Group I racing in Australia and New Zealand on Saturday produced four newly minted G1 winners, so we’re taking a look at the pedigrees that produced this intriguing quartet who include a colt that started the day with no Black Type on his resume at all.
The $3million Group I MRC Caulfield Guineas (1600m) proved the downfall of hot favourite Broadsiding, who finished a gallant fourth with victory going to Written Tycoon colt Private Life ahead of a couple of Kiwi breds with the runner up Feroce failing by a long head to replicate the success of his sire Super Seth, who won the race in 2019, read about the race here.
Bred and sold by Arrowfield, Private Life is their second new G1 winner in a week following on from Lady Shenandoah winning the G1 Flight Stakes last week. He is the 65th stakes-winner for Written Tycoon and becomes his 16th G1 winner.
A fascinating stallion that started off at a low base and has stood in three different states as his career has unfolded, Written Tycoon has overall stats of 76.2% winners to runner and 5.4% SW to runner.
In 2020, Written Tycoon spent a season at Arrowfield in the Hunter Valley and covered 199 mares at a fee of $77,000 and that produced a foal crop of 151 of which 79 three year olds have raced so far and 37 have won including six stakes-winners headed by three G1 winners Private Life sitting alongside Lady of Camelot and Velocious and a further six Black Type placed horses.
Not even half way through this season, that one crop is already running at 7.5% SW to runner and with three individual G1 winners in it has surpassed every other crop that has come before, so if you were a person that believed going to Arrowfield would be a game changer for Written Tycoon, you would be right.
Private Life is the fifth G1 winner for Snitzel as a broodmare sire and the stats on his nick with Written Tycoon are headed upwards, thanks also to that season at Arrowfield. The nick has produced 17 winners from 31 runners highlighted by three SW’s that include another Group I winner Velocious as well as Group II winner Captured by Love and stakes-placed Supercilious with all of these Black Type horses foaled in 2021.
The $1million MRC Might and Power Stakes (2000m) produced another upset with Yulong’s $500,000 MM National purchase Deny Knowledge (IRE) too good for Mr Brightside on this occasion, read about the race here.
Coolmore based Pride of Dubai started his stud career shuttling to Ireland and Deny Knowledge (IRE) comes from the same crop that produced triple G1 winner Dubai Honour (IRE). She is his fifth Group I winner and four of the five have been effective up to 2000m with the only sprinter in the group being Bella Nipotina.
Given that Pride of Dubai raced just five times, four of those as a two year-old winning both the Group I MRC Blue Diamond and ATC Sires Produce, the story of his offspring is at complete odds with the horse himself. His progeny are more reminiscent of his sire Street Cry and breeders should now be able to see and understand his strengths, rather than just lament his lack of two year-old winners.
If Deny Knowledge backs up in the Caulfield Cup take heart from her female family for the question of stamina as her dam sire Manduro is a son of Monsun and the female family includes G1 Ascot Gold Cup winner Big Orange and Melbourne Cup perennial place-getter Red Cadeaux.
The $1million MRC Toorak Handicap (1600m) was won in cavalier fashion by last year’s runner up Antino (NZ), read about him here.
Antino is the third G1 winner for Westbury Stud’s High Chaparral import Redwood (GB) and is from an unraced full sister to G1 winner Hurrah. He is the ninth SW and second G1 winner as a broodmare sire for Woodman son Bahhare (USA), who shuttled to Rich Hill Stud in New Zealand.
One thing of obvious interest in his pedigree is the 3 x 3 double cross of Woodman, a shuttle stallion that came to Australia with a great deal of fanfare back in 1997 and shuttled for five seasons, but never quite lived up to his achievements in the Northern Hemisphere. There are nine SW’s that have the double cross of Woodman and in a weird coincidence it produced two Group I winners within 24 hours with Antino doing what he did and then a filly called She Feels Pretty (Woodman 4 x 4) won the Group I Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup at Keeneland in North America.
The $550,000 Group I Livamol Classic (2040m) was won by Tavistock mare Snazzytavi in the colours of Cambridge Stud, read about her here.
Snazzytavi is the second new G1 winner in the space of a week for the much missed Tavistock following on from Ceolwulf, who won the G1 Epsom Handicap last week. She is his 12th G1 winner and is also the 48th G1 winner for the legendary Zabeel as a broodmare sire.
The nick between the two revered Cambridge Stud sires has produced 98 winners from 124 runners, so nearly 80% winner to runner and the 15 SW’s represent 12% SW to runner. Tavistock died at the end of 2019 as the result of complications from a paddock injury and his loss was a huge one for the NZ breeding industry.
