The Melbourne Premier Yearling Sale again flexed its muscle as being one of the best producing auctions in Australasia when Crown Prosecutor won today's Group 1 New Zealand Derby.
A graduate of the 2017 Melbourne sale, Crown Prosecutor (Medaglia d'Oro x Riptide) claimed his maiden Group 1 at just his seventh start and could now be seen on Australian soil during the Sydney autumn.
The Hesket Bloodstock-bred 3YO colt was a $50,000 buy for Bruce Perry Bloodstock, from the Woodside Stud draft.
He joins the likes of Santa Ana Lane, Beat The Clock, Seabrook, Written By, Youngstar and Booker as Melbourne Premier graduates to have won a Group 1 in the past year alone.
Crown Prosecutor also became the seventh individual Group 1-winning Inglis graduate for 2019.
Perry has only ever bought two colts from the Melbourne Premier Sale – Crown Prosecutor and Ardrossan, a Stakes-winning Group 1-placed colt which has won four of his eight starts and will contest the Group 1 Canterbury Stakes at Randwick next Saturday.
"It's been a very good sale to me and my clients and I'm here now looking at a few and there are some really nice horses here again this year,'' Perry said.
"Crown Prosecutor was always a lovely athletic horse and he's now won a Group 1 and a Group 3 from just seven starts.''
In a perfectly-timed pedigree update, Crown Prosecutor's Street Boss half sister is lot 414 at the Melbourne Premier Yearling Sale, which begins at 11am tomorrow at Oaklands and runs until Wednesday afternoon.
She is being offered by Blue Gum Farm.
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Meanwhile Alassio (Foxwedge) won her second consecutive Stakes race at Randwick today when victorious in the Group 2 Guy Walter Stakes.
Co-trainer Gai Waterhouse purchased the mare with Julian Blaxland for $50,000 from the 2015 Australian Easter Yearling Sale, where she was offered by Emirates Park.
The lightly-raced 5YO is proving herself to be a rising star, having now won six of her 10 career starts, and will be tested at Group 1 level in the Coolmore Classic next start.
Violate (Sebring) made a winning return when claiming today's Group 3 Shaftesbury Avenue Hcp at Flemington.
It was the 5YO's first race start since October.
It was a second Stakes win for Violate, who was a $70,000 Australian Easter Yearling Sale buy for owners Cloud 9 Thoroughbreds, from Turangga Farm.
And Victorian-trained gallopers Lady Naturaliste (Choisir) and Bondeiger (War Pass) both won Stakes races at Morphettville today.
Bondeiger proved too strong in the Group 3 Lord Reims Stakes for Ciaron Maher and David Eustace, taking his career earnings to almost $700,000.
Bondeiger was a successful pinhooking result through the ring.
He was first sold to Milawa Park from Three Bridges Thoroughbreds for $10,000 at the Great Southern Sale as a weanling, before reaching $75,000 at the Melbourne Premier Yearling Sale where Eales Racing bought her from the DM Bloodstock draft.
The 2YO filly Lady Naturaliste franked the Inglis Millennium form – she finished sixth behind Castelvecchio – by winning the Listed Cinderella Stakes.
Lady Naturaliste was a $150,000 buy for Peter Diamond, Boomer Bloodstock and her trainer Matt Cumani at last year's Easter Sale, where she was offered by Edinburgh Park.
There were multiple pedigree updates for the 2019 Easter Sale resulting from today's racing.
Fastnet Rock 2YO filly Anaheed was an impressive winner of the Group 2 Sweet Embrace Stakes – her half brother by Medaglia d'Oro (ex Rostova) is lot 231 for Segenhoe Stud.
And Dreamforce returned to the winners' stall in the Group 3 Liverpool City Cup – his sister (Fastnet Rock x Eskimo Queen) is lot 444 at Easter for Kitchwin Hills.
Dreamforce is an Easter graduate himself – he was also offered by Kitchwin.
