A quinella in the Group II Fujitsu General Silver Slipper Stakes (1100m) at Rosehill for champion stallion Snitzel with the Kacy Fogden-trained Best Of Bordeaux making it two for two when holding the barnstorming finish of Magic, the most expensive yearling sold in Australia last year.
A first-up winner of the Group III Canonbury Stakes, Best Of Bordeaux was again partnered by Sam Clipperton. Among the best to begin, Best Of Bordeaux was caught three wide before Clipperton pressed on. He led them into the straight, but drifted back to the fence, which had been a no-go area all day.
Willie Pike came from near last with a weaving run on the $2.5million Easter yearling purchase Magic to get within a half-length of the winner with the I Am invincible filly Cythera one and a quarter lengths back in third.
“It’s pretty exciting. We were a little bit worried there, we were quite close to the rail, it was borderline, but I think it speaks to the horse,” Fogden said.
“He has obviously got quite a lot of ability and he has slightly defied the odds there.”
“He is just very free-running so although he was three-deep and out wide, the key is just to let him run along.
“I had in my head that we perhaps wouldn’t have another start before the Golden Slipper, and we would back off and maybe trial if we needed to. He’s not an overly big horse, he is very clean-winded.
“But tradition would probably tell us another run wouldn’t go astray. We will just see how he pulls up and lets the horse tell us.”
Bred and part-owned by Gerry Harvey, Best Of Bordeaux was a $425,000 purchase by Kacy Fogden Racing from the Baramul Stud draft at the 2021 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale.
Carrying the colours of the Fung family’s Aquis Stud, Best Of Bordeaux is the second foal of the handy racemare Chateau Cheval, one of nine winners for Baramul Stud’s amazing servant Lady Capel.
A stakes-placed daughter of Last Tycoon, Lady Capel is the dam of Group 1 winner and successful stallion Casino Prince, Group III winner Tagus, and Listed winner Lord of The Land and Metallurgical.
A half-sister to Palia and Just Awesome, Lady Capel is also the dam of Lady Paget the dam of Group 1 JJ Atkins Plate winner Prince Fawaz.
Chateau Cheval missed in 2019 and 2020. She was covered by Written Tycoon last spring.
