For trainer Tim Martin, Exceed And Excel was his horse of a lifetime.
Martin had purchased the son of Danehill (USA) for $375,000 from the 2002 Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale without a client to back him and then rode the journey all the way through as the star colt won seven of his 12 starts, including two Group 1s and nearly $1.3 million in prizemoney.
The defining moment of the horse's career, according to Martin, came at his eighth start in the G1 Dubai Racing Club Cup, a handicap race over 1400 metres, now known as the Sir Rupert Clarke S.
Watch: Exceed And Excel win the G1 Dubai Racing Club Cup
In the seven years previous to 2003, it had been a race won by top 3-year-olds such as Testa Rossa, Encosta De Lago and Our Maizcay, and from the beginning of Exceed And Excel's spring 3-year-old campaign, it was a race that Martin had wanted to target with his star colt. But he had one major barrier to that plan, part-owner Nick Moraitis.
Moraitis, who had tasted amazing successes with Might And Power (NZ) (Zabeel {NZ}) in the late 1990s, had come into the ownership of the horse along with Alan Osburg, after Martin had purchased the colt as a yearling.
"The Danehills were pretty hot at the time," Martin told TDN AusNZ. "I wanted to get a colt by Danehill and I watched all these colts go through their preps ahead of the sales. Untouchable, who sold to Darley for $950,000, was obviously a really quality colt, but I targeted Exceed And Excel and had my heart set on him.
"I didn't have any clients to buy him when I spoke to people pre-Sale, and so I specced him. Nick Moraitis and Alan Osburg had bought a colt with me by Danehill out of Sky Watch, and this was the year that x-rays were made post sale. The colt that they had bought failed the x-rays, and seeing this colt I had was going well, I recommended they take a share in him."
Nick Moraitis and Alan Osburg
Martin's faith in Exceed And Excel, who was bred by the Ascot Breeding Partnership out of the imported mare Patrona (USA) (Lomond {USA}), looked well-placed after he won at Canterbury on debut and then ran a narrow second in the G3 Black Opal S. at Canberra at his second start. He then led all the way to win the G2 Todman S. before he tried to do the same in the G1 Golden Slipper S. but came unstuck.
"Things didn't really go right for him going into the Slipper, but I always had faith in him. I knew I had a really good horse. He came back as a 3-year old and I think the race that made him as a stallion was that Dubai Cup, when he broke the course record," Martin said.
A difference of opinion
Exceed And Excel resumed as a 3-year-old with a sixth in the G2 San Domenico, but while his owners had some doubts, Martin knew he had the colt back on track.
"The owners were not that happy with him but I told them he'd improve a lot from that. He really came on from that race and he won his next two in Sydney in the Up And Coming S. and then the Roman Consul S. I then wanted to target the race at Caulfield," he said.
Tim Martin with Exceed And Excel
That takes us back to the difference of opinion with Moraitis about which direction the colt should take.
"There was pressure from Nick Moraitis not to go down there because he'd have to take on the older horses at a tricky track,” Martin said.
"But we were lucky that we had done all our slow work at Rosehill left handed and I had given him some gallops on the grass that way and I felt he went better that way than the Sydney way.
"We were lucky that we had done all our slow work at Rosehill left handed and I had given him (Exceed And Excel) some gallops on the grass that way and I felt he went better that way than the Sydney way." - Tim Martin
"I used to do that a lot with my babies and he just railed so well that way, so I knew there was no way he wouldn't handle the track."
The trainer won the argument, albeit only at the last moment.
"I was confident to get to Caulfield, but Nick wanted to run him in the Heritage S. here. I got my way only at the last minute and we actually flew him down, and got him down there on the Thursday," he said.
Exceed And Excel winning the G3 Roman Consul S. at Randwick
A simple plan
Martin engaged lightweight jockey Corey Brown to take his first ride on Exceed And Excel, with a simple plan - to make his rivals chase!
"I knew he had a good high-cruising speed. We had tried to ride him with a sit on a couple of occasions, but with 51kg, over seven furlongs, he had a nice speed and a nice turn of foot off it," he said.
"I've never been so excited about a horse running in a race in my life."
Martin's anticipation was well-placed as Exceed And Excel jumped to the front, handled the Caulfield track with aplomb won by 1.8l in a track record of 1:21.20, a mark that still stands to this day.
"I remember Elvstroem won the Caulfield Guineas Prelude the race before, and my colt went over a second quicker than him over the same distance." - Tim Martin
"I remember Elvstroem won the Caulfield Guineas Prelude the race before, and my colt went over a second quicker than him over the same distance," Martin said.
"It’s my biggest win to this day. That day at Caulfield, it was spot on. It was his best performance and my best performance as a trainer."
Six months later in what would be his final racetrack appearance in Australia, Exceed And Excel would lead all the way to win one of Australia's greatest sprints, the G1 Newmarket H. again with Brown in the saddle.
That was another memorable day for Martin, but not quite in the same league as the colt's breakthrough victory at Caulfield earlier in the season.
Watch: Exceed And Excel win the G1 Newmarket H.
The Darley era
A few days after Exceed And Excel's Newmarket win, he was sold to Darley for $22 million, and while he would have one more run in the G1 July Cup, he would be retired to what has been a wonderfully successful career as a stallion.
As things stand, Exceed And Excel has produced an amazing 186 stakes winners and 1579 winners overall, headed by a list of 16 Group 1 winners. He was crowned Australia's Champion Sire in 2012/13 and has finished top five on two other occasions, while he has produced stakes winners in 16 different countries.
It’s a career that Martin has followed with some pride, knowing the role he played in the journey.
"I always dreamt of having a Champion colt and getting him to stud and him being a Champion stallion. To come to Sydney, buy him at the Inglis Easter Sale, and see him do what he has done is amazing," he said.
"He's such a fantastic stallion. He's one of the best stallions in the country and now one of the last of the Danehill line. I can’t believe how good he has been.
"He, Redoute's Choice and Fastnet Rock are the star sons of Danehill, and that's good company to be in."
