A highlight on day one of next week's Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale is lot 928, the Group III winner Quilate who goes through the ring on Tuesday May 28 as part of a stellar draft presented by the Blue Sky Premium Consignment.
A home-bred
for pedigree analyst Kristen Manning, Quilate raced under the care of highly
respected Cranbourne trainer Michael Kent who had enough confidence in the
bay's ability to race her at two, always impressed by the natural ability she
displayed for day one.
And all the more impressed as she made her way through the classes, winning three metropolitan races before, at just her second attempt at stakes level, charging home to claim black type success in the Gr.3 Ladies Day Vase during the Caulfield Cup carnival.
It was a spring of leader biased tracks but Quilate put on display her outstanding turn of foot as she flew home from towards the rear of the field, in doing so defeating the millionaire Flying Jess (just beaten by Gr.1 mare I Am A Star at Gr.2 level at her previous outing having already won at Gr.3 level as well as taking out the rich Magic Millions 3Y0 Guineas) and the classy Prompt Response (already a Gr.3 winner, subsequently taking out the Gr.2 Breeders Classic, the Gr.2 Emancipation Stakes and the Gr.1 Tatts Tiara).
Subsequently a fast finishing, eye-catching fourth (her run impeded by a horse suffering a bleeding attack) from a tricky gate in the Gr.3 Summoned Stakes, Quilate was regularly competitive with some of the country's best mares, defeating the likes of the Gr.1 gallopers Kenedna, Savvy Coup and La Bella Diosa and the Group winners Invincibella, I Love It, Nettoyer, Samovare, Sword Of Light, Tiamo Grace, Fuhryk, White Moss and Miss Gunpowder.
Michael Kent describes Quilate as "a very attractive mare blessed with ability - she has good muscle and substance, a combination of strength and quality you do not see all that often."
Thinking highly enough of Quilate to work her with the stable's best, Kent saw enough in the mornings as she proved competitive with the likes of speedster Supido and Gr.1 mare Abbey Marie, to feel that despite her Gr.3 success, we did not see quite the best of what Quilate had to offer.
"She could really lengthen and run great times," he said, adding that he is confident that Quilate will prove to be a high class broodmare - "she is going to produce lovely foals."
Jockey Beau Mertens is also a Quilate fan, fondly remembering her Gr.3 victory - "she had a task ahead of her turning but she made up a lot of ground very quickly," he said.
"She is a mare who had a lot of ability and whoever she galloped with she always made them work!"
Quilate is the best runner for the unraced but regally bred stallion Bramshaw, son of Champion Sire Encosta de Lago whose 115 stakes winners included 27 Gr.1 winners - and he is now doing the job as a broodmare sire with his daughters already producing 99 stakes winners including 13 Gr.1 winners.
Bramshaw is a son of Eight Carat's wonderful daughter Cotehele House, also dam of the five times Gr. 1 winner Danewin and the Gr.3 sprinter Commands - both of whom have done a great job at stud.
The sire of 79 stakes winners including 12 Gr.1 winners, Commands boasts an exceptional 72% winners-to-runners strike rate whilst Danewin, despite fertility issues, was well represented by 30 stakes winners (six Gr.1 winners) with a 72.4% strike rate.
Consistency is the name of the game here with Encosta de Lago also a reliable source of winners with a 70.8% strike rate.
The first stakes winner carrying three crosses of Eight Carat, Quilate is a descendant of that legendary mare is her sire Bramshaw and her dam sire Dangerous = genetic power!
She is one just 19 runners line-bred to Cotehele House (her fourth dam); 13 of whom have won including the in-form Gr.1 star filly Verry Elleegant (ATC Oaks, Vinery Stud Stakes), the recent Gr.3 winners Cosmic Force and Fiscal Fantasy and the brilliant Gr.3 galloper Fair Trade.
That's five Group winners from 19 runners for this cross... how many crosses boast a 26% Group winner strike rate?!
This is a family that just keeps on giving; recent stakes winners for the Eight Carat clan including Verry Elleegant and Jonker (who both look set for a big spring), Fiscal Fantasy, Gogo Grace, Mockery and She's So High... and also note that a different branch of this ever flourishing family (one that also produced the exciting young stallions Deep Field and Shooting To Win) is responsible for the flying filly Mystic Journey.
Quilate, whose dam is in foal to the promising Rich Enuff, boasts a pedigree of considerable depth, making her an easy mare to mate. She looks set to carry on the great Eight Carat tradition and is very aptly named to do so, Quilate being Spanish for Carat!
INSPECT QUILATE from Saturday in STABLE G23.
For further information contact Kristen Manning on 0428 563 917 or kristenmanning@gmail.com
