Milestone for Lonhro
JOHN Hawkes and Darren Beadman will be among a select few invited guests to a black tie affair at Sheikh Mohammed’s Hunter Valley stud to mark Lonhro’s 21st birthday today.
Lonhro, who will be spending the day covering part of his 100-plus spring harem, was born on this day in 1998 at Jack and Bob Ingham’s Woodlands Stud at Denman.
Following a brilliant career Lonhro has become a stud star, producing about 2000 offspring including 900 winning sons and daughters.
The second last foal to arrive from his sire Octagonal’s first crop, Lonhro was a carbon copy of his famous father, dubbed ‘The Big O’ and loved far and wide.
It didn’t take long for Lonhro to emerge from his father’s shadow, taking on the epithet ‘Little O’ and garnering a fan club all of his own.
Beadman, who rode Octagonal in most of his biggest wins, credits Lonhro as being
“an integral part” of his life.
“Lonhro came along at a time when I probably needed a good horse … and he was a great horse,’’ the jockey said.
Lonhro had already had 12 starts before Beadman’s first ride on the colt, it was the Missile Stakes – two days after the start of the 2002/03 season.
‘’He put that field away and just treated them with contempt,’’ Beadman recalled. ‘’He showed his pure class and great acceleration.’’
From that time on, Beadman was aboard Lonhro for all bar one of the Hawkes-trained galloper’s next 22 starts.
Beadman thinks his best win came at just his third ride on the horse when he beat Sunline in the Caulfield Stakes.
“Sunline had it pretty easy up front and she was going to be hard to run down but just the sheer tenacity that Lonhro showed,” Beadman said.
Lonhro retired to stud in 2004 having won 26 of his 35 starts, 11 Group 1s and a Horse of the Year title.
Lonhro has produced 88 stakes winners. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 2 FLYING BANJO 58 98 *2.00 s238 GINGERSON 58 92 8.50 s776 GUNSABLAZIN’ 58 89 41.00 7 SMARTIME 58 92 9.50 00s THUMP IN THE NIGHT 58 75 81.00 4 FELINE ADVISORY 56 91 2.80 0s57 HACKERESS 56 97 20.00 65s2 LOLAROSIE 56 100 7.00 FELINE ADVISORY 1, Flying Banjo 2, Lolarosie 3, Gingerson 4.