The Flemington carnival has rolled on this week with Cup Day and Oaks Day producing Aussie bred winners of these two iconic staying feature races so let’s take a look at those pedigrees.
The $10million Melbourne Cup (3200m) was won by Half Yours, click here to read his story.
He is the first and only stakes-winner for unheralded Teofilo stallion St Jean (IRE), who stands at Brackley Park in Victori and has had a fee increase this spring to $11,000 off the back of the achievements of his famous son.
Teofilo has sired three Melbourne Cup winners in the imported trio Cross Counter, Twilight Payment and Without a Fight, who like Half Yours won the Caulfield Cup as well, so his presence in a pedigree is a powerful one when you are looking for stamina.
St Jean also has a top class female family going back to his third and fourth dams Height of Fashion and Highclere, both G1 winners that have produced G1 winners, so we should not be at all surprised that he has sired something special in Half Yours.
His dam La Gazelle is a placed half-sister to G3 winning stayer Moudre, who won at 3200m and is the third G1 winner among 31 stakes-winners for Makybe Diva’s sire Desert King as a broodmare sire.
Further back in the family it’s a lesson in Victorian breeding history with the next three dams by Raami (GB), Tristino and Sharp Edge (IRE), who all stood in Victoria with fourth dam Show Mist a sister to Group II winning sprinter Touch of Genius from stakes-placed Toolern Gold, a 1000m winner by Vain.
Half Yours is one of the very few instances of an old Australian speed family being updated with stamina to produce a G1 winner… usually it’s the other way around.
The $1million Group I VRC Oaks (2500m) was won by Strictly Business, read about her here.
She is the second G1 winner for Yulong based Grunt, a dual G1 winning miler by O’Reilly, who comes from one of New Zealand best female families. It’s notable for producing Cox Plate winning sire Ocean Park and traces back to blue hen Hunza, who famously produced a two time Adelaide Cup winner in Our Pompeii and a Golden Slipper winner Courtza among her five stakes-winners.
A half-sister to Tasmanian Derby runner-up Kicking King, Strictly Business is from a placed daughter of Uncle Mo in Tivoli Lass and is the first stakes-winner in the first three generations of this family.
Fourth dam is imported blueblood Geraniums Red (GB), an unraced daughter of Irish Oaks winner Celina, who has made quite the impression on this year’s carnival.
Geraniums Red first found fame as the dam of 1984 Caulfield Cup winner Affinity, but she is also the fourth dam of Caulfield Guineas winner Autumn Boy and is the third dam of Shamexpress, sire of the world’s best sprinter Ka Ying Rising.
Interestingly all three horses – Strictly Business, Autumn Boy and Shamexpress – all involve O’Reilly in their pedigrees!
Strictly Business is the 29th stakes-winner as a broodmare sire for Uncle Mo, who was a Champion US 2YO that shuttled to Coolmore Australia for four seasons, but failed to make much impression here despite becoming a champion sire in North America.
Strictly Business is his seventh G1 winner as a broodmare sire and they include Champion US Mare Thorpedo Anna, whose wins included a Kentucky Oaks, and this season’s elite G1 winning 3YO colt Journalism, who won the G1 Preakness, Haskell and Santa Anita Derby.
Throw in a double cross 4 x 4 of champion sire Zabeel and it’s not hard to see why Strictly Business was a dominant Oaks winner with clear reserves of class and stamina that kicked in over the classic trip!
