News

International Quartet Shine At Stakes Level

1st Jun 2014

Inglis graduates shone in front of racing’s international audience recording victories at black type level in four different countries over the weekend.

Sacred Star won the Gr.2 BRC QTC Cup in Australia, Leeds won the Listed WJC Castletown Stakes in New Zealand and Smiling Happy won the Macau Gr.3 Grand Lisboa Cup on Saturday. Emperor Max topped off the weekend when claiming the Singapore Gr.2 Stewards’ Cup on Sunday afternoon.

Inglis graduates have won Group 1 races in all of Dubai, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand this year, as well as local restricted Group 1 events in Hong Kong and Singapore.

Sacred Star (Flying Spur x Irish Nova) will attempt to join the list of Group 1 winners when he lines up in the A$1.36 million BRC Stradbroke Handicap back at Eagle Farm next Saturday 7 June following his strong victory on the weekend.

The 93rd stakes winner for his champion sire Flying Spur, Sacred Star was purchased by Guy Mulcaster Bloodstock on behalf of Raffles Racing for $200,000 from the draft of Attunga Stud at the 2011 Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale.

The four-year-old began his career under Chris Waller but is now prepared in New Zealand by trainer Tony Pike, who is keen to aim higher towards the Stradbroke next week.

“The 1400 metres will suit him and we came for the Stradbroke so that is where we will be going,” said Pike.

With six wins and two placings from 17 starts Sacred Star has won $300,000 in prizemoney so far for his connections and is currently a 10-1 chance in the Stradbroke which carries first place prizemoney of $1,000,000.

Emperor Max (Holy Roman Emperor x Maxrelle) continued his outstanding form at Kranji saluting in the Singapore Group 2 Stewards’ Cup over 1400m under a top class ride from fellow Australian expatriate Corey Brown.

Trainer Stephen Gray had some concerns going into Sunday’s first leg of Singapore’s Four-Year-Old Challenge following Emperor Max’s tough second placing behind Lucky Nine in the Group 1 KrisFlyer International Sprint a fortnight ago. But Gray needn’t worried Emperor Max led from start to finish.

“I was a nervous wreck before the race, but we’re lucky he’s a very good horse and he fully deserved that first Group win. At the turn, he still had gone through very soft sectionals, but I stopped looking and it’s only in the last 150m that I looked up. The feeling was unbelievable,” said Gray.

Emperor Max was offered through Kitchwin Hill’s draft at the 2011 Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale, but when he passed-in short of his $120,000 reserve his breeders, Dr Gordon Yau and brother Mr Ernest Yau, sent the colt to be trained by Peter Moody in Melbourne.

The son of Holy Roman Emperor won twice from five starts in Australia before Moody suggested a move to the tropics. Emperor Max’s record in Singapore is an imposing six wins and three seconds from nine starts for over S$700,000 in prizemoney.

Jockey Corey Brown is adamant that connections can continue to aim higher with Emperor Max commenting “once he went through his gears in the home straight, I released the brakes and he was just too good. I’m sure there’ll be plenty of other big wins in store for him.”

Leeds and Smiling Happy were the other two Inglis graduates successful at black type level on the weekend.

Leeds (I Am Invincible x Swentre), a $30,000 purchase from Little Wych's draft at the 2013 Inglis Sydney Classic Yearling Sale Summer Book, took out the Listed Castletown Stakes in Wanganui, New Zealand on Saturday. The two-year-old is the fifth stakes winner from the first crop of I Am Invincible - four of which are Inglis graduates; Leeds, Brazen Beau, Vinnie Eagle & Fuld’s Bet.

Smiling Happy (Danzero x Sierra Leone), a $50,000 purchase from Kia Ora Stud’s draft at the 2010 Inglis Melbourne Premier Yearling Sale, rounds out the quartet of stakes winning Inglis graduates in different countries over the weekend. The Joe Lau trained four-year-old won the Macau Gr.3 Grand Lisboa Cup over 1500m at the Taipa racecourse.

The next sale on the Inglis calendar is the 2014 Sydney Classic Yearling Sale Winter Book and Sydney Winter Thoroughbred Sale on 15 June at Newmarket.

Buyers’ next auction opportunity in Melbourne is the 2014 Inglis Melbourne Great Southern Sale. 588 lots have been catalogued for the big sale.

For all catalogues and information on Inglis’ upcoming sales go to www.inglis.com.au