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HTBA Champion 2YO double for Emirates Park

Media Release - Thursday May 10
The respective racing and breeding operations of Emirates Park each featured at the 2018 Annual Hunter Thoroughbred Breeders' Association awards ceremony held in Scone overnight in two of the most coveted categories of the evening.

Top honours in the 2-year-old division went to the exceptional filly Estijaab and outstanding colt Santos — a brace of juveniles Emirates Park can safely lay claims to in more ways than one.

Emirates Park owned and raced Estijaab was recognised as the HTBA Champion 2YO Filly (Sponsored by Scone Race Club) after her all-the-way Group 1 Golden Slipper victory. Accepting the honour for breeding the brilliant daughter of Snitzel was Paul Messara on behalf of the successful Arrowfield Stud-Yoshida Family partnership.

It is now well documented that Emirates Park purchased Estijaab for $1.7 million out of the 2017 Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale for which she was consigned by Arrowfield Stud. In her one and only racing campaign to date, Estijaab not only claimed the $3.5 million Golden Slipper Stakes (G1) but also the $300,000 Reisling Stakes (G2), earning in excess of $2,335,000 in prizemoney.

Santos was recognised as the HTBA Champion 2YO Colt (Sponsored by International Animal Health Products). One of the leading juvenile performers of the 2017/18 racing season, Santos is not only a product of Emirates Park's highly successful breeding program, but the ultra-precious son of I Am Invincible is also part-owned by the stud.

A placegetter in the $150,000 Listed Breeders' Plate on debut during the spring, Santos returned to racing in late-summer to land the $150,000 Pierro Plate, before claiming the $200,000 Skyline Stakes at Group 2 level.

Santos is not only a maternal grandson of Emirates Park's celebrated racehorse and sire Secret Savings (USA), the quality colt also hails from a family that the stud has developed with tremendous success and features the likes of Fat Al (Epsom Hcp-G1), Mutawaajid and Fatoon.

In receiving the HTBA Champion 2YO Colt award on behalf of Emirates Park, the organisation's long-serving Director of Operations, Dr Shalabh Sahu, praised the near 30-year commitment of His Excellency Nassar Lootah to the Australian Thoroughbred Industry, at the same time as recognising the heightened level of involvement of His Excellency's son Hussain in more recent time.

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