Nicks That Click – That’s No Coincidence

When a nick between two high profile sires delivers two Group I winners from just five runners it’s probably time to have a closer look at why it’s been successful and how it can be repeated.

Gytrash was an unexpected Group I winner of the VRC Lightning Stakes on Saturday at Flemington, but from a pedigree perspective he’s an interesting one as he’s bred on the same Lope de Vega (IRE) x Fastnet Rock cross as Santa Ana Lane, another brilliant sprinter and five time Group I winner.

There have only been five runners bred this way and three are winners, but there is no further opportunity to repeat this direct mating here in Australia as Lope de Vega no longer shuttles.

He is however very much available to Northern Hemisphere breeders at Ballylinch Stud in Ireland where he commands a fee of 100,000 euros and it will be interesting to see if he gets many NH bred daughters of Fastnet Rock in the wake of current events.

Fastnet Rock has long been proven to have a good affinity with mares carrying the blood of Storm Cat, who is from the same female family as his dam sire Royal Academy, a son of influential producer Crimson Saint, who is also the grand-dam of Storm Cat.

This nick has produced 23 stakes-winners from 409 starters so has a 5.6% stakes-winner to runner rate.

The five Group I winners bred this way are previously mentioned Gytrash and Santa Ana Lane as well as Foxwedge, Irish Lights and Awesome Planet.

When we get a bit more specific and look at Fastnet Rock with Storm Cat’s most successful son Giant’s Causeway (grand-sire of Lope de Vega) , the strike rate improves to 8% stakes-winners to runners and retains three of those five Group I winners.

Fastnet Rock is extending his influence as a broodmare sire with Gytrash his third Group I winner joining Santa Ana Lane and Tivaci among 23 stakes-winners in total.

Fasthet Rock is currently fifth on the leading Australian Broodmare Sires List by earnings and at age 18, he is the youngest sire in the Top 10.