24/02/16
Century was one of the great stallions that stood in Australia post World War 2. His best sons to prove themselves out on the racetrack of dreams then stand at stud were arguably well-known Group 1 winners of the ilk of Rubiton, Centaine and Double Century.
Today I’ll focus on Double Century as he was one of the first stallions that I advertised on this website just on 20 years ago when he was standing at Fred Brown’s Glen Avon Lodge stud which was located between Toowoomba and Pittsworth.
Fred Brown was a retired thoroughbred steward and is probably the nicest man who I met in the 20 years Justracing has been operating. In later life he stood that top stallion that only had one testicle – Just Awesome – as a vet was gelding the horse down south when someone twigged the wrong horse was being gelded.
Anyway I digress.
Double Century was bred in Victoria and first saw the light of day on 6/10/1975.
In his racetrack career Double Century started 37 times, recording seven wins, eight seconds and six thirds. He was rated the second best 3YO of his year.
Double Century’s racetrack career was remarkable in that whilst he raced in each of his 2YO, 3YO and 4YO year, he only ever won races as a 3YO.
Here’s his interesting CV across those three seasons:
AGE
1st
2nd
3rd
STARTS
2
–
–
2
4
3
7
3
3
21
4
–
5
1
12
TOTAL
7
8
6
37
Incredibly what was arguably Double Century’s best win as a 3YO was lost in the Sydney stewards room. He won the 1979 AJC Derby by three-quarters-of-a-length, but then lost the race on protest to the horse that was second past the post – Dulcify, in the race record time. He was also unlucky to run into the champion Kingston Town and had to be content to run second to the champion in both the 1980 Sydney Cup and the Tancred Stakes (now The BMW) in the same year. Dual Caulfield Cup winner Ming Dynasty beat Double Century a short head in the 1980 Australian Cup at Flemington.
But whilst he had to play second fiddle to Kingston Town, Ming Dynasty and crew, Double Century won three Group 1 races as a 3YO in his own right. He won the 1979 Sydney Cup at Randwick defeating Lady Dignitas and the Melbourne Cup winner of one year earlier – Arwon. Double Century also won two Eagle Farm Winter Carnival feature races in 1979, namely the Grand Prix beating He’ll Do and Prunella and followed that victory up by winning the Queensland Derby some weeks later, when amazingly He’ll Do and Prunella again finished second and third respectively. I wonder how many times in thoroughbred racing history in Australia have the exact same horses filled the same placings in two Group 1 races that they run at the same track during the same Carnival?
So here’s the three generation tabulation of Double Century:
Century
Better Boy
My Babu
Better So
Royal Suite
Rego
Baraganda
Hello Love
Adamastor
Norseman
Alora
Princess
Star Kingdom
Persist
Double Century’s dam Hello Love couldn’t win a race, albeit she’d been placed at both Randwick and Rosehill as a 2YO. Double Century’s second dam, a Star Kingdom mare named Princess, was unraced.
Upon his retirement, Double Century stood for the Foyster family at Balfour Stud at Jerry’s Plains, New South Wales, for a stud fee that was advertised as being “on application”. He came to stand at Glen Avon Lodge as an older stallion.
At stud Double Century’s best progeny was the highly talented three-time Group 1 winner Stylish Century and he won the 1989 Victoria Derby at Flemington defeating Zamoff and Dr Grace as well as theRandwick double of the 1989 Spring Champion Stakes (beating Stargazer and Procol Harum) and 1991 Queen Elizabeth Stakes (Royal Creation was second and Livistona Lane clocked in third).
Apart from Stylish Century, Double Century also produced black type winners like Miss Stephenson (Carnival Handicap at Doomben and Easter Cup at Eagle Farm), Dual Scope (Brisbane Handicap at Eagle Farm), Bigamy (Carbine Club Stakes at Randwick) and Burglar of Bamff (Ipswich Cup).
Double Century died aged 21 on 26/3/1997.
Today on www.brisbaneracing.com.au there’s the story on the FBAA being unhappy with remarks made by Richard Callander at a Racing NSW stewards inquiry – and there’s also the story on the Australian stallion that has the favourite for the New Zealand Derby.