Flying Sardine retired

Sixteen-win mare Flying Sardine has been retired.

Initially trained by Wanganui horseman Kevin Myers, Flying Sardine came into trainer Kelvin Tyler’s care as an unraced two-year-old and went on to win more than $370,000.

“She’s been an absolute darling,” Tyler told stuff.co.nz.

“Kevin offered her to me pretty much as a giveaway. He thought she might win a couple of races down here, but she’s proved way better than that.”

After 90 starts, including a stint in Victoria last season, Tyler, along with his daughter and training partner Aimee, decided to pull stumps on her racing career last week.

“She’s got a few wear and tear niggles,” Tyler said. “She’s been a good horse. We want her to retire nice and sound, we’re going to miss her.”

The daughter of Flying Spur will head to the broodmare paddock and be served in the spring.

Complacent’s roll of winners continue 

Mapperley Stud stallion Complacent has continued his impressive run of late with Barracuda running out a dominant 4-½ length winner at Te Rapa last Saturday.

“The way he won, he could be a very exciting horse. Putting the blinkers on for the first time switched him on,” trainer Darrell Hollinshead said.

“He’s really started to fill out and his best is all ahead of him. We’ll go to the 1800m race at Taranaki in two weeks, then we will tip him out and target some nice staying races in the spring. He’ll certainly go on the good ground.”

Complacent has unveiled some exciting staying prospects recently and they have caught the eye of leading bloodstock agent Phil Cataldo, a big admirer of the stallion.

“I’m a big fan of staying horses, and Complacent fits the bill,” Cataldo said. “They have size and scope and physically they are the type of horses that will go well in Australia.”

Comme Bella Fille was dynamic winning at Matamata over 1400m and has joined the John O’Shea stable in Sydney. 

“She looked very good winning that day, she was an obvious one for me,” Cataldo said. “She’s gone from strength-to-strength over at John’s and her win over there was superb.

“John has a big opinion of her and who knows where she can get to in the Spring.”

Bronzba was another filly that caught Cataldo’s attention when winning at Rotorua on debut, and was subsequently sold to clients of Melbourne trainer Mick Price.

“I was really impressed to see her miss the jump and still win so convincingly. If you win your first start like that you are usually a good horse. She’s a beautiful type, very typical of the Complacents,” Cataldo said.

Mapperley Stud principal Simms Davison has been delighted with the recent success of Complacent’s progeny on the track and he believes he is a value proposition for breeders with a service fee of $4,000+GST.

“We have been thrilled to see the Complacents come out and win so well as three-year-olds,” Davison said.

“We have seen some eye-catching performances of late, they certainly look like the type of horses to train on.

“We are encouraged by the fact that the Australian trainers want them. They know how good a racehorse he was, and it’s great to see them heading to some of the elite stables over there.”