The expected uber-classy field lines up for this year's edition of the $2million G1 Coolmore Stud Stakes and two blueblooded sons of Snitzel are the most expensive purchases in the field by no small margin.
Race favourite is Ciaron Maher's G2 Danehill Stakes hero The Next Episode, a $2.8 million purchase for his trainer on the Gold Coast, and raced with UK based bloodstock investor Phil Cunningham of Rebel Racing, who leads a big ownership group. His colours are carried by the exciting colt.
$2.7 million was the price tag on St Gotthard, a full brother to the 2024 Coolmore winner Switzerland.
Tom Magnier secured the Inglis Easter colt from the Arrowfield draft, having paid $1.5 million at the same sale for his older brother in 2023.
A brace of outstanding fillies will be out to upset these glamour boys.
Satono Glow ( Satono Aladdin) beat the colts in the Roman Consul Stakes in Sydney, which history says is one of the superior formlines into this race. The Kiwi-bred star was a $260,000 Karaka Book 1 buy for O'Shea's Charlton Racing and James Bester Bloodstock.
2012 was the last time a filly won the Roman Consul and that was Jolie Bay, who went to Melbourne and was second in the Coolmore before she became the dam of Champion Australian Sprinter, Joliestar!
Unlike her rivals, the Danehill Stakes runner up Natural Fling has already proven herself competitive at G1 WFA level with her fighting third in the Moir Stakes this spring.
Just behind her that day was Extragalactic, who was runner up to all but Jimmysstar next start in the G1 Manikato Stakes.
Natural Fling’s sire Home Affairs won the Coolmore in 2021, one of two colts (the other was Brazen Beau) and one filly (In Secret) by “Vinnie” to do so - while daughters My Gladiola, I Am Unstoppable, Libertini and Invincible Star all placed.
The McEvoy stable hopes their filly can emulate the deeds of their champion Sunlight, who won this race in 2018, and she has followed a similar path into the race. Not only that, Natural Fling carries the same silks Sunlight did eight years ago.
The chances in this cracking Coolmore field certainly don’t end there!
While the deluge which was forecast for Cox Plate day thankfully held off until the Sunday, it did arrive. At time of writing Flemington has dried out to a good 4, with no further moisture of note coming until significant showers arrive on Saturday. However, due to the recent drenching, it won't take much for them to start getting into the surface a little - so I'm looking for horses that should appreciate that genuine bit of give.
The straight six races are always tricky. Punters have to weigh up headwinds, tailwinds, fields splitting, who will be best suited on the day, who has the ability to overcome any bias?
What a great day to be a lover of all things thoroughbred. Let's try and find a winner!
I am leaving out race favourite The Next Episode. Am I mad? Possibly. Reasons - the Danehill is good lead up form, but it’s actually the placegetters who have a far better record in this race.
Then, he's a backmarker and a brilliant speedster yet to be tested over a brutally run 1200m. His dam was also a brilliant speedster who was tried twelve times over 1200m and placed in a few, but won just once. Yes, the greatness of Snitzel - but will others be stronger at the finish?
Top Pick: SATONO GLOW (NZ)
With one superstar “Glow” firmly ensconced amongst the best in the country, here comes another potential topliner. It's surely not incidental that she is a granddaughter of the breedshaping Japanese sire Deep Impact, as is another freakish female of the moment, Sheza Alibi!
Deep Impact sired a plethora of G1 winning fillies and mares in both hemispheres and his sons are carrying on the good work.
Satono Glow is unbeaten down the Flemington straight and as mentioned, fillies good enough to win one of the prime lead up races to this, the G2 Roman Consul, are unicorns.
The John O'Shea / Tom Charlton trained filly will love a bit of rain around and has drawn to get an ideal run. O'Shea was training for Godolphin the last time he saddled a runner in this race, and that was the Golden Rose hero Astern, who was runner up in 2016.
Satono Glow could easily have arrived here undefeated. Her only loss came when desperately unlucky in the G2 Percy Sykes Stakes (1200m) at two.
Her record reads 5-4-0-0 for earnings of $487,660.
Satono Glow was purchased for $260,000 by O’Shea Charlton Racing and James Bester Bloodstock from Windsor Park Stud’s Karaka Book 1 draft.
Her owners are a syndicate who purchase fillies under Bester's guidance, and once again his judgement has reaped rewards!
Satono Glow is a daughter of the winning Pins mare Electrode, also dam of G2 placed Kitty Flash.
Her damline goes back to matriarch Aulone (8-j), whose Gimcrack Stakes winning daughter Civic Pride by Ajax was the dam of the champion colt Pride Of Egypt and his champion sister Amneris ( ancestress of the magnificent sprinter Hay List), and she helped found a prolific and famous family which still thrives.
The great filly She’s Extreme of several seasons ago ( 2 x G1 winner, 3 x G1 placed) was a recent superstar from this family as was Dundeel's son Castelvecchio - sire of champion filly Aeliana.
Satono Glow is bred
Mr Prospector 5m x 4m
Her sire Satono Aladdin (Jpn) is bred on the hugely successful Deep Impact / Storm Cat cross and stands at Rich Hill Stud in NZ.
Like many of the best progeny of Deep Impact, he could stay a middle distance, but was defined by elite powers of acceleration which rendered him an effective sprinter and a champion miler. His full sister was also a G1 winner in Japan.
While the stallion's best progeny to date is the G1 NZ / ATC Oaks heroine Pennewaska, high class sprint wins feature on the CVs of nearly all of his fourteen stakes winners so far.
Incredibly he is siring 12.2 % Stakes winners to runners, better than Snitzel, Vinnie, Zoustar and the rest!
Satono Glow is not big, but she is strong and has the powerhouse stride of a much larger horse, that is very well suited to Flemington!
If you've read my stories about star colt Warwoven, you'll have noted my raving about his intensive linebreeding to the “Agnes family”, and here is another fantastic example.
Satono Glow’s dam by the mighty Pins is bred 4f x 5m to Blue Hen Real Delight via the three quarter siblings Humour ( grand dam of Pins and a dual Australian Broodmare Of The Year) and the top Flemington sprinter Aurealis, who sired Satono Glow's third dam. The siblings were by Kaoru Star.
Pins and Aurealis descend from the immortal race filly Sceptre, grand daughter of Lily Agnes (16-h).
Satono Aladdin's family traces to a half sister to Sceptre, Ornament. On his damline we find My Babu and Bull Dog (16-a), the latter sex balanced in Nijinsky via Bull Page, who descends from a daughter of Disc Donc by Sardanaple, one of the great foundational Agnes line stallions.
Additionally, Disc Donc's dam was strongly linebred to her own family (31 branch of Bonnie Katie) through Gay Duchess by Rosicrucian.
Now we flip back to Kaoru Star, himself a descendant of Bonnie Katie through a full sister Bonny Rose, plus carrying multiple lines of Rosicrucian's greatest daughter Illuminata, plus the sire Emperor ( by My Babu's sire Djebel x Bahram (16-a)
The grandsire of Humour was Prince Chevalier, a sire tracing to a Sardanaple daughter and from the family of Bull Lea.
Satono Aladdin's second damsire Fappiano amps all this up no end, as he traces to a full sister to Bull Dog.
There are many more aspects of this pedigree to delight in, but one is the nick between Deep Impact's damline (family 2-f) tracing to Burghclere by Busted, who has much in common with her relation, Satono Glow's fifth damsire Convamore - while the My Babu son Duvidal is also back there playing a role!
Satono Glow and Ben Melham will fly from barrier 4.
Next Best: ST GOTTHARD
Blinkers go on this full brother to the Coolmore winner Switzerland, and what better moment. While the colt was soundly beaten in the Golden Rose, he did meet with some bad luck in running that day. The Warwoven form is the A-grade form - and St Gotthard is primed for a career defining performance.
The Chris Waller trained St Gotthard represents a stable with a formidable record in this race and arrives here with the record of 4 starts for 2 wins and 2 placings for $401,650 in earnings.
He is here off a similar prep his brother had, but was more lightly raced as a juvenile. Dropping back from the 1400m of the Golden Rose has proven to be a successful formula before for this race, and the blinkers / long straight combo are a big plus for this colt I think!
He has never raced on a wet track so that's a query if the rain comes, but is bred to handle it.
The $2.7million Inglis Easter purchase for Tom Magnier from Arrowfield Stud runs for Coolmore and partners, including Hong Kong investor Marc Chan in whose colours he runs.
His dam Ms Bad Behavior (Can) is proving to be an exceptional producer for Arrowfield Stud!
St Gotthard is bred
Danzig 4m x5f ( plus another line through Chief's Crown, his sixth damsire)
Nijinsky 5f x 5f
Storm Bird 4f x 5m
Kris S x 4m,5f
Mr Prospector x 5m,5m
His dam is linebred to Blue Hen Rough Shod via full sisters Thong (ancestress of his damsire Blame, a champion racer) and Moccasin (ancestress of his second damsire Stormy Atlantic), and also to her own family of Cherokee Rose ( ancestress of Storm Cat) - this is the female line of Intent who sired Snitzel's grand dam Snow Finch on a Storm Bird cross.
Snippets’ sire Lunchtime brings a line of highly inbred relation Falls Of Clyde and he is sex balanced in Snitzel. Danzig carries family member Crafty Admiral. This family blood is also prominent in the duplicated Kris S.
There is so much more going on, but notably this pedigree also features linebreeding to related sires Relic and Blue Larkspur; to half brothers Hasty Road and Traffic Judge; and to brother and sister Mr Busher and Busher ( ex Baby League from La Troienne) and her full sister Striking ( via daughter Glamour, who foaled the damsire of Seattle Slew and the third damsire of Snippets).
It's a turbo charged pedigree and already a proven one. St Gotthard's had a nice little freshen and will be raring to go!
Google tells me that Saint Gotthard is the patron saint of travelling merchants and a famous pass in the Swiss Alps bears his name ( thus the Switzerland link)
J Mac and his Saint will get their G1 show on the road from barrier 6.
Roughie: NATURAL FLING
Again, far from a “roughie” but must include. The WFA Moir placed / Danehill runner up is an elite, on pace speedster with plenty of depth in her pedigree to say she will run the 1200m out very strongly.
By boom sire Home Affairs, who won this race, and from a famous NZ family, Natural Fling was classy at two but bred to improve vastly at three.
The filly was bred by Australian Bloodstock, and foaled and raised at Yarraman Park.
She was a $550,000 buy for McEvoy Mitchell Racing / Belmont Bloodstock from the draft of Yarraman Park on the Gold Coast, and has started 5 times for 2 wins, 2 seconds, a third - and winnings of just over $505,000.
Her dam is the winning Fastnet Rock mare The Natural, a half sister to G1 VRC Derby /BMW winner Fiveandahalfstar and to the dam of G1 Spring Champion Stakes hero El Castello.
Natural Fling is the second foal from her dam - the first is stakes placed Wootton Lass ( Wootton Bassett).
Her third is a colt by Brave Smash (Jpn) that was sold from the Yarraman Park draft at Inglis Classic for $300,000 to Graham Begg Racing / Rohan Hughes Bloodstock. The 2YO is named The Whiz and yet to trial.
The Natural missed to I Am Invincible before producing a Too Darn Hot filly this spring.
The Natural was one of four Fastnet Rock fillies from her dam Cryptic Miss ( Snippets) one being the dam of El Castello, all successful broodmares. Their half sister Ritzy ( Medaglia D'oro) is a stakes producer.
Cryptic Miss was the only foal of the mare Cross Words - a full sister by Grosvenor to Sydney Cup winner Cross Swords. She died by lightning strike, leaving the world this sole daughter who has done her mum proud!
The stand-out name on this damline is Soliloquy, by the great Sobig, from the elite producer Princess Patine (Pakistan II)
Soliloquy was one of her three stakes winners, and a G1 winner at 1400m.
G1 winners descending from Soliloquy apart from those listed above include ATC Derby winner Jon Snow, Gallic (Sydney Cup) and NZ Oaks winner Savaria.
But note that G1 winning sprinter miler mares Culminate, Eileen Dubh and Captivate also descend from Soliloquy.
Her best racing daughter was 3 x G1 winner Solveig. Natural Fling descends from Solveig's stakes winning half sister Quibble, by the Bold Ruler sire Ruling.
Fillies from this family are precious. Their line goes back to Miss Kate GB (2-r), the ancestress of Phar Lap, Sunline and other great champions.
While most often seen through Phar Lap's ancestress Catherine Wheel, Natural Fling's branch of the tribe descends from that mare's half sister Antelope.
Natural Fling is bred
Danehill 4m x 3m
Danzig 5m,5m x 5m
Home Affairs sired the G2 ARC Eclipse Stakes (1200m) winning colt Kinnaird from a daughter of Solveig, while Listed Star Way Stakes winner Miss Janet is also a relation.
This pedigree carries sex balanced duplications of Northern Dancer, Sir Ivor, Biscay, Round Table, Palestine, My Babu ( Sir Tristram x 2 in dam is a noted nick for Artaius carried by Invincible Spirit - the mare also has a line to Aureole and Fastnet Rock is himself a family member) and to the full brother and sister Reliance and Desirade ( dam of Ruling) out of Relic’s daughter Relance.
Teddy daughter Tedmelia is ancestress of Exclusive Native and Snippets, while La Troienne lines abound, and Natural Fling herself descends from a daughter of the sire Gabador, out of La Troienne's three quarter sister Adargatis.
Natural Fling loves wet but she's also been low flying on top of the ground in her Flemington trials. She'll jump and run and should prove very hard to hold out.
Natural Fling and Damian Lane will launch from barrier 8.
Blowout: ALIBABA
The big Baba is back! and I've been an unabashed fan from day one.
I'm absolutely convinced this horse is going to win a G1 - whether it’s this blue chip major is another question, but I think he can run a cracking race off a hectic speed.
Baba's got a booming finish on him when he balances up and lets go. Flemington is perfect. His close fourth in the Danehill first up (and first time down the straight) was excellent.
His short career has been cruelled by bad barriers - this time he's drawn 11, and may follow on pacers Paradoxium and Pembrey who are drawn nearby, to take up a midfield position.
Alibaba's record reads 6 - 1-0-2 for $430,000 in stakes.
He didn't come with any headline price tag, but this striking colt makes you look twice with his combination of athleticism, presence and quality.
Trainer Ken Keys, who now operates in partnership with daughter Kasey, outlaid $115,000 to purchase the Inglis Classic youngster from the Yulong draft.
His sire Alabama Express ( Redoute's Choice) was a G1 WFA CF Orr winner and is a close relation of the mighty Giga Kick.
Baba's dam is the winning Written Tycoon daughter Rowsthorn.
Alibaba is her second foal and a full brother to her first - the talented filly Strideaway who was one of the better 2YOs in Perth a couple of seasons ago.
Rowsthorn’s dam was the winning Good Journey (Nureyev) daughter Balmodena, a three quarter sister to Written Tycoon's very good colt Masthead (twice G2 placed, third in the Blue Diamond and fourth in the Golden Slipper).
Balmodena is the dam of this season’s G2 Alistair Clark Stakes winner Roulette King.
She and her stakes winning half sister Diamonds were two of seven winners from their dam, the winning Redoute's Choice daughter Balsamico, a three quarter sister to the dam of So You Think's G1 Rosehill Guineas hero and excellent young sire D'Argento - and a half sister to the dam of Snitzel's champion colt Sizzling.
Alibaba's prolific family descends from daughters of the Without Fear filly Estate Label, a true matriarch of the famed Lindsay Park stud.
She left numerous daughters who bred on with great success and Alibaba's branch of the family descends from her stakes winning Alzao daughter Laudemio.
This fine family traces to the imported mare Chand Beebee (family 5), bred by Queen Victoria, and foaled in 1890.
The little filly left the Royal Stud for the long sea voyage to Sydney beside her dam, tasked with not only surviving the perilous journey, but with vastly improving the colonial racing stock.
She did both. Her best daughter Chantress won the Newmarket Handicap, while Bee Bee won the Maribyrnong Plate and Baw Bee the AJC Breeders Plate.
Then, at the venerable age of eighteen, the old girl sprung a surprise when she foaled a colt, Piastre, who went on to win the 1912 Melbourne Cup!
Notable descendants of Chand Beebee are many but include Amounis ( Cox Plate, Caulfield Cup, two Epsom Hcps), Garrio (Cox Plate), Gold Script (NZ Champion 2YO and 3YO) and Wenona Girl (Golden Slipper, 11 Group One wins) while in more recent times Live It Up (Flight Stakes) became ancestress of champion mare Response and her Golden Slipper winning daughter Estijaab.
In a nice little twist of fate, the grand old dame Chand Beebee died at her home Segenhoe Stud. Yulong acquired the historic nursery this year, and it is where Alibaba's sire Alabama Express resides.
Alibaba is bred
Redoute's Choice 2m x 4f sex balanced
Northern Dancer 5m,5m x 5m
His pedigree all about the immortal Blue Hen Best In Show and her dam Stolen Hour.
Best In Show's half sister Stolen Date is the ancestress of Alibaba's sire Alabama Express, and the line comes through Seasonal Pickup, a daughter of Nijinsky's three quarter brother The Minstrel.
The grand dam of Alabama Express Rekindled Applause is a granddaughter of Waajib by Try My Best, son of Best In Show's daughter Sex Appeal by Buckpasser.
How awesome a nick this is for Redoute's Choice with his Nijinsky x Alibhai (family of Waajib) x Best In Show damline, indeed the cross has given us the Everest champion and cult hero Giga Kick.
Then we have Written Tycoon, which is Try My Best In beast mode through his breedshaping son Last Tycoon, and Good Journey - his grandam Minnie Hauk by Sir Ivor is a full sister to Redoute's third dam Show Lady, plus his damsire Private Account brings in a lot more La Troienne ( Buckpasser etc)
Alibaba is linebred to Blue Hens Special (sex balanced through Fairy King and Nureyev) and Black Ray via Khaled and his relations Blushing Groom and Mill Reef.
Can Alibaba and Froggy Newitt work some magic from barrier 11?
