The effort of Casterton in finish 3rd in the Prix de Lutece was more impressive than it first appeared. Coming from last at the 300m, the 3yo son of Fastnet Rock reeled of a final 400 metres in 22.3 seconds. He only needed another 25 metres to take the prize.
Andre Fabre has liked the colt since he arrived at his Chantilly stable as an undeveloped yearling. Building on one run at the end of his 2yo year, Andre has spaced his 5 runs in 2017 to ensure the colt had suitable track conditions to get him through the season. The patient approach now looks to be paying dividends as the colt will be one of the favoured runners in the G2 Prix Chaudenay on Arc weekend.
Casterton, the town, is a lovely spot in Victoria’s western district. It is the last town before crossing the border into South Australia. It’s quintessentially Australia, boasting prosperous sheep and cattle producers and, of course, a picturesque race track, often used to gallop the quality horses from Darren Weir’s stables.
Casterton, the horse, will spend another 12 months with Andre Fabre in France. Hopefully, in October 2018, he will make his way to Melbourne for the Carnival. During the year, however, his owners can look forward to participating in some of Europe’s top staying events.
The irony of Casterton and indeed some of the other Fastnet Rock colts purchased in Europe by OTI, is that rather them being precocious middle distance types, many have superior staying abilities. No doubt the Saddler’s Wells and Galileo bloodlines on the dam side have much to do with this. Rather than end with a possible stallion prospect, our partners could well be owners of a Fastnet Rock Melbourne cup winner. They would be pretty happy with that!
