Cover image courtesy of Racing Photos
The 1200-metre record at Cranbourne, previously held by multiple-Group 1 winner El Segundo (NZ) (Pins), was smashed by Garza Blanca (I Am Invincible) on Saturday, who went three-tenths of a second faster to record his victory in 1:09.52.
The 3-year-old colt was registering his second career win from four starts and got his career back on track having disappointed in the Listed Gothic S. on his previous race start. He went into that after breaking his maiden at the second attempt, when he dispatched his rivals with ears pricked by over 4l at Murtoa.
Bought by Mark Player and Rob Roulston for their PR Colts Fund, Garza Blanca is in the care of Ciaron Maher and David Eustace, with Eustace commenting after the race that he wasn’t so surprised to see the horse post such a dominant performance.
Finally finding himself on a Good surface, Garza Blanca accounted for his stablemate, the odds-on favourite and regally bred Greece (I Am Invincible), a sister of two-time Group 1 winner Loving Gaby, by 3l after pressing on early entering the home straight.
For connections, it’s been a case of waiting for the penny to drop with the son of I Am Invincible, who now looks to have all before him and, although plans are yet to be formed, a renewed stakes tilt looks inevitable - success too if he can repeat Saturday’s display.
Although not in the ownership, Pilkington was delighted with the result, not just as the co-owner of Garza Blanca’s dam Mousai (Fastnet Rock), but also in seeing success for some important actors in the yearling sales market.
“He made a lot of money as a yearling when Mark Player and Rob Roulston bought him for their colt syndicate,” Pilkington explained.
“He (Garza Blanca) made a lot of money ($700,000) as a yearling when Mark Player and Rob Roulston bought him for their colt syndicate.” - Mark Pilkington
“He looked fantastic (on Saturday). I’m really thrilled because the people who put together these stallion syndicates are just so crucial to the fabric of the yearling market down here, so it’s terrific when they get a bit of success.
“She (Greece) was probably a bit unlucky but he was very good today. I’m sure he’ll just get better and better, it’s very encouraging.”
Fastnet Rock finds another one
Sold for $700,000 at the 2021 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale, Garza Blanca is the first produce of the Fastnet Rock mare Mousai. Unsurprisingly, given his purchasers, it’s an excellent family.
Garza Blanca as a yearling | Image courtesy of Magic Millions
Mousai, a winner, is out of Gold Anthem (Made Of Gold {USA}), making her a half-sister to Starspangledbanner and a three-quarter sister to G1 Thousand Guineas winner Amicus (Fastnet Rock).
Garza Blanca’s yearling price matched exactly what his dam made at the same age when purchased at the 2015 Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale. Sold to Coolmore, Pilkington retained a share in Mousai, before buying out his partners at the conclusion of her racing career.
Now a winning Fastnet Rock mare with a smart pedigree, Mousai was knocked down to Seymour Bloodstock for $870,000 at the 2017 Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale.
Mark Pilkington | Image courtesy of Bronwen Healy
Just one month before that sale, Fastnet Rock achieved his first Group 1 winner as a broodmare sire when Tivaci triumphed in the All Aged S. Since then he has added five further elite-level winners to that record, reflecting no small amount of prescience by Pilkington, who was always attracted to the Coolmore resident for that purpose.
“We paid plenty for the mare, we bought her as a yearling and we had her in partnership with Coolmore,” Pilkington explained.
“Then we decided it was a big, proper page to take a long-term view with, and at that stage we partnered with Neil Werrett and we had a couple of other mares that we got together.
“She’s a big, strong Fastnet Rock mare who throws lovely types.”
“She’s (Mousai) a big, strong Fastnet Rock mare who throws lovely types.” - Mark Pilkington
Defying any hint of a first foal physically, Garza Blanca attracted plenty of attention when presented on the Gold Coast as part of the Vinery Stud draft in 2021.
“I hadn’t had much exposure to the Vinnies, but he was a big, strong colt… When I took the consensus of the people that knew all about the Vinnies, some were saying you want the bigger ones, some were saying you want the smaller ones - but he was certainly popular,” he said.
The 9-year-old Mousai has produced a foal every year since with Garza Blanca preceding a Dundeel (NZ) colt who sold earlier this year at the Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale. Bought by Andrew Noblett, Pilkington reported that he is a similarly big, strong horse.
Mousai | Image courtesy of Magic Millions
With a yearling sister soon to be readied for next year’s yearling sales and an Ole Kirk filly foal at foot, Mousai is a young mare with a very exciting profile for Pilkington.
Red-letter day
As if breeding a track-record breaker wasn’t enough, Pilkington’s afternoon at Cranbourne only got better as the racing went on. Two races after Garza Blanca strutted his stuff, the Seymour Bloodstock colours were carried to victory by a European import having his first start in Australia.
Brayden Star (GB) (Twilight Son {GB}), a 4-year-old gelding, was successful in just one of his five starts in the UK but found things easy in the $175,000 Shooting Star on Saturday.
Brayden Star (GB) | Image courtesy of Racing Photos
Then, in the very next race, Uncle Bryn (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) landed the $500,000 Listed Cranbourne Cup for trainers Trent Busuttin and Natalie Young, again in the Seymour Bloodstock Colours and securing a treble for his trainers.
Trained in the UK by John and Thady Gosden, Pilkington explained how he came to buy into Uncle Bryn whilst it was still trained there by finding a connection to the horse’s breeder and former co-owner Andrew Black, co-founder of Betfair.
“(He) and his team at Chasemore Farm, we had a connection with his head vet Pat Sells through the Busuttins from when he was in New Zealand years ago,” Pilkington said.
“So, through that link we got into discussions and we bought into the horse last year, and he actually raced for us in the Cambridgeshire Handicap - he was actually pre-race favourite for that for weeks.
“Then, through the association with that team and others, we became associated with Brayden Star so we were able to buy a controlling interest in him. He’ll be a bit of a buzz horse down here I’d suggest.”
Uncle Bryn has enjoyed a good run of things since joining Trent Busuttin and Natalie Young at the start of this year. However, after gaining his first stakes win in the Listed Sale Cup, he had no luck when contesting the inaugural The Five Diamonds on November 5, so it was pleasing for Pilkington to see him return to form on Saturday.
“It was fantastic,” he said. “We’ve tried to place him softly since we’ve had him, and we’ve tried to resist the temptation to go to the Cups races this year.
“He won the Sale Cup really well, and he’s only had one bad race which was in the (G1) Toorak Handicap. We couldn’t work out why, so we pressed on towards the Sale Cup which is a $200,000 race.
“Then we took the odds for that Five Diamonds race in Sydney last week. He came back from Sydney in such good fettle that we decided we’d have a shot at the half-a-million-dollar race and he won it pretty softly!”
With Uncle Bryn being the fifth import in the last 10 years to win Saturday’s Listed contest, Pilkington is all too aware of the opportunities for European blood, and is certainly keen to keep capitalising on the record prizemoney levels on offer in Australia.
“It was a handy race, but Australian racing, in particular Victorian racing, is in rude health at the moment with the prizemoney available. Brayden Star essentially won a Class 1 race today worth not far from $200,000 and Uncle Bryn won a Listed race for $500,000 - so it’s great money.
“Brayden Star looks a really promising young horse, and it’s been nice to get a couple of those promising staying horses that can hopefully stay sound and feature in the next 12 months somewhere.”
