News

Exciting Youngster Not On The Market

12th Mar 2009

Racing and Sports - Nathan Exelby - Thursday, 12 March 2009

Tickets can confirm his status as one of Australia's most valuable colts when he runs in the Group 2 Skyline Stakes at Randwick on Saturday, but owner-breeder Peter Moran won't be rushed into selling him.

The John O'Shea trained Tickets burst into Golden Slipper calculations when he downed fellow blueblood Manhattan Rain to win the Listed Canonbury Stakes (1100m) on debut last month.

As a son of Redoute's Choice from the outstanding Success Express mare Staging – who has a perfect record of five winners from as many to race, including A G1 winner and two other stakes winners – Tickets immediately came on the radar of anyone looking for a promising stallion prospect.

The Skyline is shaping as a battle of the Redoute's Choice factor, with Tickets' main opponent again being the great sire's half-brother Manhattan Rain (Encosta De Lago).

But Moran is happy to watch Tickets' two-year-old career unfold and then hope for bigger things at three before making any decision on the colt's future.

“We have had a couple of offers, but he's not on the market at this stage,” Moran said.

“We like to race them all the way through and then sell them at the end.”

Moran wasn't surprised that Tickets made a winning debut and is confident he will run very well again in the Skyline.

“John's happy with him. He drew eight out of eight on debut and 12 out of 12 this time, but I think it suits his racing pattern,” Moran said.

“His mum was like that. I remember Staging coming from near last with Shane Dye on to win the Light Fingers and her progeny seem to race best that way as well.”

Tickets has a little to live up to if he is to reach the heights of Staging's other two stakes winners Excites (Danewin) and Duporth (Red Ransom), but Moran is confident he has the talent to do so.

“We really don't know just how good Excites could have been. He had untapped potential and basically won that Group 1 (AJC Sires) on three legs. He broke his pelvis as a yearling,” he said.

“That's why he wanted to hang out in Sydney. He wasn't as bad in Melbourne where he ran second in the Caulfield Guineas, but really, he did an enormous job and his foals are absolutely beautiful.

“Duporth has also done a great job this season. He's probably run into a tough year, but he has already won the (G2) Golden Rose and his run in the Newmarket was excellent – a lot of the judges down there rated his as the run of the race – and I'm hopeful he can still win a Group 1 this season.

“With Tickets, he's a really athletic horse who looks like he will be even better next season and John has been mindful of his three-year-old career when planning this campaign.”

Staging produced a Danewin full-brother to Excites last spring, but Moran is uncertain where to head with the mare in 2009.

A Golden Slipper win by Tickets would most probably answer that question for him though.