search the site
The right start for Finale
There’s a story around every corner in racing, and here’s one that jumped out at me after I looked into the pedigree of Monday’s impressive Warrnambool winner Crystal Tiger, a 3YO colt by the little known Crystal Finale.
The chestnut colt, trained by local young gun Ciaron Maher, skipped around the ’Bool in a quick 58.76 secs, suggesting there is a bright future for the youngster.
Crystal Tiger is the second winner for his sire Crystal Finale, a son of Hurricane Sky and the Century mare Crystal Century. There’s a good story behind Crystal Finale, but that’s for later in this yarn because Crystal Tiger has a lot of pedigree in his tank.
Crystal Tiger has a wonderfully historic female line – his dam line traces back to a sister of the legendary Phar Lap (pictured) – the 1934 mare Raphis (Night Raid–Entreaty), the Warrnambool winner’s eighth dam. Raphis is the best producing sibling of Phar Lap, leaving three Stakes winners, including the 1946 NZ Great Northern Oaks winner Swingalong, the seventh dam of Crystal Tiger.
Crystal Tiger is from the Marauding mare Steal Crazy (1992), whose dam Bewitching Hour is by Keen (GB) from the top race filly Impede (by Showdown from Day Tripper). Impede’s three Stakes wins included the 1979 Group 1 Storm Queen Stakes (1900m) at Rosehill. Impede also is the dam of the Group 3 Tranquil Star Stakes winner Shackle (by Luskin Star).
Steal Crazy’s five foals – two colts and three fillies – before Crystal Tiger, all made it to the races, but between them have won just one race, a Donald 1000m maiden, won by The Marauding Rose (by Desert Sun (GB)), in February 2008. Steal Crazy has had almost as many owners as she has had foals, but Crystal Finale is the first foal that Hamilton vet and breeding enthusiast Ian McLeod has bred from her.
McLeod runs a busy western districts’ veterinary practice. Each year McLeod and family, headed by wife Therese, foal down between 50 and 70 mares at their Hamilton farm that also seconds as the veterinary clinic.
McLeod also stands Crystal Finale, a former very smart racehorse, on the farm. It seems the stallion needs a good racehorse or two to lift his profile. There is no doubt Crystal Finale, with his pedigree rich in the blood of stalwart Australian sires like Bletchingly, Biscay, Star Kingdom, Century, Better Boy, Vain and Wilkes, only needs to a few winners to attract the interest of small breeders in western Victoria, often starved of stallions of worth.
Crystal Finale was bred by David Moodie’s Contract Racing Syndicate – Moodie part-owned the stallion’s sire Hurricane Sky (b h 1991, Star Watch–Dancing Show (USA), by Nijinsky (CAN)), brilliant winner of the 1994 Blue Diamond Stakes (1200m, Caulfield) and a half-brother to Group 1 winner and good sire Umatilla (by Miswaki (USA) and Shantha’s Choice (by Canny Lad), the dam of the champion sire Redoute’s Choice (by Danehill (USA)). Hurricane Sky, who after standing at Arrowfield Stud, is now at Durham Lodge, Western Australia, has only three sons at stud – Honalee in South Australia and Stormy Joe in New South Wales.
Crystal Finale’s racing life began with Moodie’s trainer Mathew Ellerton at Flemington. His first win came at his second start as an August 3YO in 2000, over 1100m at Flemington. On Caulfield Cup day, Crystal Finale won the 1400m Listed Gothic Stakes and he finished his first serious campaign with fourths in the Group 3 Carbine Club Stakes (1600m, Flemington), behind Inspire, and the Group 2 Sandown Guineas (1600m, Sandown), behind Scenic Warrior.
Crystal Finale had a light late-autumn campaign, winning first-up at Caulfield, and he returned in the spring with some encouraging performances at Stakes level, including a second-up eighth behind Pernod in the Group 1 Dubai Racing Club Cup (1400m, Caulfield).
Crystal Finale pulled up sore when 13th behind Sudurka in the Group 1 Salinger Stakes (1200m, Flemington) on Derby Day, 2001.
After a long spell of 43 weeks, he returned under the rehabilitative care of Whittlesea trainer Peter Morgan, winning first up at Caulfield (1100m) in August 2002. But even Morgan’s expert treatment and rehab facilities couldn’t keep Crystal Finale sound. His final run was on Derby Day in 2003 when he finished last in the Group 3 Yallambee Stud Stakes (1400m, Flemington).
Crystal Finale was sold at the Inglis March Mixed Sale in 2004 for $5000 to the bid of Seymour trainer Anton Paholek, who outbid a disappointed Dr. McLeod, who was on the lookout for a stallion for the farm and just didn’t have the bank balance to stretch beyond that figure.
Later in the year, McLeod heard on the grapevine that Crystal Finale was back on the market, after his new trainer was unable to get the horse to the races. He jumped in a car straight away and secured the entire. Initially, McLeod gave the horse to Warrnambool trainer Jarrod McLean, but even the healing waters of Lady Bay couldn’t resurrect Crystal Finale’s racing career.
Crystal Finale covered 11 mares in the spring of 2004 – with only two of the seven foals born in 2005 have been named. No winners. In 2005, the chestnut covered 16 mares resulting in 12 foals, of which four have been named, including Crystal Tiger.
Crystal Finale’s first winner came from that crop when All Crystal (ch f 2006, ex- All Queens, by Final Card) – a lovely doubling of Star Kingdom blood – won at Donald (1000m) on August 4, but it is Crystal Tiger that shapes as the horse to give his sire a commercial boost.
Crystal Finale stands at a fee of only $1650 (inc. GST).
Therese McCloud, who owns Crystal Tiger, heaps praise on the horsemanship of Maher. “Ciaron has worked very hard on this horse, as he was a handful, who could really buck,” she said.
As for the future of Crystal Finale and the busy little Hamilton farm, well, she has great expectations but none more lofty than that of her husband. “I am sure Ian would love to give away the veterinary practice to concentrate on being a full-time studmaster.”
I wish Ian and Therese well with Crystal Finale at stud,it is very difficult for unfashionable stallions to make it,despite wonderful
breeding. I looked into his pedigree a few years ago for one of my mares,but had heard he wasn’t very fertile,and I wanted a more commercial stallion.
Ciaron Mahar is a very good young trainer with patienc,a skill not many possess these days.
Thanks Murray, yes it is difficult in these days of polarization of the stallions at a handful of commercial studs for a small operation to make their mark, but stallions like Crystal Finale are always worth a try for breeders looking to breed to race for very little cost. There is no substitute for type, pedigree and talent, and Crystal Finale has ticks for all three. In many ways it all comes down to the quality of mares a horse like him will cover, as only a handful of exceptional stallions can upgrade their mares.
I also have a Stallion whom I bred, he went into training at Morphettville, but the Trainer did not attempt to get the horse fit, in fact he got fatter, my Stallion is by Steady Eddt/Go Dancer, out of Eureka Girl/Lonving Jim/Jim French/Graustark/Ribot.
My Stallion is a Steel Grey and his name is Tarquin Silk, a beautiful conformed kind Horse, with long raking strides, with excellant front and rear. Good amount of bone approx 16hh
Good luck with your stallion. I see he only covered two mares in 2006 – none before and none after.