A crushing blow for trainer Julius Sandhu and owner Paul Lofitis with the well-fancied Lofty Strike withdrawn from the Group 1 Blue Diamond Stakes and another missed opportunity for Snitzel to close the gap on a rampaging I Am Invincible in the race for the champion stallion.
In a wide-open race, I Am Invincible has three solid chances, Counttheheadlights, Hafey and Waltz On By.
Waltz On By is out of a mare by Street Cry (IRE), whose daughters also supply Godolphin's talented Epaulette colt Daumier and the Peter Moody-trained Rampant Lion who, unlike Lofty Strike, passed his vet check.
The latter is a son of the great Frankel out of the unraced Furnival (USA). He has made two starts to date.
Following a debut third in the Listed Maribyrnong Trial Stakes (1000m) at Flemington last October, Rampant Lion made his first appearance in 16 weeks when runner-up to Daumier in the Listed Blue Diamond Preview at Caulfield on January 26.
Bred by Rosemont Stud, Rampant Lion failed to make his $550,000 reserve at the 2021 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale. He is the fourth foal and first in Australia for Furnival (USA).
Conceived in America before being sent to Europe, Furnival (USA) comes from Australian racing royalty.
Consigned by Darley to the 2013 Tattersalls July Sale as an unraced three-year-old, Furnival (USA) sold for just 6,500gns.
While she had an attractive pedigree for Australians, it meant little in Europe, although to be fair, the close-up stakes action had yet to occur.
Furnival (USA) is a daughter of the dual Group III winner Wild Queen (Loup Sauvage), who Darley purchased as a yearling for $260,000.
Her first foal is the Melbourne winning Redoute's Choice mare Yavanna, who has taken the family to new heights. She is the dam of Group 1 ATC Royal Randwick Guineas winner and $2.5million earner Kementari (Lonhro) and Listed Lonhro Plate winner and Group 1 ATC Sires' Produce Stakes runner-up Telperion (Street Cry).
From the incomparable Denise's Joy family, Furnival (USA) missed to Lonhro in 2019 before foaling a filly by Starspangledbanner last spring.
The daughter of Street Cry (IRE) was among the 216 mares covered by Shamus Award but failed to conceive.
Somewhat surprisingly, Frankel has made his presence felt in Australia with his two-year-olds. Despite limited representation, Juddmonte Farm’s champion son of Galileo had the Group 1 BRC JJ Atkins Stakes winner Converge last year and Hungry Heart won the Group II ATC Sweet Embrace Stakes in 2020 before claiming the Group 1 ATC Oaks and Group 1 Vinery Stud Stakes last season at three. The Chris Waller-trained mare chases a fourth Group 1 in the Chipping Norton Stakes at Randwick on Saturday.
