2010 Melbourne Cup winner Americain (USA) has fallen from favour as a commercial sire, but he featured at Rosehill on Saturday when his handy stayer Costello scored a lucrative win in the $500,000 ATC Rosehill Gold Cup (2000m).
Trained by David Payne, Costello was fit and ready to fire at his fourth run back from a spell and made light of the heavy 9 conditions to win by a neck for Jay Ford.
A $40,000 Inglis Premier purchase for his trainer from the draft of Swettenham Stud, who used to stand Americain at the start of his stud career, Costello has the overall record of six wins and seven placings from 25 starts with earnings topping $590,000.
Bred by Adam Sangster, Costello is a half-brother to Group II winner French Fern from good producing Strategic mare La Famelia, a stakes-winner from the family of Group I winner Russeting.
La Famelia has a yearling colt by Toronado (IRE) and has foaled this spring producing a filly by Puissance de Lune (IRE).
Americain is now based at Kevin and Colleen Bamford’s Daisy Hill Farm in Victoria and after illness restricted him to covering just eight mares last spring, he is now back in good health with his 2020 service fee set at $6,600.
