Blue-blooded Giant’s Causeway (USA) colt Leoncavallo cast off maiden status with a stylish win at Bendigo on Thursday.

A two year-old half-brother to smart stakes-winners Langoustine and One World from glamour broodmare Prawn Cocktail (USA), the David Hayes trained Leoncavallo was having his second race start and resuming from a spell of 19 weeks when he raced clear to take the 1300 metre maiden by more than a length from Prost, the half-brother by Show a Heart to Group One winning filly Cheeky Choice.

Retained to race by Coolmore after passing in shy of his $450,000 reserve at the 2008 Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale, Leoncavallo is the ninth foal of globe-trotting producer Prawn Cocktail, who has left stakes horses in both hemispheres and hails from the family of champion sires Storm Cat and Royal Academy (USA).

Prawn Cocktail first came to Australia in 1996 and her first foal, a colt by Lure topped the Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale in 1998 when he made $800,000, then she replicated that achievement in 2004 with a Danehill (USA) colt that made $2.2 million.

Sent back to the Northern Hemisphere in 2003, Prawn Cocktail returned again to Australia in late 2005 having been covered to Southern Hemisphere time by Giant’s Causeway in Kentucky with the resulting pregnancy producing Leoncavallo.

She also has a yearling filly (pictured left) by Encosta de Lago that made $700,000 at the Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale earlier in the year when secured by BBA Ireland/Blue Sky Thoroughbreds and has a weanling full sister to that filly, but unfortunately missed to Encosta last spring.

Another blue-blood from the David Hayes stable to salute at Bendigo was three year-old gelding Irish Rhapsody, by Stravinsky (USA) from Rose of Tralee, making him a full brother to champion three year-old filly Serenade Rose.

A $900,000 purchase from the Cambridge Stud draft at the 2007 Magic Millions Yearling Sale, Irish Rhapsody was stepping up to 2400 metres and broke his maiden by more than two lengths at his fifth race start.