One of the more intriguing first season stallions in Australia this spring is the Group I Breeders' Cup Turf winner Bobby's Kitten, a son of the El Prado stallion Kitten's Joy who has dominated turf racing in the US to the extent few have done before.
More evidence of this came at Arlington Park on Saturday when the aptly named Oscar Performance
The Brian Lynch-trained rig had won the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf last season and was coming off a win the Belmont Derby Invitational.
Ridden by Jose Ortiz Oscar Performance stalked the early pace set by the More Than Ready colt Sonic Boom. Set alight on the home turn he easily held the challenges of the European shippers Taj Mahal (Ire) (Galileo) and Afandem (Fr) (Zoffany).
The most favoured of the Europeans, Permian (Ire) (Teofilo), passed the post
Winner of the Group II King Edward VII Stakes and Group II Dante Stakes and a heartbreaking near miss in the Group I Grand Prix de Paris at his most recent start, Permian (Ire) had broken a left front cannon bone and was euthanized.
The winner of six of his nine starts, Oscar Performance has banked $US1.7 million for breeders John and Jerry Amerman.
A brother to the Grade III winner and Grade I placed Oscar Nominated, Oscar Performance is out of the stakes winning Theatrical mare Devine Actress.
The Secretariat Stakes is also on the resume of Kitten's Joy who won the race 13 years ago.
Coincidently Twin Hills
His third dam North Eden (Northfield) is a half-sister to Theatrical and she covered herself in glory as a broodmare leaving the Group I winners Paradise Creek, Wild Event and Forbidden Apple.
Bobby's Kitten will stand his first season at Olly Tate's Twin Hills Stud at Cootamundra for a fee of $16,500.
