It was a banner occasion for the ever-consistent Commands son Rommel on Magic Millions WA races day 2026 with both feature winners having family to be offered at the 2026 Perth Magic Millions Yearling Sale this week.
The G2 WA Guineas hero sired both of the Restricted Listed feature winners on the card, with daughter Maria Lucia racing away with the $250,000 MM 2YO Classic and son Twisted Steel bolting in the $250,000 MM 3YO Trophy!
Rommel stood for many years at Mogumber Park stud and has been a popular sire, offering particularly good value for buyers on a budget.
In 2023 the handsome stallion - now an elder statesman of the WA breeding scene - moved to a new home at Ridgeport Farm.
Rommel placed in both the MM 2YO Classic and the 3YO Trophy himself in his racing days. His progeny are blessed with great speed and many are up and running at two.
Maria Lucia is Rommel's first MM 2YO Classic winner - but he now has a brace of 3YO Trophy winners to his name, as his daughter Pixie Chix also won the rich prize.
It was a remarkable double for Rommel - but perhaps an even greater one for the dam of his 2YO Classic Winner, Maria Lucia.
Rare indeed is the mare who can produce consecutive winners of a major juvenile race, by two different sires, with her first two foals!
But that's exactly what Mogumber Park Stud broodmare Mindarie can boast, because her flying filly Maria Lucia is a half sister to her first foal Do I Feel Lucky (Dirty Work) who won the 2YO Classic last year.
Do I Feel Lucky was a $100,000 Perth MM purchase for his owner Maureen Daly, and she bought his half sister for $105,000 at the 2025 sale.
Both MM winners were saddled by the state’s leading trainers of juveniles, Sean and Jake Casey and both were ridden to victory by Chris Parnham - in fact, it was the jockey’s fourth straight success in the $250,000 feature!
Maria Lucia started favourite for the Classic after her scintillating debut win at Ascot where she defeated the explosive Daryte (Portland Sky) by two lengths.
Second favourite was the exciting Splintex filly They'reallsisters, unbeaten from two starts having twice had the better of promising colt Boy Crush, with Pike to ride.
Punters had called it a race in three between these classy fillies and everything else in the big field was out the gate.
In the tussle for the lead the babies were fired up and the pace was hot. Yamanex was getting a good run in behind them and They’reallsisters was positioned just about midfield with Kute As Can Be (Acrobat) racing on her outside.
Heads turned for home in the Classic and Luz Del Sol and Sovereign Rock led them into the straight at full bore, but they were running on fumes. Daryte had moved up ominously at the urging of Brad Parnham despite her tough run and swept past them at the 200m as Maria Lucia was produced at the perfect moment! Kute As Can Be was in the firing line and tried valiantly to go with her, but the favourite shook her off.
Daryte would not be overpowered so easily and fought hard, but her tough run told in the end. Maria Lucia was too strong and won the 2YO Classic convincingly by three quarters of a length.
The two fancied Splintex fillies both charged to the line late with They'reallsisters taking second a short half head in advance of Yamanex. Daryte ran a mighty race and held on bravely in fourth.
Connections watched on proudly as their filly jig- jogged back to the enclosure, looking as bright as a button and every inch the professional two year old.
“I can't really explain how it feels,” said trainer Sean Casey of the stable’s back to back victories in the race.
“I think she's going to have longevity. I reckon she could really rise. Chris worked out where he would be in the race, he worked out beforehand exactly how he was going to ride her and he had a couple of plans.
“She is just a beautiful horse.”
Jockey Chris Parnham also believes the talented filly is only just hitting her straps.
“Since I was booked for the ride I've been doing a fair bit of track work on her, and she couldn't have impressed me more the way she felt like she bounced out of that last run. I came into this race very confident,” said the star hoop.
“The first few hundred metres was run a little bit quick, and I had to extricate her out of a bit of a tricky situation too, but once she got out I was very confident she had the race won.
“I think she's got a fair bit left in store, particularly in her two year old season. I think she'll go to the Karrakatta as a live chance.
“She feels like she's got a bit more class than her half brother (last year’s winner)- I think they've got a fair bit more to play with.”
Maria Lucia remains undefeated in two starts and advances her earnings to $221,540. Her residual value has soared as she becomes the latest black type earner in a family that is a truly prolific source of them and has been for generations.
As mentioned, her dam Mindarie is doing a magnificent job of flying the flag for Mogumber Park’s matriarch Clarecastle!
Mindarie has a yearling colt by A Lot (USA) that was entered in Perth Magic Millions, but has been withdrawn.
Mindarie produced a 2025 colt by Awesome Rock.
A lightly raced, winning juvenile herself, Mindarie is a full sister to the speed machine Castle Road - who won the Listed Supremacy Stakes last season and recently won a trial in preparation for his return to the track - and to the stakes placed juveniles Specialism and More Special, all by Exceed And Excel's son Safeguard.
She also has a stakes placed half sister Royal Strata (Stratum), and they are the best of nine winners from ten to race for Mogumber Park's truly remarkable producer Clarecastle.
The non-winner is the two year old Lucy Red and she failed to gain a run as an emergency for this year's Magic Millions 2YO Classic.
Another sired by Safeguard, this filly was a $220,000 Perth MM buy for trainer Paul Jordan and she has plenty of time to become winner number ten for her dam!
Clarecastle is a daughter of noted broodmare sire Tribu (by Kenmare and from the family of Kaoru Star)
She was an excellent racemare, winning four times and earning more than $400,000, runner up in the Champion Fillies Stakes - but at stud she was been a revelation!
Clarecastle's dam Colorado Bell by the Orgoglio grandson Santa Brae was a black type winner and producer.
Herein lies a key to the speed and precocity of Clarecastle's progeny from the Safeguard cross, as the mating provides for a 4f x 5f duplication of mighty Vain and sex balances both his damsire Orgoglio, and Biscay. Another feature is linebreeding to the fine mare Dodoma.
This female line (a branch of family 1-i) has been an ultra consistent source of stakes winners for many generations and descends from Dame Gossip, a daughter of Magpie's champion son Windbag who won the 1965 Melbourne Cup,l From her the line goes back to the NZ bred Otterform, a full sister to the legendary Martian ( 7 x NZ Champion sire) and his successful brother Boniform.
This is also the immediate family of G1 Karrakatta Plate winner Dynamic Beau (Dynamo {NZ}).
Mogumber Park will proudly present the precious final yearling from Clarecastle at the upcoming MM sale.
The bonny grey mare passed away last year but - her legacy is going from strength to strength!
Clarecastle's last foal is a cracking colt by Mogumber's exciting young sire Marine One (Capitalist).
He will go through the ring as Lot 145.
Here are further related yearlings on offer from this amazingly successful family:
Filly by Sessions from the stakes placed Royal Strata (Stratum) - half sister to Mindarie, Castle Road etc. This is,her second foal, her first is a 2YO. Vendor: Forest View Farm
Colt by Marine One from 3 x winning Castle Queen (Oratorio) - half sister Castle Road, Mindarie etc.
This colt is a half brother to Sovereign Rock, who led the 2026 2YO Classic Field for home. The mare's only other to race is a winner. Vendor: Mogumber Park
