Jessicabeel sweeps to Sydney Cup

JESSICABEEL SWEEPS TO SYDNEY CUP VICTORY

Courtesy of ANZ Bloodstock News                                  By Darryl Sherer.

Loyalty is an increasingly rare commodity in racing. Jockeys switch mounts, owners move horses if success does not come quickly. It is appropriate, therefore, that a partnership between two young men has proved so fruitful in a relatively short space of time, writes Darryl Sherer. 

Trainer John O’Shea is glad of the day close friend Byron Rogers introduced him to Jason Abrahams. As O’Shea says himself, Abrahams helped fund his career so yesterday was a degree of payback as the Abrahams-owned Jessicabeel (NZ) swept down the outside to land the $600,000 Sydney Cup (Gr 1) and announce herself a future Melbourne Cup contender.

The lightly raced four-year-old mare becomes the 41st Group 1 winner for Cambridge Stud’s Zabeel, whose only other winner of the race came in 2007 with Gallic.
Given a patient ride by Craig Newitt, Jessicabeel was last early and still some seven lengths off the lead passing the 600m. While O’Shea was stressing in the stands, Newitt was calmness personified. As he said later, “I knew I had it won some way out” and Jessicabeel came out behind horses to quicken up in great style to sweep to the lead with 100m to run and win going away by three-quarters of a length. 

Divine Rebel (Don Eduardo) was game, racing prominently all the way and sticking on gamely in the straight to finish runner-up for the second successive year. Harris Tweed (Montjeu) was solid in the straight and took third place, a length away from Divine Rebel.
An elated trainer was fulsome in his praise for owner and jockey afterwards. “Fantastic ride, she didn’t help herself early but he got her into a good spot about the half mile, they tracked in beautifully. The key for her is she has a lovely turn of foot and she out-sprinted them.”

“(Craig) must have a lot more patience than me because at the 1200m I was thinking ‘son what are you doing’, anyway it worked out in our favour and we were due a little bit of luck and it has been a wonderful result.

Asked to explain his relationship with his owner, O’Shea was in humble mode. “Jason Abrahams gave me the money to start training, so that just shows you how long we have been together and there is no more fitting result than for them to win the Group 1 today.”

Abrahams also played a part in the Queen Elizabeth Stakes, breeding the winner Road To Rock in partnership with Dr Chris Rogers, after son Byron purchased Trewornan (GB) for $200,000 at the 2004 Easter Broodmare Sale. Asked to explain how they met, O’Shea said, “A mutual friend Byron Rogers introduced us and we soon found we shared a passion for racing. The first runner I had for him was a thing called Winona and it won here at Randwick so we have had luck all the way along.”
“We love going to the sales and finding horses. He has been in Charge Forward, he is in Jessicabeel, he has some other lovely ones coming through and he manages Zabrasive, so he knows what a good horse is about.”

O’Shea said he came to the races ‘very confident’ and has already singled out the Melbourne Cup for Jessicabeel, who was making just her 13th start yesterday. “It is every trainers dream and for a young fella to have two live chances aimed at the Melbourne Cup, it is just unbelievable and I can’t wait for the first Tuesday in November.”
Newitt was understandably delighted with his partner. “I was a little bit slow out, we really wanted to be mid-field but she was slow out so I didn’t rush her. It is a long way around there, so I bided my time,” Newitt explained. “We had a couple of roughies in front of us but I got on the back of Capecover who busted out into the open and left me a run at the right time. I was pretty confident a long way out but I just had to get the luck.

Purchased for $220,000 at the 2007 Karaka Premier Yearling sale from the Cambridge Stud draft, Jessicabeel has now won five of her 13 starts and earned $464,900. 

 Congratulations to Jason and his family who share in the ownership of Jessicabeel. Kilgravin Lodge is proud to have been associated with this filly. This filly was broken in and pre-trained at Kilgravin Lodge until she departed to John O'Shea's Stable in January 2008.

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