|
The
phenomenal Danehill gained lot of his homage out here for his
achievement in matching Star Kingdom and supplying five winners of the
Golden Slipper. However, on top of this Danehill has the unique double
of also being the source of five winners of the Victoria Derby, a race
that was taken out by only one of the Star Kingdom offspring, Sky
High, a champion at both two - won the Slipper - and three.
Danehill is only the second sire in the history of Australian racing
to supply five winners of the Victorian classic, sharing this
distinction with the 1892 foaled Wallace, one of the small number of
progeny got in Australia by the immortal Carbine before he was sold to
England.
Himself a winner of the race, Wallace spent 22 years at stud in
Victoria and supplied leading sprinters and two Melbourne Cup winners
as well as Derby heroes. One of his sons, Mountain King, won both the
VRC and AJC Derbys and finished third in the Melbourne Cup. He in turn
sired Mountain Knight, an AJC Derby winner and sire of good winners.
The
achievement of Danehill and Wallace in each having five Victorian
Derby winners is reflected on following the success of Regal Cheer in
the $605,000 Group1 Coolmore Classic over 1500 metres at Rosehill
Gardens on Saturday.
Trained for prominent Sydney breeders and owners Mr and Mrs Gordon
Stack by Joseph Pride, Regal Cheer had won the Group 2 Surround Stakes
at Warwick Farm on March 11 and all told to date has six wins from 15
outings to her credit. She is from the second crop of Arena, the
Danehill 2.5 lengths winner of the 1998 Victoria Derby, a race in
which another horse owned by the Stacks, Lawyer, was third.
 Also
a Canterbury Guineas and Hobartville Stakes winner and a second
placegetter in the AJC Derby, VRC Australian Cup and STC Tancred
Stakes, Arena is another good sire at Fred Peisah's consistently
successful Lomar Park Stud at Werombi on the south western fringe of
Sydney.
Home
bred, Regal Cheer is a great advertisement for the quality horses
produced on Lomar Park and the ability of the stud's sires. Each of
the sires of her first three dams stood at this stud and there are
over 50 winners carrying Lomar Park brands descending from her fourth
dam, Social Smile.
Arena
is one of three Victoria Derby winners by Danehill represented by
winners to date. Another is Nothin' Leica Dane, a resident at Martin
Hawcroft's Byerley Stud, Sandy Hollow, Hunter Valley and sire of
Superior Star (won Western Australian Oaks, Champion Fillies Stakes;
second Singapore Derby), Leica Falcon (MRC Herbert Power Stakes),
Utzon (AJC Liverpool City Cup), Cinque Cento (BTC Doomben Roses;
second Queensland Oaks) and Ain't Seen Nothin' (VRC Let's Elope
Stakes; second AJC Adrian Knox Stakes and third MRC Underwood Stakes).
 The
other proven Danehill sire who won the Derby is the Sangster bred and
raced Blackfriars, a resident at the Durham Lodge Stud at Muchea in
Western Australia.
His
first crop are three-year-olds and include the Perth stakes winners
Manjar and Wave Rock and stakes placed Dare to Risk, Vintrack and
Impact Rating.
The
Danehill Victoria Derby winning sire brigade has been given a huge
boost by the retirement of the 2003 and 2005 winners, Elvstroem and
Benicio respectively. Elvstroem went to stud last year, looking after
an initial book of 166 mares at Blue Gum Farm, Euroa, Victoria, and
Benicio makes his debut next season where he was bred, Vinery Stud,
Segenhoe Valley, Scone.
PICS - Sportpix.
©
Bloodstock Media Service Published 28/03/06 |
