Cover image courtesy of Hong Kong Jockey Club
Exceed And Excel’s Mr Stunning celebrated a third career Group 1 success in the Chairman's Sprint Prize at Sha Tin last Sunday, re-affirming the influence of Hong Kong racing on the Australian breeding industry. The 7-year-old became just the fourth Australian-bred horse to surpass the $10 million mark in career prizemoney.
While lists of top earners are always reflective of the ever-evolving prizemoney levels, and are invariably biased towards recent champions, they do give some measure of the success across various jurisdictions.
That a sprinter racing entirely in Hong Kong is now third on the all-time Australian-bred list gives a good indication of the elite merit of his performances, combined with the strength of racing in Hong Kong.
He's been a headline horse for star Darley stallion Exceed And Excel in Hong Kong over the last few seasons, and added another top earner to his records, following on from an exemplary season with his 3-year-olds in Australia.
Mr Stunning's retirement was confirmed by Frankie Lor and his career prizemoney finishes at HK$60,843,100, which when calculated at an exchange rate of when each cheque was earned, equates to AU$10.819 million.
That puts him ahead of Australian-bred Hong Kong megastar Silent Witness (El Moxie {USA}), who earned just short of HK$62.5 million, which on relative exchange rates at the time, converts to AU$10.29 million.
Both Mr Stunning and Silent Witness are dual winners of the G1 Hong Kong Sprint. The former's win over the weekend saw him join Silent Witness on the honour board of the Chairman's Sprint Prize, although back in 2004 and 2005, it didn't have Group 1 status.
Mr Stunning will retire to Living Legends | Image courtesy of Hong Kong Jockey Club
Silent Witness also won the G1 Sprinters S. in Japan and was of course the winner of his first 17 starts in Hong Kong, while Mr Stunning has won 12 of his 30 starts.
Significantly, Mr Stunning also retires as the leading earner for his Champion sire Exceed And Excel and is one of five of his progeny to have won three or more Group 1 races, joining Guelph, Helmet, Flamberge and Excelebration (Ire).
Mr Stunning will retire to Living Legends just north of Melbourne, back in the state where he was foaled and initially sold.
Winx is at the top of the Australian-bred prizemoney list
Top of the Australian-bred prizemoney list is of course Winx (Street Cry {Ire}), on $26.45 million earned across a 43-start career which featured 37 wins, including 25 at Group 1 level. Every time you look at that record it just gets more amazing and it is likely to stand for many years to come.
Dual The Everest winner Redzel (Snitzel), also a winner of both the G1 Doomben 10,000 and the G1 VRC Sprint Classic, sits second with $16.44 million across his 39-start career.
| 1 | Winx | Street Cry | $26,451,000 |
| 2 | Redzel | Snitzel | $16,444,000 |
| 3 | Mr Stunning | Exceed And Excel | $10,819,000 |
| 4 | Silent Witness | El Moxie | $10,290,000 |
| 5 | Able Friend | Shamardal | $9,758,000 |
| 6 | Beat The Clock | Hinchinbrook | $9,390,000 |
| 7 | Northerly | Serheed | $9,342,000 |
| 8 | Kinshasa No Kiseki | Fuji Kiseki | $9,113,000 |
Table: Prizemoney leaderboard
The Hong Kong influence shines through
Aside from the two horses mentioned above, the next four on the Australian-bred list plied much of their trade in Hong Kong.
Able Friend (Shamardal {USA}) was a four-time Group 1 winner who began his career in Australia and in a 26-start career earned HK$61.33 million, which on exchange rates relative to when it was earned puts him on AU$9.76 million.
Just behind him is Beat The Clock (Hinchinbrook), who won both the G1 Hong Kong Sprint and the G1 Centenary Sprint Cup earlier this season, and the G1 Chairman's Sprint Prize last season. He has capability to add to his tally, which currently stands at AU$9.39 million (HK$52.89 million).
Beat The Clock can add to his tally, which currently stands at AU$9.39 million | Image courtesy of Hong Kong Jockey Club
From graduates to glory
The success of these horses is not only a tribute to the Australian breeding industry, but also to the structure of the Australasian sales system.
Mr Stunning is a pinhook, with Lyndhurst Farm paying $110,000 for him as a weanling from his breeders at Makybe at the 2013 Inglis Great Southern Sale, then securing NZ$250,000 for him to Magus Equine at the New Zealand Bloodstock Yearling Sale at Karaka the following year.
Able Friend was a $550,000 Inglis Easter Yearling Sale purchase in 2011 for George Moore Bloodstock from Turangga Farm
Silent Witness was sold through the 2001 Inglis Classic Sale by his breeder Ian Smith, with John Foote paying $55,000 on behalf of his Hong Kong owners. Able Friend was bred by Ramsey Pastoral and was a $550,000 Inglis Easter Yearling Sale purchase in 2011 for George Moore Bloodstock from Turangga Farm.
Beat The Clock is another pinhook, initially sold at the Inglis Premier Yearling Sale by Yarraman Park for $70,000 to Prima Park, he then went through the New Zealand Bloodstock Ready to Run Sale of 2YOs, where Prima Park fetched $200,000 for him from Bill Mitchell on behalf of Kenneth and Merrick Chung.
Beat The Clock as a yearling
Holding up for the homebreds
The leading homebred on the list of top Australian-bred thoroughbreds on prizemoney is Northerly (Serheed {USA}). Retained by Neville Duncan to race after failing to sell as a yearling, he would go on and amass a then record $9.34 million in a 37-start career which included nine wins at the elite level, including two Cox Plates and a Caulfield Cup. Twenty years on, his amazing career still stands up against the best of the modern day.
Eighth overall, and leading the prizemoney count for Australian-bred horses in Japan, is dual G1 Takamatsunomiya Kinen winner Kinshasa No Kiseki (Fuji Kiseki {Jpn}). Bred by the Arrowleave Joint Venture and foaled at Arrowfield, he was raced in Japan by Katsumi Yoshida. He won 12 of his 31 starts, seven at stakes level and earned the equivalent of AU$9.11 million before standing at Shadai Stallion Station.
| 1 | Winx | Street Cry | $230,000 | Coolmore Stud | Magic Bloodstock | Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale |
| 2 | Redzel | Snitzel | $45,000 | PPB Advisory | Marquee Stud | Inglis Sydney Weanling Sale |
| 3 | Mr Stunning | Exceed And Excel | $110,000 | Makybe | Lyndhurst Farm | Inglis Great Southern Sale |
| 4 | Silent Witness | El Moxie | $55,000 | Edinburgh Park | John Foote | Inglis Classic Sale |
| 5 | Able Friend | Shamardal | $550,000 | Turangga Farm | George Moore Bloodstock | Inglis Easter Yearling Sale |
| 6 | Beat The Clock | Hinchinbrook | $70,000 | Yarraman Park | Prima Park | Inglis Melbourne Premier Yearling Sale |
| 7 | Northerly | Serheed | Homebred | - | - | - |
| 8 | Kinshasa No Kiseki | Fuji Kiseki | Homebred | - | - | - |
Table: Yearling sale results
There are the same amount of horses bred in New Zealand which have earned over $NZ10 million, with the Hong Kong influence again very strong. Beauty Generation (NZ) (Road To Rock), Werther (NZ) (Tavistock {NZ}) and Vengeance Of Rain (NZ) (Zabeel {NZ}) all earned all or most of their money in Hong Kong, while Sunline (NZ) (Desert Sun {GB}) stands alone as the only New Zealand-bred horse who did the majority of her racing in Australasia and has earnings in the eight figures range.
