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More than we can Choux
With a name like Jimmy Choux, Saturday’s Group 1 New Zealand 2000 Guineas winner could easily be suspected of having parentage of Scottish and French origin.
Instead, Jimmy Choux (pictured) may well have been named Bluey Smith, as he’s an all-Australian boy. His pedigree is a thesis of what is good about the archetypal Australian sprinter.
Jimmy Choux, a bay colt by Thorn Park from Cierzo (NZ) (by Centaine), has four crosses of the great Australian speed influence Star Kingdom. Throw in a healthy sprinkle of Century, Better Boy, Vain, Rego, Bletchingly, Wilkes, Orgoglio, Showdown, Biscay and Todman and there we have it, the recipe for perfect Aussie-sprinter pie.
Three of the four pedigree lines of Jimmy Choux are Australian-made, the exception being Thorn Park’s sire Spinning World (by Nureyev (USA)), the brilliant American-bred, French-trained chestnut. However, Spinning World is an honorary Aussie, having spent much of his breeding life at Coolmore Stud, Jerry’s Plains, NSW, where he sired Thorn Park, a son of Denise’s Joy’s great-granddaughter Joy (by Bluebird (USA)).
Jimmy Choux’s dam Cierzo, is inbred to Star Kingdom 5×5x5 through Centaine’s dam Rainbeam (out of Todman’s daughter Rain Shadow); Cierzo’s dam Gale is by Bletchingly’s son Wild Rampage; and Gale’s dam, Imposing Choice, is by Todman’s son Imposing.
The fourth addition of Star Kingdom comes through Joy, whose dam, Christmas Spirit, is by Bletchingly (a grandson of Star Kingdom) from the Showdown mare, Joy And Fun.
The consistent Jimmy Choux, trained by John Bary, won his (and Bary’s) first Group 1 on a rain-soaked Riccarton (Christchurch) track that was rated a heavy 10. He’s better than a wet-tracker, having won the Group 2 Hawkes Bay Guineas (1600m) on October 2.
Bary, 40, has been in Melbourne campaigning The Hombre, who finished fourth in last Wednesday’s Kyneton Cup. Bary, based at Hastings on the east coast of the north island, has been training for less than two years.
Destiny played a part in the result. Bary, a former top-rated polo player with a six-goal handicap, has his roots in Christchurch, as he is the great-great-grandson of racing pioneer George Stead, a NZ Racing Hall of Fame inductee who was a long-time secretary of the Canterbury Jockey Club, which controls Riccarton.
Jimmy Choux held off a strong challenge from runner-up He’s Remarkable (by Pentire (GB)) and the Murray Baker-trained Twilight Savings (by Secret Savings (USA)). He has now won five of his 11 starts and just short of $NZ800,000 in prizemoney.
Jimmy Choux’s jockey Jonathan Riddell, 32, is in the unique position of having won three Grand National Steeplechases and two Grand National Hurdles on the Riccarton track, as well as a Group 1 race on the flat.
good spotting Danny , also proven cross of bletchingly x centaine see you in Australia
good spotting Danny, also proven bletchingly x centaine cross, StarKingdom so under rated remember count chivas?
A tough win by an under rated horse Danny.
He never wins by much, just gets the job done. Has tactical speed, settles, and fights like a tiger. And as a group one winner now at a mile;surely a ready made stallion?
More and more we are having to search internally for our stallions and the 2000 Guineas has become our Caulfield Guineas.
There s a good debate going on here as to whether hs pedigree is strong enough. Always a battle of opinions, the presence of Centaine helps but personally I think it s a bit light.
Then again were he to pop over the Tasman and win a Randwick or Australian Guineas, some breeders may just about forgive his breeding. With his “Australian” pedigree, maybe a farm there could be a contender to stand him?
John,
It’s hard to dispute Jimmy Choux’s honesty and versatility. He won the G2 Hawkes Bay Guineas (1400m) on a good track in sub 1.22, and then won his G1 on a heavy 10.
The Randwick Guineas might be a very good fit for him, and then his stallion appeal will jump. His pedigree might seem a bit “light” but the depth of quality stallions in the pedigree is hard to argue with. If we worried about light pedigrees in stallions then the likes of Danzig, Red Ransom, and more recently Choisir, will never have made it.
Hi Richard,
I remember Count Chivas with great affection. I should have recognised the silks! Nice to see you are still producing Group 1 horses.
Of course, the Count also had a close-up triple cross of Star Kingdom.
Jimmy does it again with a runaway victory in the Wellington Stakes Group 3 on Saturday ,22/1 after his easy win in the group 2Great Northern Guineas on the 26th Dec. my money says he will win the NZ Derby(of course iam a bit bias). Have a look at the Starkingdom influence, remember he left 259 stakes winners 5 slipper winners and oh 2 derby winners ,which most people forget , who ever thought on breeding Count Chivas would win a group 1 over 3200m (sydney cup)and run 2nd in a Melbourne cup roll on march the 5th
Richard, I watched the Wellington Stakes with interest. Jimmy Choux is building a formidable record. I might revisit his pedigree in a story in relation to Count Chivas. Also, on Friday morning I was watching trackwork with Lee Freedman on the peninsula, and he remembers Count Chivas (and yourself) fondly.
After Jimmy’s comprehensive win this afternoon in the Waikato Guineas (2000m)it’s extremely difficult to see the Thorn Park colt beaten in the New Zealand Derby (2400m)in 4 weeks time.
A win in the Derby would in my opinion put him on par with Zonda and Xcellent as the best three-year-old middle distance horses seen here in the last 15 years. Regardless, Richard, you have a super colt.
Hi there guys, I’ve looked at his pedigree numerous times, love Thorn Park’s pedigree (Spinning Billy + Deinises Joy’s fantastic family, the big plus in having Centaine as damsire…. plus the further Star Kingdom lines plus the Froth family……. but I’ve just noticed who the 5th dam is – the dam of SHARAVARI (1965), an imported winning US sprinter (an ENTIRE) who raced here in New Zealand with Grp 1 success …… and who later became a very good sire; I’m unsure of his ability as a broodmare sire
Well guys, if my contribution is “still awaiting moderation”, please delete it NOW (because I’m not happy with what I wrote) and I’ll start again on another tangent, but in relation to Jimmy Choux’s pedigree.
Thanks
Not a bad colt is he Danny?
I watched the race at a local TAB here and the yelling started when he went after Retrive at the 300. He s just the horse we need here to help lift the game’s profile from the darkening clouds of recession, I just hope the powers that be are smart enough to take advantage of it.
What sort of crowd did the Valley get on Friday?
He’s a cracking colt John. I had some doubts of the depth of the NZ form – I know the locals are only an average bunch – but he proved himself the best colt going around. Great turn of foot when needed. Here’s hoping his win brought a smile on many a Kiwi face. On Friday night, 10,000 turned out to see Black Caviar – a very good crowd for a night meeting – had to compete against 40,000 at the MCG, 15,000 watching the rugby and a Grand Prix.