Red Letter Day for Holy Roman Emperor

Mark Smith - Sunday May 27

Following the win of Duca Valentinois (IRE) in the Group III Lord Mayor's Cup at Doomben, the Ken Condon-trained Romanised completed a grand 24 hours for Aquis Farm's Holy Roman Emperor (IRE) when he pulled off a 25/1 surprise in the Group 1Tattersalls Irish 2,000 Guineas at the Curragh.

Romanised came with a barnstorming finish from near last under Shane Foley to defeat U S Navy Flag by two and a quarter lengths with Gustav Klimt a further one and a quarter lengths back in third.

Advertisement


It was the first Classic win for Condon and his first winner anywhere this year.

"We kept faith in him and he had excuses at Naas on his comeback," Condon told Sporting Life.

"He worked the best he's worked all spring last Tuesday. We knew we were a long shot coming in here, but I felt he was going to run a big race.

"He's always shown talent and he just seems to have come to himself in the last few weeks.

"I'm in a bit of shock and it will be a few days before it sinks in. It's just amazing to win a classic. It's all I wanted to do when I entered racing.

"It's a very select club and to actually step into that club feels like you are walking through special doors to be considered one of those.

"I knew I was never going to be training a huge amount of winners, but we aimed to have a few nice horses through our hands.

"I thought he'd run well, but to win is magic.

"We just train 30 and we are lucky enough to have a few stakes performers among them. It's nice to work with nice horses.

"There are a lot of guys like me. The country is full of very good horsemen and very good riders and we're all looking to get our hands on a good horse and show what you can do.

"Thankfully he walked through our door and he showed us very early on that he was talented."


A three-quarter brother to Hong Kong Horse Of The Year Designs on Rome, Romanised is a half-brother to two other stakes winners, the dual Listed winner Fictional Account (Stravinsky) who was the Champion Older Female Stayer in Ireland in 2011 and the well-travelled Rock Of Romance (Rock Of Gibraltar), whose ventures to France, Italy, Germany and Switzerland were highlighted by his win in the Group III St Leger Italiano at Milan.

The dam of Romanised, the winning Indian Ridge mare Romantic Venture, is a daughter of Summer Trysting (Alleged) who is a half-sister to the Jonathon Munz owned mare Rekindled Affair the dam of dual Group II winner and Group 1 placed Rekindled Interest (Redoute's Choice).

Holy Roman Emperor (IRE) is enjoying a renaissance in Australia and his undoubted appeal to Hong Kong buyers makes the Group 1 winning son of Danehill an attractive proposition for breeders at a fee of $9,900 at Aquis Farm this spring.

Advertisment
More Reading...
Newhaven Park Blueblood Colt Bolts in for Te Akau
Exceptional Encosta de Lago filly English was rated the Champion 2YO and 3YO Filly of her generation and the Newhaven Park homebred produced her first winner on Wednesday when exciting Snitzel colt King’s English opened his account in the Te Akau tangerine.
One to Watch - Geelong
By champion sire I Am Invincible from Group I winning sprinter Volpe Veloce, this lightly raced three year-old filly was an eye-catching maiden winner at Geelong on Wednesday.
Kiwis Target Jericho Cup
Shaune Ritchie and Colm Murray took out the 2023 edition of the A$304,000 Jericho Cup (4600m) at Warrnambool with Nassak Diamond, and on Sunday they will be seeking to usurp their former stable runner in the marathon feature with Tempest Moon.
Women Taking Over at HTBA
The Hunter Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association is honored to announce the appointment of its first woman president at its recent AGM and to handing over the reigns to the first female duo, to lead the HTBA as President and Vice-President.
Sires With Winners - Wednesday November 26
Here is the full list of 46 stallions which had winners throughout Australasia today with winners and result details.
Tragic Death of St Jean
This year’s Melbourne Cup provided the ultimate fairytale result when Australian bred stayer Half Yours claimed a memorable victory for champion jockey Jamie Melham and popular trainers Tony and Calvin McEvoy, but there has been a tragic twist to this story.
La Crique Ready for G1 Return
Twelve months since the start of a frustrating run of Group One seconds in the TAB Mufhasa Classic (1600m), Te Awamutu mare La Crique is ready to go one better in next week’s Trentham feature.
Star Kiwi Mares Primed for Rich Summer Races
Ken and Bev Kelsos’ millionaire duo of Legarto and Alabama Lass are well on target for further major assignments as the feature summer racing period looms.
260,000 Guineas Havana Grey Colt Tops Tattersalls December Foals Day 2
Australian breeders have had exposure to the Havana Grey sireline this spring with his champion son Vandeek (GB) shuttling to Arrowfield Stud and his foals were in hot demand overnight - Strong trade on the second day of the Tattersalls December Foal Sale was headed by a 260,000 guineas HAVANA GREY colt, the highest priced foal sold in the session since 2018.
Yulong Swoop on Within the Law Shares on MM Digital
Two shares in Bjorn Baker and Darby Racing's star three-year-old filly Within the Law were well sought after in the Magic Millions Digital Sale (21-26 November) which concluded today with Yulong buying back into a filly they bred and sold as a yearling.