There were nine Group 1 races contested in Australasia since last week and five of the winners were scoring at the highest level for the first time with the Golden Slipper going to a horse with a double cross of Danehill for the third year in a row.
The Group I ATC Golden Slipper (1200m) was won in unbelievable fashion by Fireburn, who recovered from being skittled earlier in the race to score an amazing win, read about her here and check out the overhead video of the race, two year-olds rarely recover to win races after an incident like that.
She’s the first G1 winner for Rebel Dane and comes from his second crop of 26 foals and so far she’s the only runner from that crop. His first crop is also just 26 foals and has produced five winners from 13 runners highlighted by G3 winner Subterranean and stakes-placed Lloyd’s Crown.
Rebel Dane has only seven foals in each of his subsequent crops and then last year covered 49 mares at a fee of $8,800 at Glen Eden Stud in Victoria, but his fortunes are set to rise sharply in light of his Slipper winner with a NSW base for the stallion yet to be confirmed.
That said, the case of Sidestep is a sobering thought. He sired Kiamichi to win the 2019 Golden Slipper from his first crop and last year covered 17 mares following books of 66 and 132 mares. Manhattan Rain, who sired the 2017 Slipper winner She Will Reign covered 32. The Golden Slipper afterglow only lasts so long.
A rebound for Sidestep may be on the way with 80 yearlings in the pipeline and 20 of them catalaogued for the Magic Millions Gold Coast March Yearling Sale this week.
Fireburn is also a first for So You Think as a broodmare sire giving him his first stakes-winner and first Group I winner in that sphere and interestingly champion sire Snitzel did exactly the same thing in having his first stakes-winner as a broodmare sire also a Golden Slipper winner in Mossfun.
Fireburn is the 32nd G1 winner to carry a double cross of Danehill and the third Golden Slipper winner in a row joining Stay Inside and Farnan.
Her pedigree suggests she may well be even better at three given her sire was at his best as an older horse and her first two dams are by So You Think and Zabeel with third dam Danarani winning the G1 ATC Flight Stakes. Fireburn may well be that rare Slipper winner where the best is still to come!
The Group I ATC The Galaxy (1100m) was won in crowd pleasing style by the ever likable Shelby Sixtysix, read about him here.
He’s the third G1 winner for Toronado and the first as a broodmare sire for Honour’s List (IRE), who was a fairly average son of Danehill, but did leave a G1 Doncaster Handicap winner in Triple Honour.
Toronado is working very well with the Danehill line and 12 of his 24 stakes-winners are bred from mares carrying Danehill blood.
Anamoe was back to his scintillating best in the Group I ATC Rosehill Guineas (2000m), read about him here.
Second in the Slipper last year and now a star 3YO that’s at his best at 2000m, Anamoe is all class and reflects his pedigree. By a speed son of Street Cry from an Oaks winning daughter of Redoute’s Choice, his next two dams are by Whiskey Road (USA) and Sovereign Edition (IRE) who left Cox Plate winning champions Strawberry Road and Surround respectively.
Female family is packed with Black Type including seven time G1 winner Grand Armee. I’ve said it before and will say it again that Anamoe may well be the best horse Sheikh Mohammed has ever bred in this country.
The Group I ATC Ranvet Stakes (2000m) was won in an upset with Montefilia denying Australian Horse of the Year Verry Elleegant her 12th Group I win, read about her here.
It was the fourth G1 win for Montefilia, who is one of just two stakes-winners for her sire Kermadec, the other being VRC Oaks winner Willowy. She is one of 12 stakes-winners for Shirocco as a broodmare sire and if that sounds familiar it’s because this year’s New Zealand Derby winner Asterix is also from one of his daughters.
The three G1 winners from Shirocco mares – Montefilia, Asterix (Tavistock) and Hurricane Lane (Frankel) are all by Sadler’s Wells line sires.
Forbidden Love claimed her third G1 win in the Group I ATC George Ryder Stakes (1500m), read about her here.
All Too Hard has done well with daughters of champion sire More Than Ready (USA) producing 36 winners from 54 runners including three stakes-winners. He has sired four Group I winners in total with two of them from More Than Ready mares with Forbidden Love joining Hong Kong based sprinter Wellington.
Quality 3YO filly Imperatriz has always promised to win a G1 and did so when taking out the Group I Levin Classic (1600m) at Trentham, read about her here.
She becomes the 12th G1 winner for champion sire I Am Invincible and is the eighth for Shamardal as a broodmare sale with three of those coming in Australia with Imperatriz joining Converge and Private Eye. Her second dam is by Encosta de Lago and mares carrying his blood have a great record with I Am Invincible producing 10 stakes-winners.
The Group I New Zealand Oaks (2400m) was won by Belle En Rouge, who became the first G1 winner for ill-fated Redoute’s Choice stallion Burgundy, read about her here.
Belle En Rouge is the second G1 winner for Thorn Park as a broodmare sire joining Exceedance and her female family is top class featuring Group I stars Naturalism, Star Dancer and Crystal Palace, so no surprise on pedigree to see her win an Oaks.
We’ve also included pedigrees for the two G1 winners in New Zealand last Sunday.
Two year-old filly Lickety Split credited her young Windsor Park based sire Turn Me Loose with his first Group I winner when taking out the Sistema Stakes (1200m) at Ellerslie beating Almanzor (Fr) colt Dynastic, read about her here.
The Ifraaj sireline is one that has the potential to make a big impact in Australasia over the next few years with his proven son Wootton Bassett (IRE) now shuttling to Coolmore Australia and his Champion 3YO grand-son Almanzor (Fr) (by Wootton Bassett) shuttling to Cambridge Stud in NZ.
With his oldest progeny three year-olds Turn Me Loose has five stakes-winners on the board (Prix de Turn winning G1 Alister Clark on Friday night, read here) which equates to 9.3% SW to runner and if he keeps that up will be a very successful sire for New Zealand.
Shamexpress mare Coventina Bay won her second Group I when taking out he G1 Bonecrusher New Zealand Stakes (2000m) at Ellerslie , read about her here.
Coventina Bay the best of seven SW’s for O’Reilly’s G1 winning son Shamexpress, who stands alongside Turn Me Loose at Windsor Park Stud. She is also one of 41 stakes-winners for High Chaparral as a broodmare sire and interestingly of those 41, nine are G1 winners reflecting the class of the Epsom Derby winning son of Sadler’s Wells.
O’Reilly and High Chaparral combine in the pedigree of four other SW’s in addition to Coventina Bay highlighted by this season’s G1 ATC Flight Stakes winner Never Been Kissed.
High Chaparral also sired the dam of Golden Slipper runner-up Best of Bordeaux and featured in the pedigree of the winner of that race Fireburn, whose dam is by his champion son So You Think...... in a heavy track Slipper that bit of high class staying blood did not go astray.
He is also the grand-sire of Shelby Sixtysix, so all in all a good day for an Epsom Derby winning shuttler that has had a huge impact on our racing, wonder if we'll ever see the likes of him again?
