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Ness Ta Rah is currently rated 33 but appears to no longer be in training. I notice she was actually subject to non-racing agreement in 2020 but clearly that couldn’t stop her. Indeed, I’m not sure a peak Dayjur could. After all, Ness Ta Rah has beaten more rivals on the All Weather than the son of Danzig (2 plays 0).
Inspired by this thread, I thought I’d take a gander at some other titans of the turf. Firstly…
The Last Tango (GB) – John Bridger OR: 10
The Last Tango is at least a versatile horse. She’s had a go at distances ranging from 1 mile to 1m 4f and even had a go hurdling at Plumpton. Of her qualifying runs, Lingfield on the 31st August was her worst. Already being ridden along 6 furlongs from home she was 59 lengths behind eventual winner Naval College. Thus far she has beaten only 1 rival, on her handicap debut at Lingfield though it should be said Ciao Adios (a mere 3.25 lengths ahead) was 2nd! on his next start.
Regarding her pedigree she’s by Eastern Anthem. By Singspiel out of Godolphin’s Oaks winner Kazzia he won the 2009 Sheema Classic but otherwise came up short at Group 1 level. He currently stands for £1,250 at Withyslade Farm who bred this horse. Likewise, her dam Kathleen Kennet was also bred by the same farm. Her dam has a fascinating race record. She started in bumpers but was eventually transitioned towards flat racing and was pretty consistent keeping within the 46-52 range for the majority of her starts placing several times. However, as an 11 year old!, she went on an absolute rampage. She won her final 3 starts in the space of 11 days absolutely hosing up at Bath by 10 lengths on her final outing. This coincided with her being in foal – something which should be declared on racecards in my view.
At the time of writing the site I use for pedigrees (www.pedigreequery.com) is down, presumably for maintenance, so I can’t really add any more detail than is provided by the Racing Post. I will also add, the granddam won an Apprentice Handicap at Leicester (off 27 over 1m 4f, so there is hope yet for The Last Tango). Most of the evidence points towards stamina being more her forte so maybe she’s a live one for the Queen Alexandra. The key thing, though, is time is on this 5 year old’s side.
I also wonder if Cable Bay’s omission from Highclere’s roster is an admission that he can sire no horses fit to lace Ness Ta Rah’s boots (for one thing, horses would struggle with that particular task.)
Fantastic posting, IMO, TKF – loved that!
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It's the "Millwall FC" of Point broadcasts: "No One Likes Us - We Don't Care"“Ness Ta Rah… appears to no longer be in training.”
Clearly off to her date with Frankel.
Great post TheKryptonFactor
One aspect that is causing me some puzzlement is how Ness Ta Rah has continued racing after being subject to a non-racing agreement in 2020. It doesn’t look like an erroneous date has been entered onto the BHA website’s non-racing agreements list either judging by who are listed as the trainer and owners at the time.
The BHA say they will not accept entries for horses subject to NRAs, so I presume it was reversed with consent of the previous owners. It would be helpful if the BHA displayed where this was the case.
The current details about non-racing agreements on the BHA website are slim to say the least. Not even basic information about the horse such as their sire, dam or year of foaling are displayed. It still gives the impression that not a great deal of interest is taken in racehorse destinations after they cease racing, especially as the NRAs list was not updated for months on end earlier in the year.
I like the ironic touch in the owners of The Last Tango being ‘Starting Gate Racing’, considering that’s the only thing she leaves behind.
Regarding Non Racing Agreements, I once owned a filly that broke down as a 3-y-old and was passed on to a breeder with an NRA. Two years later he’d failed to get her in foal and as she was now 100% sound, contacted my trainer and asked if we’d nullify the NRA so that she could run over hurdles. I had no objection, but we had to put that in writing to Weatherbys.
She did manage a 12L win in a 20 runner novice hurdle at Worcester, although looking at the rest of her form, it’s hard to believe, as she never managed a hurdle rating higher than 99. I suspect it’s all done online these days rather than by post.
That’s very helpful to know apracing.
Mistybond (GB) – Emma Owen OR:20
Rated a whopping 10lbs higher than The Last Tango, Mistybond’s connections are entitled to feel hard done by the handicapper. In 4 starts he has beaten only 1 horse (a Coach House gelding called Shearwater) and has been beaten a marvellous 285 lengths. Admittedly, a large chunk of that distance can be attributed to his handicap debut. Despite having sights lowered to a 7-runner 1m 4f Amateur Jockeys’ Handicap at Brighton he was 144 lengths behind Silver Bubble who has followed up twice.
For such a dismal display, you’d assume he was held up and dropped away but he showed fair zip in getting out of the stalls however things went rapidly downhill from there. Indeed, he dropped away so comprehensively I think the official margin was doing him a favour. His trainer Emma Owen occupies the former stables of Pat Eddery albeit has far fewer runners. Indeed it appears that Divine Messenger (rated 53, but has won off 77 for his trainer) is the only other horse in the stable.
Mistybond’s pedigree might suggest a step down in trip will yield improved results. He’s by Monsieur Bond who was one of my favourite stallions at producing sprinters who improve with time. Mistybond’s damside suggests 1m 4f is very unlikely to be her trip. Her dam is a half-sister (albeit she was very modest on the track for Pat Eddery) to Arnold Lane. The 3rd Dam (Zonda) was pretty good for Paul Cole & Sheikh Mohammed finishing 5th in a Cheveley Park. The 4th dam is a half sister to Oh So Sharp, so perhaps allowing for a degree of stamina. Nevertheless, if this was my horse I would be trying something completely different to the Owen team.
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