Dubai: For managing owner of Illustrious Lad, Anthony Panozzo,it has been a long journey to reach this point and not just by way of the air miles collected flying from Australia. Panozzo was the owner of the Zedative mare,Industrious, the dam of Illustrious Lad and never forgot how good she was,vowing to buy the first foal she produced regardless of which stallion was the sire.It was a vow that was almost never fulfilled when the excellent race mare lost her first foal by the then first season stallion Fastnet Rock. A second pregnancy resulted in a live foal but sadly it too subsequently died. Industrious was then covered by I am Invincible, finally resulting in a living foal, though not with out a small miracle to help him.
Panozzo says: “I raced Industrious with David Hays,she was very good and I sold her as a broodmare for Aus$350.000 to Harry Mitchell of Yarraman Park, who stands I am Invincible. She was put in foal to Fastneck Rock but sadly slipped the foal. She went back to the same stallion again but the foal died very young. When she was carrying to I am invincible there was a lightening storm over Hunter Valley and she suffered a broken pelvis. It was a hell of a time, the foal had to be delivered by caesarean section and both mare and foal survived.”
I can only imagine how top class the veterinary care had to have been as foals unlike human babies do not do well from an early delivery. Unfortunately Industrious had to be euthanised the following year so after just one living foal. Panozzo tells me: “I was always going to buy the first foal from her whatever stallion it was by because I know how good she was.” It only cost Aus$40,000 to purchase the yearling that they named Illustrious Lad. He continued: “It’s a bit surreal being here, thinking about how you get to this point bringing a horse to the world stage.” Of his trainer Peter Gelegotis he says: “His place is two hours from Melbourne at Moe [pronounced Mo-ee] he has about 20 horses in training and doesn’t have many runners but get lots of winners and does a really good job. He’s a country trainer that does really well in the city.” Gelegotis had been pleased with his charges trial at Cranbourne last Monday saying “that was a really impressive piece of work, he looked he’s back to his best, we’re really happy. He’s earned his stripes, he’s a quality sprinter”.
Of the brave decision to bring their sprinter to Dubai, Ponozzo said:“We set this in place about five months ago. We do miss big races in Melbourne, we have to sacrifice that but I feel as a Group 2 winner in Australia we can be competitive here. We have to do 21 days quarantine here after the race and a further 30 days when we get back to Melbourne, which means we miss all the spring there. But its worthwhile if it comes off.”
Owning racehorses is an emotional journey and this one has its next leg on Saturday.
