Bernardini’s Boban Earns Fifth Group 1 in Memsie

Boban, who had first made a name for himself when taking two of Australia’s most prestigious miling events–the G1 Epsom H. and G1 Emirates S.–in the spring of 2013, added a third Group 1 tally in the following autumn’s Chipping Norton S. but suffered a dry spell thereafter, finishing off the board in nine straight starts before he rebounded to upset the 1350 meter G1 Doomben 10,000 at 16-1 May 23. Only the talented filly Srikandi (Aus) (Dubawi {Ire}) and two lengths stood between Boban and a Group 1 double in the G1 Stradbroke H. over the same track and trip two weeks later, and the veteran gelding was put away for a brief winter holiday. The bay prepped for this season opener–and first Australian Group 1 of the spring–with a pair of trials at Rosehill, finishing fourth over soft going Aug. 4 and third behind Group 1-winning mare Bounding (Aus) (Lonhro {Aus})–winner of the G3 Theshark.com.au S. on the Memsie undercard–Aug. 17. Breaking midpack, Boban and jockey Glyn Schofield held a midpack position off the fence as the field raced down the backstretch and into the turn. While a five-wide wall of horses fanned across the track into the stretch vying for the lead, Schofield capitalized on an opening on the rail, guiding his mount up the fence. Boban took the length of the stretch to work his way to the lead and got up to put his nose on the line in a head-bobber. Trainer Chris Waller revealed after the win that he had contemplated scratching Boban due to the soft going. “In the end there’s nothing for him in the next couple of weeks so we decided to roll the dice,” Waller told Racing and Sports. “And it came down to a great ride from Glyn.”

“We had a chat beforehand and there had been a couple of horses finish off quite well on the inside and whilst they hadn’t won they had filled some minor placings,” Schofield revealed. “I thought he wasn’t going to win going around them, so I’m quite fortunate I stayed where I was and we got there in time.”

Boban’s dam, Kenbelle, won the G1 Australian Oaks in 1996. Kenbelle produced an as-yet unnamed 2-year-old full-brother to Boban.

Saturday, Caulfield, Australia
MEMSIE S.-G1, A$402,000, MRC, 8-29, 3yo/up, Open Weight For Age, 1400mT, 1:24.09, sf.
1–BOBAN, 59.0, g, 6, by Bernardini (USA)
1st Dam: Kenbelle (G1SW-Aus, $543,300), by Kenmare (FR)
2nd Dam: Gilt Kingdom, by Tattenham
3rd Dam: Fair Profit, by Corinto (GB)
(A$100,000 Ylg 2011 MM Gold Coast Yearling Sale)
O-M G Dominello, M Pejic, J A O’Neill, Token Croats
(Mgr: I Rados) & Carty Racing (Mgr: B C Carty); B-Mr
AB Thomas QLD; T-C J Waller; J-G Schofield;
A$242,000. Lifetime Record: 33-11-3-0,
A$2,790,663. Werk Nick Rating: A. Click for the
eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Entirely Platinum (NZ), 59.0, g, 6, Pentire (GB)–
Platinum Blond (NZ), by Kaapstad (NZ). (NZ$520,000
Ylg 2011 NZB National Yearling Sale) O-N Giorgetta,
G P I Racing (Mgr: G Ingham), B & G McAlister (Mgr:
Mrs G McAlister), D Russo, R Mitchell, G Evans, W
Forrest & Mrs G Martinovich; B-Windsor Park Stud
Ltd, Waikato, NZ; T-M, W & J Hawkes; J-D Dunn;
A$72,000.
3–Stratum Star, 58.5, c, 4, Stratum–Purely
Spectacular (NZ), by Pins. (A$165,000 Ylg 2013 MM
Gold Coast Yearling Sale) O-D Davidson, M Krauser,
A Davidson, M Davidson, Estate of C Peoples, I
Berger, H Kalus, Dr N Siow, M Wolper, A Yeo, S
Cheng, Widden Stud Pty Ltd, Balmerino Racing
Partnership; B-Widden Stud Australia Pty Ltd NSW;
T-D K Weir; J-B Melham; A$36,000.
Margins: 0.1 len, 0.2 len, 1.5 len. Odds: 4.50, 8.50, 7.00.
Also Ran: Weary (FR), Hi World, Rising Romance (NZ), Volkstok’n’barrell (NZ), Prince of Penzance (NZ), Petrology, Sertorius, Setinum, Happy Trails, Magicool, Temple of Boom, Dandino (GB).
Click for the Racing Post result or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO.