It is unlikely that there has ever been a major raceday dominated by horses bred outside Australia than day two of The Championships at Randwick on Saturday.
There is not an Australian-bred among the twenty runners in the $2,000,000,000 Group 1 Sydney Cup, while three of the twelve entrants in the feature race of the day, the $5,000,000 Queen Elizabeth Stakes, are Australian-bred.
Coolmore and Godolphin are finding renewed competition through Yulong Investments Yuesheng Zhang and China Horse Club’s Teo Ah Khing.
Huge investors worldwide in the last few years, Yulong flexed its muscles at the Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale. The leading buyer by a considerable margin, Yulong spent $11,685,000 on twenty-three lots at an average of $508,043.
The yellow and red silks of China Horse Club and its partners have become commonplace in Sydney and Melbourne and most recently enjoyed Group 1 success in the ATC Inglis Sires’ Produce stakes.
Along with partners including Newgate Farm and Trilogy, China Horse Club clocked in second leading buyer taking home six lots for $5,590,000 at an average of $931,667.
At Randwick on Saturday, Yulong and China Horse Club showcase two expensive mares.
Yulong’s four-time Group 1 winner, Alcohol Free (IRE), makes her Australian debut for Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott in the $1,000,000 Group 1 Queen Of The Turf Stakes (1600m)
A 5,400,000gns (A$10,124,000) purchase at the Tattersalls December Mare Sale, the daughter of the former Coolmore shuttler No Nay Never (USA) recorded the second-highest price at a European auction.
While Alcohol Free (IRE) has garnered all the headlines, China Horse Club’s Group II Sapphire Stakes aspirant Princess Grace (USA) has flown under the radar.
A US$1,700,000 purchase at Fasig-Tipton’s Night Of Stars Sale, Princess Grace (USA) makes her first start for Chris Waller.
Princess Grace has won seven of her 14 starts, with five stakes wins highlighted by the Grade II Yellow Ribbon at Del Mar and the Grade II Mrs Reeves Stakes at Churchill Downs, her only start on dirt. She also placed in the prestigious Grade 1 Beverly D. and Grade 1 Matriarch Stakes.
While her pedigree looks a bit obscure, there are some Australian connections top and bottom.
Her sire Karakonte (JPN) was conceived in the US, foaled in Japan, raced in Europe, and stands at Gainesway Stud, Kentucky.
By the Storm Cat stallion Bernstein (USA), Karakonte (JPN) won the Group 1 Poule d'Essai des Poulains (French 2,000 Guineas), Group 1 Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere and the 2014 Breeders' Cup Mile.
Bred by the Niarchos family’s Flaxman Holdings, Karakonte's dam Sun Is Up (JPN) (Sunday Silence) is a daughter of the royally-bred Woodman mare Moon Is Up (USA).
A half-sister to triple Group 1 winners Kingmambo and East Of The Moon, out of the 10-time Group 1 winner Miesque, Moon Is Up (USA) lived out her life in Australia, where she had seven foals.
The best was Amanee, the Pivotal filly she was carrying when imported in 2008. Bred and owned by Sheikh Mohammed Bin Khalifa Al Maktoum, Amanee was a Group 1 winner in South Africa for Mike de Kock.
Princess Grace (USA) is a daughter of stakes-placed Masquerade by another Japanese-bred stallion Silent Name (JPN), a son of Sunday Silence.
That gives Princess Grace a 3x3 cross to the breed-shaping super sire.
The Australian connection comes under Masquerade’s granddam Blue And Green (USA), a stakes-place daughter of Miswaki that spent her latter years at stud in Australia but left little of note in five foals.
The Group 1 Coolmore Classic winners Lighthouse (USA) and Con Te Partiro (USA) have led the way for North American-bred mares in Australia. Princess Grace (USA) could be the next cab off the rank.
