In-form mare Fall For Cindy (NZ) (Sacred Falls) carried the Waikato Stud colours to a valuable first black-type victory in Saturday’s A$250,000 Gr.3 Coolmore Dark Jewel Classic (1400m) at Scone.
Bred and raced by Garry Chittick, whose milestone 80th birthday was celebrated with a race named in his honour at Trentham on Saturday, Fall For Cindy went into Saturday’s fillies and mares’ feature with an admirably consistent form line this season.
Her seven starts as a four-year-old had produced two wins, two seconds, two thirds and a fourth. She was a dead-heat winner of a Benchmark 88 handicap over 1400m at Hawkesbury in her previous start on May 4.
That series of strong performances earned her a shot at stakes company on Saturday, and she rose to the occasion in style.
A slow start saw Fall For Cindy settle further back in the running than planned, but she launched an irresistible finish in the straight for apprentice jockey Zac Lloyd and scored by more than a length.
“The first half of the race did not go to plan whatsoever,” Lloyd said. “I was hoping to be a bit closer in the run and stay off the fence. In the end, all I could focus on was getting her to relax where she was. I just had to trust her.
“She obviously put in a good performance last start, and she quickened really well today.”
From 15 starts, the John O’Shea-trained Fall For Cindy has recorded five wins and five placings, banking A$370,600 in stakes. Her value has now risen far higher than that.
“It’s one of Garry Chittick’s mares, and I’d say her value has doubled just then,” O’Shea stable representative Tom Charlton said. “She has progressed so well over the past season. She’s a mare that is happy, racing well and very content.
“She handles those soft conditions well and I think she is only just finding her straps now.”
Fall For Cindy is by Waikato Stud’s homebred former stallion Sacred Falls, who has sired 169 winners from 278 runners including 10 individual stakes winners.
The dam of Fall For Cindy is the unraced Savabeel mare Cindy Cee (NZ), who is a three-quarter-sister to the stakes performer Save The Date (NZ) (Savabeel) and a half-sister to the Group Two winner and Group One-placed Sports Illustrated (NZ) (Fast ‘N’ Famous).
Further down the pedigree page, the stakes-placed second dam Pin Up (NZ) (Pins) is a half-sister to champion racehorse and successful sire Starcraft (NZ) (Soviet Star).
Cindy Cee is the dam of three named foals and all three have been winners. Her first foal Willinga Freefall (NZ) (Sacred Falls) is a five-year-old and has won four races across New South Wales and Queensland. Fall For Cindy was Cindy Cee’s second foal in 2019, followed a year later by the winning Tivaci filly Cintivee (NZ). Cindy Cee’s subsequent foals are a two-year-old colt by Ocean Park, a yearling filly by Tivaci and a weanling colt by Ardrossan.
Fall For Cindy completed a New Zealand-bred treble on Saturday’s Scone card.
The A$160,000 Muswellbrook Ford Benchmark 78 Handicap (1700m) was won by Unusual Legacy (NZ) (Unusual Suspect), who has now recorded four wins and a second from just a six-start career. The four-year-old gelding is trained by Chris Waller.
Unusual Legacy was bred by Letham Stud and is a son of their successful sire Unusual Suspect. The dam is the winning O’Reilly mare Celtic Legacy (NZ), who has been credited with four winners from six foals to race.
Just over half an hour after Unusual Legacy’s win, Elson Boy (NZ) (El Roca) followed suit in the A$160,000 Kia Ora 3&4YO Benchmark 72 Handicap (1300m).
It was the eighth win of a 21-start career for the Dar Lunn-trained four-year-old, and it continued a rich vein of form with his fifth victory in a row. He has now earned A$260,875 in prize-money.
With seven wins in his four-year-old season, Elson Boy has scored the equal highest number of victories in Australia in 2023-24.
“I was disappointed when the horse got hurt before the Country Championships,” Lunn said. “It took me a while to get him back but he’s going well now. He’s tough – like his trainer!”
Bred by Mark and Lorraine Forbes, Elson Boy is by El Roca out of the Pour Moi mare Caramia (NZ). Elson Boy was offered by the Forbes’ Kiltannon Stables in Book 2 of Karaka 2021, where he was bought for just $20,000.
