The John O’Shea-trained All Saints’ Eve (NZ) (Sacred Falls) scored a comfortable victory in the Gr.3 Tibbie Stakes (1400m) at Newcastle on Friday, landing some valuable black-type for the well-related four-year-old.
Ridden by James McDonald, who has had a long-held association with O’Shea, All Saints’ Eve sports the colours of Waikato Stud, with Mark and Garry Chittick sharing in an ownership group that features Rosemont Stud in Victoria and O’Shea’s wife Isabel.
Stakes-placed at three when third in the Gr.3 Kembla Grange Classic (1600m) in March this year, All Saints’ Eve was sent out a $5 favourite and won like a horse with plenty more to offer, showing a ready turn of foot to comfortably account for Yamazaki and Wandabaa.
“She’s been a delight to train and it is an honour to train for Waikato Stud and Rosemont Stud and it is always special when James rides them as well,” O’Shea said.
“It was a lovely win. She got held up at the top of the rise but James found a way through and she dashed when she got through.
“We were keen to get her up in the ratings this campaign, so that we could get a nice weight in the Coolmore (Gr.1, 1500m) in the autumn.
“We will just see where the handicapper sees her after this. We might give her one more run and then go and have a break.”
All Saints’ Eve is out of the Encosta de Lago mare Halloween, who was purchased by Waikato Stud for just $11,000 at the 2013 New Zealand Bloodstock May Sale at the insistence of O’Shea.
The mare subsequently left Gr.1 New Zealand 1000 Guineas (1600m) winner Hasahalo and her full brother by Savabeel, Hasabro, who was fourth at Group Two level.
While Isabel O’Shea and Waikato Stud were the breeders of Hasahalo and another two foals from the mare, good friend Anthony Mithen of Rosemont Stud entered the fold when O’Shea took the reins as head trainer at Godolphin for three years between 2014 and 2017.
“When John made the move to Godolphin that’s when Anthony became involved in the mare and she left a Group One winner in Hasahalo who won the Guineas,” Mark Chittick said.
“As the mare bred on, and she was a good breeder, we had the two Sacred Falls fillies and said let’s keep both of them and stay half shares in both of them and John can train them.” Halloween died last year but has a yearling colt by Waikato Stud’s champion sire Savabeel, a full sibling to Hasahalo who was sold to the China Horse Club as a broodmare prospect for $670,000 via gavelhouse.com in March of this year.
