Australian interest will be high in the King’s Stand Stakes with two Aussie-bred representatives in the Group 1 sprint on Tuesday’s opening day of the Royal Ascot carnival.
Coolangatta, a daughter of Written Tycoon, is second favourite to land a third career 1000m Group 1 with Cannonball, whose sire Capitalist is a son of Written Tycoon, also engaged.
They are the only runners engaged with links to Australia with a number of others by stallions familiar to Australia racing fans, while also engaged is a mare who will head to Australia once her racing days are done.
MOONEISTA: The five-year-old daughter of Dandy Man will carry the colours of Hunter Valley farm Kia Ora Stud for the second time after being purchased for 850,000gns at last year’s Tattersalls December Mare Sale.
A winner of the G2 Sapphire Stakes (1006m) at The Curragh as a three-year-old, Mooneista has three wins and seven placings from 22 starts and was fourth – beaten 5-1/4 lengths – by Nature Strip in last year’s King’s Stand Stakes.
Initially trained by Jack Davison, the daughter of the Intikhab mare Moon Unit is now in the care of two-time Melbourne Cup-winning trainer Joseph O’Brien.
MANACCAN: Frankie Dettori’s mount is considered one of the leading chances off a first-up third in the G3 Palace House Stakes (1006m) and has won five of 15 starts, including the G3 Mercury Stakes (1006m) at the final start before his most recent spell.
Manaccan is by Exceed And Excel, the former Australian Champion Sire award winner who was a long-time shuttler to Darley’s English base and has produced Group 1 winners in in Australia, Hong Kong, France, England, Ireland, the United Staes and South Africa.
VADREAM: The horse who this year’s Mercury Stakes, finishing 1-1/2 lengths clear of Manaccan, is also by a Darley shuttler, the result of a union between Brazen Beau and the Shamardal mare Her Honour.
The Chris Waller-trained Brazen Beau, a son of I Am Invincible, is most famous for his wins in Flemington Group 1 events, the Coolmore Stud Stakes and Newmarket Handicap, but also had a near-miss at Royal Ascot, finishing second in the 2015 Diamond Jubilee Stakes (1207m).
Several other runners are by stallions we have seen in Australia, including favourite Highfield Princess, who is a daughter of former Darley shuttler Night Of Thunder, the sire of Group 1 Queensland Derby winner Kukeracha.
Marshman is a son of Darley shuttle stallion Harry Angel, who counts Stakes winner Stretan Angel and promising types Arkansaw Kid and Tom Kitten from his first Australian crop, Equilateral is a son of former Swettenham Stud shuttler Equiano, while Twilight Gleaming is a product of former Widden shuttler National Defense, who died last year.
