Cool Archie Takes the JJ Atkins, His Fifth Straight Win

Newhaven Park's Cool Aza Beel is a group 1-winning sire after his son Cool Archie (GB) continued on his irrepressible way with a fifth straight success in Eagle Farm's JJ Atkins (G1). One of only two sons of the mighty New Zealand-based stallion Savabeel standing in Australia—with the other, Mo'unga, standing alongside him at Newhaven—Cool Archie followed his splash to victory in the BRC Sires' Produce Stakes (G2) on a heavy 10 by being just as dominant on a good 3 June 14. Ridden superbly by expat Irishman Martin Harley, the Chris and Corey Munce-trained colt bounced away from gate nine of 16 before being restrained to travel sixth, one off the fence. While Aerodrome appeared well poised after hitting the lead soon after straightening, Cool Archie moved up effortlessly to hit the front at the 300-meter (about 1 1/2 furlongs) mark, and bounded clear to win by 1.25 lengths. After surprisingly easing to lose favoritism at $4.80 (all figures AUS$), he proved the punters wrong by beating $4.60 popular elect, the Chris Waller-Yulong colt Hidden Achievement into second. Bevan Laming's Call Da Vinci took third at $31. Bought by Mick Malone Bloodstock for $100,000 from breeder Newhaven's draft at Magic Millions Gold Coast, and now bearing the familiar colors of Max Whitby, Cool Archie provides Cool Aza Beel with a top-tier winner among only his first 18 runners. With an initial crop of 83 foals, there are plenty more first-crop runners to come for the seven-year-old stallion—the first son of Savabeel (AUS) to sire a group 1 winner—who'll stand his fifth season this spring at an unchanged $16,500. New Zealand's Champion 2-year-old of 2019-20, Cool Aza Beel now sits fourth among Australia's first-season sires, with Cool Archie his star offspring ahead of a support cast including the stakes-placed colt Cobra Club. With his top-level breakthrough, Cool Archie has now stamped his own stallion credentials, much to Whitby's delight. After his first four starts were highlighted by a second in Eagle Farm's BJ McLachlan Stakes (G3) before an eighth in the Magic Millions 2-Year-Old Classic, Cool Archie has boomed to win his next five. They began with a Doomben maiden in mid-April, before wins at listed, group 2 (twice), and now the elite level. "Unbelievable," said co-trainer Chris Munce, who won the Atkins as a jockey on Sizzling in 2012 and Reigning To Win in 2006. "It's so good for Max (Whitby). But I also want to give credit to Martin Harley. "He's done a wonderful, wonderful job with this colt all the way along. It's a team effort, and he's part of the team, and I had so much confidence before I put him on because he just does everything right. "Who knows? He could be going to Royal Ascot next year." War Machine Wins Stradbroke The Hayes Brothers could be on a collision course with their father David in The Everest (G1) after War Machine (NZ) lived up to the hype with a powerful and emotional victory in Saturday's Stradbroke Handicap (G1). Inherited by Ben, JD and Will Hayes three starts ago following the death of his original co-trainer Mike Moroney, War Machine has now won all three. After taking a 1,400-meter (about seven furlongs) benchmark 100 at Caulfield at odds-on, the 4-year-old gelding became a group winner in romping home by 2.63 lengths in Doomben's BRC Sprint (G3). That made him hot favorite for the Stradbroke, where he had only 53kg, with odds as short as $2.80 put up earlier this week. After drawing gate 13 of 18, he drifted till as much as $4 in some places on Saturday, before firming again to start $3.20, with only two other runners under double-figure odds. War Machine emphatically proved those assessments correct in one of the most dominant Stradbroke wins of recent years. With Tim Clark taking over from unfortunate foot injury victim Blake Shinn, War Machine settled three-wide with cover in eighth spot, behind $9 chance Transatlantic (AUS). Clark took no chances in coming six wide around the home bend, and War Machine showed his class in steaming to the lead at the 300 meters, putting the race to bed. On the line he had 0.76 lengths to score from local hope Yellow Brick (AUS) at $41, with gallant veteran Private Eye (AUS) third at $11. Transatlantic weakened to ninth, one spot ahead of the other single-digit runner Golden Mile (AUS) at $7.50. Saturday's victory provided a third group 1 winner for Darley's in-demand shuttle sire Harry Angel (IRE), who'll stand for an almost doubled fee of $66,000 this spring in his seventh Australian season. The 10-year-old sits seventh on the general sires' table—despite only three crops running—with seven Australian stakes winners from 129 runners, at 5.4 per cent, and with his other elite victors being dual group 1 winner Tom Kitten and exciting, unbeaten sprinter Private Harry. War Machine—raced by a group headed by Rupert Legh—now shapes as an attractive prospect for Everest slot holders. If he makes it to the race, two of Harry Angel's best may now clash in that $20 million feature in October, if new owners Yulong use Private Harry in their slot. Apart from that, if War Machine contests The Everest, it would enact a mouth-watering clash between the Hayes brothers and their Hong Kong-based father David, who's bringing sprint sensation Ka Ying Rising (NZ) to race in the Hong Kong Jockey Club's slot. "We might take on my old man's horse, Ka Ying Rising," Ben Hayes said with a smile after the Stradbroke. While clearly not underestimating the size of that task, he added: "You've got to be in it to win it."