Merchant Navy - New Winner

With a plethora of racing all over Australia on Cup Day there were opportunities aplenty and Vinery Stud’s value sire Headwater made his mark with a new stakes-winner on Perth at Ascot where three year-old filly London’s Image captured the Listed WATC Burgess Queen Stakes (1400m).

This year’s $8.5million Group I VRC Melbourne Cup (3200m) produced a genuinely amazing fairytale result for the connections of five year-old Extreme Choice gelding Knight’s Choice, but part of that fairytale is his sire Extreme Choice, who has carved out something seriously special as being only the second sire in history to produce the winner of a Golden Slipper and a Melbourne Cup.

Coolmore have announced fees for their 20 strong European sire roster with three new additions City of Troy (Justify), Auguste Rodin (Deep Impact)and Henry Longfellow (Dubawi) and a significant increase for Wootton Bassett, who is currently in Australia.

Darley have announced fees on their roster off 22 sires standing in the UK, Ireland and France with Dubawi heading the list at a fee of £350,000 for the third year in a row.

The Fasig-Tipton November Sale, billed as the World’s Premier Breeding Stock Event, was held Monday at the company’s Newtown Paddocks in Lexington, Kentucky. Twenty-five offerings sold for $1,000,000 or more, led by a trio of Grade/Group 1 winners with international appeal.

Grahame Begg has had to be patient with the handsome sibling to Group I winner Written By and Group II winner C’Est Magique and he was rewarded at Kyneton on Wednesday when the lightly raced Written Tycoon colt raced to a stylish victory.

Love Poem’s progress this preparation earned the gifted filly an earlier than anticipated flight to Christchurch to bolster Stephen Marsh’s hand in the Gr.1 New Zealand 2000 Guineas (1600m) at Riccarton.

Mandy Pope’s Whisper Hill Farm paid $2.4 million for Grade 2 winner Roses for Debra, a 5-year-old daughter of Liam’s Map, to top a strong day of trade during the Book 1 opener of the Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale. Roses for Debra was one of nine seven-figure horses sold on Tuesday, contributing to a nearly 15% increase in gross sales over last year.

The $1million Group I VRC Oaks (2500m) is the highlight at Flemington on Thursday and with all of the fillies on trial at the trip, pedigree can be a good indicator and in a field of 14 that features only two stakes-winners and no Group I winners, it could be a year for an upset result.

An Oaks path is being tipped for three-year-old filly Leica Lucy following her debut win in the Christmas At The Races Friday 5th December (1400m) at New Plymouth on Wednesday.