Two Group I races won on Friday night and Saturday by a four year-old stallion and a three year-old colt are likely to have a big bearing on the breeding industry as we move forward and we’ll also take a look at a colt that only won a Listed race, but it’s a Listed race that in recent times has been won by colts with bigger fish to fry.
Southport Tycoon wins his second G1 race - image Grant Courtney
The Group I MVRC Manikato Stakes (1200m) was won in a thriller by last season’s Group I VRC Australian Guineas winner Southport Tycoon, who nailed Yulong’s exciting three year-old Zoustar colt Growing Empire on the line, read about them here.
Southport Tycoon ticks a lot of boxes as a stallion prospect being from an elite US female family, by a proven sire of sires in Written Tycoon and his dam sire More Than Ready (USA) is one of the most successful shuttle sires we’ve ever had.
Written Tycoon and More Than Ready have forged quite an affinity with 25 winners from 30 runners (83% winner to runner) bred this way and three are SW’s, but tellingly they are all G1 winners Southport Tycoon joining Coolangatta and La Luna Rossa. The SW to runner strike rate for the nick of 10% is significantly higher than Written Tycoon’s SW to runner strike rate of 5.2%.
His dam Ready to Rule is a US bred daughter of More Than Ready from a quality female family that has had good success in Australia producing Group I winners Delectation and Artorius, whose first foals are being born this spring.
Southport Tycoon is completely free of Danehill blood as is Written Tycoon’s other dual G1 winning exciting young sire son Ole Kirk, who has his first runners this season.
The Group I ATC Golden Rose (1400m) produced an outstanding finish with four terrific colts together on the line and the winner Broadsiding booked his place in history as the first horse to win the race first up from a spell, read about him here.
Broadsiding is now a three time Group I winner in Australia for Dubawi’s outstanding son Too Darn Hot (GB), the Champion 2YO Colt of his generation, who trained on to win two more Group I races at three up to 1600m and never missed a place in nine starts.
Too Darn Hot has two full sisters that are both Group winning stayers and his dam Dar Re Mi and grand-dam Darara are Group I winners up to 2400m with the latter a blue hen that left four Group I winners among her five stakes-winners.
Few stallion prospects have ever come to Australia with as much pedigree and performance as Too Darn Hot, so to see him Champion First Season Sire and now setting the pace as a second season sire is not exactly unexpected.
Broadsiding is bred on a broader nick that has had good success. Too Darn Hot’s sire Dubawi has a great record with daughters of Street Cry. Street Cry nick has had 16 winners from 21 starters, so 76% winners to runners with six stakes-winners making for 28.5% SW to runner and those SW’s are headed by G1 winners Rebel’s Romance and Albahr.
Too Darn Hot has had five runners so far from daughters of Street Cry and produced four winners and in addition to Broadsiding the Australian bred Group III placed filly Arabian Summer is also bred this way.
Broadsiding’s second and third dams are by champion sires Redoute’s Choice and Zabeel, tracing back to fifth dam My Gold Hope, who won both the Group I Doncaster Handicap and All Aged Stakes, so he really is all class and does have a great mix of the bloodlines that have defined our bloodstock industry through the start of this century.
The Listed ATC Heritage Stakes (1100m) has been won three times in the last four years by Ozzmosis, Home Affairs and Wild Ruler, who all went on to win at G1 level and are all standing in the Hunter Valley this spring and this year’s winner Perspiration will command interest, read about him here.
Perspiration is the third Australian stakes-winner for Too Darn Hot (GB) joining Broadsiding and Silmarillion and given his soaring profile any stakes-winning son of his will come under consideration as a stud prospect. He will need to do more to be considered by the elite farms, but this was encouraging as he powered to the line to beat hot favourite Gatsby’s, who would be another fringe option as a stallion prospect.
Perspiration comes from a fast running female family going back to lighting fast filly Mother Duck, a multiple Group winner who spawned a dynasty of speedy stakes horses and while a Group I winner for the family has been elusive, Too Darn Hot might be the catalyst to change that!
