Looking every inch a Group I winner in waiting since winning the Group II Stan Fox Stakes at Rosehill Gardens last September, Godolphin's royally-bred Lonhro colt Impending finally attained the goal in Saturday's $1,500,000 Group I UBET Stradbroke Handicap (1350m) at Doomben.
Giving former champion jockey Darren Beadman a first win at the highest level in his last few weeks in charge of the Godolphin operation, Impending stormed home under Cory Brown to defeat the thoroughly game In Her Time (Time Thief) by a neck with a length back to the favourite Clearly Innocent (Not A Single Doubt) who ran on well for third. (photos Steve Hart).
After placing behind his stablemate Astern in the Group II Run To The Rose and the Group 1 Golden Rose, Impending broke through for his first stakes win in the Stann Fox Stakes. He has been competitive at the highest level in six starts since without ringing up number one.
With a Stradbroke Handicap in the bag, Impending advances his record to 3 wins and 5 thirds from 12 starts with earnings of $1,518,000 while ensuring his place alongside old nemesis Astern and father Lonhro on the Darley stallion roster.
Unfortunately, Beadman, who rode both Impending's sire Lonhro and dam Mnemosyne to Group I wins, was not on course to celebrate the victory.
He was laid low by a virus that hospitalised him during the week.
"Darren has had a pretty ordinary week. He got a virus and like all
"But it got worse and we sent him to hospital. He got out Thursday and he is fine. But I told him if he came up here I would fire him."
"He (Impending) will head home now and we can have a talk about the spring,"
A half-brother to the Group III Cameron Handicap winner Forget (Exceed And Excel), Impending is the fifth foal of the outstanding mare Mnemosyne who captured her first Group 1 in the 1000 Guineas at Caulfield defeating Rewaaya and Serenade Rose.
Back in Sydney, the daughter of Encosta de Lago earned a second Group 1 in the Queen Of The Turf Stakes.
Bred by a partnership that included former champion jockey Ron Quinton, Mnemosyne was a $400,000 Easter Yearling purchase by Woodlands Stud.
Inherited by Darley after the purchase of Woodlands, Mnemosyne is also the dam of the talented Street Cry mare Memorial who ran fifth in Mossfun's Golden Slipper and was second to Bring Me The Maid in the Group II Silver Shadow Stakes at Randwick.
Mnemosyne has a 2yo Lonhro filly named Epidemic who has made two starts to date.
It has been nothing but bad news for Mnemosyne since. She slipped to Dawn Approach (IRE) in 2014 and to Sepoy in 2015 before missing to Lonhro last spring.
Impending becomes the ninth individual Group1 winner for Darley Stud's charismatic champion Lonhro who stands at Kelvinside for a fee of $66,000 in 2017.
