 2 Schweppes Stakes (wfa 1200m) was a clear second in highlights for last Saturday’s meeting, but in doing so, he not only underlined his, and his rider Damien Oliver’s champion qualities, he exposed what seems at best a peculiar imbalance in prizemoney levels in this country.

Eight of the nine sprinters in the Schweppes were at least either Group 1 placed and/or a Group 2 winner, (Falaise the odd one out had collected 9nine wins and a handy $639,990 in earnings) with Apache the obvious standout of the four Group 1 winners.

So why did they race for 50K less than was on offer for the Cathay Pacific Airways (Moonee Valley) Cup, which to be kind, was a race of lesser interest and depth to the racing public?

It’s a recurring theme.

When Takeover Target “owned” the Randwick autumn carnival earlier this year with his breathtaking win in the Group 1 TJ Smith Stakes (1200m), the 500k stake paled in comparison to the 750k on offer a week later in Ista Kareem’s Group 1 Sydney Cup, run over 3200m.

 If our sprinters are world class – and the performances of Choisir, Miss Andretti, Scenic Blast, the aforementioned duo and others suggest they are – why aren’t we skewing the lion’s share of the coin their way?

Juvenile sprinters are obviously well looked after through races like the Golden Slipper, Magic Millions and the Blue Diamond Stakes, but the late maturing champion speedsters are forced to scrap too hard for their buck.

A local stayer who may have won the eight Group 1s and four Group 2s credited to Apache Cat, will have earned considerably more than the tick over four and a half million dollars that the big chestnut has collected.

And unless we’re talking Melbourne and Caulfield Cup, without anywhere near the fanfare.

For instance, without in any way denigrating Gai Waterhouse’s ripping weight-for-age middle-distance star Grand Armee, the gelding amassed $5.32 million in his 13 wins from 30 starts in a career that ended four and a half years ago when victorious in the 2005 Queen Elizabeth Stakes.

Does that seem right?

Phil Nehmy is one of those gregarious characters who can find himself on the top of the dinner guest list of many of those people who have met him. His hearty laugh and left-of-field slant on life makes for a very entertaining evening.

Nehmy – a former racing analyst for the famous South Australian professional punting brothers John, Greg and Rick Manuel – is also a gambler, and like most gamblers he’s very opinionated; often the things he likes, others don’t.

For instance, Nehmy likes, no loves, the stallion Generous. Not many others do.

Generous (ch h 1988, Caerleon (USA)-Doff The Derby, by Master Derby (USA)), the racehorse, was a champion, as good as you can get. He won six of his 11 starts, including the 1990 Group 1 Dewhurst Stakes (1400m) 1991 Group 1 Epsom and Irish Derbys (2400m) and the 1991 Group 1 King George V1 and Queen Elizabeth Diamond Stakes (2400m).

Generous retired to stud at four to Banstead Manor Stud, Newmarket, England, in 1992 with the highest reputation. He commanded the best mares but the results were moderate. In 1996 he was bought to stand in Japan. He shuttled for two years (from 1999) to Glamorgan Stud, near Auckland, New Zealand, before Glamorgan purchased the chestnut outright in 2002 and “reverse” shuttled him to Plantation Stud, Newmarket, in England.

Generous, following the sale of Glamorgan, stood his last season in New Zealand in 2003. He has left eight Stakes-winners – only three Group winners – from his five southern hemisphere seasons (although world-wide he has 39 Stakes winners). His best local progeny are Zilzie (two Group 3 wins), Tingirana (two Listed wins and Group 1 placed), Natural Woman (Group 3 Doomben Roses), the current handy Listed winner Fast Future and the Bart Cummings-trained pair Generosa and Kamsky.

Yet, despite his stallion’s relatively disappointing record, Nehmy continues to sing his praises. In fact, he won’t have a bad word said against him. “I am his greatest supporter,” he said.

Nehmy was first alerted to Generous by John Manuel, who rated the horse one of the greatest gallopers of all time, and the news that the horse was to stand in New Zealand sparked the interest of Manuel and his disciple, Nehmy. Both supported the stallion with mares.

“I remember seeing the promotional video of his wins. He was unbelievable,” Nehmy said.

Nehmy, like most gamblers, plays the “chance card” when possible. That’s what happened in 2002 when on a holiday in New Zealand with his wife, Heather. He was travelling through the Hamilton district to visit Rodmor Stud where he had an interest in a couple of resident mares. It was while he was at Rodmor, that he was told there was a sale on at Karaka, just south of Auckland. The annual Ready To Run sale for 2YOs was in full swing.

“My wife looked at me as if to say ‘oh no, not a sale’,” Nehmy said. “She knew that my record to that date was that I hadn’t attended a horse sale without buying a horse.”

The Nehmys drove straight to Karaka where one of the first people they bumped into was fellow South Australian, bloodstock analyist Brian Messner, who knew of Nehmy’s passion for the Generous stock. Messner said there was a little chestnut that Nehmy must see. The colt wasn’t by Generous but his Group 2 winning son, Germano (b h 1993, ex Gay Fantastic (GB), by Ela Mana Mou (IRE)), out of the Touching Wood mare Princesses Touch. Germano was then standing at Fayette Park, near Matamata.

The colt was as small as his pedigree was thin. “Not one black type horse in the first four dams,” Nehmy said.

“But he had a lot of Generous about him. The same colour, the same flaxen mane and tail. And when I saw him breeze up (on a video at the sale complex), I saw he had Generous’s action. I just fell in love with him.

“Brian said I would get him for next to nothing, maybe $3000 or $4000, which was around Germano’s service fee at the time.”

Nehmy found that others liked the little chestnut too, and he needed to bid $NZ18,000 to secure his prize.

Nehmy named his new horse Ista Kareem. Kareem is Arabic for Generous. Ista, well Nehmy said he just made that up because it “sounded nice”.

Ista Kareem started life with trainer Jeremy Gask in Adelaide. The little horse soon showed immediate potential, and his career peaked in 2005 when he finished third behind Exalted Time and Tubular Bells in the Group 1 Adelaide Cup (3200m) at Morphettville.

Two years ago, Nehmy sent Ista Kareem to Melbourne to be trained at Caulfield by Colin Little. Like a lot of the Generous stock, Ista Kareem is a late maturing horse who has kept surprising Little, but not Nehmy.

It was Nehmy’s persistence that saw Ista Kareem set for the Group 1 Sydney Cup (3200m) at Randwick last weekend. Little had his doubts the 2008 Group 3 Launceston Cup (2400m) winner was good enough to win at Group 1 level. He left the entering of the horse in the Sydney Cup to Nehmy.

“Colin sent me an email that said that the Sydney Cup entries closed the next morning, if I wanted to enter him. I didn’t read his email until it was nearly too late. I got onto the phone and made the entry time by only three minutes,” Nehmy said.

Ista Kareem won the Sydney Cup with an outstanding burst of speed between horses over the last 200 metres. Both Nehmy’s faith and Little’s training skill – “I shortened up his work” shorthand for kept him fresh with short distance work – were rewarded.

On Saturday, Nehmy is hoping for a two-state “Generous” double when his mare Dollops (b or br m 2003, Generous (IRE)-Dresden Gold (NZ), by Famous Star (NZ)) – trained by David Jolly – runs in the Listed Proud Miss Stakes (1200m) at Morphettville.

On Friday, To A Fault (Ch g 2002, Generous (IRE)-Just Coz (NZ), by Don’t Forget Me (IRE)) – one of the first Generous horses bred by Nehmy – now trained by Patrick Payne, is likely to resume racing at Wodonga in a 1400m 0-78 class race. To A Fault has won five races in South Australia when trained David Jolly, and last year finished ninth behind Lacey Underall in the Group 2 Adelaide Cup (2400m) at Morphettville.

According to Nehmy, the records of Ista Kareem and To A Fault are similar at the same age. That makes the six-year-old To A Fault one to watch.

After much speculation, champion colt Sea The Stars, will enter stud in 2010 at HH The Aga Khan’s Gilltown Stud in Co. Kildare, Ireland.

Sea The Stars’ first-season fee has been announced at 85,000 euro, and his book will be restricted to 120 mares.

The son of Cape Cross and Urban Sea will remain in the ownership of Christopher Tsui.

One of the first mares to be served by the champion will be the Aga Khan’s unbeaten 2008 Prix de l’arc de Triomphe winner Zarkava ( b m Zamindar (USA)–Zarkarsha (IRE), by Kahyasi (IRE))

The resultant foal will have three Arc winners in her first two removes – sire, dam and sire’s dam.