We’re past the Magic Millions mania and headed towards some serious autumn racing and from the juvenile perspective we had some interesting youngsters feature last weekend with the first round of Blue Diamond Previews, the Karaka Millions and a winning debut for a $1.5million colt, so let’s take a look at the pedigrees.
Hayasugi claimed a little piece of history with her win in the Group III MRC Blue Diamond Preview (1000m) at Cauflield as first winner and first stakes-winner for her first season sire Royal Meeting (IRE), read about her here.
Royal Meeting was bred and raced by Godolphin and won his only two starts as a juvenile including the Group I Criterium International (1400m) at Chantilly, but failed to win again in five subsequent starts, two in Australia and three in Dubai. He was given his chance at stud by Leneva Park and has attracted pretty decent support given he is a great type and has a very strong female family albeit South African with his dam Rock Opera, the Champion South African 2YO Filly for 2004/2005.
Hayasugi is the 42nd SW for Commands as a broodmare sire and comes from a fast female family with her third dam Gypsy Alert, a Group III placed half-sister to brilliant filly With Me, who was an outstanding juvenile and then won the Group I MRC Oakleigh Plate as a three year-old filly, not easy to do!
High Octane won the Listed MRC Blue Diamond Preview (1000m) for colts on debut and is also a history maker as the most expensive yearling ever sired by the now pensioned Deep Field, read about him here.
He is the 27th SW for Deep Field, who then made it 28 SW’s on Saturday when Master Fay won the G3 Concorde Stakes in New Zealand, and is the 20th SW for Not a Single Doubt as a broodmare sire. High Octane is the first SW bred on this direct cross which has produced 10 winners from 14 runners with Group I placed Bases Loaded also bred this way.
Both his dam and second dam were Listed winners and third dam Ten Eighty is an unraced sister to G1 winner Star Satire, so there is plenty of class to the family which also includes Widden Stud’s new acquisition I Am Unstoppable.
With three wins from four starts, Velocious is the best two year-old seen out in New Zealand so far this year winning the Karka Millions on Saturday, read about her here.
She is the 59th SW for champion sire Written Tycoon and comes from a pivotal crop of foals for him conceived when he stood for a season at Arrowfield Stud in the Hunter Valley at a fee of $77,000. That crop has had 16 runners so far and four have won with Velocious the second stakes-winner along with Captured by Love, who is also in NZ and is also bred the same way being from a daughter of Snitzel.
Champion sire Snitzel has left 27 SW’s as a broodmare sire and six are by Written Tycoon or his sire sons.
On the female pedigree front, Velocious lacks the Group I class of the previous two youngsters although it’s a good quick running family with her dam a half-sister to a pair of Listed winners in Liesele and Loved Up.
Expensive $1.5million colt Switzerland made a winning debut at Randwick and while he’s going to have to make improvement from this point it’s a good place to start off, read about him here.
He’s the first foal of a fast Group winning import in Ms Bad Behaviour (Can), who comes from an OK, but not great US family, but the key feature for her is being by Blame, winner of the 2010 Group I Breeders’ Cup Classic. He’s made a strong start as a broodmare sire leaving the dams of 14 SW’s headed by triple Group I winning colt Forte.
There are five mares by Blame in Australia and they are all being bred to good stallions.
