Best On Breeding

Mark Smith - Friday January 20

An Intriguing race for two-year-olds to open proceedings at Randwick on Saturday, with all but three of the 14 acceptors making their career debuts.

Headline acts include a $1,700,000 I Am Invincible filly and a $950,000 Inglis Premier sale-topper, also by Yarraman Park Stud's reigning champion stallion.

The $1,700,000 Ciaron Maher and David Eustace-trained filly Kundalini and the $950,000 Chris Waller-trained colt Mojave Desert have attracted little interest in early betting on the race. Both trialled impressively in the same heat at Rosehill on July 12.

Few have missed the trials of Godolphin's Encryption colt, Fleetwood. It may show he finished fourth in both; however, he has still to be let off the leash.

Advertisement

Another to impress at the trials is the Bjorn Baker-trained Rockabilly Rebel. The Street Boss (USA) filly is out of the Group II MVRC Sunline Stakes winner Text'n Hurley (Hard Spun).

The best of the first starters looks to be the Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott-trained Coincide. The $320,000 Invader colt gave the highly-rated Barber the race of his life on debut. The half-brother to Frankel's dual Group 1 winner Converge had little luck when given a kind ride in the closing stages when unplaced behind the same horse in the $1,000,000 Golden Gift at Rosehill.

Also making his debut is the Peter and Paul Snowden-trained Don Corleone, who is out to give Extreme Choice his first two-year-old winner of the season.

Bred by Gilgai Farm, Don Corleone was the third most expensive lot at the 2021 National Weanling Sale when knocked down to China Horse Club/Newgate Bloodstock for $650,000.

Gilgai topped that sale with the I Am Invincible x Ocean Jewel colt Dagon, a $1,000,000 purchase for Ciaron Maher Bloodstock.

Don Corleone has trialled three times, winning the opening event at the official 2yo barrier trials at Randwick last September.

He is a half-brother to four winners, including The Drinks Cart (Unencumbered), who placed behind Rothefire in the Group 1 JJ Atkins Stakes.

Don Corleone's dam Snitzu, a daughter of the recently departed Snippetson, won four and was second to Hussousa in the Listed Gimcrack Stakes and placed in the Group III BJ Mclachlan Stakes and Listed Calaway Gal Stakes.

Snipzu's dam Pilgrim is a half-sister to Arkady. A homebred for John Denoon, Arkady won the Group 1 Ranvet Stakes at Rosehill. That was the culmination of four consecutive wins, which began with a welter at Rosehill, then the Listed Underwood Cup, and Queanbeyan Cup.

Arkady proved his Ranvet win was no fluke when Octagonal edged him out in the Group 1 Mercedes Classic (Tancred Stakes).

Denoon won the Ranvet a decade previously with Arkady's sire Myocard.

Extreme Choice had 31 live foals in his third crop, and his two juvenile runners for the season include Make a Call, who finished fourth in the Listed Breeders' Plate at Randwick. 

Extreme Choice

Advertisment
More Reading...
G1 Goal for Slick Kiwi Sprinter
Per Incanto (USA) is renowned for his slick older sprinters and progressive 5YO Oak Hill (NZ) promises to be his next stakes-winner here in Australia.
Above the Clouds Wins $100,000 Polytrack Championship
It proved to be a long but fruitful day for Kelly Myers on Friday, with the now Central Districts-based hoop riding home Above The Clouds to win the $100,000 TAB Polytrack Championship (2000m) at Cambridge for local trainer Ralph Manning.
One to Watch – Geelong
Team Hawkes were the guiding force behind the racing career of Group I ATC Doncaster Mile winner Brutal and have also prepared his first Group I winner as a sire in Nepotism and they unleashed a debut winner by him at Geelong on Friday.
First Stakes-Winner for St Mark’s Basilica
Back at Coolmore Australia this spring for his fourth season, 2021 European Horse of the Year St Mark‘s Basilica (Fr) is on the board with his first stakes-winner after Thesecretadversary rolled the favourite to win the Listed Churchill Stakes (7 ½ f) at Tipperary overnight.
Breeders Paradise - Inglis Digital August (early) Online
An abundance of high-quality broodmares – many in foal to some of the hottest young stallions in the Southern Hemisphere – and broodmare prospects headline a “breeders’ paradise’’ in the Inglis Digital August (Early) Online Sale.
Kiwi Bred 'Jenni' Scores for Maher
Lightly-raced six-year-old mare Jennivamoose scored a comfortable victory in the Donnellans The Tyremen Handicap (2500m) at The Valley on Saturday under a patient Harry Coffey ride.
Sires With Winners - Friday August 8
Here is the full list of 39 stallions which had winners throughout Australasia today with winners and result details.
Extreme Choice Colt Don Corleone in Golden Slipper Picture
The Extreme Choice colt Don Corleone put himself in Golden Slipper contention when overcoming a troubled run to make a winning career debut in the Petaluma Hcp (1000m) at Randwick on Saturday.
G1 Melbourne Goal for Alabama Lass
Trainer Ken Kelso was wearing a wide smile as he left Te Rapa racecourse on Saturday afternoon after witnessing his two stable stars provide him with suitable evidence they are both on target to kick off their Spring campaigns in fine fashion.
Breeding To Win – Crystal Ball – New Season 3YOs to Follow
Who are we highlighting this week? - Analysis of the G1 winning 3YO’s for last season has made us realise how many horses on this list took giant strides from two to three, so we are looking into the crystal ball to find some juveniles we believe could end this season as G1 performers if not G1 winners.