There were a couple of very impressive three year-old winners at Moonee Valley last night that will be aiming up at stakes races in coming weeks.
Expensive Deep Field colt Mars Mission won his maiden at Warwick Farm last month at his second starts and dished out a galloping lesson to his rivals at Moonee Valley, exploding away to win the Benchmark 64 event over 1200m by more than four lengths.
“He let down fantastic and had a bit of class there,” said winning rider Jye McNeil, who rode Mars Mission on debut at Sandown last August when he finished third.
“He’s come on physically and mentally and the penny has really started to drop.”
An $800,000 Magic Millions purchase from the Attunga Stud draft for Alan Bell, who raced his sire Deep Field, Mars Mission runs for a partnership headed by Bell that also includes Vinery Stud and the colt’s breeders.
Mars Mission is a three-quarter brother to Group III winner Sun City and half-brother to stakes-winner Parlophone and stakes-placed Spin.
He is the fifth winner from five foals to race from stakes-winning Flying Spur mare Roulettes, who has a yearling colt by Dundeel headed to Inglis Easter for Attunga Stud as Lot 387.
Roulettes was one of 163 mares covered last spring at Newgate Farm by Deep Field at a fee of $88,000.
Keeping her unbeaten record intact when going two for two was the Anthony and Sam Freedman trained Not a Single Doubt filly Snapped.
An easy winner on debut at Pakenham last month, she zoomed clear to win the Benchmark 64 event for fillies and mares by three and a half lengths.
“She was a little bit keen and fresh tonight with a month between runs, but she has a serious engine,” said Sam Freedman.
“We came here tonight with an eye on the Typhoon Tracy (Group III) in a couple of weeks time, so she’ll come back here now for that.
“She got around the Valley well and with Jonathan Munz’s fillies the main thing is to get Black Type with them ad she’s headed in that direction.”
A $220,000 Inglis Easter purchase from the Highgrove Stud draft for Dean Hawthorne Bloodstock, Snapped is the first living foal from Fracture, an unraced full sister to Group I winner Wanted and half-sister to Group II winner Shrapnel.
Highgrove Stud sold the yearling half-sister by More than Ready (USA) to Snapped at Inglis Classic this week for $310,000 to E Wong/ A Chu and the mare produced a filly by Capitalist last spring.
Fracture was one of 189 mares covered last year by Not a Single Doubt’s Golden Slipper winning son Farnan, so will produce a three-quarter relation to Snapped this year.
