Darley’s champion sire Exceed and Excel produced his 175th stakes-winner overnight with progressive two year-old filly Lady Princess taking out the Listed Blenheim Stakes (6f) at Fairyhouse.
Trained by Denis Hogan, Lady Princess was having her first try at a Black Type race at her fourth start and forged clear to win by more than a length to score her second win.
“The race cut up, it wasn't a big field, so we said we'd take our chance and see if we could nick a bit of black-type. She's always showed a lot at home,” said winning rider Joey Sheridan.
Retained to race by her breeder, Lady Princess is a half-sister to stakes-placed Spiritual Son and is the best of four winners from Million Spirits, a winning half-sister by Invincible Spirit to Group I winner Elusive Wave.
She is the first stakes-winner sired by Exceed and Excel from a daughter of Invincible Spirit, but the nick warrants further investigation as there have been five runners bred this way for three winners and four of the five runners are Black Type performers.
Given the growing numbers of Invincible Spirit sons standing at stud in Australia and the rise of his champion Australian bred son I Am Invincible and his sire sons, the nick between Invincible Spirit and Danehill is something we are going to see more and more of in Australia.
The stats for that nick show 4% stakes-winners to runners with 58 stakes-winners bred that way headed by five Group I winners including current horses Persian King and the recently retired Loving Gaby.
