TURNING TIN INTO GOLD
[Vultan Tin winning 2020 WA Pacing Cup]
On April 9th, 2022 VULTAN TIN having his 199th start became just the third Western Australian Standardbred to pass $1 million in earnings, when he won his third Narrogin Cup -- and this son of Dawn Ofa New Day reached this stakes milestone without ever having left the State.
Bred and owned by Denise and Phil Costello from Coolup W.A., VULTAN TIN is a family pet, to the extent that he has his own Facebook page which is regularly updated with his exploits both on and off the race-track. [Check it out HERE]
Phil Costello has been breeding and racing horses, on a hobby basis, for nigh on 50 years ... winning his first race at Kellerberrin in the Western Australian Wheatbelt in September 1976.
He spent the best part of a decade traipsing around the State’s outer country tracks before having a horse good enough to bring to Perth. That horse SAND URCHIN gave him his first city winner in December 1985.
In 1997 Phil, together with friend Warren O’Keefe, first became involved as a breeder when they sent the Racy Prince mare YOYO GIRL to Crouch and the resultant foal, named HYDROFLYTE, went on to win 14 races and $141,052.
As HYDROFLYTE was taking his first steps, fellow trainer Peter King asked Phil if he was interested in a mare by Windshield Wiper which King had gotten from another trainer in Ray Grantham.
“It was at the time that Windshield Wiper was one of the big names among broodmare sires and I jumped at the opportunity” Costello recalled recently.
The Windshield Wiper mare was the Victorian-bred TOY SHOP which had finished sixth in a 3yo race at Albany at its one and only race start before Ray Grantham retired her to stud.
She had had one foal for Grantham before the move which saw the mare arrive in Costello’s paddock.
Costello sent her to a son of Direct Scooter in Armbro Intercept which was standing at stud nearby, and the resultant foal, a black filly, was named CARRAVELLE.
TOY SHOP died the following year when in foal to Kinney Hanover and Costello began to educate CARRAVELLE for racing.
CARRAVELLE began racing as a 2yo and while she didn’t win she did show good ability, and was runner-up in both a heat and final of a Western Crown Classic, and was retired early in her 4yo season.
Born in 2005, her Pacific Fella filly ELLEVARRAC was the first of four foals to be produced by CARRAVELLE (all having raced) with ELLEVARRAC being the first of three moderate winners.
ELLEVARRAC won just once in 30 starts, taking a record of 1:59.3 in her Pinjarra win as a 3yo, before Phil and his wife Denise retired her to stud as a 4yo and bred her to Dawn Ofa New Day in 2010.
“I liked Western Ideal as a sire and his sons seemed to produce horses which improved as they got older” Costello said.
“Sons of Western Ideal over Cam Fella line mares also seemed a good cross, so I chose Dawn Ofa New Day” he said.
[Vultan Tin winning 2021 Pinjarra Cup]
A quick look through current records shows five millionaires sired by sons of Western Ideal in the Southern Hemisphere, including WA Pacing Cup winners My Hard Copy (American Ideal from a mare by a son of Cam Fella in Presidential Ball) and VULTAN TIN.
A third millionaire, and also a WA Pacing Cup winner, Soho Tribeca is by American Ideal with a grand-dam by a son of Cam Fella in Fake Left.
Mighty Conqueror - third behind VULTAN TIN in the WA Pacing Cup in December 2020 - is also a son of American Ideal and like My Hard Copy is out of a mare by Presidential Ball.
And it is a similar situation in North America, with five of the top ten earners by sons of Western Ideal being out of mares by sons of Cam Fella, and a further three with a grand-dam by Cam Fella or his sire Most Happy Fella.
When ELLEVARRAC’s 2011 colt was running around the paddock, Denise and Phil were looking for a stable name for both the colt and a filly they had bred that same year.
“We decided on Frank for the colt, and June for the filly, their being named after Denise’s parents who live in Greenbushes.”
When it came time to name their Dawn Ofa New Day colt the Costellos went back to the origin of his stable name.
“Denise’s father Frank was the manager of a tin mine in Greenbushes – the Vultan Tin mine” Phil explained.
VULTAN TIN began racing as a 3yo in 2014 and on 20th December that year, at his third start in a race, he won a midweek race at Gloucester Park with Nathan Turvey at the reins.
VULTAN TIN won the 2020 WA Pacing Cup at Group One level, and picked up the second-biggest stake in his career with $66,000 having finished fourth in the 2017 Inter Dominion behind Lazarus, Chicago Bull, and Tiger Tara. He was the only Westbred in the final field that year. And VULTAN TIN is now one of seven millionaires that actually lined up in that ID Final in 2017.
Additionally, VULTAN TIN has won three times at Group Two level ... taking out the City Of Perth Cup (in 2019), the Pinjarra Cup (in 2021), and the Governor’s Cup (in 2022).
“He has just got better as he has got older” said Phil. “He has never had any issues and while he is enjoying racing we will continue to race him.”
“You can't put a value on the pleasure he has given us and he will have a special place here in Coolup for the rest of his life.”
Alan Parker - Harness Historian and Pedigrees (April 2022)
The love is not hard to see ...
[Denise Costello and her boy]
