Cover image courtesy of Bronwen Healy
In the build up to the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale, we have picked out three yearlings who have had substantial pedigree updates in the past couple of months.
On our list this time around is a Zoustar half-sister to a recent stakes performer, a Merchant Navy colt whose half-brother won a Group 3 in Hong Kong and a Deep Field half-brother to a recent Flemington winner.
Lot 82 - Zoustar x Gold And Diamonds (NZ) (Fastnet Rock), filly - On account of Yulong
This filly's half-sister Authentic Jewel (I Am Invincible) hasn't quite cracked it for a stakes race, but the Brad Widdup-trained 3-year-old was a very close second behind Bacchanalia (Exceed And Excel) in last week's Listed Gosford Guineas. She was twice a winner in BM 72 prior to that and shouldn't be too long getting that black-type win.
It’s a pedigree with plenty to recommend it, with the dam, Gold And Diamonds, a granddaughter of Group 1 winner Our Diamond Lover (Sticks And Stones), who is also the dam of Group 1 winners Don Eduardo (NZ) and Tristalove (NZ) (Sir Tristram {Ire}), and grandam of Viking Ruler and Viscount. That's a remarkable family, featuring the likes of Octagonal (NZ), Kaapstad (NZ) and Mouawad (NZ) as well as Danewin and Commands.
Lot 82 - Zoustar x Gold And Diamonds (filly) | Image courtesy of Magic Millions
Lot 194 - Merchant Navy x Lady Lakshmi (Lonhro), colt - On account of Strawberry Hill Stud
This colt's half-brother notched his second stakes success in Hong Kong on Saturday. The Frankie Lor-trained Healthy Happy (Zoustar), who raced as Leviathan in Australia, won the G3 Chinese Club Challenge S. narrowly in what was his first start of the campaign and he will likely tackle Group 1 company next time out. He has also won a Listed race in Hong Kong.
The extended family includes G1 Robert Sangster S. winner Instant Celebrity (Not A Single Doubt), who is out of Celebrity Girl (Starcraft {NZ}) the stakes-winning half-sister to this colt's dam, Lady Lakshmi. Generalife (Lonhro) is a three-time stakes-winning three-quarter brother to Lady Lakshmi, who was placed four times herself at black-type level.
Lot 194 - Merchant Navy x Lady Lakshmi (colt) | Image courtesy of Magic Millions
Lot 835 - Deep Field x Capital Commander (Commands), colt - On account of Newgate Farm
Stakes-placed mare Capital Commander has produced two winners from two starters, the three-time victress Lady Pavli Chenko (Shooting To Win), a recent winner at Strathalbyn, and the brilliantly in-form Clemenceau (Capitalist). Clemenceau, owned by Alan Bell and trained by Team Hawkes, broke his maiden at Hawkesbury in November and then followed that up with a win at Moonee Valley and then an impressive win at Flemington on New Year's Day. It seems that stakes company is a logical next step for the progressive 3-year-old.
It’s a good recommendation for his half-brother, with the pedigree already holding some weight through their third dam, Twining (Twig Moss). She was a Group 2 winner and twice Group 1 placed, while her granddaughter How Funny (Rory's Jester) was runner-up in a G1 Golden Slipper S. That family also includes stakes winner Thought Of That (So You Think {NZ}), who won a trio of races in the spring.
Lot 835 - Deep Field x Capital Commander (colt) | Image courtesy of Magic Millions
