Five Things We Learned From Cox Plate Day

Tara Madgwick - Monday October 29

Cox Plate Day at Moonee Valley had everything - anticipation, adrenalin and at the end of it all there were tears of joy as Winx raced into history with a fourth Cox Plate win, so what did we take out of this from a bloodstock perspective – how to breed another Winx, the best advertising a stud can have and some more genetic magic.

1/ How do you breed another Winx? Apparently by sending her dam to Japan for a hot date with Deep Impact.

16 year-old Vegas Showgirl has produced seven named foals to date, two of them have raced being Winx and the Snitzel colt El Divino, who did win the Group III ATC Kindergarten Stakes at two, but later broke down as an older horse and was euthanized.

As you can see in the produce record above for Vegas Showgirl, the only stallion she has been to that could be called a middle-distance horse (Street Cry) has produced a superstar, so it's no surprise to see her owner John Camilleri of Fairway Thoroughbreds thinking outside the square to send her to one of the world's best classic sires in Deep Impact.

2/ Is there any better advertising for your stallion roster than this?

Serious classic sires deliver some of the best racehorses in the world, what more do you need to say. Australasian breeders have had the opportunity to go to all of these stallions over the years and our racing is much the better for it!

3/ Invincible Two Year-Olds - The $500,000 Inglis Banner was won by brilliant filly Espaaniyah , who has given her sire I Am Invincible an early lead on the Australian first season sires list on a weekend when his sire Invincible Spirit sired the winners of the last two juvenile Group I races in Europe in Magna Grecia and Royal Meeting. (Read more about it here)

Given the growing number of Invincible Spirit line sires available to breeders it's not hard to see a time in the future when this sireline may rival that of Danehill.

4/ Melbourne Cup heroes combine to make a Derby contender– The only son of champion German sire Monsun at stud in Australia, Melbourne Cup and Australian Cup winner Fiorente (IRE) hit the frame with a promising stayer when three year-old Stars of Carrum won the Group II MVRC Drummonds Golf Vase (2040m).

Stars of Carrum heads next to the Victoria Derby and is certainly bred to get the trip as his second and third dams are by Melbourne Cup winners Jeune (GB) and At Talaq (USA). 2500 metres should hold no fears for him!

5/ Genetic magic makes another stakes filly – Tassie bred Mystic Journey won the Group II MVRC Aquis Fillies Classic (1600m) and like last week's stakes-winning filly Verry Elleegant has some interesting line breeding to significant broodmares.

Her sire Needs Further is a well bred Group III winning son of Encosta de Lago that has achieved good success in Tasmania and her dam White Gold is a minor two time winner by the unraced Zabeel stallion Colombia, a full brother to Octagonal from legendary producer Eight Carat (GB).

None of that screams commercial pedigree which is why she made just $11,000 at the Magic Millions Tasmanian Yearling Sale, but there is a lot more going on when you look a bit further back.

White Gold traces in tail female line to Eight Carat's dam Klairessa, so while she was not a great racehorse herself, she does pack a powerful genetic punch despite the fact her first three dams could not produce a stakes-winner of any type. Zabeel has always been a key factor in the success of the Eight Carat dynasty and it's interesting that Needs Further hails from the same family as Zabeel, his grand-dam Significant Moment being a half-sister to Zabeel.

As you can see in the tabulation below, Mystic Journey has double crosses of not only Klairessa, but also Lady Giselle (dam of Zabeel) and throw in a triple of Northern Dancer and it's a pedigree that makes a lot of sense.