Success on both sides of the Tasman

White Robe Lodge enjoyed success on both sides of the Tasman at the weekend spearheaded by  the win of Broadside, by resident sire Raise The Flag, in a $100,000 BM 85 2000m at Rosehill on Saturday (20/5/2017). It was the third win for Broadside since he began racing from the Sydney stable of Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott in September. He has also won over 1600m at Kembla Grange and 2000m at Randwick.

Three other progeny of Raise The Flag were placed on Saturday. Parthesia finished second in the group three $175,000 South Australian Fillies Classic (2500m) at Morphettville; Unfurl ran third in the listed $150,300 Port Adelaide Cup (2500m) and Yogi finished second over 1600m at Bendigo when starting a fresh campaign.

The White Robe Lodge - trained Gold Leaf (Gallant Guru - Ciao) won the $20,000 Great Western Hurdles at Riverton the following day. Gold Leaf is raced by Brian and Lorraine Anderton with Terry Burke, the Diamond syndicate, Ron and Jennifer Williamson. Burke bought Gold Leaf for $7000 as a 2yr-old at the South Island sale in 2010 when the colt was offered by breeder Tiger Hill Farm Ltd in the WRL draft.

Mickle Weastell, who has won three races this season as a part-owner and co-breeder of Ablaze from the WRL stable, won with another son of Raise The Flag at Riccarton on Friday. Weastell is the trainer of Hans Mayar , who won over 1600m at his third start. Mickle and her husband, Dean bred Hans Mayar, the second foal of the winning Kilimanjaro mare, Tanzia. Other family members are in the ownership of the 4yr-old.

Etah James, a 4yr-old mare by Raise The Flag - Etah, cleared maiden ranks in a $20,000  2000m race at Mildura on Monday (22/5/2017) at her second  start.  She is raced by breeders Mark and Catherine Lupton, of Matamata, Garry Howes, of London and Terry Reid, of Sydney.

Mark does mainly pre-training for Scott Richardson bloodstock. Howes and Reid are lawyers.

Lupton gave Etah James four trials before consigning her to Ballarat trainer Matt Cumani.

"We thought she would make a nice stayer and her win was up to our expectations when she ran on from well back,'' said Mark. "We sent Etah to Raise The Flag to breed a stayer."

Etah James is the third foal of Etah, a winner by Danasinga.

Her first two foals, Amuse (a Savabeel filly) and Sniper (an Alamosa colt) have each won two races in New Zealand for the same owners.

Amuse was trained by Richard Coxon.

Sniper, who was trained by Lance O'Sullivan and Andrew Scott, is now in the Caulfield stable of Ciaron Maher.

The Luptons, Howes and Reid bought Etah for $10,000 at the 2011 NZ Bloodstock mixed sale when she was carrying Sniper.

They had raced Tickle, a sister to Etah who won them the group three Labour Day Cup at Doomben, Rotorua Challenge Plate and Manawatu Breeders Stakes when trained by Jon Sargent.

"Tickle broke a sesamoid and we had her a veterinary clinic for eight months but she had be put down,'' recalled Mark.

His association with White Robe Lodge dates to 1981 when he sent the mare Showy Countess (Show Off - Sleepy Countess) to Noble Bijou. He sold the resultant colt (Catch a Bird) for $90,000 at  the Wrightson Bloodstock national yearling sale at Trentham to Laurie Connell in Perth, where he won several races.