On the day it was announced Vancouver had been sold and was relocating to Woodside Park Stud in Victoria, the Golden Slipper winning sire featured at Randwick with a return to form for his promising three year-old Cape Breton.
Trained by Chris Waller, Cape Breton won his first two starts at Canterbury and Rosehill last May and June and was declared a Guineas style of horse for the spring.
In three subsequent runs, Cape Breton failed to produce the goods and was gelded before reappearing in the Benchmark 72 event against older rivals over 1400m on Wednesday.
Cape Breton was an easing favourite, but showed his class when finishing off well for James McDonald to win by a short neck.
A $600,000 Magic Millions purchase from the Willow Park draft for Tom Magnier, Cape Breton runs for a big group of owners including sir Peter Vela in whose colours he runs.
Cape Breton is the most expensive yearling colt by Vancouver and has already banked over $150,000 with three wins from his first six starts and is sure to be headed back to Black Type racing given he holds an entry for the Group I ATC Doncaster Mile.
Cape Breton was bred by Fergus and Delia Doyle and foaled and raised at Willow Park. He is the first foal from stakes-winning Nicconi mare Exclusive Lass, who was bought by James Harron Bloodstock for $460,000 at the 2018 Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale when she was carrying Cape Breton.
Her second foal, a two year-old colt by Snitzel called Boyfriend sold for $750,000 at Inglis Easter last year to Tony Fung Investments and is set to run in the Group II ATC Silver Slipper this Saturday.
Exclusive Lass has a Capitalist yearling colt that sold for $180,000 at Magic Millions to O’Gorman Racing and was covered last spring by King’s Legacy.
