Two brand new Australian Group I winners emerged last Saturday and while one was bought for just $8,000 online and the other sold for a sale-topping $900,000 as a 2YO – on the pedigree front they are both what we would see as commercial bluebloods.
The $3million Group I BRC Stradbroke (1400m) was won by brilliant young mare Spicy Martini, whose rise from $8,000 Inglis Digital bargain buy to becoming one of the most valuable mares in the country is covered here, click to read.
Bred at Coolmore, Spicy Martini is the 11th Group I winner worldwide for US Triple Crown hero Justify (USA) and is his first bred here in Australia. A statuesque chestnut son of Scat Daddy, Justify shuttled to Coolmore Australia for three seasons, then had a year off before returning in 2023, so has a big crop of Australian yearlings, but they are almost certainly his last yearlings conceived here given he tops the Ashford Stud roster in Kentucky at a fee of US$200,000.
On the female side of her pedigree, Spicy Martini is a testament to Arrowfield as both her dam and grand dam were bred at their farm and her third dam is Champion 2YO and 3YO Filly Alinghi, who was a high [profile acquisition for John Messara back in the day.
Alinghi never produced a horse remotely possessing her talent, leaving just three modest winners from five foals to race before she passed away in 2017, but there are plenty of strands of this family still active, so hope is alive there will be more like Spicy Martini to come.
Spicy Martini is the 32nd G1 winner for Redoute’s Choice as a broodmare sire and to this point his daughters have produced seven winners from nine starters by Justify with Spicy Martini the first stakes-winner.
The $1million Group I BRC JJ Atkins (1600m) is the last juvenile G1 of the season and wasa won by Toronado (IRE) colt Tron Bolt, who topped the Inglis Ready 2 Race Sale at $900,000, click to read his story.
Bred by Gilgai Farm, Tron Bolt is the seventh G1 winner for High Chaparral’s imported miler Toronado (IRE), who has been a real stalwart for the Victorian breeding industry since he first shuttled to Swettenham Stud back in 2015.
Toronado never stood for a fee higher than $27,500 in his first six seasons, but in recent times has been well found by some of the best commercial breeders in the country priced at $88,000 for his last four seasons and again this spring.
He runs at 66% winners to runners and 4.4% SW to runner and Tron Bolt is a bit of a rarity as so many of his top class colts are gelded early and sold to Hong Kong.
So is Tron Bolt a stallion prospect?
It takes more than one swallow to make a summer as we know, but in terms of pedigree he gets a big tick.
Tron Bolt is the first foal of G3 winner Baccarat Baby, a half-sister by Casino Prince to triple G1 winner Duais and G2 winner Philia, bought at Inglis Chairman’s Sale this year for $1.4million by Katsumi Yoshida.
Baccarat Baby traces back down her tail female line to the legend Fanfreluche (fifth dam), a matriarch that has had a profound effect on the Australian breeding industry as her descendants include champion sires Encosta de Lago and Flying Spur as well as young gun Home Affairs.
Tron Bolt highlights the growing success of his dam sire Casino Prince, who would be generally considered a very good ‘bred and butter’ type sire with the best of his progeny by a big margin being Champion 3YO Colt All Too Hard, now a successful sire in his own right.
Casino Prince is over-achieving as a broodmare sire with Tron Bolt his 14th SW and sixth G1 winner in this department and he had a stakes double at Eagle Farm as Listed winner Midnight in Tokyo is also from one of his daughters as is Stradbroke runner-up Sepals.
Casino Prince is a quiet achiever in a pedigree that is not to be underestimated and has been used to great effect by Gilgai Farm's Rick Jamieson. He bred and sold All Too Hard and Tron Bolt is the second G1 winner he has bred from one of his daughters joining Nepotism, winner of last year's G1 ATC Champagne Stakes.
