There were some fascinating two year-old races lats Saturday that have shed some serious light on the upcoming Group I Golden Slipper and Blue Diamond, so let’s take a look at the pedigrees.
It was Blue Diamond Prelude day at Sandown and produced a double for Godolphin.
Exceed and Excel colt Barber kept his record perfect at three for three winning the colts division of the Group III MRC Blue Diamond Prelude (1100m) and franking the form of the $1million ATC Golden Gift, read more on him here.
Barber is the sixth stakes-winner for Exceed and Excel from a daughter of Lonhro, that nick running at 13% SW to runner. He was also one of three stakes-winners from Lonhro mares over the weekend with Belsielle (5m Brazen Beau) winning the Group III Bow Mistress Stakes last Friday and Glint of Silver (3g Rubick) winning the Group II MRC Autumn Stakes.
Mares by Lonhro are proving a powerhouse of talent, his daughters producing 63 stakes-winners so far including Caulfield Guineas winning three year-old Golden Mile and his stablemate Aft Cabin, who promises to be a Group I winner before the end of the season. Also a watch horse from a Lonhro mare is exciting two year-old colt Red Resistance, who may also be a Group I winner before the end of the season.
The Group II MRC Blue Diamond Prelude (1100m) for fillies was won by Brazen Beau filly Exploring, whose Group III placed dam Cristobal is bred on the same cross as Barber, read about her here.
Exploring is the 22nd stakes-winner for Brazen Beau and is his first from a daughter of Exceed and Excel, that nick producing eight winners from 13 starters.
The $2million Inglis Millennium was won by Justify (USA) filly Learning to Fly, who went wo for two and is favourite for the Golden Slipper, read about her here.
We’ve looked at her pedigree before and she has a little place in history as the first Aussie stakes-winner for Justify and comes from a noted Black Type female family that has become a commercial favoruite. Her page is littered with fast stakes-winners, but there are no Group I winners in her immediate family, so Learning to Fly will put the icing on the cake if she can succeed at the highest level.
The $150,000 ATC Pierro Plate (1100m) at Randwick was supposed to be an easy kill for Extreme Choice colt Don Corleone, but he failed to deliver and the colt that really caught our eye was the winner Café Millennium, who ran slightly quicker time in winning than Learning to Fly in the Millennium, read about him here.
He’s from the last crop of champion sire Not a Single Doubt and might be his final masterpiece. It’s easy to get carried away by a debut win, but to win like he did when he was obviously underdone and still green was really something special.
On the pedigree front he’s by an outstanding Danehill line sire with next two dams by elite classic sires High Chaparral and Zabeel with the female line tracing directly back to Fanfreluche, that’s about as good as it gets.
