The half-brother to Group II winners Stretan Angel and Stretan Ruler, lightly raced four year-old Brutal gelding Glorious Moments is a winter horse with spring aspirations and confirmed his potential with a tenacious win at Randwick on Saturday.
Trained by Jim and Greg Lee, Glorious Moments has been handled patiently, but punters were all on board in the Benchmark 78 event over 1400m despite his top weight of 60.5kg.
Glorious Moments let down with a well-timed finish for Chad Schofield to surge home and win by a head.
Glorious Moments has won four of seven starts earning over $280,000 and connections are thinking spring goals for a horse that is just learning his trade.
Glorious Moments was an $85,000 Inglis Classic purchase from Kirks Bridge Farm for Shinkansen Bloodstock and is a half-brother to $1.3million earning Group II winner Stretan Angel and exciting 2YO colt Stretan Ruler, winner of the Group II ATC Silver Slipper.
Stretan Angel sold for $1.6million at the Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale this year to Arrowfield, so will get every opportunity to add to this most progressive family.
Glorious Moments looms as a potential third stakes-winner Sretan, who has had three winners from four foals to race and is a placed half-sister by Bernardini (USA) to Group II placed Alegria (the dam of Group II winner Alegron) from Group III winner Pure Joy.
She produced a yearling colt by Stretan Angel’s sire Harry Angel (IRE) that sold for $540,000 at Inglis Classic this year and has a filly by the same sire to follow and is now in foal to City of Troy (USA).
Brutal posted a winning double at Randwick with the classy mare Bird Whistle scoring for the Brett and Georgie Cavanough stable.
Bird Whistle won the Benchmark 72 event over 1600m by half a length taking her overall record to three wins from 10 starts with prizemoney topping $200,000.
Bird Whistle is a homebred for Rob and Pam Crosby and is the second winner from well bred So You Think mare Think Like a Bird, who also bred and raced by the Crosby’s.
A three time winner up to 1700m, Think Like a Bird is a half-sister to Group I MRC Caulfield Cup winner Southern Speed, who went to stud in Japan where she is the dam of Group II winner Cosmo Kuranda.
It’s a top class family that has also produced Golden Slipper winner Ha Ha and Group I winner Go Indy Go, so Bird Whistle has the pedigree to suggest the best is yet to come.
Like a Bird was a visitor again to Newgate last spring and was covered by Tiger of Malay.
Brutal is well priced this spring at Newgate at a fee of $16,500.
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