Glamour Mares with G1 Credentials - What Are They Worth?

Tara Madgwick - Sunday February 16

The Group I VRC Lightning Stakes (1000m) was billed as a clash of the super 3YO colts, but as they fizzled under pressure it was the mares that came out on top with the first three horses home all being mares and all owned by partnerships that may in the future look to cash in their fleet footed females, so we through we’d take a closer look at the pedigrees.

Advertisement

The Mitch Freedman trained Skybird took the prize as a roughie, but the reality is she has always shown more than a touch of class as a dual Group II winner and was third in the Group I MRC Thousand Guineas to Joliestar and Kimochi.

A $110,000 Inglis Classic purchase, Skybird on face value has a pedigree that is not fashionable being by Exosphere from a daughter of Wanted, but there is a bit more to it than that.

Skybird was a $110,000 Inglis Classic yearling purchase.

Go a generation back and look at the sires of those sires – Lonhro and Fastnet rock and now we’re cooking with gas, also take in her female family as her third dam is stakes-winning Storm Bird mare Snow Finch (IRE).

A prolific producer, Snow Finch left 10 winners headed by Group III winner Captain Bax and influential stakes-winner Snippets’ Lass, the dam of Group I winning champion sire Snitzel, Group III winning sire Hinchinbrook and the dam of Group I ATC Epsom Handicap winner Rediener. Also throw into the family $11.9million earning Group I winner Private Eye and you can see why the Skybird owners are sitting on a potential fortune.

A $64,000 Magic Millions National Yearling Sale purchase, runner-up Stretan Angel is a Group II winner and this is her second G1 placing as she chased Benedetta for second in the Group I SAJC Goodwood Handicap last year and was fourth in the spring in the Group I VRC Darley Champions Sprint.

Stretan Angel was a $64,000 Magic Millions National Yearling purchase.

Stretan Angel is by Harry Angel (IRE) and has a very diverse pedigree that is free of Danehill blood and her first three dams are all by US sires Bernardini, Fusaichi Pegasus and Dehere. It’s a strong Black Type female family albeit missing a G1 winner which Stretan Angel may well change before her racing days are done.

A $75,000 Inglis Premier Yearling purchase, Hellbent mare Benedetta won the Group I SAJC Goodwood Handicap last year after finishing third in the Group I SAJC Robert Sangster Stakes and she was also fourth last year in both the Group I VRC Newmarket Handicap and MRC Oakleigh Plate.

Benedetta was a $75,000 Inglis Premier yearling purchase.

She is one of two Group I winning mares by Hellbent and the other is Magic Time, who has already been bought privately by Yulong, so it’s not hard to see Benedetta being in similar demand.

On the pedigree front she has only one strain of Danehill and it’s back a little as her grand-dam is by Elvstroem, but what is intriguing about her pedigree is that she comes from a very old and very good female family tracing back to VRC Oaks winner Leica Show. This is a family that historically has produced serious G1 horses and Benedetta fits that profile.

Advertisment

Race Result - Black Caviar Lightning Gr1 1000m

Flemington Track: Soft(7) Time: 0:59.05
1
Skybird
- 4m Exosphere (AUS) x Real Desire (AUS) (Wanted (AUS))
Tnr: Mitchell Freedman Rdr: John Allen 56.5
2
1
Stretan Angel
- 4m Harry Angel (IRE) x Sretan (AUS) (Bernardini (USA))
Tnr: P Stokes Rdr: Lachlan Neindorf 56.5
3
2.8
Benedetta
- 5m Hellbent (AUS) x Whatalovelyday (AUS) (Domesday (AUS))
Tnr: Jason Warren Rdr: D W Stackhouse 56.5
Hellbent
4
2.8
Switzerland
- 3c Snitzel (AUS) x Ms Bad Behavior (CAN) (Blame (USA))
Tnr: C J Waller Rdr: J B Mc Donald 55.5
5
3.5
Traffic Warden
- 3c Street Boss (USA) x Efficiently (AUS) (Exceed And Excel (AUS))
Tnr: James Cummings Rdr: Jamie Melham 55.5
6
4.3
Mazu
- 6g Maurice (JPN) x Chatelaine (AUS) (Flying Spur (AUS))
Tnr: Joseph Pride Rdr: B Melham 58.5
7
4.7
Growing Empire
- 3c Zoustar (AUS) x Miles Of Krishan (AUS) (Snitzel (AUS))
Tnr: C Maher Rdr: M Zahra 55.5
8
7.7
Way To The Stars
- 6g Reward For Effort (AUS) x Writteninthestars (AUS) (Written Tycoon (AUS))
Tnr: Matthew Smith Rdr: L Currie 58.5
9
10.4
Philosopher
- 5g Zoustar (AUS) x Lone (AUS) (Sepoy (AUS))
Tnr: E Jusufovic Rdr: M J Dee 58.5
10
10.7
Joyful Fortune
- 8g Nicconi (AUS) x Sneaky Tsu (AUS) (Tsuimai (AUS))
Tnr: Ben, Will & Jd Hayes Rdr: H Coffey 58.5
More Reading...
Sires With Winners - Monday August 25
Here is the full list of 12 stallions which had winners throughout Australasia today with winners and result details.
First Southern Hemisphere foals for Paddington
A four-time Group I winner by champion French sire Siyouni, European superstar, PADDINGTON, has had his first Southern Hemisphere foals arrive on the ground at Windsor Park.
Was it that Unusual? Who is the Oldest?
There was a lot of attention in the media regarding the age of Australian Horse of the Year elect Via Sistina (IRE) when she returned to racing for a new campaign at Randwick last Saturday, but was it really that uncommon to see an eight year-old G1 winner?
Sires With Winners - Sunday August 24
Here is the full list of 67 stallions which had winners throughout Australasia today with winners and result details.
Well Bred Zousain Debut Winner
A full sister to Zousain’s Group III winning filly Drifting, Cheeky Contiki made a winning debut at Pakenham on Monday for the Lindsay Park Racing team.
Spring Trial Watch – Hawkesbury
There was an interesting set of trials at Hawkesbury on Monday that featured heat winners including Golden Slipper winner Marhoona, Randwick Guineas winner Linebacker as well as the Waterhouse Bott stable Cups contenders Sir Delius (GB) and Vauban (FR), plus we may have seen an Everest horse.
Commemorative Retired to Stud
Watching the progress of Godolphin horses as they start stepping our for their new trainers has been interesting to say the least and will get more so this weekend when we see Tom Kitten go around in the Group I MRC Memsie Stakes at Caulfield, but one horse we won’t be seeing again is Commemorative.
Narrow Miss for Hellbent Gelding in G2 Foxbridge
Lhasa proved he is more than a synthetic track specialist when he nearly caused an upset when finishing runner-up in Saturday’s Gr.2 Foxbridge Plate (1200m) at Te Rapa.
Top Filly Beats Top Colt in G1 Prix Morny
The Group I Prix Morny (1200m) at Deauville overnight produced a mightly clash between unbeaten Starspangled banner colt Gstaad and unbeaten filly Venetian Sun with the filly prevailing, although Starspangledbanner got some consolation with a new G3 winning 2YO at Goodwood.
Merchant Navy 3YO Primed for Spring Stakes Campaign
Cody Cole is happy to play a waiting game with Landlock before confirming the three-year-old’s main goals for the season.