Arrowfield Stud is home to a great many outstanding broodmares, but few have produced four individual stakes-winners.
Halfway down the big Flemington straight in Saturday's $150,000 VRC C.S. Hayes S. 1400m G3 a brave placing seemed the most likely outcome for Dr Edmund & Belinda Bateman's 3YO Snitzel colt Wandjina.
Killua Castle has become the ninth Inglis graduate in four months to win at stakes level in South Africa. The four-year-old took out the Group 3 Jubilee Handicap over 1800m at Turffontein on Saturday.
Easter graduates raised the bar in a 24 hour period over the weekend snaring four stakes races thanks to three two-year-olds and one guineas winner; Zululand, Majmu, Banaadeer and Interspersed.
Improving four-year-old Admiration defeated a top class field in the Hong Kong Group Two Chairman’s Trophy over 1600m at Sha Tin on Sunday, continuing champion trainer John Moore’s outstanding record with gallopers purchased from Widden Stud at the Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale.
2010 Australian Inglis Easter Yearling sale topper Godspeed makes his race debut at Rosehill this Saturday where the $1.875million colt will likely take on a host of other well bred and highly priced debutants from leading stables.
Champion Australian sires Encosta de Lago and Redoute’s Choice were both represented on the winners list at Sha Tin on Sunday by a pair of Widden Stud sold graduates.
Reigning champion sire Encosta de Lago starred at Sha Tin on Saturday with classy sprinter Ultra Fantasy claiming his first stakes victory in the Sprint Cup HK Gr 2, while promising two year-old Admiration also opened his winning account.
Top class Australian bred sprinter Inspiration returned to peak form to lead home an Aussie bred and John Moore trained quinella in the Sha Tin Premier Bowl HK Gr 3 in Hong Kong on Sunday.
The easy win of four year-old Chilled at Eagle Farm on Saturday again highlighted the potential of blending the blood of our two champion sires as he is by Redoute’s Choice from a daughter of Encosta de Lago, the same cross that produced recent South African Group One winner Musir.
Flying Spur gelding Inspiration scored a surprise win in the Group One HK International Sprint back in December and recaptured that form when taking out the Centenary Sprint Cup HK Gr 1 at Sha Tin on Sunday.
Performers bred in Australia have achieved what must challenge as a world record in winning every one of the annual renewals of the Hong Kong International Sprint, the tenth edition of which was staged on Sunday and resulted in a trifecta for Australian sired contestants.
The Hong Kong Sprint has been the domain of Australian-bred horses since its inception in 1999 and Inglis Easter graduate Inspiration made it a perfect 10 when scoring an upset win in the Group 1 1200m event at Sha Tin today.