News - FASTNET ROCK (AUS)
It’s an exciting day of racing at Flemington on Saturday with the feature the Group 1 Black Caviar Lightning Stakes battling for the limelight with the Group III C S Hayes Stakes where the New Zealand sensation Catalyst takes on the pride of Queensland, Alligator Blood.
The Sandown meeting on Wednesday started with a double for champion sire Fastnet Rock with smart filly Cloudbreaker stamping herself as a horse to follow.
Already a three-time Group winner before Saturday, quality sprinting filly Anaheed gave promise of moving to a new level this autumn when resuming from a spell to score a brilliant win in the Group II MRC Rubiton Stakes (1100m) at Caulfield.
Plenty for the racing enthusiast to enjoy this weekend, with seven stakes races at Caulfield on Saturday highlighted by the Group 1 CF Orr Stakes with the juveniles continuing their quest for the Blue Diamond in the divisions of the Blue Diamond Prelude, while up at Warwick Farm the babies will battle it out in the $2million Inglis Millennium and the Listed Lonhro Plate.
Champion sire Fastnet Rock has had eight winners in the past seven days, three of them on Friday with a metropolitan double at Canterbury courtesy of Maddi Rocks and Zeppelin and a ‘One to Watch’ earlier in the day at Bathurst.
With stakes racing for two year-olds in Sydney and Melbourne on Saturday the race towards the Blue Diamond and Golden Slipper is in full swing, but well worth watching will be the two year-old maiden at Canterbury this evening which features the debut of the full brother to Royal Ascot hero Merchant Navy.
Victorian trainer David Hayes will be in New Zealand later this week as he puts the finishing touches on three-year-old colt Conqueror ahead of Saturday’s $1 million Karaka Million 3YO Classic (1600m).
This nick involving two champion sires is well proven and documented with a two year-old winner last Saturday appearing as the latest example.
A Champion 2YO that won the Karaka Million in 2018, quality Fastnet Rock mare Avantage again showed her class at Trentham on Saturday when scoring a determined victory in the Group I JR & N Berkett Telegraph (1200m) defeating Enzo’s Lad, who had won the previous two editions of the prestigious sprint.
Bought from the same Cressfield Inglis Easter draft in 2019 as super impressive Rosehill winner Cellsabeel, Fastnet Rock filly Personal stamped herself as a potential autumn star when she overcame difficulty to score at Flemington on Saturday.
The first two days at Magic Millions were without a Godolphin purchase, but they moved swiftly in the first hour of trade on Friday to secure two fillies by Fastnet Rock and Snitzel for $600,000 each.
Champion sire Fastnet Rock clocked up his 100th Graded stakes-winner at the weekend in the US when five year-old entire Desert Stone captured the Group II San Gabriel Stakes at Santa Anita.
Champion sire Fastnet Rock produced the quinella in the juvenile maiden at Geelong on Thursday with the Yulong Investments colours carried to a very easy victory by the winner.
A three-quarter brother to Champion NZ Sprinter and dual Group I winner Sacred Star, Fastnet Rock colt Return with Honour made a winning debut at Randwick on Boxing Day, but connections will resist the temptation of a crack at the Magic Millions 2YO Classic for which he would be eligible.
The Listed BRC Phelan Ready Stakes at Doomben on Wednesday provided promising Fastnet Rock colt Rathlin with a ticket into the Magic Millions 2YO Classic when he strode clear for an easy victory.
Three heats for two year-olds at the Hawkesbury trials on Monday morning produced two smart winners for first season sires and an exciting Fastnet Rock colt that looks more than ready to go to the races.
Made a Breednet ‘One To Watch’ when she made a winning debut at Sandown on November 20, the Fastnet Rock filly Merited returned back to the scene on Wednesday to make it two from two in a benchmark 64 over 1400 metres for 3yo fillies.
Murray Baker and Andrew Forsman will be hoping 10 is their lucky number this weekend.
Champion sire Fastnet Rock was in hot form in New Zealand on Saturday with a stakes-winning double at Pukekohe where exciting two year-old Unition won the Listed Fasttrack Insurance 5K Bonus 2YO Stakes (1100m) followed by rugged stayer In A Twinkling taking out the Group III Ssangyong Counties Cup (2100m).
Blue-blooded two year-old Unition showed plenty of grit as he made a winning debut at Pukekohe in New Zealand on Saturday when he took out the Listed Fasttrack Insurance 5K Bonus 2YO Stakes (1100m).