Over the last few weeks, the world-famous red and gold colours of the China Horse Club have made a major impact in 2-year-old races on both sides of the Tasman for their colts fund, with partners including Newgate, SF Bloodstock, Go Bloodstock, amongst others.

The most recent addition to that group is Aim (Star Witness), who romped to a brilliant 4l win in the TAB Venue Mode H. at Randwick on Saturday.

It was the second win from two starts for the $200,000 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale purchase, whose trainers Peter and Paul Snowden now have their sights firmly set on the Magic Millions 2YO Classic on January 11.

Last weekend’s $500,000 Inglis Nursery at Randwick was won by Wild Ruler (Snitzel), who was bought for $525,000 at the Inglis Sydney Easter Sale by the China Horse Club, Newgate and WinStar.

The same group paid $660,000 at the Magic Millions Sale for Bartley (Written Tycoon), who began his racing career with a dominant 3l maiden win at Kembla Grange just over a week ago.

The classy trio were among dozens of yearlings secured by the powerful partnership during the 2019 yearling sales season.

The strategy of joining forces and pooling resources has delivered outstanding success for the China Horse Club – most famously in the United States, where they teamed up with WinStar and SF Racing to purchase a yearling that would become Triple Crown champion and young Coolmore Australia stallion Justify (USA) (Scat Daddy {USA}).

That is a hard act for any subsequent group of yearlings to follow, but Michael Wallace, the China Horse Club’s racing and bloodstock manager, likes what he sees among the class of 2019.

“I think we have a very nice group of 2-year-old colts this year – some who have already stepped out and won races, and others who will join them through the rest of the season,” he said.

“Aim was visually very impressive on Saturday. It was a big step forward from his first start, which was exactly what we were hoping to see.

“He was a lovely colt when we saw him at the Gold Coast. Physically he met all of my criteria that I look for in a yearling.

“Bartley is one that we’ve always had a huge amount of time for. He’s been showing a lot of talent in the mornings. He was a little wayward late in the race in that debut win, so there is scope for further improvement.

“Wild Ruler had trialled exceptionally well before he made his debut in the Inglis Nursery, so the writing was on the wall before the race. But it was very pleasing to see him win the race the way he did.”

There has been no time to celebrate the successes however, with the 2020 yearling sale season now just around the corner.

“I’m on my way through Los Angeles Airport now, flying back to New Zealand for Christmas,” Wallace said. “Then the big merry-go-round starts all over again with the Magic Millions. It’s a busy time, but very rewarding.”

Breeding a growing focus

While they are well established worldwide as major buyers of quality young bloodstock, the China Horse Club has also been making giant strides in the breeding scene.

They have matched their yearling-sale exploits in broodmare sales in recent years, buying more than 70 broodmares or broodmare prospects since 2015.

Current headline acts bred by the China Horse Club include the impressive $1 million Golden Gift winner Dame Giselle (I Am Invincible) and the stakes winning New Zealand 2-year-old Unition (Fastnet Rock).

“The breeding operations have really taken off in the last few years, both in Australia and the US,” Wallace said.

“Dame Giselle has been a great example of it. We took her to the Inglis Sydney Easter Yearling Sale. She was an unbelievably good-looking yearling, but a few vets saw a couple of things they didn’t like.

“In the end we brought Sir Owen Glenn into a partnership to race her, and she now heads the markets for the Golden Slipper.”

Dame Giselle is out of Ballet Society (NZ) (Stravinsky {USA}), who won the G2 Kewney S. and Angus Armanasco S. and placed in the Thousand Guineas. She is the dam of six winners from six foals to race, with The Fairy’s Kiss (Elusive Quality {USA}) placing at stakes level.

The Fairy’s Kiss has herself produced stakes winner Steal My Kisses (I Am Invincible) and stakes placed Butch Kissidy (Wanted).

The China Horse Club bought Ballet Society for $350,000 at the 2017 Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale. She had a colt by Pride Of Dubai in 2019.

Across the Tasman, Unition has had two starts for a win in the Listed FastTrack Insurance S. and a placing in the G2 Wakefield Challenge S.

The colt is out of the Group 1-winning New Zealand mare Diademe (NZ) (Savabeel), who was bought by the China Horse Club and Coolmore for $740,000 at the 2015 Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale. The China Horse Club then bought the mare outright for $1.7 million at the same sale in 2018.

Diademe is the dam of two stakes performers from two foals to race, with Conqueror (Fastnet Rock) placing in the G2 Sandown Guineas and Stutt S. this season.

She has subsequently produced a filly by Vancouver, who is a yearling this season, and a filly by Snitzel.

“We bred Unition in partnership with Coolmore, and then when we divided our assets we bought Coolmore out,” Wallace said.

“He’s a big, strong, scopey sort of a colt. To be doing what he’s doing already, it’s really on talent alone. He’ll continue to develop nicely through the rest of the season and run in a race like the (G1 Manawatu) Sires’ Produce S., and then I think he’ll be a very competitive 3-year-old.”

Madison County to fly the flag in US

Unition races from the Cambridge stable of Murray Baker and Andrew Forsman, who had previously trained trans-Tasman Group 1 performer Madison County (NZ) (Pins).

It was announced in November that the gelding will shift Stateside and join the stable of champion American turf trainer Chad Brown.

“We just felt it was an opportunity to try something and the fact that he is a gelding allowed us to do that a lot more freely,” Wallace said.

“As we go down the road, there is opportunity to move horses from jurisdiction to jurisdiction and it is something that we’ve never done or a lot of people have never done.

“We felt that there was a potential opportunity for him to race very well all-year-round in a pretty open turf division in America.”

Bought for $36,000 from the 2017 New Zealand Bloodstock Yearling Sale, Madison County earned more than $1 million in an Australasian career that included wins in the G1 New Zealand 2000 Guineas and Levin Classic and a second placing in the Australian Derby.

Premier WA owner-breeder Bob Peters faces a ghost, if he elects to start his star 4-year-old Regal Power in the G2 TABtouch Perth Cup (2400 metres) on January 4.

The WATC Derby and Railway S. winner is set to be the top-weight on 59kg in the Perth Cup, when weights are released tomorrow, following an electrifying 2.5l win in Saturday’s G2 Ted Van Heemst S. (2100 metres) at Ascot.

The handsome brown gelding is already the highest rated horse - on 108 points on Saturday – in the Cup and he will incur a further penalty tomorrow, when the handicapper does his analysis of Saturday’s Ascot results.

Peters has dark memories of his dual Oaks and Derby winner Delicacy lumping 59kg - creating a weight-carrying record for a mare - in the 2016 (January) Perth Cup.

Peters was riding on a high wave with his other mares Real Love (Desert King {Ire}) (2015 Perth Cup victor) and Neverland (Big Brown {USA}) filling the minor placings in the Cup.

But Peters’ emotions plummeted the next day when scans revealed his $2 million stakes earner Delicacy had severely torn the tendons in her two front legs.

Delicacy, who was crowned Australia’s Champion 3-year-old for her feats in the WA Oaks (Group 3), WATC Derby (Group 2), Schweppes Oaks (Group 1) and SA Derby (Group 1) and won the WA Horse of the Year Award, career was over at four years-of-age with a record of 12 wins and five placings at 19 starts.

Regal Power, a full brother in blood to Peters’ last season’s star filly Arcadia Queen (Pierro) out of Arcadia (Redoute’s Choice), explosively won the G2 WATC Derby (2400 metres), before brilliantly winning last month’s $1 million G1 Railway S. (1600 metres) at Ascot.

“What happened to Delicacy weighs on my mind,” Peters said.

“I thought he would win the Van Heemst, but he won it far better than I ever thought.

“I need to look at what is available to him on the East Coast in the autumn. There is no way you can focus on races in the autumn in Melbourne and Sydney if you keep going now. I have found that it just doesn’t work.

“So I have to choose whether it is the Perth Cup or something in the autumn. Then; Is he good enough to take there for the big races?”

Regal Power is equal with Arcadia Queen, who as a 3-year-old won last year’s Kingston Town Classic, as a Group 1 winner.

Regal Power and Arcadia Queen are two of eight stakes winners Peters has produced, from Antique (Metal Storm {Fr}) or her daughters.

Antique was a full sister to WA Guineas winner Kalatiara, out of Bonny Guest (What A Guest {Ire}), who was sold and won at Group 3 level in the USA.

Antique’s second filly Broadway Belle (Redoute’s Choice), who won the Listed Jungle Dawn Classic, was sent to Pierro, with her first foal Action, winning the 2018 WATC Derby and finishing second in this year’s Perth Cup.

Broadway Belle was covered by first season Coolmore Stud stallion, Vancouver.

The foal is a 2-year-old, but is unlikely to race until next season.

Peters then had Broadway Belle covered by American Triple Crown and Breeders’ Cup Classic champion American Pharoah (USA).

American Pharoah stood his first season at stud in Australia in 2017, standing at Coolmore’s NSW’s Hunter Valley operation.

He won nine times - including eight Group 1’s - which he won by a combined margin of more than 38l.

The foal is entered in next year’s Inglis Easter Yearling Sale in Sydney.

“Regal Power has a nice half-brother by Vancouver, who is being brought along now,” Peters said.

“The mare was then covered by American Pharoah.

"She is a really nice filly. It will be really interesting to see how she goes at auction. I sold a filly at the Easter Sale last year out of this family for $950,000.”

The filly (Lot 361), by Vancouver from WATC Derby winner Arcadia Dream (Domesday), was sold through Holbrook Stud.

Godolphin was the successful buyer.

Regal Power’s win in the Ted Van Heemst gave Peters and his wife Sandra their sixth success in the weight-for-age 2100 metres feature.

Old Money (Old Spice) was Peters’ inaugural winner in 2000, as a 3 year-old, followed by Lords Ransom (2007), Elite Belle (2014), Delicacy (2015), Perfect Reflection (2016) and last season’s Railway S. and WA Horse of the Year winner Galaxy Star (2018).

Coincidently Regal Power’s co-trainer Alana, who trains the gelding with her husband Grant, rode Old Money on 47.5kg, when she won.

Star Exhibit (Statue Of Liberty {USA}), who also won the 2016 Perth Cup (December), looks on target to join Rocket for the most number of wins in the Perth Cup.

Rocket has won the most Cups with three wins in 1881, 1882, 1883.

“Star Exhibit is an 8-year-old now but he is going well,” Peters said.

“The weight could stop him because he is the second highest rated horse (107) in the Cup.”

Star Exhibit carried 55kg and jumped from gate 15, when winning the Cup earlier this year for regular jockey Peter Hall.

Star Exhibit, who was runner-up in the 2017 G1 Doomben Cup, was on the limit on 54kg, at his inaugural Cup win.

Mississippi Delta (High Chaparral {Ire}), who finished fourth in last January’s Cup, finished a well-beaten fourth (4.7l) in the Van Heemst. But she will get some weight relief in the Cup on the 57kg she carried on Saturday.

Grant Williams won the Van Heemst twice with Elite Belle and Delicacy and now three times with Alana with Perfect Reflection, Galaxy Queen and Regal Power.

Eight weeks on from an exceptional victory in the Cox Plate at Moonee Valley, Lys Gracieux (Jpn) delivered something even more extraordinary in Sunday’s G1 Arima Kinen at Nakayama.

In her career swansong, the 6-year-old stepped out of the shadow of reigning Japanese Horse of the Year Almond Eye (Jpn) (Lord Kanaloa {Jpn}).

She handed that champion only the third defeat her career, and she turned the 2500 metre feature into a scintillating tour de force.

It was the perfect end to a dream year for star Australian jockey Damian Lane, who won the Golden Slipper in March on Kiamichi (Sidestep), then added the Caulfield Cup on Mer de Glace (Jpn) (Rulership {Jpn}) and the Cox Plate on Lys Gracieux.

Lane also won the G1 Takarazuka Kinen on Lys Gracieux during a successful stint riding in Japan earlier this year, forming the bond that has subsequently taken him to even greater heights.

Given a special one-day licence to ride in Sunday’s race, Lane played his part to perfection. He had Lys Gracieux perfectly positioned in midfield beside the rail, and he never let Almond Eye out of his sight.

The front-running Aerolithe (Jpn) (Kurofune {USA}) ensured it would be a true test of stamina, setting a strong pace and leading by more than eight lengths down the back of the track.

Lys Gracieux was travelling sweetly approaching the home turn, and once they were in the straight Lane swept her across to the extreme outside to make her run.

The star mare took care the rest, charging to the lead with an explosive turn of foot. She blew her rivals away in the last 200 metres, opening up a comprehensive winning margin of 5l. Almond Eye faded to finish eighth.

Lys Gracieux finishes her career with seven wins from 22 starts, five of them at the elite level – the Arima Kinen, Cox Plate, Takarazuka Kinen and Queen Elizabeth II Cup.

She is one of five winners from six foals to race out of Liliside (Fr) (American Post {GB}), who herself won five of her 11 starts including the Listed Prix La Camargo, Prix de la Cochere and Prix de la Californie.

For both Lane and the winning trainer Yoshito Yahagi, this was a career-first run in the famous Arima Kinen.

Every year, 10 of the 16 runners in the field selected by public vote – a format that inspired Melbourne’s All-Star Mile. There were more than 1.5 million votes for this year’s edition, with 110,000 of those going to the enormously popular Almond Eye. Lys Gracieux was the second most popular pick.

The on-course attendance was estimated at 90,000, and the Arima Kinen has been described as among the world’s biggest betting races.