Best On Breeding

Epsom Handicap day at Randwick with the first look at the new-season two-year-olds, a full card of nine stakes races on Turnbull Stakes day at Flemington and one of the great days of world racing at Longchamp featuring the incomparable Enable in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, this is as close as it gets to racing nirvana.

Let’s not hang around and go straight to the opening race at Randwick, the Group III Keeneland Gimcrack Stakes.

Darby Racing’s strikingly marked Choisir filly Every Rose is a deserving favourite having won her heat in slick time and was doing her best work in the final 100 metres.

She is a half-sister to two talented runners in Smart Edge (Smart Missile) and Academy (Shamus Award).

Having said that we will be banking on another Randwick trial winner Fall On A Star (pictured as a yearling ) to go one better than her dam Igraine who was second in the Gimcrack back in 2014.

At the recent Goffs Orby Sale, Phoenix Thoroughbreds and Aquis Farms teamed up to buy a Galileo filly for €1.1 million but they had already formed a partnership back at the Magic Millions in January to secure Gilgai Stud’s Zoustar filly Fall On a Star who was sent to the stables of Kris Lees.

She comes from a family that has served Darley and Woodlands well over the years so it was somewhat of a surprise when Darley consigned Igraine, fresh off the track, to the 2016 Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale.

Although an 8-start maiden, Igraine clearly had ability, placing in the Group III Widden Stakes in addition to her second in the Gimcrack Stakes but to be fair to Darley they do still have plenty of the family.

The daughter of Denman didn’t get under the guard of bloodstock agent Dermot Farrington at the who shelled out $370,000 on behalf of Gilgai Farm’s Rick Jamieson.

Igraine is a daughter of that marvellous producer Chaparra whose progeny now take up the complete pedigree page.

A half-sister to the Group II MRC Caulfield Autumn Classic and Group II MVRC Alister Clark Stakes winner Spinney, a son of Octagonal that boosted the Woodlands coffers by $846,210, Chaparra left seven winners from nine to race before she received an honourable pension in 2016.

The daughter of Canny Lad has two stakes-winners in the brothers El Cambio and Complicate. The sons of Commands earned a total of $1.1 million between them led by the dual Group II winner El Cambio.

Chaparra also left four stakes placegetters and her multiple stakes-placed daughter Cataclysm is taking the family to new heights.

She is the dam of the Group 1 MRC Blue Diamond Stakes winner Earthquake (Exceed And Excel) (image Mark Smith) who was runner-up in the Group 1 ATC Golden Slipper.

Cataclysm is also the dam of Listed VRC Desirable Stakes winner Palomores (Commands) and Godolphin’s highly regarded Sepoy colt Pandemic who was a fine third in last Saturday’s Heritage Stakes at Rosehill won by the undefeated Standout.

Cataclysm is still delivering for Godolphin. She has a yearling colt by Kermadec and was covered by Epaulette last year.

So Igraine is looking like $370,000 very well spent for Gilgai.

Following her $750,000 Zoustar filly Fall On A Star she has a yearling colt from the first crop of Aquis Farm’s Group 1 MRC Caulfield Guineas winner Divine Prophet (Choisir) and was covered by Written Tycoon last spring.

Fall On A Star was outpaced in the early part of her trial at Randwick but came home strongly when asked to lengthen out.

As befitting her purchase price she is a stunning individual and looks just the type to continue to improve further in to her preparation. 

FOOTNOTE _ Gilgai Stud reported that Igraine foaled a Written Tycoon filly at Cressfield Stud today and is booked to Exceed And Excel. Thank You