Group I racing at Flemington on Derby Day produced three Group I winners and all of them are new Group I winners, while we will also take a look at the $10million Golden Eagle with a kiwi bred runner taking the prize for the second year in a row.
The Group I VRC Victoria Derby (2500m) was won by Manzoice, who has an AUS suffix, but on face value could easily be a Kiwi bred, click to read about him here.
He is from the first Southern Hemisphere bred crop for Cambridge Stud’s popular shuttler Almanzor (Fr), a son of Wootton Bassett, who is in Australia this spring for Coolmore. He becomes his sixth stakes-winner and first Group I winner anywhere in the world.
He comes from the same international female family that has given us champion sire Zabeel. His NZ bred dam Choice is by another shuttle sire in Mastercraftsman and is his eighth Group I winner as broodmare sire and second Group I winner joining Loving Gaby.
The Group I VRC Coolmore Stud Stakes (1200m) was won by brilliant filly In Secret, click to read about her.
The 14th Group I winner for I Am Invincible and is bred on a highly successful nick with Choisir, 11 winners from 11 runners and three of them stakes-winners ! she is the sixth Group I winner for Choisir as a broodmare sire.
The Group I VRC Empire Rose Stakes (1600m) was won by Icebath (NZ), at last a stakes-winner after so many Black Type placings, read about her here.
She becomes the sixth stakes-winner for ill-fated O’Reilly stallion Sacred Falls and is his second Group I winner, four of the six bred from daughters of eithers Zabeel or Savabeel.
She is the 18th stakes-winner for Savabeel as a broodmare sire and his third Group I winner.
The $10million ATC Golden Eagle (1500m) was won by I Win I Wish(NZ), who will look to follow in the footsteps of past Golden Eagle winners who have all won Group I races subsequent to their Golden Eagle success, read about him here.
I Wish I Win is one of 127 stakes-winners by New Zealand’s champion sire Savabeel, who has overhauled Scissor Kick and now sits atop the Australian General Sires List by earnings.
His pedigree is Classic Waikato Stud with first two dams by Pins and Centaine and he has a double cross of Sir Tristram 3 x 4.
The Savabeel x Pins cross has produced 17stakes-winners at over 13% SW to runner and has had huge exposure with 94 winners from 128 runners.
The Golden Eagle has been run four times now and won three times by a Kiwi bred, that probably says something!
