Rising staying star Alalcance is looking a particularly good northern hemisphere buy after winning the Group III N E Manion Cup (2400m) at Rosehill on Saturday.
Having scored her first stakes win when resuming at her previous start, Alalcance was driven straight to the lead by Tim Clark and never looked in any danger with the Waterhouse/Bott trained daughter of Mastercraftsman beating Athabascan (Almanzor) by 4.4 lengths with Strathtay (Preferment) third.
Bought for 240,000 guineas at the Tatteralls December Mare Sale in 2023 by McKeever Bloodstock and Waterhouse Bott Racing with a record of one maiden win at the Curragh from four starts, she’s looking a very good buy indeed.
Her Australian record now sits at five starts for three wins, two seconds and over $340,000, and was elevated to $5 favourite for the Sydney Cup by TAB.
“She is just a winner,” said Adrian Bott.
“Her pattern obviously helps her, but she's got a fight in her every day of the week. She's incredibly brave. She's tough and she can stay all day. That's her asset.
“So we haven't really got into her best trips yet. We've got her set for the Sydney Cup so looking forward to testing her over that two miles.
“He (Tim Clark) was aggressive through those early stages to really pick up and take control so that he could run the style of race that he wanted to. And that's where she's happy. She just keeps following along and keeps picking up.”
“She's got such good staying ability,” said Tim Clark.
“She's got unlimited stamina and takes a little bit of time to get into gear early, but when she's there, she just flips on the cruise control and away you go.”
Alalcance is the fourth winner for Galileo mare Albamara, a winner of one race and stakes placed four times. She’s a daughter of the Champion Older Female Stayer in Britain and Germany, Albanova.
She is one of 107 stakes winners for Mastercraftsman who died in 2021.
