Cover image courtesy of Racing Photos
G1 Underwood S., $1,000,000, 1800m
It was win number 11 for the grand galloper who is Alligator Blood (All Too Hard) and perhaps his most exciting, taking on just five rivals but such well-credentialled ones and digging deep when challenged by them.
Recording his third success at Group 1 level, Alligator Blood increased his prizemoney tally to beyond $3.6 million, a good effort for a horse purchased by the Ezybonds No. 1 Syndicate for $55,000 at the 2018 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale.
Bred by Gerry Harvey and prepared for the sale by Baramul Stud, Alligator Blood has made a gutsy comeback from a kissing spine operation, showing improvement at each run this time in making the G1 W.S Cox Plate an exciting proposition for him.
One of the 22 stakes winners (and one of the four Group 1 horses who have all won at the elite level at least twice) for his Vinery Stud-based sire, All Too Hard, Alligator Blood is out of the unraced Lake Superior (Encosta De Lago) who sadly died young having had only four live foals, Alligator Blood the last of those.
Lake Superior is a daughter of the three-time Group 1-placed Kwilkwong (Red Ransom {USA}) whose son Cantonese (Redoute's Choice) won the Listed Christmas Cup. Kwilkwong's dam Tracy's Element (Last Tycoon {Ire}) earned the titles of South African Champion 2-Year-Old and South African Champion Older Mare with her four wins in Group 1 company. And she did a great job at stud, her nine winners including the Australian Horse of the Year Typhoon Tracy (Red Ransom {USA}) and the dual Listed winner Red Element (also by Red Ransom).
Alligator Blood is one of the 26 stakes winners and six Group 1 winners combining the close relations Flying Spur (Danehill {USA}) and Encosta De Lago (Fairy King {USA}) - bred on a 4 X 4 cross of Rolls (USA) (Mr Prospector {USA}) as well as a 4 X 4 cross of Last Tycoon (Ire) (Try My Best {USA}).
G3 Sandown S., $200,000, 1500m
Gentleman Roy (So You Think {NZ}) has been somewhat of a quiet achiever, making his way through the classes and able, at his first crack at stakes level, to defeat some nice sprinter and milers. A homebred for the Woods family, the son of Coolmore Stud's dual G1 W.S Cox Plate-winning champion So You Think (NZ) (his 44th stakes winner) and is out of the lightly raced La La Land (Last Tycoon {Ire}), an Ipswich maiden winner from just five starts.
Also dam of the Listed Lord S. and Listed Canberra Cup winner Jacquinot Bay (Galileo {Ire}) and Gentleman Roy's multiple city-winning full brother Sonaree, La La Land is a half-sister to the Listed Balcrest S. winner Wake Me Not (Southern Appeal {USA}) and to the dam's of the stakes winners Echo Maid (NZ) (Made Of Gold {USA}) and Riocetto (Oratorio {Ire}).
Served last spring by Sandbar, La La Land has unraced three and 4-year-olds in the Hayes' stable, Princess On Palm (Vancouver) and Lafilio (Teofilo {Ire}); the latter placed in three jump-outs and trials earlier in the year.
Gentleman Roy's grandsire High Chaparral (Ire) and damsire Last Tycoon (Ire) are bred on the same Northern Dancer (Can)/Mill Reef (USA) and the two multiple Group 1 winners who enjoyed so much success as shuttlers have combined in the pedigrees of 16 stakes winners including four Group 1 winners.
Gentleman Roy also boasts duplications of the wonderful mares Almahmoud (USA) (Mahmoud {Fr}) and Lalun (USA) (Djeddah {Fr}).
Listed Jim Moloney S., $175,000, 1400m
Waltz On By (I Am Invincible) has always promised to win at stakes level and this was a particularly gutsy performance as she fought off late challengers. A homebred for Arrowfield Stud, Planette Thoroughbreds and Belford Productions, Waltz On By is a third-generation stakes winner with her dam Stay With Me (Street Cry {Ire}) winning the G1 Thousand Guineas whilst her grandam Miss Finland (Redoute's Choice) was five times successful in Group 1 company.
The 82nd stakes winner for Yarraman Park's reigning Champion Sire, I Am Invincible, Waltz On By is just the second foal for her talented dam with her first being the lightly raced city-placed winner Always On My Mind (Deep Impact {Jpn}). Last spring paying a return visit to I Am Invincible, Stay With Me has a 2-year-old filly and a yearling colt by Dundeel (NZ); the former sold to Hawkes Racing for $1.7 million at this year's Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale.
Miss Finland - who turned 19 this season - is still at stud, last spring served by Dundeel and Maurice (Jpn having produced a colt by the former's son Castelvecchio. Six of Miss Finland's seven foals to race are winners with another three earning black-type results, Bucharest (Deep Impact {Jpn}), Earth Angel (Animal Kingdom {USA}) and Woodbine (Hussonet {USA}) all stakes placed.
Waltz On By is the eighth I Am Invincible stakes winner out of a mare carrying a Redoute's Choice strain - noting that both stallions are the sons of Bletchingly's wonderful son Canny Lad. There are other interesting patterns within Waltz On By's pedigree with her grandsire Invincible Spirit (Ire) bred on a Danzig (USA)/Never Bend (USA)/Kris (GB) cross whilst Stay With Me is bred on a Never Bend/Danzig/Kriss cross.
Listed Testa Rossa S., $175,000, 1300m
I Wish I Win (NZ) (Savabeel) created a big impression racing away to an easy win at Caulfield on his Australian debut (the subsequent G3 Sandown S. winner Gentleman Roy by So You Think {NZ} 4l away in second placing) a month ago and he went right on with the job rising in class whilst overcoming trouble in running.
Bred by Waikato Stud and raced by the farm's Mark Chittick with trainer Peter Moody, I Wish I Win is the 126th stakes winner for the farm's G1 W.S Cox Plate-winning stalwart Savabeel.
He is a half-brother to the G3 BRC Premier's Cup and Listed Gosford Gold Cup winning Group 1-placed Another Dollar (NZ) (Ocean Park {NZ}) out of the metropolitan placed, two-times winner Make A Wish (NZ) (Pins) whose dam Starcent (NZ) (Centaine) was twice successful at Group level.
Of Starcent's 12 foals to race, 11 were winners including the Group 1-placed Ambitious (NZ) (Last Tycoon {Ire}), dam of the G3 Gloaming S. winner Strike The Stars (NZ) (Savabeel) and grandam of Savabeel's G1 Livamol Classic winner Savy Yong Blonk (NZ) and his G2 Autumn Classic winner Adelaide Ace (NZ). Missing upon a couple of return visits to Savabeel after producing I Wish I Win, Make A Wish was served by Super Seth last spring having foaled a colt by Ocean Park (NZ).
Bred on a 3 X 4 cross of Sir Tristram (Ire), I Wish I Win is Savabeel's 18th stakes winner line-bred to the champion Todman, noting that Savabeel's G3 Adrian Knox S.-winning grandam Alma Mater (Semipalatinsk {USA}) is bred on a 4 X 4 cross of Todman's wonderful dam Oceana (Ire) (Colombo {GB}) with her second strain being Noholme II.
