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11.
Danzig
Dominates As Shuttle Stallions Fire
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08/12/2002 |
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There
is huge pressure on any stallion to get early results. That pressure is
magnified many times over for the majority of shuttle stallions. As the results
were semaphored of race after race around the metropolitan racetracks of
Australia on Saturday it was a cavalcade of winners by shuttle stallions, most
of who have had their fair share of critics.
The Sydney meeting at Royal Randwick was dominated by the Danzig sireline.
Acarena (Shovhog), Lion Dancer (Lion Hunter), Sequi (Danehill), Yes Chief
(Chief’s Crown), Material Girl (Flying Spur) and Majestic Fiesta (Maroof)
completed a dominant day for Claiborne Stud’s living legend. Shovhog, Lion
Hunter and Flying Spur are of course all sons of Danehill.
Two former Arrowfield Stud shuttle stallions Chief’s Crown and Unbridled’s
Song, sire of the impressive 3yo filly Southern Rose, had winners on the
programme. Woodlands Stud’s Quest For Fame, a former shuttle stallion that now
calls Australia home, sired a further winner in Kajar.
In Melbourne the Sandown meeting featured winners by shuttle (or ex shuttle)
stallions Entrepreneur (Step Ahead), Desert King (River Woman), Red October
(Regal Classic), Palace Music (Palace Chief) and Dot Com (Honor Grades).
In Brisbane the $100,000 Group 3 Summer Stakes was won by Baal Yabba a 4yo son
of the former Baramul Stud shuttle stallion Magic Ring, which now stands at stud
in N.Z. Desert King bobbed up with another winner, the highly impressive
undefeated 3yo filly Mardi Gras. Two other former shuttle stallions sired
winners – Puissance (Janadi) and Distinctly North (Distraction).
In Adelaide Danehill’s brother Eagle Eyed and the ill-fated Ali Royal sired
the opening two winners on the card – Sharp Focus and Making The Road
respectively.
The meeting at Ascot featured winners by one season shuttle stallion Tenby (Air
Of Supremacy) and Coolmore’s resurrected Royal Academy, sire of the Jungle
Dawn Stakes (LR) winner Royal Sonata.
It was a similar tale later in the day at Hong Kong’s Happy Valley meeting.
Coolmore’s Honour and Glory sired two winners on the day with Supreme Star
winning a class 4 and Fantasy, who raced successfully in Sydney as London Eye,
winning the feature race of the day, a HK$1.6 million class 1 handicap over
1200m. Other shuttle stallions to have winners on the programme included
Spectrum, Danehill, Dehere and Geiger Counter, while Danehill’s sons Danzero,
Danewin and Danehill Dancer all chipped in with winners.
After a slow start to his stud career Desert King continues to impress. Both his
winners Mardi Gras and River Woman look stakes material. The winner of her only
three races Mardi Gras had little more than a track gallop to win the $50,000
Mode Quality (1200m) at Doomben. The Gerald Ryan-trained filly made $380,000 at
the 2001 Magic Millions yearling sale and is the seventh winner from seven to
race out of the imported Affirmed mare Affirmed’s Dance.
River Woman, a homebred product of David Moodie’s Contract Racing, went into
Saturday’s Wood Court Inn H. (1200m) at Sandown on Saturday as a maiden with a
heartbreaking sequence of 5 seconds from her 7 starts. The good-looking black
filly righted that situation with a commanding 1 ¼-length win over More Than
Fair (Military Plume) and Kidman (Quest For Fame). River Woman is the first foal
of the Melbourne winning Blazing Sword mare River Express a daughter of the AJC
James H.B. Carr Stakes (LR) winner Ride the Rapids (River Rough).
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