The late and very great WC Fields once said: “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. Then quit. There’s no point in being a damn fool about it.”

Voodoo Lad tried to win his first Group One back in September 2016, finishing a long neck second in the Rupert Clarke Stakes. Then he tried again. And again. And again.

In fact, Voodoo Lad had lined up nine times in Group Ones prior to Saturday’s Winterbottom Stakes over 1200m at Ascot and nine times he hadn’t won.

However, Voodoo Lad’s owner, Segenhoe Stud and trainer, Darren Weir are anything but damn fools and their persistence paid off after a barnstorming finish broke his duck in Perth.

And before we start feeling too sorry about the Voodoo hoodoo, it should be remembered that despite the misses – near and far – Voodoo Lad has compiled a record of 13 wins and 11 placings from 33 outings for $1.96 million in stakes.  Those wins also include seven successes at black type level.

Voodoo Lad (7g I Am Invincible – O’Fortuna by Gilded Time) is the first to race in the increasingly familiar red and yellow seamed silks of Kevin and Lesley Maloney’s Segenhoe Stud. And he was definitely a good pick up by their Racing Manager Bill Mitchell (FBAA) for just $36,000 at the 2013 Scone Yearling Sale.”

Indeed. For his part, Mitchell has long been convinced Voodoo Lad would eventually win a Group One. “Kevin wanted to buy a horse for the Inglis Challenge at Scone which Voodoo Lad duly won,” Mitchell told Aushorse. “In fact, he won four of his first eight starts.”

Mitchell’s brothers Arthur and Harry stand I Am Invincible at the family’s Yarraman Park in the Hunter Valley. “Voodoo Lad is from his first crop and naturally I had been taking a close look at his progeny from very early on,” he explained earlier this year. “I thought the $36,000 was excellent value then and, given what’s happened since, I’m not about to change my mind.”

And now that Voodoo Lad has that elusive Group One under his girth strap, Mitchell believes there is more to come in the autumn: “There are some nice weight-for-age races and he could end up in the T J Smith as 1200m appears to be his best trip.”

Federation of Bloodstock Agents Australia (FBAA) was formed in 1988 to maintain, improve and develop the standards, status and services of bloodstock agents throughout Australia. Its members operate with the utmost integrity and professionalism and are bound by the strict Industry Code of Conduct.

The list of FBAA members can be viewed at: www.bloodstockagents.com.au

VOODOO LAD