Foxwedge Mare Wins Group Two Shannon

Tara Madgwick - Saturday September 22
Denise Martin's Star Thoroughbreds have enjoyed success at the highest level with Foxwedge mare Foxplay and were back in the frame with another daughter of the Newgate Farm foundation sire when Noire captured the Group II ATC Shannon Stakes at Rosehill on Saturday.



Prepared by Chris Waller, five year-old mare Noire (images Steve Hart) is somewhat of a late bloomer having not started racing until her three year-old season with a patient approach clearly now paying dividends.

Noire returns to scaleA close last start second to her stable mate Invincibella (also owned by Star Thoroughbreds) in the Group II ATC Sheraco Stakes, Noire was favourite for this 1500 metre contest with a step up in distance and return to good ground expected to prove to her liking.

She hit the line hard for Tommy Berry to win by a neck taking her overall record to an impressive seven wins and five placings from 15 starts with prizemoney in excess of $450,000.

The performance put her right into calculation for the Group I ATC Epsom Handicap next Saturday with bookmakers slashing her price for the feature 1600 metre handicap.

"It was a good run last start. She got bobbed out in a photo finish by one of Denise's other horses (Invincibella) so fortunately these owners got the spoils today," Waller said.

"It was a good, tough win. She's come from last, she came around the outside and finished off as you like to see.

"She is a five-year-old so she is certainly a latecomer. She has always showed us enough ability and hasn't been overraced. She is thriving."

A $135,000 Inglis Easter purchase for Star from the Highgrove Stud draft, Noire is a half-sister to stakes-placed Global Dream, Maraatib and Valoura and is the best of seven winners from good producer Valadon, a half-sister to Group II winners Timbourina and Media.

Valadon died in 2017 and her last foal is a Fastnet Rock two year-old filly that is entered for the Magic Millions 2YO's in Training Sale as Lot 182

She made $245,000 at the Magic Millions National Yearling Sale when bought by Chevaux Bloodstock, who are offering her at the breeze up sale..

Noire is the tenth stakes-winner for Newgate Farm's Foxwedge, who has developed into a reliable source of winners and quality stakes horses with three Group I winners in his tally of stakes-winners - Foxplay, Volpe Veloce and Urban Fox.



He represents great value as a proven son of champion sire Fastnet Rock standing at a fee of $22,000.

Advertisment
More Reading...
Blueblood Lonhro Colt Wins G1 Spring Champion
At the start of August we ran a story about the 3YO’s that were entered for this year Cox Plate and aside from the usual suspects there were some ‘Cox Plate dreamers’ and one of them was unraced Lonhro colt Attica, who capped his meteoric rise to fame with a thrilling victory in the $2million Group I ATC Spring Champion Stakes (2000m) at Randwick on Saturday.
Te Akau Win G3 War Decree Stakes with Snitzel Filly
Te Akau Racing made a blistering start to the afternoon across both New Zealand meetings on Saturday, racking up six wins in a three-hour period including with a pair of potential candidates for next month’s Gr.1 New Zealand 1000 Guineas (1600m).
First Winner for Home Affairs
Exciting young sire Home Affairs opened his account with his first winner in New Zealand on Saturday with a dominant debut victory for race favourite Harvey Wallbanger at Ellerslie.
Stefi Magnetica Smashes Through $7m Mark
Already a dual Group1 winner, Bjorn Baker’s 5yo All Too Hard mare Stefi Magnetica added the $2m Group 2 ATC The Invitational (1400m) to her impressive record, with her earnings smashing through the $7m mark for her ownership group headed by the Cunningham family.
Star Kiwi Foxwedge Mare Primed for G2 Theo Marks
Group One winner Volpe Veloce will have the opportunity to continue an impressive streak when she lines-up in the Group II  Theo Marks Stakes (1300m) at Rosehill on Saturday.
Invincible Colt Wins $1million G2 Callander Presnell for Godolphin
Progressive I Am Invincible colt Ohope won the $1million ATC Tapp Craig (1400m) at his previous start, however was not rewarded officially with Black Type for that result, but he did achieve stakes-winner status at Randwick on Saturday when scoring a determined win over quality colt Rivellino in the $1million ATC Callander Presnell (1600m).
15th Stakes-Winner for Foxwedge
Talented Foxwedge mare Foxy Housewife has always threatened to win a Black Type race and the six year-old made the quantum leap at Wyong on Friday when taking out a hugely competitive $140,000 Listed Mona Lisa Stakes.
Star Foxwedge Mare Chasing Another G1 Before Retirement
Volpe Veloce gave trainer Graham Richardson one of his biggest moments in racing when she won the Gr.1 Railway (1200m) two years ago and he is hoping to finish her career on a similar high.
Wootton Bassett Colt Leads Coolmore G1 Trifecta
The last British Group I race of the flat season was run overnight at Doncaster with Aidan O’Brien producing a trifecta of two year-old colts led by a son of the late Wootton Bassett (GB) in Hawk Mountain, who was too good for a pair of Frankel colts.
2025 Cox Plate Result - Fastnet Rock and Waller Quinella
A genuine champion sire should be able to produce the horses that win the very best races in the country in which they stand and the late great Fastnet Rock have us a demonstration of that when his high class Northern Hemisphere bred offspring Via Sistina (IRE) and Buckaroo (GB) fought out an epic finish to the $6million Group I MVRC WS Cox Plate (2040m) at Moonee Valley on Saturday.