News

Tanby Bags Another Classic For Williams

17th Nov 2012

Team Williams’ Australian bred galloper Tanby bagged his owners another Group 2 MRC Sandown Classic (2400m) in Melbourne on Saturday.

Coming from the back of the field Tanby ($200,000 2008 Easter, 6g Galileo-Dane Belltar) defeated Exceptionally by three-quarters of a length, with Precedence back in third.

It was a fitting win as this year's running of the 2400m weight-for-age feature had been renamed in honour of four-times race winner Zipping, an Easter graduate raced by Team Williams just like Tanby.

“Tanby was terrific and I guess it was the sort of ride from Nick Hall that we are used to seeing when he rides them quietly, comes around them and puts them away,” Nick Williams said.

“It’s great for him to win this race today. It’s great for him to win the Zipping Classic.”

Easter ironhorse Zipping won the Sandown Classic on four consecutive occasions from 2007 to 2010 amongst his 16 career victories, finishing his racing with over $4.5 million in prizemoney.

Bred by Steve Bennetts, Tanby has won nine races and placed another seven times from 24 starts for career earnings of $664,855.

The progressive Australian bred son of Galileo is from Group 3 winner Dane Belltar, which has also produced stakes placed three-year-old Viking Star and Group 3 winner Fawkner, which was narrowly beaten in the Group 1 VRC Emirates Stakes last Saturday.

Team Williams will aim higher with six-year-old Tanby next year, with the Group 1 Sydney Cup and Melbourne Cup the main targets.

“We were keen to get him into the Melbourne Cup this year,” Nick Williams added.

“We thought he if had have got in there with 53kg or something that he would have been a bit of a chance.

“We’ll look at the Sydney Cup in the autumn. He has proved that he is an out-and-out stayer.”

Higher Aims For Cabernet

The connections of fellow Inglis Select Yearling Sale graduate Cabernet are also set to aim higher with their galloper following her victory in the Listed MRC Summoned Stakes (1500m) at Sandown.

Saturday's one length win by Cabernet ($75,000 2008 Classic, 6m Al Maher-Golden Weekend) had trainer Matthew Smith spruiking a possible attempt at the Group 2 Villiers Stakes in Sydney during the summer.

“I'll just take her back to Sydney now and see how she pulls up,” Smith said.

"She's a quality mare so I'd like to have a crack at the Villiers (Stakes) or something like that.”

Buyers will be afforded plenty of opportunities to purchase yearlings they can Aim Higher with during Inglis' Select Yearling Sales Series in 2013.

The catalogue for first sale in the series, the Sydney Classic Yearling Sale Summer Book, is now available online HERE.