Five year old Domesday gelding Simply was sent out at the generous odds of 25/1 in the Listed AJ Scahill Cup 2100m at Ascot yesterday and returned a stakes-winner bringing a pedigree update for his baby half-brother by Aquis young gun sire Officiating (USA).
All the rage was Kiwi bred Captain Pluto (Savabeel). Coming off an impressive win in the Listed Luckygray Stakes and with the formidable Williams / Pike combination in his corner, Captain Pluto was sent to post at the prohibitive odds of 10/9.
The promising Peters Investments owned Stormageddon (So You Think) and Brandon Fiore's genuine campaigner Filthy Habits (I'm All The Talk) were well in the market at 8/1.
Super genuine War Chant mare mare Memory Parade and the Williams trained 2024 Northam Cup winner Buckets Ridge (Pride Of Dubai) were next best in the punters' minds at around 12/1.
Simply had been unplaced in each of his previous four attempts at stakes level, but was dropping considerably in weight after a good last start second at Ascot over 2200m.
His last win had been over that course in October 2024.
But this was his day! The genuine gelding under Fred Kersley was inspired to prevail in a thrilling finish, defeating Captain Pluto after both horses settled well back in the run.
Filthy Habits led most of the way with Buckets Ridge always handy. The pace was fairly muddling and Opportunistic was eased out of proceedings after racing ungenerously for some distance.
In a packing field at the 550m Kersley on Simply took off around them and it was the winning move. Pike had to go still wider on Captain Pluto as the field fanned into the straight.
Captain Pluto swept up menacingly and it looked all over but Simply dug in for the fight! He rallied strongly and stuck his long neck out on the line to record a super tough win.
Buckets Ridge (Billy Egan) was close up in third place and Stormageddon (Holly Watson) motored home late to take fourth.
Simply advances his record to 6 wins and 7 placings from 25 starts for earnings of $381,880
Simply's dam Canny Lassie (Canny Lad) showed nothing on the track from her six race starts in WA, but she is a well related mare by a legendary broodmare sire and she's done extremely well at stud.
Simply is her third stakes winner!
Canny Lassie was bred by Mr J Griffin of WA and her first three foals, all by the top class Red Ransom son Domesday, were bred by the Griffin family and partners.
Simply - foaled in 2020 - was the third of them and he was preceded by full brother Villeins who has won five races including the Listed Kalgoorlie- Boulder Cup 2100m, and sister Mistress Of Doom, a two time winner in QLD
Canny Lassie then visited another fine son of Red Ransom, Charge Forward. The resulting colt foaled in 2021 is named Too Soon and he is an upcoming talent having posted three wins from six starts including the Listed WATC Lex Piper Stakes 1600m in March this year.
Canny Lassie produced a filly to the French G1 winning miler Territories (Invincible Spirit) in 2022 who sadly died at two years.
Her sixth foal is a 2023 colt by the classy Pentire son Xtravagant and her seventh and latest offspring is a colt bred by her new owners, Aquis Farms of QLD, to the cover of their first season sire Officiating (USA).
Aquis Farm’s Officiating Syndicate purchased Canny Lassie for a mere $600 through an Inglis Digital sale in August 2024, after the mare had missed to Supido that season. She only had the one stakes winner to her name at the time.
Canny Lassie was a favourite at Aquis Farms where she had been a resident for her previous owners, so they were pleased to have the opportunity to buy her and she is now looking like quite the bargain!
Canny Lassie’s unraced dam Danish Victory was a daughter of the very good sire Vettori, one of the first avenues to the now all-conquering Machiavellian bloodline to become available to Australian breeders.
She was a half sister to the stakes winners Correct Amoondo (Snippets) and Cooldini (Bernardini) out of the unplaced Danehill mare Eliza Dane.
At stud Danish Victory produced five winners among them the stakes placed See A Victory (Mister C).
See A Victory had only one foal before she died the following season while in foal to Street Boss.
But what a foal it was! That one filly became the G1 Coolmore Classic winner Daysee Doom a daughter of Domesday, which explains the reason for the mating which produced Simply and his siblings.
Daysee Doom’s first foal is city winner Farneux (Exceed And Excel) and her current 3YO Ruination (Wootton Bassett) was a $500,000 purchase for Michael Freedman Racing / Michael Wallace Bloodstock at the 2024 Inglis Easter sale from the Riverside draft.
The promising Ruination won his first two starts before running second in the Listed Dulcify Stakes 1600m at Randwick this spring.
Simply's female line goes back to the Irish bred, Australian raced stakes winner Formal Invitation by Be My Guest who became a great producer.
Her best daughter at stud Hysterical (Wolverton) is grand dam of dual G1 winner and sire Kermadec, dual G1 placed sprinter miler Triple Elegance and G3 winning sprint mare Moss Trip.
This is also the immediate family of the redoubtable G3 winning stayer Shoreham (Reset).
It is North American in origin (family 25) and goes back to the 1954 US Broodmare Of The Year Ace Card by Case Ace, dam of champion and co -US HOTY One Count.
From this female line going back to Lardella 1780 descended many great horses, the greatest being the breedshaping sire Melbourne.
Simply is bred
Mr Prospector 5m x 5m
Sir Ivor x 5f x 5f
He becomes the 21st stakes winner for the mighty Domesday who is now also a highly successful broodmare sire - yet another representative of the amazing Best In Show family to make their mark in Australia!
Domesday was retired from stud duties in 2022.
