Best On Breeding

Mark Smith - Thursday November 2

I Am Invincible and So You Think have broken clear of the pack in the race for champion sire, and both have some serious firepower in the features at Flemington and Rosehill on Saturday.

Despite having the favourite Think About It in the $3,000,000 Giga Kick Stakes at Rosehill, So You Think would do well not to fall further behind I Am Invincible, who will be represented by Hawaii Five Oh in the Golden Eagle at Rosehill and a host of chances on Derby Day at Flemington.   

King's Gambit, Tiz Invincible, I Am Unstoppable, form a powerful 3-prong attack on the Group 1 Coolmore Stud Stakes, Shuffle Dancer in the Group 1 Empire Rose Stakes, Jack the Lad in the Group II Damien Oliver, Garza Blanca in the Group III Rising Fast Stakes, Henman in the Group III Carbine Club Stakes, and Queen Of The Ball and Dancing Alone in the Group III Furphy Sprint (Begonia Belle Stakes).

Queen Of The Ball (image Steve Hart)

While Queen Of The Ball has not won in over a year, Dancing Alone has forgotten how to lose, winning six of her seven starts and was luckless in her only defeat.

Queen Of The Ball has not won in seven starts since capturing the Group III Scarborough Stakes at Moonee Valley in September last year.

The Michael Freedman-trained 4-year-old faces several more obstacles besides her winning drought. The triple Group III winner carries a stakes penalty and has drawn the outside barrier. We will let Damien Oliver sought that one out.

The winner of the Group III ATC Widden Stakes and Group III CRC Black Opal Stakes at two, Queen Of The Ball, has been racing in the silk department all her life, with 13 of her 14 starts coming in Group races.

A homebred for Sir Owen Glenn's Go Bloodstock, Queen of the Ball is the first foal from stakes-winning Fastnet Rock mare Miss Debutante, who Sir Owen purchased for $430,000 through Paul Moroney Bloodstock when consigned by Kia Ora Stud to the 2015 Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale.

Queen Of The Ball - Scarborough Stakes (image Grant Courtney)

She won four of her eight starts for Gai Waterhouse, highlighted by a dominant performance in the Listed Denise's Joy Stakes at Scone, defeating Snitty Kitty, Smart Amelia, and Eckstein.

So it was no surprise when Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott/Kestrel Thoroughbreds headed to the Gold Coast to purchase Miss Debutante's second foal, a Zoustar filly from the Newgate Farm draft for $600,000.

Advertisement

Named Platinum Jubilee, she was off to a rollicking start, winning the Gimcrack Stakes and finishing second in the Magic Millions 2yo Classic and Group II Silver Slipper Stakes. Like her big sister, things came a bit harder at three.

It would hopefully be three times a charm when Miss Debutante's third foal, Lady Of Camelot, took her place in the Group III Gimcrack Stakes at Randwick on September 30.

The Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott-trained daughter of Written Tycoon finished a luckless fourth and was spelled.

Miss Debutante foaled her first colt last spring, a son of Flying Artie, before making the trek back to Yarraman Park for a second visit to I Am Invincible.

Miss Debutante is a daughter of the imported Group II winning More Than Ready (USA) mare More Than Real (USA), who Todd Pletcher trained for celebrity chef Bobby Flay. She won the Grade II Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf two years before it was elevated to a Grade 1.

More Than Real (USA) was a US$675,000 purchase for James Bester at the 2011 Fasig-Tipton November Sale. She has proved to be a sound investment for Kia Ora with her Exceed And Excel filly Pretty Elsa selling for $1,200,00 at the 2019 Inglis Easter Yearling Sale.

More Than Real (USA) is a sister to Miss Always Ready, the dam of Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf winner Structor (Palace Malice), and Always Carina (Malibu Moon), who was runner-up in the Grade II Mother Goose Stakes at Belmont.

More Than Real and Miss Always Ready are daughters of the crack Dehere (USA) mare Miss Steffens, whose eleven wins included five stakes.

More Than  Real is still going strong, with a yearling filly by Farnan and revisited the Golden Slipper winner last season. 

Advertisment
More Reading...
Queen of the Ball Conquers in G3 Furphy Sprint
A multiple Group winner coming to Flemington on Saturday, talented I Am Invincible mare Queen of the Ball had superior form lines coming into the $200,000 Group III VRC Furphy Sprint (1100m) and showed her class to win by a length under Damien Oliver.
Written By Filly Dominates Warwick Farm Juvenile Contest
First seen at the two-year-old trials back in September, Marc Conners’ chestnut filly Penpel (Written By) produce a quality effort at just her second racetrack appearance, racing clear at Warwick Farm to score by more than three lengths.
Inglis Ready 2 Race Entries Open
Entries for the Inglis Ready2Race Sale – Australasia’s most progressive 2YO Sale – are now open.
Wootton Bassett 2YOs on the March
Wootton Bassett’s star Northern Hemisphere two year-old Albert Einstein has been ruled out of Royal Ascot with a sprained joint that will require a few weeks off, but the red hot sire added two more talented debut winning juvenile colts at The Curragh overnight.
Blueblood Import - American-Bred Jillaroo Records First Win
Purchased at the 2022 Keeneland September Yearling Sale by Ciaron Maher, the now 4yo mare Jillaroo (USA) (Curlin) initially started her racing career in the United States but after an Australian debut second at Caulfield in early May, recorded her maiden victory at Doomben.
Third Stakes Success For Justify’s Spicy Martini
A winner of four from six, three at stakes level highlighted by the reschedule Group 3 Fred Best Classic (1350m), the Toby Edmonds & Stephen McLean trained Spicy Martini (Justify) will now head to the Group 1 Stradbroke with just 49.5kgs on her back – not bad for an $8,000 online yearling purchase!
Sires With Winners - Wednesday June 4
Here is the full list of 48 stallions which had winners throughout Australasia today with winners and result details.
New Winner for Bivouac
Godolphin have been  enjoying a winning run with their late season juveniles and it continued at Geelong on Thursday where Bivouac gelding Loving opened his account.
A Passion That Lasts a Lifetime
A passion for pedigrees and thoroughbreds is often one that lasts a lifetime and so it has been for one of the co-breeders of Bravery, who contacted me this week following our earlier and very well read story on current 2YO star Cool Archie.
Queen of the Ball Wins Black Opal
A homebred for Sir Owen Glenn, that was raised at Newgate Farm as is Saturday’s Group III ATC Pago Pago Stakes winner Rise of the Masses, talented I Am Invincible filly Queen Of The Ball now sits in seventh spot on the Order of Entry for the Golden Slipper after winning the Group III Canberra Black Opal Stakes (1200m) on Sunday.