Spring stakes racing produced plenty of noteworthy horses on Saturday with two brand new Group I winners in Australia and New Zealand from iconic female families, plus a couple of progressive new three year-old stakes-winners that are both out of mares we would term blue hens.
The $750,000 Group I MVRC Moir Stakes (1000m) was a lesson in horses for courses with the race fit, track and distance specialist, Mornington Glory too good for star three year-old fillies Hayasugi and Lady of Camelot, read about the race here.
Bred and sold by renowned breeders Gooree Stud, Mornington Glory is a half-brother to a couple of horses that they kept and raced with great success in dual Group I winner Hallowed Crown and Group II winner Needs Further, both of them now stakes producing sires. He is the tenth and final foal from their blue hen Crowned Glory, a Group winning daughter of Danehill that ran second in the 2000 Golden Slipper to Belle du Jour.
Crowned Glory was 21 when he was born and just goes to show that older mares can still produce good horses later in life if they are exceptional producers in the first place and she certainly was with nine foals to race all winners. Her success as a racehorse and producer is no accident as Crowned Glory is a grand-daughter of another blue hen in Lady Giselle (Fr), the dam of Group I winners Zabeel and Baryshnikov.
Mornington Glory is the second Group I winner for Woodside Park Stud’s Shalaa (IRE) and is his first in Australia. A Group I winning juvenile by Invincible Spirit he shuttled first to Arrowfield and was marketed as being suitable for mares with Danehill blood and to date nine of his 17 stakes-winners are bred that way and they include eight of his nine Group winners and both of his G1 winners.
The $400,000 Westbury Stud Tarzino Trophy (1400m) at Hastings in NZ delivered a first G1 for a well bred mare in Grail Seeker (NZ), whose pedigree is very well known in Australia, read about her here.
Grail Seeker is a half-sister to stakes-winner Deep Image and is the best of eight winners from nine foals to race from unraced Starwish, who was a savvy purchase for NZ based Jamieson Park, who paid $200,000 for her at the 2015 MM National Broodmare Sale. Starwish is a grand-daughter of Group I winner Stella Cadente, whose grand-dam is celebrated blue hen Eau D’Etoile (NZ), who produced Group I winners Filante, Bint Marscay and Kenny’s Best Pal as well as stakes-winner Eau d’Scay.
This is a family that has offshoots all over Australia and most commercial breeders have had or have some connection to it somewhere!
Grail Seeker is the 27th Group I winner for Redoute’s Choice as a broodmare sire and is the 13th Group I winner for influential sire Iffraaj (GB), who shuttled to New Zealand earlier in his career and is making big waves as a sire of sires through his champion son Wootton Bassett (GB), whose first Aussie bred offspring will race here this season. We got a little sneak preview of what that might look like at Randwick on Saturday when his quality imported son Royal Patronage (Fr) won the Group II ATC Tramway Stakes, read about him here.
The $175,000 Listed MVRC Atlantic Jewel Stakes (1200m) saw blueblood Godolphin filly Silmarillion cast off maiden status, read about her here.
A half-sister to Group I winner Kementari and G1 placed stakes-winner Telperion, Silmarillion is the third stakes-winner among seven winners from seven to race for minor winning Redoute’s Choice mare Yavanna, who traces in tail female line to legendary matriarch Denise’s Joy via the Joy and Fun branch of the family.
She is the 13th stakes-winner worldwide for Dubawi’s champion son Too Darn Hot (GB) and his second in Australia joining Godolphin’s glamour dual Group I winning colt Broadsiding, whose grand-dam is by Redoute’s Choice.
The $175,000 Listed MVRC McKenzie Stakes (1200m) produced a strong win for talented colt Angel Capital, who was the most expensive yearling by Harry Angel (IRE) sold in 2023 when fetching $400,000, read about him here.
Angel Capital is a half-brother to Group winners Berkeley Square and Senor Toba so is the third stakes-winner from the first five foals from Group I placed Teofilo (IRE) mare Bahamas, who is shaping as an outstanding producer for her owner David Peacock, one of the most successful breeders in South Australia.
This family has been nurtured by Peacock for generations and has caught alight in recent years with Bahamas a half-sister to Group II winner Affair to Remember from stakes-winner St Trinians.
Angel Capital is the 15th stakes-winner for Harry Angel and is his fifth in Australia with the best of them being G1 winner Tom Kitten. He is also the 40th stakes-winner worldwide as a broodmare sire for outstanding Galileo sire son Teofilo (IRE). Harry Angel has had five runners from mares by Teofilo and four are winners with Angel Capital the first SW bred this way.
