The 3-year-old mid-week maidens in Sydney invariably feature fields of spectacularly bred youngsters, as exemplified by the seven-horse- field in Wednesday’s Anamoe @ Darley Maiden Hcp (1300m) at Randwick-Kensington.
The big ticket items were the $1,600,000 I Am Invincible colt Behaviour, son of Group 1 winner Spright, the $800,000 Dundeel colt Duvana, a half-brother to dual Listed stakes-winner Waltz On By out the Group 1 MRC One Thousand Guineas winner Stay With Me; the $360,000 Dundeel debutant California Bay, whose dam Zara Bay is a sister to Merchant Navy and Jolie Bay, the dam of the MRC One Thousand Guineas winner Joliestar.
Representing the homebreds was Go Bloodstock’s I Am Invincible colt Maori Chief, a half-brother to Red Resistance out of the top racemare Heatherly, who made $1,600,000 at the 2018 National Broodmare Sale.
Seeing them all off was the striking Written Tycoon colt Mayne.
Ridden by Tyler Schiller for Annabel Neasham and Rob Archibald, Mayne went straight to the front and never looked back to defeat California Bay by two and a quarter lengths, with Maori Chief a half length back in third.
It was the second start for Mayne, a fighting third on debut behind Shohisha over 1300m at Warwick Farm.
“He has come on a lot since his first start,” Schiller said.
“I was worried about how he got a bit hot and sweated, but when he got to the front, he got into a lovely rhythm. He is a horse that you have to keep happy. His breathing is ordinary, but he was very strong when he gave a kick at the top of the straight.
“He’ll enjoy it a bit further, maybe 1400m to a mile, but his breathing might restrict him.”
Bred by Morningside Park, Mayne was a wildly successful $90,000 pinhook for Kilgravin Lodge / McKeever Bloodstock at the 2023 Inglis Premier Yearling Sale before making $725,000 to the bid of Blandford Bloodstock / Andrew Williams Bloodstock when offered by Kilgravin Lodge at the NZB Ready To Run Sale.
The son of Written Tycoon is the second winner from as many to race for the stakes-placed Smart Missile mare Fromparis Withlove a half-sister to the Group III ATC James HB Carr Stakes winner Yattarna out of the Listed VRC Chester Manifold Stakes, Umaquest.
Jim Carey shelled out $42,500 for Fromparis Withlove’s Capitalist filly consigned by Morningside to the 2024 National Weanling Sale.
Fromparis Withlove revisited Written Tycoon last spring.