Sea Siren is not the only Group I winning daughter of champion sire Fastnet Rock to produce a Royal Ascot winner this week with 2014 Group I MRC Thousand Guineas winner Amicus featuring overnight when her five year-old Galileo son Okita Soushi won the Duke of Edinburgh Stakes Handicap (1m4f).
Trained by Joseph O’Brien and ridden by Ryan Moore, Okita Soushi runs for Toshihiro Matsumoto and was placed in a handicap race at this meeting last year. He’s been in good form this year with two wins from three starts leading into this assignment and beat a big field of 18 to win by a neck.
A very consistent performer, stakes-placed Okita Soushi has the overall record of four wins and four placings from 11 starts.
“Okita Soushi ran a great race here last year. He's always slow early on, so Ryan was happy to take his time and come with one run late. He needs the right set-up. We knew if he got it, then he would have a good chance to win. We were a bit of hostage to how it set up, so it's nice the way it worked out,” said Joseph O’Brien.
Okita Soushi is the first foal for Amicus, who was a $500,000 Magic Millions purchase as a yearling for Chris Waller and raced with great success racking up five wins, four of them coming in Group races headed by the Thousand Guineas. Bred by Makybe, Amicus is a half-sister by Fastnet Rock to stakes-winner Cheer Leader from the family of champion sprinter and Group I sire Starspangledbanner.
Amicus started her stud career in Ireland at Coolmore and has an unraced two year-old Galileo colt called Chief Little Rock and another yearling colt by the champion sire to follow. She was returned to Australia this year and is in foal to Frankel.
