There are Group I races aplenty on the immediate horizon for our current crop of two and three year-olds with five new stakes-winners on Saturday all promising to make their presence felt at the elite level.
The Group II ATC Silver Slipper (1100m) produced another stakes-winner off the Godolphin production line in Exceed and Excel colt Cylinder, read about him here.
He is the 209th stakes-winner worldwide for champion sire Exceed and Excel and interestingly gave his mother Circular a race to race double as her three year-old filly by Astern, Parsifal, won the previous race.
He is the fourth SW for Exceed and Excel from a daughter of Street Cry and is bred on the same cross as dual Group I winner September Run. The nick runs at 73% winner to runner and 8% SW to runner.
The Listed VRC Talindert Stakes (1100m) was won by Maharba, who was having his first start for new trainer Grahame Begg, read about him here.
He was one of two stakes-winners on Saturday for Pride of Dubai joining Group II Avondale Guineas winner Desert Lightning with their success bringing his tally to 17 stakes-winners. He is the first SW for his sire from a daughter of champion sire More Than Ready, although there have been four winners from six runners bred this way including another stakes placed horse in Menazzi.
Pride of Dubai covered his biggest ever book of mares in 2020, so has a big crop of yearlings to be offered this year.
The Group II ATC Hobartville Stakes (1400m) produced an epic battle between three exciting colts with Osipenko getting the bob in to win, read about him here.
The 33rd stakes-winner for Pierro, Osipenko is from an imported daughter of Henrythenavigator, a shuttle sire that did not leave much of an impression here from four season of shuttling although one of his imported offspring Mugatoo (IRE) did win the $5million All Star Mile in 2021.
His female family has made a massive contribution to world breeding though as his grand-mother is a half-sister to Shamardal and his third dam Helsinki is a full sister to Street Cry, who features prominently in the pedigrees of the two juvenile stakes-winners above.
The Group III VRC CS Hayes Stakes (1400m) saw quality Dundeel colt Elliptical nail his first stakes win, read about him here.
He is the 22nd stakes-winner for Dundeel, who had a stakes double with Aquacade winning the Group II Avondale Cup and is the 28th for Testa Rossa as a broodmare sire. His daughters have proven pretty versatile at stud producing the dams of three Group I winning juveniles – Cool Aza Beel, Marky Mark and Prince Fawaz, not to mention Melbourne Cup winner Vow and Declare and Global Glamour, who won the Group I ATC Flight Stakes and MRC Thousand Guineas on a seven day back up…. It’s hard not to see him as a big plus in a pedigree!
The Group III VRC The Vanity (1400m) was won by progressive filly Wollombi, who made it three wins on the trot, read about her here.
She is the ninth stakes-winner for Extreme Choice from 61 starters with his 14.8% SW to runner strike rate marking him as something special and she is the third for Hinchinbrook as a broodmare sire.
Wollombi has a pedigree that is going to generate a lot of talk among breeding enthusiasts for it’s close duplications of multiple sires that could have led to an unsound midget that could walk under a table, but has produced a pretty smart Group winning filly that runs a strong 1400m and looks to have potential to run a mile.
She has double crosses of Danehill, Rory’s Jester and Snippets within her first four removes and a triple cross of Snippets dam Easy Date 4 x 5 x 4.
