Cover image courtesy of The Image Is Everything

A dual Group 2-winning juvenile and runner up in the G1 Golden Slipper, Cylinder returned as a 3-year-old posting back-to-back victories in the G3 Vain S. and G2 Run To The Rose.

Adding another commendable elite-level placing in the G1 Golden Rose, Cylinder claimed a superb maiden Group 1 victory in last month’s G1 Newmarket H., a race in which his sire won too.

In a statement released by Godolphin, Cylinder retired “fit and well” from racing and will join Darley’s Northwood Park stud roster this spring.

Addressing the decision to direct Cylinder to Victoria for stud duties, Darley's Australian Head of Sales, Andy Makiv, emphasised the strategic significance.

“Victoria has been crying out for a headline act. We obviously have a fantastic farm there and a great business there. We're dedicated to the Victorian business and the Victorian breeders. It’s a great boost for the farm and a great boost for the Victorian breeders,” Makiv stated.

“He's a mid-sized, 15.3hh muscular, 2-year-old, precocious type. We would expect him to throw that. He was very sound of mind. He retired sound. He was very clean winded. So a really exciting prospect for breeders to consider.”

Cylinder's departure from the racing scene coincides with his sire's recent retirement from covering duties.

Exceed's growing dynasty

Cylinder will stand alongside Bivouac (a fellow winner of the G1 Newmarket H.) and Microphone as one of three active sons of Exceed And Excel on the Darley Australia roster.

Gallery: Cylinder will be the third son of Exceed And Excel to join the Darley Australia roster for the 2024 breeding season

Of particular significance, Cylinder stands out as the only Group 1-winning offspring of Exceed And Excel accessible to breeders in Victoria, presenting local enthusiasts with a unique opportunity to tap into his illustrious lineage.

Makiv underscored the significance of the decision to stand Cylinder in Victoria, stating, “Obviously, Microphone and Bivouac fly the Exceed and Excel flag in New South Wales; Victoria was a logical place for Cylinder.”

While details regarding Cylinder's stud fee are pending, Makiv assured breeders of an impending announcement later in April. In the meantime, breeders can anticipate access to a supremely talented racehorse with a pedigree to match.

“He’s a beautifully balanced horse. He's obviously by Exceed And Excel out of a Street Cry mare from the family at Lonhro which encapsulates three great stallions that we've stood on Darley rosters in the last 20 years in Australia."

A Newmarket hero

James Cummings was effusive in his praise for 3-year-old Cylinder following his G1 Newmarket H. win.

“Now he's got the Newmarket to his name. That is a huge result for the farm, he had them covered a long way out. I love the fact that good horses were in the race; it just underlines the form, and he powered away from them.

“He's a very interesting horse, Cylinder. He's by Exceed And Excel, who won a Newmarket and has produced over 200 stakes wins - an amazing career as a stallion.

“Now we have Cylinder, who's by that horse (Exceed And Excel) from the family of Lonhro and out of a Street Cry mare; he's got it all.”

There have been very few Newmarket winners retired to stud in the last three decades, however two are on the Darley roster, with Cylinder joining Bivouac and proven Victorian sire Brazen Beau.

Cummings clearly knew Cylinder was one out of the box from his earliest days. Following up win in the G2 Silver Slipper S., he said: “We’re cooking with gas with this one, he is just loaded with ability.

Circular delivering all round

Three winners and two stakes winners from three foals to race is a brilliant start to dam Circular (Street Cry {Ire})’s broodmare career, although her burgeoning record at stud comes as no real surprise given her blue-blooded pedigree.

Circular, whose four career victories on the track included the G3 Schweppervescence Trophy, is the best-performed racehorse to emerge from the Octagonal (NZ) mare Hexameter, who is herself a daughter of the racemare Sibylline (Chief’s Crown {USA}).

Being by Octagonal, Hexameter is therefore a three-quarter sister to no less than four stakes winners, including Listed Dark Jewel Classic scorer Shannara, dual Group 1 winner Niello and, most significantly of all, Darley’s recently pensioned breedshaping stallion Lonhro - all three of whom are also by Octagonal.

Further down the page is the likes of Champion New Zealand 3-Year-Old Catalyst (NZ) (Darci Brahma {NZ}) and impressive G2 Silver Shadow S. heroine Autumn Ballet (The Autumn Sun), providing further evidence that this is one of the finest producing families in the Studbook.

“She was a pretty handy racemare herself and certainly had her share of ability, but she’s proving to be such a good broodmare,” Pulford said of Circular when interviewed following her progeny's G2 Silver Slipper S. day stakes double with Parisal (Astern) winning the G3 Toy Show Quality.

“She’s superbly bred - it’s one of those families that we inherited from the Inghams and is one we’ve had a lot of faith in. There’s plenty of winners, but the family has almost skipped a generation.

“The second dam Sibylline was probably the weak link in the family, but Street Cry, in all his brilliance, has brought it back. He’s such a wonderful stallion and such a great sire of broodmares.

“It’s very pleasing to see that the family is really firing again and it’s going to be a terrific family for the future.”

Circular delivered a colt by Group 1-producing stallion Brazen Beau last season, while she also has a yearling filly by Bivouac on the ground, and is in foal to Extreme Choice.

Cover image courtesy of Racing Photos

Wearing the iconic tangerine silks of Te Akau Racing, Imperatriz captivated fans throughout her illustrious 27-start career, earning world-champion status. Renowned as the highest-rated sprinter in the world, Te Akau Racing principal David Ellis revealed the decision to retire the exceptional mare following routine veterinary assessments.

After consultations with her owners, it was unanimously agreed that Imperatriz's future endeavours would unfold in the breeding barn, post her commendable fourth-place finish in the recent G1 T J Smith S. at Randwick.

“Last weekend, Imperatriz returned home to New Zealand, for a well-deserved break at Te Akau Stud. On her arrival, she underwent an in-depth veterinary ‘warrant of fitness’ to assess her well-being before spelling. Regrettably, these evaluations have led to the difficult but necessary decision to retire her from racing”, David Ellis said in a statement published on the Te Akau Racing website.

“Te Akau always puts the well-being of our horses first. The indications are that another high-level racing preparation would not be in her best interests, so whilst sad, the decision is very straightforward. Her welfare is our top priority, and she will retire a happy and sound horse,” he said.

Speaking to the The Thoroughbred Report on Thursday afternoon, Ellis confirmed that Imperatriz would be presented for public auction, with all options under consideration.

“The Te Akau policy is that we put racing partnerships together. And when they finish racing, we then dissolve the partnership, and 99 times out of 100, the policy is that we put them up for public auction.

“So we'll be asking all three sales companies to give us a report and then we'll make a decision on which way we go.”

Imperatriz, sired by the champion I Am Invincible, was acquired by Ellis for $360,000 at the 2020 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale from the Bhima Thoroughbreds draft. Retiring with almost $7 million in earnings, Ellis expressed immense pride in the superstar sprinter.

“To have a horse that is rated as the best sprinter in the world in the stable is a big thrill. It's a big honour and a thrill for all the team that look after her. And also for the owners that have had such a thrill in racing a mare like this,” he remarked.

Highlighting her exceptional qualities, Ellis noted Imperatriz's athleticism and growth from a promising yearling into a beautiful mare. "She's grown into the horse that everybody wants now. She's just very, very athletic. Everything you look for in a horse—a beautiful head, great shoulder, great girth, great length between the hip and the hock, and she’s got a pretty good temperament, except when she's going to be fed,” he added.

“She's the type of horse that Te Akau likes to buy. She won her first start as an early 2-year-old, won a Group 2 as a 3-year-old, won Group 1’s at three, four, and five. And that's the horse we're trying to buy."

Her Group 2-placed dam Berimbau (Shamardal {USA}) was snatached up for a well-bought $1.8 million at last year's Inglis Chairman's Sale to the bid of Chatsworth Farm, delivering a colt.

Since then, Imperatriz amassed a further impressive five Group 1 victories.

With Te Akau Racing having previously sold 14-time Group 1 winner Melody Belle (NZ) (Commands) for $2.6 million and nine-time Group 1 winner Avantage (Fastnet Rock) for a staggering NZ$4.1 million in an online sales world-record, one can only speculate about the considerable value of their latest star mare.

Cover image courtesy of Arrowfield Stud

The Weather Gods look like smiling on the second day of The Championships at Randwick this weekend, meaning punters aren’t sifting through the wet form like they did last Saturday. But invariably, this time of year brings with it wet tracks, and they tend to stick around through most of the winter.

One of the form sifting factors is looking at the sire and whether their progeny are more likely or not to handle it. It’s hardly a money-making scheme, because it inevitably comes down to the individual horse, but it’s an interesting by-product all the same and there is no doubt some sires’ progeny are more adept in wet ground than others.

TTR delved into wet track credentials back in July of 2019 and at that time, an emerging Zoustar was top of the pops on dry and wet tracks (based on Australia’s Top 20 stallions of the time), when measured by strike rate.

He had an almost 17 per cent wet track strike rate at the time and has continued along a similar path, with his strike rate on tracks rated Soft 7 to Heavy 10 since August 2018 at 15 per cent. In terms of most wet track wins, it ranks him third, behind Snitzel and So You Think (NZ), with his strike rate settling at around the 15 per cent mark.

Interestingly though, as we will delve into more a little later, Zoustar’s elite progeny aren’t hitting the board as strongly on wet ground, with his eight wins in black type races since August 2018 coming at a hit rate of just 8.6 per cent.

Snitzel has long been a mainstay at the top of all stallion measures and it rings true when the wet track filter is applied. He’s had more wet track winners than any other sire since August 2018 and his strike rate of 15.7 per cent on the wet sits comfortably alongside his overall 14 per cent record in that time.

So You Think has risen up the ranks since that 2019 TTR AusNZ analysis and his 230 wet track wins have come at a strike rate of 13.4 per cent, which is superior to his overall 12 per cent record (since August 2018). He’s also provided the third highest number of black type wins on wet ground since 2018, with his progeny winning 16 stakes races at a strike rate of 12 per cent.

Conversely, I Am Invincible’s wet track strike rate (12 per cent) has been inferior to his overall record (15 per cent) in the timeframe we have looked at. And like Zoustar, that wet track strike rate takes a big dip when we isolate black type performance later indicating a clear preference by his progeny for galloping on top of the ground.

Table: Performance of stallions, based on progeny performance on Soft 7 - Heavy 10 rated tracks since August 2018 - most wet track wins

Unheralded strike rate leader

The 2022 Surround S. gave Queensland-based sire Worthy Cause a cherished Group 1 winner courtesy of his daughter Hinged. The fact it came on a Heavy 10-rated track would have come as no surprise to those who had followed Worthy Cause’s progress.

Since August 2018, his progeny have struck at a remarkable 31.4 per cent on wet ground – far eclipsing his overall strike rate of 14 per cent.

The Clear Mountain Fairview-based son of Choisir, who stands at a fee of $5500, only has 83 foals of racing age, but the ones who have made it to the track have tended to find another leg when it gets wet.

Of those stallions who have bigger numbers – and therefore a tougher time to keep the strike rate up – Night Of Thunder (Ire) (23.1 per cent), Hellbent (19.3 per cent), Sacred Falls (NZ) (18.1 per cent), Time For War (17.6 per cent) and Maurice (Jpn) (17.1 per cent) all have numbers that suggest their progeny shouldn’t be dismissed easily on wet ground.

Table: Performance of stallions, based on progeny performance on Soft 7 - Heavy 10 rated tracks - best wet track strike rate, minimum 50 runs

Black type wins

As he does with overall wins, Snitzel heads the list when we narrow it down to stakes races only.

His 22 stakes wins have come at a strike rate of almost 10 per cent on tracks rated Soft 7 or worse.

Sebring sadly left us in 2019, meaning his youngest progeny are now 4-year-olds, but he is still entrenched on the Top Sire charts, sitting 12th this season.

In terms of wet track black type wins in the past five years, he trails only Snitzel, with 16 individual winners of 20 races on Soft 7 to Heavy 10 rated tracks.

Somewhat ironically, his best performer, Fangirl, is not at her best on genuinely wet ground, having been unplaced in all seven attempts on tracks rated Soft 7 or worse.

Setting that aside, Sebring is one stallion punters can put their confidence in, with his near 13 per cent strike rate producing a profit on turnover of better than 35 per cent if you backed every single one of them.

Similarly, the market place has tended to underestimate So You Think’s progeny on wet ground too. His 16 stakes wins places him third on the list since 2018 at a strike rate of 12 per cent, but notably, winning 16 per cent on turnover should you back them all blindly.

I Am Invincible is fourth on the list for most stakes wins on wet ground, with 13 individual runners winning 14 races. So they as a collective are by no means ‘duffers’ but on the whole their 8.8 per cent strike rate is well under ‘Vinny’s’ 15 per cent hit rate for all runners on all ground.

Zoustar has a similar strike rate to I Am Invincible, although he’s still had seven individual runners win eight stakes races on genuinely wet ground in the past five years.

The recently retired Exceed And Excel continues to enjoy success on wet and dry ground, with his tally of 11 wins placing him fifth by overall numbers in the wet and his strike rate of 12.4 per cent also places him at the pointy end of wet track sires.

Table: Performance of stallions, based on progeny performance on Soft 7 - Heavy 10 rated tracks - most stakes wins

Black type strike rate

Extreme Choice has a healthy 17 per cent strike rate for all runners, so his effort to better that in stakes races on wet ground is noteworthy.

No stallion has a better strike rate (based on a minimum of 30 runs) in black type races on wet ground in the past five years than Extreme Choice, who has had five individual progeny win six stakes races at a strike rate of almost 20 per cent.

Extreme Choice’s own sire Not A Single Doubt was long regarded as one of the best wet track sires in this part of the world. The 2019 TTR AusNZ review showed his 14.7 per cent strike on wet tracks to be among the best of all the elite sires in the country.

Having retired from stud duties in 2020 and passing away two years later, Not A Single Doubt still ranks highly here, with his progeny winning 10 stakes races on wet ground at a 12 per cent strike rate since August 2018.

Imported stallions Maurice and Street Boss (USA) feature on the strike rate list, but thanks mostly to their absolute elite performers.

Maurice’s five black type wins place him at 14.7 per cent – second only to Extreme Choice – on our black type list, but notably from just the two individual winners; Hitotsu and the established mudlark Mazu. That said, we noted above his overall strike rate of 1.17 per cent on wet ground from 286 runners gives him a big tick on Soft and Heavy ground.

Street Boss’ progeny won six races on wet ground, but four of those were courtesy of Horse of the Year Anamoe. But like Maurice, his overall wet strike rate of 14 per cent betters his 12 per cent strike rate on all tracks.

As noted above, Sebring’s performance to have a black type strike rate of almost 13 per cent from 155 runs underlines the depth to his wet track progeny.

* Statistics courtesy Daniel O'Sullivan, Betsmart and The Ratings Bureau *

Table: Performance of stallions, based on progeny performance on Soft 7 - Heavy 10 rated tracks - best strike rate in stakes races, minimum 30 runs

Cover image courtesy The Image Is Everything

The lack of evolution in The Pattern, along with perceived disregard for its principles in creating and placing new races, is a central concern. The Australian Pattern Advisory Group (APAG), tasked with advising the Australian Pattern Committee, has met infrequently since its inception, resulting in stagnation in pattern development since May 2018.

Despite notable industry innovations, Racing Australia's efforts to review The Pattern have been slow, with a promised strategic review in May 2020.

Renowned industry figure John Messara brings significant expertise to this realm, having previously held the position of Chairman of Racing Australia (RA). His appointment in May 2021 coincided with a period of prolonged inactivity within the board, raising hopes that he would act as a mediator to facilitate progress on critical issues, including The Racing Pattern.

Unfortunately, that didn't eventuate with Messara exiting the role just a year into the term after he was unable to reconcile the differences between the major state bodies. Since then, The Racing Pattern has remained stagnant, leading to concerns about the potential long-term damage to the Australian racing brand.

The Thoroughbred Report recently spoke with John Messara to understand his latest thoughts on the topical issue.

TTR AusNZ: What is the pattern?

John Messara: The black type system (The Pattern) is the internationally accepted cataloguing standard that provides consistency and value to thoroughbred industry participants worldwide. The Pattern standardises the pedigree page and establishes the basis for determining global bloodstock values.

Prizemoney is important, but there should be a closer alignment of prizemoney with black-type status or thoroughbred racing in Australia may face becoming less respected internationally, again with consequential impact on owners.

TTR AusNZ: What are your concerns regarding the current governance of the pattern in Australia?

JM: I am very concerned that our Pattern has been frozen for a number of years now and that there is effectively no Pattern committee applying Pattern guidelines to our program of major races. There are races in all jurisdictions that warrant upgrades or downgrades to maintain good quality and competitive racing and to uphold respect for Australian bloodstock internationally, but this cannot occur without an active Pattern committee and a set of current guidelines.

TTR AusNZ: What are the ramifications for the industry if the Pattern in Australia isn’t properly regulated?

JM: I believe that we are already losing our international standing in the sport, and the value of our racing and horses is being compromised. This may not worry those who bet on racing, but it is of great concern to those who invest millions of dollars to put the show on the track – black type lives forever in a pedigree, long after the prizemoney has been distributed and spent.

TTR AusNZ: What effects have pop-up style races had on the Pattern in Australia?

JM: While I share the belief that we need aspirational races, I believe that these can be structured to fit within The Pattern rather than compete with it. High prizemoney races with no black type will harm the existing Pattern and dilute the value of our Group 1 racing, the pinnacle of the sport worldwide. The two types of races can co-exist with a balanced approach and constant implementation and review conducted by a qualified Pattern committee. This can be achieved by applying a national approach with the goodwill of all parties.

TTR AusNZ: Should there be a restriction on prizemoney to encourage horses to compete in Pattern races?

JM: I don’t think there should be restrictions on prizemoney, however The Pattern guidelines would determine minimums for each black-type category. I think that if a jurisdiction goes too far on prizemoney for Pattern or innovation races, the rest of its racing program will suffer financially in relation to the general costs of ownership; this is already evident today.