So we’re moving through the Brisbane Winter Carnival and with four Group I races down and four more to go, we thought we should take a look at our G1 winners so far, two of them striking at the elite level for the first time.
Group I BRC Queensland Derby (2400m) kept the G1 winner coming for Kiwi breds with Kovalica (NZ) winning as a hot favourite should, read about him here.
Kovalica is the fourth G1 winner for Cox Plate winning sire Ocean Park and is the third G1 winner among 14 stakes-winners for Dubawi stallion Makfi (GB), who shuttled to New Zealand.
It’s a tough old New Zealand family that has done a good job with the arrival of Kovalica meaning the first three dams on the page have all produced G1 winners – Keepa Cheval left triple G1 winning sprinter The Bostonian and Sheila Cheval left 10 time G1 winner Mufhasa, a two time NZ Horse of the Year…. Based on that I’m thinking the Derby might be the first of several G1 wins for Kovalica.
Group I BRC Kingsford Smith Cup (1300m) was won by progressive 4YO Think About It, who keeps jumping the bar every time it’s raised, read about him here.
He is the tenth G1 winner for champion racehorse and 10 time G1 winner So You Think and six of those G1 wins have been achieved at 1600m or less with many of his progeny showing a great turn of foot making them very versatile competitors.
He is the 16th G1 winner from a daughter of champion sire and champion broodmare sire Flying Spur, who has pretty good stats with So You Think. The nick has produced 17 winners from 24 runners and two stakes-winners, but tellingly the other stakes-winner is G1 winner Nakeeta Jane, whose elite win came at 1400m.
The stakes-winners in the first three dams of this pedigree are all sprinter milers including Hong Kong G1 winners The Duke and Sky Field, so Think About It largely fits with the blueprint of his pedigree.
Group I BRC Doomben 10000 (1200m) was won by Everest winner and outstanding 3YO Giga Kick, read about him here.
The best horse by light years sired by modest Group III winning Redoute’s Choice son Scissor Kick, Giga Kick is also the best horse by light years from his dam Rekindled Applause, who produced five other not as good winners all by champion sires before leaving a superstar to the worst sire she ever went to…. And it’s stories like this that keep everyone guessing and dreaming.
With a double cross of Arc winner Rainbow Quest and plenty of high class European bloodlines on his page, pedigree would suggest Giga Kick should easily be able to get a mile with maturity, so what the future holds for this supremely good gelding is going to be super interesting.
Also super interesting, he traces in tail female line back to a US family that has had an amazing impact in Australia, his sixth dam is Stolen Hour, who is also the fifth dam of Redoute’s Choice.
Group I BRC Doomben Cup (2000m) was won by last year’s winner Huetor (Fr), read about him here.
A half-brother to G1 winner Villa Marina, Huetor is the second Group I winner for his dam Briviesca, a stakes-winning daughter of Arc winner Peintre Celebre, who shuttled to Australia for six seasons between 1998 and 2003.
Huetor is the sixth GI winner among 25 stakes-winners left by Archipenko, who died prematurely in 2017 at age 13.
His pedigree is power packed with double crosses of Nureyev and Mr Prospector and for those breeders that love line breeding to celebrated matriarchs he’s a gold star example tracing in tail female line to Nureyev’s dam Special, who appears four times in his pedigree!
