The past week has been a fascinating one for those interested in pedigree with the best stallions rising to the top at the best racing carnival in Australia and we saw a world first involving two champion sires, not to mention the emergence of a couple of colts destined for stud careers.
The cash continues to flow at Sydney spring race meetings, but the true Black Type focus has been at Flemington for the past week with 26 legitimate stakes races decided and the lion’s share – 19 of them- were won by Australian bred horses with the most successful sires being Zoustar, Savabeel, Pride of Dubai and I Am Invincible.
Widden Stud’s Zoustar ensured his 45 yearlings for Magic Millions in 2024 will be hotter than hot with his three stakes-winners all holding serious sex appeal headed by his outstanding colt Ozzmosis, who won the $2million Group I VRC Coolmore Stud Stakes (1200m).
While Ozzmosis was among the cheapest colts by his sire purchased from MM 2022 at a mere $250,000, the second most expensive at $1.25million was Schwarz and he too was a Flemington stakes winner scoring a Listed victory over 1400m at his third start.
Sitting somewhere in the middle in terms of price was three year-old filly Mumbai Muse, who was a $525,000 Inglis Easter purchase and claimed the Group III VRC Red Roses Stakes (1200m).
All three of these Zoustar stakes-winners are from mares by Danehill line sires and he is one of the few sires that does really well with the double Danehill and 27 of his 45 SW’s are bred that way. Of those 27 with double Danehill, six are double Redoute’s Choice and they include Schwarz, who is also from the female family of Redoute’s Choice and has an intriguing 4 x 4 x 4 triple cross of blue hen Shantha’s Choice.
Waikato Stud’s Savabeel invariably makes his presence felt at this carnival and also sired three stakes-winners with Group I success for Atishu in the $3million VRC Champions Stakes (2000m), a Group III win at 1400m for Kiwi trained Skew Wiff and a Listed victory for Forgot You.
All three are Kiwi breds from Waikato Stud, but if you don’t want to head to Karaka next year, Magic Millions have catalogued half a dozen of his stock. Atishu is one of 32 Group I winners for the champion son of Savabeel that runs at 10.8% SW to runner.
Coolmore’s value sire Pride of Dubai also won three stakes races at Flemington, but he did it with just two horses!
His amazing mare Pride of Jenni won both the Group I VRC Empire Rose Stakes (1600m) and then backed up to win the $3million Group I VRC Champions Mile (1600m), while another formidable daughter in Irish bred Deny Knowledge (IRE) won the Group II VRC Matriarch Stakes (2000m). Add in the deeds this spring of his sprinting mare Bella Nipotina, who knocked off the Everest quinella in the $3million Giga Kick Stakes in Sydney and you can see why Pride of Dubai now sits in the Top 5 sires by earnings.
The fickle nature of horse breeding though means you won’t see many of them at the sales this year as in 2021 he was not Mr Popular and Pride of Dubai has just 17 yearlings, two of which have found their way top Magic Millions.
Australia’s best sire in terms of the racetrack and the sale ring is Yarraman Park’s I Am Invincible and he has the best horse he has ever produced in Imperatriz, who capped a remarkable year with a super victory in the $3million Group I VRC Champions Sprint (1200m). It’s all been said, but a horse that starts nine times in a year for eight wins and a second with six of the wins in Group I races is clearly a cut above the rest.
I Am Invincible made it a Flemington stakes double with his speedy daughter Queen of the Ball also a Group III winner and his 50 yearlings for Magic Millions will probably include the sale-topper.
On the broodmare sire front the cream also rose to the top with Fastnet Rock siring the dams of four individual stakes-winners – G2 winners Amazonian Lass (More Than Ready (USA), Cause for Concern (Worthy Cause) and G3 winners - Queen of the Ball (I Am Invincible) and Mumbai Muse (Zoustar).
O’Reilly sired the dams of three stakes-winners that won four stakes races with Pride of Jenni (Pride of Dubai) being a two time G1 winner joining G3 winning two year-old Dublin Down (Exceedance) and Listed winner Forgot You (Savabeel).
Dubawi, who stands at Dalham Hall in the UK for £350,000, also sired the dams of three stakes-winners – G1 Melbourne Cup winner Without a Fight (IRE) (Teofilo ), G1 VRC Oaks winner Zardozi (Kingman) and G3 winning sprinter Spacewalk (Exosphere).
Zardozi is an interesting one on pedigree being the first stakes-winner and first G1 winner anywhere in the world by Juddmonte Farm’s top class sire Kingman from a daughter of Dubawi, which seems a little surprising. The nick has had 11 winners from 15 runners, so has had a bit of exposure, but Black Type success has been slow to emerge.
