Retired from stud duties earlier this year to a life of luxury retirement at Coolmore Australia, champion sire Fastnet Rock added a new Group I winner to his tally when Buckaroo (GB) won the Group I MRC Underwood Stakes (1800m) at Caulfield on Saturday in a canter.
A stakes-winner in Ireland when trained by Joseph O’Brien, imported stayer Buckaroo came to Australia last year to run in the Group I ATC King Charles Stakes and Group I VRC Champions Stakes and while he didn’t win either of those, he is certainly showing his quality now for new trainer Chris Waller.
Gelded after some indifferent runs during the autumn carnival, Buckaroo has returned to racing in good heart and went to Melbourne off a last start win in the Group II ATC Chelmsford Stakes.
Ridden by Joao Moreira, Buckaroo hit the front with a furlong to run and opened up to win by three and a half lengths over another import Huetor (Fr).
“It feels amazing, you know. That's what horse racing is about. When you get one up, the feeling doesn't get any better,” said Joao Moreira.
“Impressive the way how he won, isn't it? He has a tricky manner in the gate, he wasn't really kind for me in there. He began a little bit worse than what we were hoping.
“(Buckaroo) found itself a little bit too far back. But as the race disenrolled itself, it kind of got him into the race.
“When I turned for home on the outside, with him having great momentum, I was always confident he was going to get up.
“Nice horse makes a jockey's life so much easier, isn't it?”
Raced by an ownership group that includes Ozzie Kheir, Qatar Bloodstock and Yes Bloodstock, Buckaroo is entered for the Cox Plate, Caulfield Cup and Melbourne Cup, so has options aplenty going forward with an overall record that now stands at five wins and five placings from 20 starts.
Buckaroo is a half-brother to exciting young Group III winning stayer Middle Earth and is the best of five winners from stakes-winning Galileo mare Roheryn, a daughter of fast More Than Ready filly La Chunga, who won the Group III York Albany Stakes and Summer Stakes.
He is bred on the amazingly successful Fastnet Rock x Galileo nick that has already produced a Group I winner in Australia this season on Via Sistina (IRE). It accounts for 29 stakes-winners from 158 runners worldwide, so runs at 18% SW to runner and 11 of those stakes-winners are G1 winners.
Fastnet Rock has been retired from stud duties at Coolmore with his place on the roster now filled by his young son Acrobat, who stands at a fee of $13,750.
