News - FASTNET ROCK (AUS)
Yulong have plundered elite horses sales all over the world in recent years and one of their big ticket items was Group I winning mare Via Sistina (IRE) and the daughter of Fastnet Rock raced into the record books at Moonee Valley on Saturday when scoring a mind blowing victory in the $5million Group I MVRC Cox Plate (2040m).
If we needed a lesson as to why the Fastnet Rock x Galileo nick has been so amazingly successful we got it in the $750,000 Group I VRC Turnbull Stakes (2000m) at Flemington where the Chris Waller trained NH bred stablemates Via Sistina (IRE) and Buckaroo (IRE) went to the line locked together.
Retired from stud duties earlier this year to a life of luxury retirement at Coolmore Australia, champion sire Fastnet Rock added a new Group I winner to his tally when Buckaroo (GB) won the Group I MRC Underwood Stakes (1800m) at Caulfield on Saturday in a canter.
A stakes-winner in Ireland when trained by Joseph O’Brien, Fastnet Rock import Buckaroo (GB) came to Australia last year to run in the Group I ATC King Charles Stakes and Group I VRC Champions Stakes and while he didn’t win either of those, he showed his true colours at Randwick on Saturday for his new trainer Chris Waller.
Seventh in the Melbourne Cup last year, the Willie Mullins trained French bred Fastnet Rock stayer Absurde may have booked his ticket back to Australia for a second tilt at the Melbourne Cup following a strong win in the Listed Chester Stakes (1m6 ½ f) overnight.
Yulong paid 2.7million guineas for top class Group I winning mare Via Sistina (IRE) at the Tattersalls Mares Sale last year and she was worth every penny with the glamour daughter of Fastnet Rock leading home a thrilling trifecta for the stable in the Group I ATC Winx Stakes (1400m) at Randwick when she outpointed established stable stars Zougotcha and Fangirl.
On Saturday, the $1,000,000 Winx Stakes (1400m) at Randwick kick-starts the 74 Group 1 races in Australia this season, with Chris Waller sending out half of the 12-runner field.
The juvenile event at Rosehill on Saturday featured some promising winners and well bred first starters with Fastnet Rock colt Mayfair proving too fast and too tough for his rivals.
Fourteen 2-year-old fillies, evenly divided between the raced and unraced brigade, are set to contest Saturday's Sportsbet Jockey Watch Hcp (1000m) for fillies at Caulfield.
The $150,000 VRC Next Generation Sprinter Series (1200m) for juveniles at Flemington on Saturday had a short priced favourite in blueblood I Am Invincible filly I Found You, but she came up short in an exciting finish with Fastnet Rock gelding Aldofito making a winning debut.
The Magic Millions National Weanling Sale is just two weeks way and one of the top lots at the 2021 sale made a winning debut at Mornington on Monday.
A homebred for Godolphin, Fastnet Rock colt Corniche had not won a race since beating Golden Slipper winner Shinzo in the Group II ATC Skyline Stake last season, but he was well fancied in the Group III Gold Coast Guineas (1200m) run at Sunshine Coast on Saturday and duly got the cash under a cool ride from James McDonald.
Coolmore legend Fastnet Rock, one of the most celebrated stallions of modern times, has been retired from stallion duties and will enjoy retirement at Jerry’s Plains.
Royally-bred Fastnet Rock filly My Xanadu still has plenty to learn, which adds further merit to her winning debut in the Roderick Insurance Maiden Plate (1212m) at Geelong on Wednesday.
While there is no Australian representation on the Dubai World Cup card this year, there is plenty to keep fans enthralled in the early hours of Sunday morning.
One of the most potent nicks in the world has been with Fastnet Rock over Galileo mares and we saw it on Saturday in the shape of Group I winner Via Sistina (IRE) and again at Hawkesbury on Thursday in a promising maiden winner from the Ciaron Maher stable.
Last week we did a story on the rise of Fastnet Rock mares which proved somewhat prophetic when he sired the dams of three stakes-winners last weekend, two of them new Group I winners in Lady of Camelot (Written Tycoon) and Veight (Grunt), while new stakes-winner Climbing Star (Zoustar) has G1 ambitions, so we’ve updated the nicks data for yearlings from Fastnet Rock mares for Inglis Easter.
There were six Group I races run in Australia last Saturday and four of them were won by new G1 winners so let’s take a look at the pedigrees which highlight some super successful nicks.
While Coolmore Stud's senior citizen Fastnet Rock may be in the twilight of an extraordinary career, his influence only grows stronger through his daughters, who have the son of Danehill on the verge of his first Champion Broodmare Sire title.
Yulong purchased two of the most expensive mares in the world last year paying 2.7million guineas for Via Sistina at the Tattersalls Mares Sale and €4,025,000 for Place du Carrousel at Arqana and they ran the quinella in the $1million ATC Ranvet Stakes (2000m) at Rosehill on Saturday at their first appearance in Australia.