Racehorse TALK

Starborough (GER) - Our Poppet (GER) Foaled 2005 in GB

Surely an old dog doesn't need to be taught how to search for a pedigree? It's not exactly a new trick. 

A Group One winner in all but name.



When a yearling colt by the late Starborough ex Our Poppet, consigned by Whatton Manor Stud, was sold for 2,000 gns to Hungarian owner Zoltan Mikoczy at Tattersalls December Yearling Sale in, paradoxically, November 2006, it is likely that any bloodstock identities from any of Europe's major racing nations who happened to be paying attention at the time might have thought something along the lines of, "Well, that's the last we'll see or hear of that little horse". How wrong would such a supposition have been, writes John Berry.

It is not, of course, unprecedented for an international champion to come out of Hungary, because one of the greatest horses in history, Kincsem, hailed thence. She holds the astonishing career record of 54 starts, 54 wins, figures which surely will never again be equalled and, while she did the bulk of her racing in what was the Austro-Hungarian Empire, she did win one of the biggest races races in England (the Goodwood Cup), France (the Grand Prix de Deauville) and Germany (Grosser Preis von Baden) all in the same year. The problem was that that year was 1878, and in the intervening thirteen decades it had become easy to believe that Hungary's day as a school for champions had gone.

However, there was one clue in the background of this colt that maybe, just maybe, he might emerge from obscurity to achieve greatness, because his family had already thrown up one truly special horse. Although bred by Mr and Mrs Robinson, this colt came from the Whatton Manor Stud family which had already produced the exceptional and unlikely champion stayer Royal Gait, the Gunner B gelding who, unwanted in the UK, was exported to Spain before outgrowing his adopted homeland and coming to France, where in 1987 he won both the Prix du Cadran and Prix Royal-Oak, and thence back to England, where the following year he posted one of the easiest victories ever seen in the Ascot Gold Cup before winning the Champion Hurdle - in Sheikh Mohammed's colours - four years later. The fact that Royal Gait isn't credited with an Ascot Gold Cup victory should in no way be used as an excuse to overlook his excellence, because the rules which were used as an excuse for disqualifying him have subsequently been amended so that there would be no question of his losing the race nowadays.

Happily for Zoltan Mikoczy and his trainer Sandor Ribarszki - and for the many racegoers who feel that the sport is enriched by the presence of a star, and especially a star whose connections are not generally associated with success - lightning has struck twice, and this family has thrown up another champion. It is, though, a markedly different fork of lightning, because the colt, now named Overdose, is pretty much everything that Royal Gait was not: compact, feisty, and blessed with the ability to cover short distances extremely quickly.

Once he began racing as a two-year-old, it didn't take long for Overdose to demonstrate that the opposition and prize money in Hungary are beneath him. Therefore, his connections decided to take him overseas, and last summer Germany was the first port of call for their three-year-old speedster. He raced in three Stakes races there for three easy wins, in a Listed race, a Group Three and then the country's top sprint, the Group Two Goldene Peitsche at Baden Baden.

That, though, was only a warm-up. This year's Arc weekend at Longchamp ought to go down in history as the day in which the Aga Khan's classic filly Zarkava cemented her place in the pantheon with her breath-taking victory in the feature race. However, for many the day will be remembered as much for the blinding speed of Overdose and, even more pertinently, for the slings and arrows which outrageous fortune sent his way. One would have thought that, following Royal Gait's disqualification in the Gold Cup, this family might have suffered enough at the fickle hand of fate, but sadly this proved not to be the case. At least Royal Gait's troubles were partly of his own (or rather his jockey's making), but Overdose's wretched luck came as a pure bolt from the blue. He was robbed of what would very likely have been victory in the Prix de l'Abbaye by a malfunction of the starting stalls, allied to an unsatisfactory recall procedure: his jockey Andreas Suborics did not realise that it was a false start and he stormed to the line in isolation, running a time virtually identical to that posted by the eventual winner Marchand D'or in the re-run (in which Overdose did not take part).

Happily, Overdose's season did not have to end on that miserable note. Unfazed by that heart-breaking experience and by the prospect of a heavy track, his connections took him to Italy six weeks later for the Group Three Premio Umbria, a 1200m race in Rome. The Italian authorities certainly didn't make things easy for this freak three-year-old as he was lumbered with 64.5 kilos (against older horses), but he treated this burden as if it didn't exist, starting to pull away from his rivals virtually as soon as the gates flew open and drawing ever farther clear to win by ten lengths to take his unbeaten record to eleven from eleven. Afterwards, Zoltan Mikoczy, declared, "We are very happy and glad to win the race in Italy in such an impressive fashion. It was another great performance, and it was particularly pleasing after what happened in Paris. That will be it now for the season with him. He'll have a nice winter break and next year we are looking forward to bringing him to England to run at Royal Ascot and in the July Cup at Newmarket".

For many, the 2006 King's Stand Stakes victory by Takeover Target represented the ultimate modern-day Royal Ascot fairytale. Come next June, though, that opinion might just have to be revised.



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Nice story about 'Overdose' a Hungarian horse who is now 12 from 12, wears the national colours and has a real cult following in tough times.

(Note in the photo: the kids sitting on the rails, cheering, their backpacks chucked below them on the track!)

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/20/world/europe/20hungary.html?_r=1&hp

Hungary’s Spirits Are Back Up, on a Horse

Overdose Eyes Melbourne Spring
Tuesday, 21 April 2009: A trip to Australia for unbeaten Hungarian sprint sensation Overdose will be considered if he can beat Takeover Target at Royal Ascot in June.

Racing Victoria's General Manager of Racing Operations Leigh Jordon reported that Overdose's connections have shown interest in start their sprinter in the Group One Patinack Farm Classic (1200m) at Flemington in NOvember.

The Patinack Farm Classic is the penultimate leg of the Global Sprint Challenge.

Overdose took his record to 12 wins from as many starts last weekend when he recorded an eight lengths win over 1000m at Kinscem Park in Hungary.

He is now heading to England to prepare for the G1 King's Stand Stakes and G1 Golden Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot and the July Cup at Newmarket.

The Golden Jubilee and July Cup arere the two races Takeover Target has on his agenda when he makes his fourth visit to the UK.

The nine-year-old Takeover Target showed he is as good as ever when he raced away with last Saturday's G1 T.J. Smith Stakes at Randwick.

from racingandsports

Shit i kind of hope they dead heat now.   

Soumillon - retained to ride Overdose.

TEMPLE SCARE FOR OVERDOSE

Overdose features among 27 entries for the betfred.com Temple Stakes at Haydock - but must overcome a foot problem to make it to the race.

Trainer Sandor Ribarszski said: "We are hoping to get Overdose ready for the betfred.com Temple Stakes but he has suffered a problem with his shoes, which is causing him pain. We have taken off his shoes and put some medication on his hooves.

"He was working very well last week until we noticed that he was in pain on Saturday night, so I took the shoes off and called the vet immediately.

"He will return on Thursday and there will hopefully be no more pus left in his foot and we can get him back working again. If not, then we have to make other plans for Overdose, but I am hopeful of taking him to Haydock at the moment.

"It's frustrating and the same problem with his shoes happened just days before his last run. He still bolted in, even though his plates fell off during the race, but the races in Britain will be far harder contests for him.

"The farrier came and put some new plates on him afterwards and it is possible that they might have been too tight for him, which is why he is in pain.

"I will never forget his latest victory at Kincsem Park and I think that anybody who was there, or has seen the race on TV, will ever forget either. I have never seen a day's racing in Hungary like that before, with so many people coming to see one horse run.

"I know we are going to come up against some very good sprinters in the betfred.com Temple Stakes but, if we can get Overdose 100% ready and he makes the journey over in good shape, I think he will be very hard to beat."

Christophe Soumillon has been retained to ride Overdose in all his races this season.

Sporting Life

If Overdose came to oz to race... what odds would it be that the protesters would want its name changed?

It's fav for the King stand and Golden Jubilee, a good lay imo

How about changing it to Dyslexic Stalker??????????                 

POPPET'S LOVEIN is a half sister to the champ by Lomitas. Running in the next from Beverley.

Scratched at barrier.
Matt, did you see the race, fav will lose on protest, if not, it's a shocker

In the good old day for sure, these days who knows, they are as bad as our over there these days.

OPINION.

It belted it 3 times and finished on the outside fence, the other was going better, anyway they're betting on the protest on BF, I just laid the fav @ 1.14