There were three Group I races run in Australia on Saturday and the winners were one Aussie, one Kiwi and one US bred, whose pedigree includes Danehill, but not in a way we have seen here before.
US owned and bred Lighthouse (USA) has turned a new leaf since coming to Australia and joining the Ciaron Maher and David Eustace stable finishing only first or second in eight starts here and winning the G1 ATC Coolmore Classic, read about her here.
She is the tenth Group I winner among 62 stakes-winners sired by Juddmonte Farms pensioned Mizzen Mast, whose grey colouring comes all the way down from Grey Sovereign through Caro. The Grey Sovereign sireline enjoyed some success in Australia through the 1990’s thanks to French bred Kenmare, who shuttled to Arrowfield Stud and left the likes of G1 winners Keltrice, Kenvain, Baryshnikov and Kenbelle.
Her dam is by the Danehill stallion North Light, who won the Group I Epsom Derby, but went to stud in North America, he sired just one Group I winner among nine stakes-winners, but Lighthouse is his third Group I winner as a broodmare sire.
The G1 VRC Newmarket is regarded as the premier handicap sprint in Australia and the shock winner was New Zealand bred sprinter Roch ‘n’ Horse, whose previous best win was a Listed race in New Zealand with a last start nose second in the G1 Telegraph Handicap, read about her here.
She becomes the fifth G1 winner for Little Avondale Stud’s Street Cry stallion Per Incanto and all of them are sprinter milers. Her dam sire Cecconi was a fast son of Encosta de Lago that won a Listed Blue Diamond Preview, but he never sired a stakes-winner and Roch ‘n’ Horse is his lone stakes-winner as a broodmare sire.
Interestingly the Newmarket Handicapo has been won before by a horse bred on the Street Cry x Encosta de Lago cross with The Quarterback (by Street Boss from a daughter of Encosta) winning in 2016.
Already a Queensland Oaks winner, Duais won the Group I VRC Australian Cup , read about here her.
She is one of four G1 winners for Snitzel’s Cox Plate winning son Shamus Award and is one of nine G1 winners for Johannesburg as a broodmare sire, but is his first in Australia although high class G2 winning 3YO filly Jamaea is also from one of his daughters.
Duais claims legendary matriarch Fanfreluche as her fourth dam and is going to be a super valuable broodmare when her racing days are done.
