Five Things We Learned From Last Saturday

Tara Madgwick - Monday October 15
With every race a stakes race at Caulfield and the $13million Everest taking centre stage at Randwick there was so much happening in the bloodstock world it's hard to know where to start but a superstar colt and a champion sire, plus the prospect of the unthinkable made it a day to remember.

1/ Can The Autumn Sun be the best ever for Redoute's Choice? That's a question more people than me are asking following his utterly dominant four and a half length win in the Caulfield Guineas, a race won by his sire in 1999. 




Redoute's Choice has an incredible honour roll of 160 stakes-winners and at the top of that list are Miss Finland and Lankan Rupee, who both won five Group I races and had earnings in excess of $4million. The Autumn Sun currently shares equal third place with Samantha Miss, both of them having had three Group I wins, although The Autumn Sun heads her by prizemoney.

It seems a reasonable expectation that The Autumn Sun can win more Group I races before he retires to Arrowfield Stud, so he may very well end his career as the very best horse ever sired by Redoute's Choice.

2/ Snitzel, Redzel and Everest - forevermore these three names will be intertwined and if the Everest one day does surpass the Melbourne Cup as Australia's greatest race then Redzel is our Archer.




This high stakes race has made a folk hero out of humble gelding Redzel and brought added fame and riches to his trainers Peter and Paul Snowden, jockey Kerrin McEvoy and his adoring team of Triple Crown owners.

The race has been the icing on the cake for his champion sire Snitzel, whose record progeny earnings last season ($29.2 million) will be in danger of eclipse this season as he not only had the winner Redzel, but also the runner up Trapeze Artist.

3/ Redzel might have won the Everest, but would he if Pierata was in the race? Pierro stallion Pierata was talked about as an Everest possibility after his first up win in the Group II ATC Missile Stakes, but when that scenario did not eventuate he found himself in the $500,000 ATC Sydney Stakes, a consolation sprint over 1200 metres, the same distance as The Everest. 



Pierata won by two and three quarter lengths and his time of 1.10.82 seconds was significantly faster than Redzel ran (1.12.03 seconds) ran in winning the Everest which was the very next race. If Pierata returns in the Autumn and is trained purely as a sprinter, he might be a horse that can really shake up the sprinters division going forward and put himself even more so on the map as a serious stallion prospect.

4/ Did we see the unthinkable on Saturday at Caulfield, is Benbatl Winx's worst nightmare? For the past three seasons Winx has been untouchable in Australia with three Cox Plate wins proving her unprecedented superiority. 




Last year she posted Cox Plate win number three beating Humidor by a long neck. Humidor finished third to the Godolphin raider Benbatl on Saturday some two and a half lengths back, so if you can see that form line carried into the Cox Plate, you've got to think Winx is in for a serious challenge from the blue army.

5/ The Boom is back! A first crop sire sensation last season, Spirit of Boom has been notably quiet since the start of this season but a brilliant debut win by Champagne Boom in the Listed MRC Inglis Debutant Stakes has him back in the spotlight.




His yearlings sold through the roof this year and are now in many of the best stables in the country. Spirit of Boom is busy covering a full book of mares at Eureka Stud at the increased fee of $55,000, so the success of Champagne Boom is a piece of news a lot of people are very glad to see.

Images Steve Hart and Grant Courtney.

Advertisment
More Reading...
Magic Nick Strikes Again – Fastnet Rock x Galileo
The Fastnet Rock x Galileo nick has been on fire in Melbourne this spring producing Cox Plate winner Via Sistina (IRE) and leading Melbourne Cup contender Buckaroo (GB) and it struck again overnight in the UK with a brand new stakes-winner in Military Academy, who captured the Listed Floodlit Stakes (1m4f) at Kempton.
Sires With Winners - Monday November 4
Here is the full list of 21 stallions which had winners throughout Australasia today with winners and result details.
Knights Choice a True Underdog Story
Punters were left stunned when the Queenslander Knight's Choice and Japanese visitor Warp Speed (JPN) emerged from the pack to fight out a dramatic finish to the $8,560,000 Group 1 Lexus Melbourne Cup (3200m) at Flemington.
$6million Frankel Mare Tops Fasig -Tipton November Sale
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.
Antrim Coast to Fly Flag for The Oaks Stud
The well-renowned colours of The Oaks Stud will feature across two feature Trans-Tasman meetings this week, kicking off with Antrim Coast lining up in the Listed Furphy Plate (1800m) on Melbourne Cup Day at Flemington.
Kiwi Bred Gringotts Wins $3million Big Dance
Talented New Zealand-bred gelding Gringotts(NZ) (Per Incanto) delivered a big payday for his connections with victory in Tuesday’s A$3 million Big Dance (1600m) at Randwick.
El Vencedor wins G3 Balmerino Stakes
El Vencedor is making a habit of picking up major victories at Ellerslie, adding the Gr.3 Balmerino Stakes (2000m) to his burgeoning record at Tuesday’s Melbourne Cup Day meeting.
Sires With Winners - Tuesday November 5
Here is the full list of 145 stallions which had winners throughout Australasia today with winners and result details.
2024 Melbourne Cup Result - It's Knights Choice
The 2024 Melbourne Cup has been run and won with Knight’s Choice, a five-year-old gelding by Extreme Choice victorious.
Coolmore Announce Euro 2025 Fees
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.