Four Group 1s evenly divided between Flemington and Randwick on Saturday with a massive twenty stakes races, including four intriguing events for the two-year-olds, but wait, there’s more.
Canberra has there big day on Sunday with Group III Black Opal Stakes and Listed National Sprint, and on Monday, the Listed Canberra Cup and Listed Canberra Guineas
Also, on Monday, it’s the Group II Adelaide Cup highlighting a wonderful card at Morphettville with four Listed races, the Matrice Stakes, CS Hayes Memorial Cup, Cinderella Stakes and Morphettville Guineas.
The two-year-old Golden Slipper trials at Rosehill Gardens just about steal the show on Saturday.
The Group II Todman Stakes features the first three favourites for the Golden Slipper.
Profiteer (Capitalist), Stay Inside (Extreme Choice), and Remarque (Snitzel) put their unbeaten records on the line.
Throw in wildcards like the Queensland flyer Alpine Edge (Better Than Ready), the $875,000 I Am Invincible colt Home Affairs, the $900,000 Zoustar debutant Solar Winds, the talented $400,000 Siyouni colt Direct, and Godolphin’s Group 1 Blue Diamond Stakes third Anamoe (Street Boss), then this could be the race of the season to date.
While the Group II Yarraman Park Reisling Stakes may not attract the same excitement, it features two fillies with all the credentials for a ‘Best On Breeding’.
The first is a no-brainer. Joyous Legend is the daughter of Snitzel and the champion racemare More Joyous. Purchased by Bon Ho’s Legend Racing for $800,000 at Easter 2020, Joyous Legend impressed with a solid win at her career debut at Gosford.
Cheerful Legend is trained by John Sadler, who also puts the polish on another of Legend Racing’s Easter purchases. She is the unraced Sunday Legend, a full-sister to More Joyous, who came at a cost of $500,000.
The second filly in the Reisling that bears watching is the Sebring filly Gstaad. Making your first start in a Group II is no easy assignment. However, Gstaad has been very impressive in her trials.
Passed in shy of her $600,000 reserve at the Easter Yearling Sale, Gstaad races for her breeders, Alan Bell and Kia Ora Stud.
She is the second foal of the stakes-placed Mastercraftsman (IRE) mare Maastricht, whose first foal was the top-class dual Group 1 winner Loving Gaby.
Maastricht had the honour of topping the 2019 Chairman’s Sale when Coolmore/ James Bester Bloodstock has the final say at $2,250,000. They clawed $1,200,000 of that back earlier this year at the Gold Coast for the I Am Invincible colt she was carrying.
Still, it has to be Joyous Legend to carry the hopes this week and emulate her dam, who won the Reisling Stakes in 2009.
Joyous Legend is the fourth winner from as many foals of the $4.5 million earner More Joyous (More Than Ready) and is her only foal to see a sales ring to date.
A phenomenal racemare More Joyous carved out a record of 21 wins, one second and two thirds from 33 starts.
Her top-level successes came in the ATC Doncaster Handicap, ATC Queen of the Turf Stakes (twice), MRC Toorak Handicap, MRC Futurity Stakes, ATC Queen Elizabeth Stakes, AJC Flight Stakes, and AJC George Main Stakes. She also won the Surround Stakes and the Canterbury Stakes (twice) before those were upgraded to Group 1.
More Joyous represents an unbroken line of four Group 1 winners. Her dam, Sunday Joy (Sunday Silence), won the 2003 AJC Australian Oaks - granddam Joie Denise (Danehill) won the 1995 QTC Queensland Oaks, and great-granddam Denise’s Joy won the 1975 VRC Oaks Stakes, 1976 QTC Queensland Oaks, and VRC Turnbull Stakes.
More Joyous hasn’t threatened to reach those heights with her first three foals.
Her first foal, the Frankel filly Woman, created a deal of excitement when she won on debut at Canterbury, but the best she could do in three subsequent starts was two thirds before heading to the broodmare paddocks.
Woman had her first foal last spring, a colt by Snitzel, before missing to Fastnet Rock.
The second foal of More Joyous, More Sundays (Fastnet Rock), has wins at Geelong and Pakenham from 11 starts.
Joyous Legend’s 3yo brother, Best Ever, carried John Singleton’s colours to victory on debut at Pakenham last August. He then pulled up with some issues when last of 14 at Moonee Valley three weeks later. When he made his third start with a ninth at Eagle Farm a few weeks back, Best Ever was sporting the Darby Racing silks.
Joyous Legend seemed to revel in the heavy ground at her debut at Gosford on February 13.
Trained by Gerald Ryan and Sterling Alexiou, the daughter of Snitzel defeated Godolphin’s Exceed And Excel filly In Flanders by two and a half lengths with the Dream Ahead (USA) filly Russbuss a half-neck back in third.
There is no yearling out of More Joyous this season. However, the champion has a weanling Frankel filly but disappointingly missed to both Exceed And Excel and Written Tycoon last spring.
