WRL stock dominate Australasian staying features

Riding High leaps towards victory in the Australian Hurdle at Sandown

By Jonny Turner

White Robe Lodge has enjoyed a brilliant month producing feature race winners in some of Australasia’s richest jumping races.

The staying power of sire Raise The Flag was again on full display in when Riding High won the Australian Steeplechase at Sandown.

The seven-year-old notched the biggest win of his career with powering away from his rivals in a brilliant showing of stamina to take out the $125,000 feature for trainer Henry Dwyer and rider Clayton Douglas.

Douglas credited Riding High (Raise The Flag-Enzed- Anziyan) for his ability to produce a sharp turn of foot at the end of a testing 3900m feature.

“It’s pretty clear that he has a really good turn of foot for a jumper compared to other steeplechasers who are more dour and on top of the ground he can really use that turn of foot to his advantage.”

Riding High is not the only jumper developed at White Robe Lodge to win big this month.

White Robe Lodge bred Mesmerize (Yamanin Vital-Tiger Rose-Danzighill) continued his brilliant steeplechase form when winning the Waikato Steeplechase for trainer Mark Connors and rider Shaun Phelan.

The victory made it four wins in a row for Mezmerize who continued the wonderful association Connor and his family have with White Robe Lodge.

The trainer is now eying up a tilt at the McGregor Grant Steeplechase at Ellerslie as his 11-year-old’s next target.

“We will give him a crack at the McGregor Grant next as he likes it at Ellerslie,” Connors said.

“He has won his last two over the hill there, so it fits him well.”

Earlier in May White Robe Lodge produced another premier jumps race winner in Flying Agent.

The Amy McDonald trained justified his red hot favouritism when winning the Brierly Steeplechase during the recent Warnambool jumping carnival.

Bred and raised at White Robe Lodge by Brian and Lorraine Anderton, Flying Agent is raced by stud clients Dean Lawrence, Diana Duff-Staniland and Paul Duffus.

A rising star among the Australian jumping ranks, Flying Agent has now won eight races and banked more than $A250,000 in winnings.

The month of May has also been a brilliant one for White Robe Lodge stallion Ghibellines, who continues to add to his tally of winners.

The White Robe Lodge bred Jack Knows Best (Ghibellines-Structure-Yamanin Vital) gained a most deserved win when scoring over 1400m at Ashburton earlier this month.

The Lance Robinson trained four-year-old had produced excellent form and competed well in premier races before breaking through for rider Chris Johnson.

Global Star (Ghibellines-Biosphere-Encosta De Lago) also notched another win for Ghibellines when scoring over 1200m at Timaru for trainer Bruce Tapper and rider Kylie Williams.

Zigallene (Ghibellines-Zigalong-Danzighill), bred by Dean Lawrence, Diana Duff-Staniland and Paul Duffus, notched yet another win in Australia this month.

The four-year-old has now won seven races and banked A$128,050 for Gold Coast trainer Harold Norman.