Tag: Moonee Valley

Ozzie Kheir Buys Breeders’ Cup Winner And Cox Plate Contender Victoria Road

Last year's GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf hero Victoria Road (Ire) (Saxon Warrior {Jpn}) will contest the A$5-million G1 Cox Plate in the colours of Ozzie Kheir next month, Racing.com reported on Friday.

Bred by Trevor Stewart and trained by Aidan O'Brien for Westerberg, Mrs. John Magnier, Michael Tabor and Derrick Smith, the colt is currently traveling to Australia where he will spend his two-week quarantine in Melbourne. O'Brien will continue training the son of G3 Abernant S. and G3 Charge Sprint S. victress Tickled Pink (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) through his intended starts in the 2040-metre Cox Plate and the 2000-metre G1 Champion S. in the coming weeks. He will then change yards to Ciaron Maher and David Eustace.

“We are extremely excited to have secured this very talented Northern Hemisphere 3-year-old with Japanese bloodlines,” Kheir told the publication.

“Having already won a Grade I at the age of two and being lightly raced, it gave us confidence as a group to proceed with a deal to acquire Victoria Road from Coolmore.

“The Coolmore family have always been a pleasure to deal with, our last significant acquisition being Sir Dragonet (Ire) in 2020. We have now traded together on some high-profile horses and there is a mutual respect for each other where we strike a fair price and terms to suit both. Recently Yes Yes Yes (Aus) and Coolangatta (Aus) have been sold to Coolmore.”

The 115,000gns Tattersalls October Book 1 graduate also won the G3 Prix de Conde and the Listed Criterium du Fonds Europeen de l'Elevage at two. At three, he was third in the G2 Dullingham Park S. in two starts. From 10 starts, Victoria Road has won four times with earnings north of $680,000. His second dam is the hugely influential blue hen Cassandra Go (Ire) (Indian Ridge {Ire}).

Added Kheir, “Mathew Becker was instrumental in landing the deal on Victoria Road as I, personally, didn't think we could buy him.

“So, when the opportunity come about on the terms and price, I believed it was really good buying for this loyal and fantastic group of owners we race with.

“We have a runner ready to go in the business end of the spring, provided he travels well, but more importantly, a colt for the future to race in Australia and continue to add to his value with most of, or potentially all, his downside covered by his previous Grade I win as a stallion prospect.

“He will be trained by Ciaron and Dave after his couple of runs in Australia with Aidan O'Brien. It gave us great confidence that Aidan was wanting to continue to travel Victoria Road for our group to compete in the Cox Plate. Victoria Road is currently in the air on route to Werribee [International Horse Centre].

“Our short-term plan post-spring is to target the All-Star Mile and Australia Cup before attacking the Sydney Autumn.”

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Alenquer Secures All-Star Mile Spot

Group 1 winner and star import Alenquer (Fr) (Adlerflug {Ger}) is set to have his first Australian start and first of 2023 in the All-Star Mile at Moonee Valley on Mar. 18 after being handed a wildcard entry for the race on Friday, Racing.com reported. The 5-year-old horse joined trainer Mike Moroney's stable in December, with the All-Star Mile always a target race for his Australian debut.

Alenquer, who was previously trained by William Haggas, hasn't started since a ninth-place finish in the G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe at ParisLongchamp on Oct. 2.

“It wasn't a hard decision for the wildcard panel to land on Alenquer as our first wildcard and he joins a fantastic group of 10 horses, headed by Alligator Blood (Aus) (All Too Hard {Aus}), that were voted into the All-Star Mile by the public this week,” RV Executive General Manager, Racing, Matt Welsh told Racing.com. “With 11 runners now in the field, our focus will be on key races at Flemington and Randwick tomorrow before we issue the remaining four wildcards by early next week.”

In 2021 as a 3-year-old, Alenquer won the G2 King Edward VII S. at Royal Ascot. He ran third in the 2400-metre G1 Grand Prix de Paris and second in the G1 Juddmonte International S. later in the year. Last term, the son of Adlerflug won the G3 Winter Derby at Lingfield on the all-weather in February and the G1 Tattersalls Gold Cup at The Curragh in May.

“He's a Group 1 winner in Ireland and has contested the past two Arc de Triomphes. He's got plenty of class,” Moroney said. “He's settled in really well at Flemington since arriving from overseas and we've been pleased with how he's come to hand in his first prep for the stable. We're excited to unveil him at The Valley in a fortnight. Fresh up over a mile we think he's going to be a serious player in The All-Star Mile.”

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International Double For Almanzor

Almanzor (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}–Darkova, by Maria's Mon), who serves mares at Haras d'Etreham in France and at Cambridge Stud in New Zealand during the Southern Hemisphere breeding season, achieved a remarkable multi-national double Aug. 20, with winners minutes apart in Japan and in Australia.

Over a rain-affected course at Niigata, the well-related first-starter Via Luce (Ire) defied an awkward draw in gate 15 of 17 to validate $1.90 (9-10) favouritism and become the first Japanese winner for her sire. Beaten for pace despite being asked by jockey Yasunari Iwata, the bay filly traveled several paths off the inside while under a ride on the turn and followed the move of Santa Ana Tesoro (Jpn) (Speightstown) into the straight. Via Luce drew alongside that one inside the final 200 metres and came away late to score by 1 1/2 lengths (see below, SC 15).

The March foal, bred by Katsumi Yoshida, is the first foal for her stakes-winning and three-times group-placed dam Via Firenze (Ire) (Dansili {GB}), a daughter of G3 Shadwell Prix Lieurey winner Via Medici (Ire) (Medican {GB}), who counts 2018 champion Japanese 2-year-old male and dual Group 1 winner Admire Mars (Jpn) (Daiwa Major {Jpn}) as her most notable produce. A foal half-brother by 2017 G1 Tokyo Yushun hero Rey de Oro (Jpn) (King Kamehameha {Jpn}) to Via Luce fetched ¥170 million (£1,049,810/€1,236,766/$1,241,572) at last month's JRHA Select Sales on Hokkaido.

 

 

About five minutes earlier at Moonee Valley Racecourse in Melbourne, the 3-year-old colt Virtuous Circle (NZ) was winning for the second time in three appearances, taking out a 1500-metre handicap as a $26 (25-1) roughie. Settled towards the rear of the field down the side of the course, the son of She Is Stryking (Aus) (Stryker {Aus}) was ridden for luck into the short straight and kept grinding it out to the line for a narrow success (video). Virtuous Circle was last seen defying long odds to graduate at second asking at Mornington Mar. 26.

“He went to the paddock straight after that and he just came back in, and he knows what it's all about,” trainer Liam Howley told Racing.com. “I'd like to think he's a [G1 Caulfield] Guineas horse, but otherwise I thought 2000 metres might be in his hitting zone. Maybe 2400 metres, so maybe he's a Derby horse.

“Mentally he is [ready], but we will space his runs and run next in the [1600-metre G2] Stutt [S.] back here in four weeks. That gives us time to look after him. That gives us two weeks to the Guineas and gives us a read at that point whether he's a Guineas horse or we go to the [2040-metre G2] Vase. Hopefully we are still knocking around in late October.”

Purchased for A$360,000 out of the Inglis Classic Yearling Sale, Virtuous Circle is out of a listed-placed dam who has also bred Danger Strykes (NZ) (Astern {Aus}), winner in New Zealand of the Castletown S. Virtuous Circle is one of eight Australasian winners for Almanzor.

 

 

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