Win for 90-year-old Auckland breeder

White Robe Lodge had a major role in the maiden win of Raise You Ten for 90-year-old Auckland breeder Frank Conway at Wingatui on Monday (26/12/2016). Raise You Ten is trained by Brian (79) and Shane Anderton and the 3yr-old  is by the WRL sire, Raise The Flag. Raise You Ten was having his fourth start. He has had a third and a win since he was gelded. Raise You Ten is the first foal of Molly Malone, an unraced Towkay mare Mr Conway has boarding at WRL. Molly Malone is out of She's Chic, by Chief Mayo, a son of War Hawk and Mayo Gold, an outstanding filly raced by Mr Conway in the late 1960s. Mayo Gold won eight times as a 2yr-old, taking the Manawatu Sires' Produce Stakes, Great Northern Champagne Stakes, Eclipse Stakes at Ellerslie and the Pacific Handicap at Trentham under nine stone five pounds (59.5kg).  She won another eight at three, including six on end. She won the Wellington Stakes, the Metropolitan Handicap (a seven furlong (1400m) open sprint) and the Wellington Oaks in eight days at the 1969 Wellington Cup meeting. She carried on to win the Jackson Stakes at Wanganui and Lady Norrie Stakes at Te Rapa, both at weight -for-age as a 3yr-old. She won the Railway Handicap (six furlongs, 1200m) at Ellerslie as a 4yr-old in track record time of 1.9 4-5 and ended her racing career with 18 wins. Mr Conway had made his first venture in thoroughbred ownership when he bought the Gold Sovereign - Gold Sim filly for 500 guineas ($1050) at the inaugural Waikato yearling sale in April, 1967. She was trained at Takanini by Ray Wallace and her first win was in a 2yr-old race at Te Aroha eight months later.

"She (Mayo Gold) had Nasrullah on the top line in her pedigree and Hyperion in the bottom line when I looked at the catalogue and there was nothing better where I came from in Ireland," recalled Mr Conway.

Mayo Gold left 10 foals. Her first was Bold Mayo (by Taipan), who won the 1976 J J Liston Stakes at Caulfield.

"I have raced a lot of others since Mayo Gold and won about 120 races,'' said Mr Conway.

The others include Corrandulla and Peshawar. Corrandulla won five races as a 2yr-old from the Wallace stable in the 1968 -69 season.  The Bourbon Prince gelding won open sprints at Beaumont, Tapanui and Omakau as a 9yr-old when trained at Waimate by Bill Dryden for the Georgeson family. Peshawar won seven races and began an association for Mr Conway with WRL, He sent the Pakistan mare to be mated with Mellay in 1973. She died after leaving a filly. Named Kathleen Cecilia, the filly left Royal Troubadour, winner of the Ascot Vale and Expressway Stakes in Australia and third in the 1984 Golden Slipper Stakes. He was by Mayo's Son (Taipan - Mayo Gold).

Raise The Flag was also represented on Monday by Princess Brook, winner of the $30,000 open 2200m. It was the fifth win for Princess Brook, raced by Fred King, of North Taieri, a great supporter of Raise The Flag.