Casino Prince passed another milestone when his consistent galloper Casino Belle scored a front-running victory on Sunday.
The W.A gelding is the 100th individual winner by Casino Prince in Australia this season and they have won a total of 162 races. He has also been represented by another 14 individual winners overseas.
The Vinery resident is a prolific sire of winners and
he's primed to beat last season's career-best figures of 104 winners of 173
races. Interestingly, on top of a couple
of older Stakes winners, which is his trademark, this season Casino Prince has
produced three Stakes 2yo's.
Casino Belle (6g Casino Prince - Belle Jest by Rory's Jester) is also on-track for another crack at the Hannans Hcp-LR in September after going down a length and change in the feature sprint last year.
Bred by Ben Hunt and sold for $75,000 at the 2013 Magic Millions National Sale, he has won 8 races and over $143,000 for trainer Peter Fernie and Kalgoorlie Race Club chairman Andrew Inglis.
"He's a ripper of a horse to handle," Fernie said on Sunday. "He's a lovely mover and we've got plenty of time before making a decision on the Hannans. It wasn't a real strong field today but Lucy (Warwick) reckons he did it easily."
Casino Prince (Flying Spur) has no peer as a value-for-money sire in the Hunter Valley.
Vinery stands him for an $11,000 (inc gst) service fee and he topped the NZB Select Yearling Sale at Karaka in February with a colt that made $180,000.
Casino Prince sired Group 1 Champion All Too Hard in his first crop and his latest Group 1 winner arrived in April when export Lim's Cruiser claimed the Lion City Cup in Singapore.
His Australian black-type winners this season are headed by Hooked (MRC Victoria Hcp-G3) and Cantbuybetter (BRC Members Hcp-LR) while his current crop of 2yos include stakes performers Casino Fourteen (3rd SAJC Sires' Produce St-Gr.3), Sweet Deal (3rd ATC Widden St-Gr.3) and Mikuni (2nd MRC Merson Cooper St-LR).
