A son of Larneuk Stud's value Lonhro stallion Impending, five year old Cool Memory bolted in to claim his second stakes win and bring joy to favourite backers on a rain-drenched Saturday at Belmont Park.
The track began the day rated a Heavy 8 and mysteriously no downgrade was forthcoming, despite rain lashing the course all afternoon and it was still raining as a field of ten went to the barriers for the Listed 1400m feature, the Farnley Stakes.
Darren McAuliffe's Cool Memory was hard fit and coming off a dominant last start win over the course and distance. Though untried on heavy, the 2024 Aquanita Stakes winner had shown a clear preference for rain affected ground.
He received a nice little weight drop and would lead, which punters viewed as a winning formula on the day - and they were proved absolutely right.
The Commands stallion Rommel is a noted sire of swimmers and his in- form daughter Desert Nymph had her supporters, as she attempted stakes class for the first time.
Fluro Neuro (Gingerbread Man) for team Williams also had some loyal support. A frustrating run of seconds, four of them in stakes races, surely was due to end!
The genuine galloper was looking to shake off that dreaded bridesmaid tag but as it turned out, Fluro couldn't go a yard in the waterlogged conditions.
Nor could the majority of his opposition.
Brad Parnham and Cool Memory led absolutely untroubled from start to finish, and the horse merrily skipped away at the top of the straight like he had flippers instead of hooves.
Last year's Farnley Stakes winner Saloon Bar (Sessions) was forward in the run but was labouring a long way from home. Desert Nymph received every chance but she could make no impression whatsoever.
It was left to the redoubtable campaigners Kaptain Kaos (Demerit) and roughie Rokanori (Awesome Rock) to slog home valiantly behind the winner for second and third respectively, as Cool Memory coasted to a three length victory.
Cool Memory now has six wins to his name and is a dual Listed winner from 24 career starts with earnings of $401,968.
Also placed in the Listed Belmont Guineas at three, this ultra-consistent performer is rarely far away from the action in a race finish.
Cool Memory is a homebred for Impressive Racing and is one of three stakes winners to date for his royally bred sire Impending.
The dual G1 winning son of Lonhro out of Encosta De Lago's champion daughter Mnemosyne scored his greatest win in the 2017 Stradbroke Handicap at three, defeating the memorable sprinting mare In Her Time. He also placed in G1 WFA races on multiple occasions.
Now twelve years old, Impending will stand his second season at Victoria's Larneuk Stud in 2025 after starting his stud career with Darley.
The handsome stallion has established himself as a most consistent sire of quality Saturday class horses, and a good few of them have the ability to compete and win at stakes level.
Cool Memory is the only stakes winner to date from the tough race mare Fo'Shizzle, a daughter of Scenic's very fast sprinting son Universal Ruler.
Fo'Shizzle won four races herself and placed in a Listed Belmont Oaks. She is a half sister to the tough handicapper Savanarola (Blackfriars) and they were produced by the winning Kenvain mare Precocious Lady.
Fo'Shizzle has had three to race for her, all being multiple winners - and all are still racing.
Her firstborn is the good stakes placed performer Cold Shizzle (Awesome Rock) who has banked over $460,000 in a 49 start career.
He was followed by Bleeker Street (Manhattan Rain) who has four wins and ten placings from his 30 starts.
The talented Cool Memory followed, and as Fo'Shizzle was doing so well at stud she was granted a visit to WA's champion sire Playing God. The resulting 2022 colt is named Linchpin and he is yet to race.
Fo'Shizzle has a 2023 filly by Manhattan Rain and a 2024 colt by Awesome Rock to come.
Fo'Shizzle’s colonial damline is strong and tough. It goes back to the mare Madcap, the dam of 1891 Melbourne Cup winner Malvolio.
Malvolio went to stud and sired the winners of two Adelaide Cups, two Perth Cups and a Sydney Cup.
Remarkably, his full sister Maluma was a flyer and won the VRC Newmarket Hcp!
Cool Memory's fifth dam Flanders Fields was a stakes-winning three quarter sister to the 1986 G1 SA Derby winner French Cotton. They were sired by the good Grey Sovereign grandson Estaminet.
Flanders Fields produced the excellent stakes winning sprinter Potter McQueen - a half brother to Cool Memory's fourth dam Twiggle. Twiggle was by the great broodmare sire Twig Moss and the only filly from her dam.
Twiggle's son Competitive Spirit (Iifrad ) was another gritty performer for the family with ten wins including the Fairetha Stakes.
Above all Cool Memory's family is characterised by a resolute will to win and an iron constitution.
And it's no surprise, because though this taproot line (family 31) did produce some Classic horses in the early days, it's more of a dual purpose line in the UK - and from it some great ‘chasers have sprung - including the incredible Tiger Roll, a two times winner of the Grand National!
Cool Memory could draw on this heritage to truck on happily through the mud when most behind him were floundering!
Cool Memory is bred
Northern Dancer 5m x5m
Blue Hen Fairy Bridge 5m x 5m
He is bred on a noted successful cross, that of Sadler's Wells and his full brother Fairy King - while Lonhro's tail male line to Zabeel provides an all important line to their three quarter brother Nureyev.
An interesting feature of this pedigree is the meeting of What A Pleasure (Bold Ruler x Blue Hen Grey Flight) carried by Scenic, and his three quarter sister Bold Consort who appears in a very influential position on Lonhro's damline. This is definitely a recipe for speed!
Cool Memory is linebred (sex balanced) to prepotent sires Nijinsky, Forli, Raise A Native, Sir Ivor, Klairon, Relic. My Babu and Supreme Court.
His pedigree also features duplications of Vain, and a multitude of lines to the brilliant Nasrullah son Grey Sovereign through his sons Sovereign Path, Fortino, Zeddaan and Sovereign Edition.
Impending offers breeders great value and great bloodlines. The proven sire stands at Larneuk Stud on a fee of $6,600 for 2025.
