“This horse is just a spitting image of Snitzel” said Mr Snitzel himself, Gerald Ryan, with the Best Of Bordeau now standing at Coolmore Australia in the Hunter Valley.
In commenting to his trainer Kacey Fogden when seeing Best Of Bordeaux, the four times champion sire Snitzel trainer Gerald Ryan added “he’s a gorgeous horse …it’s a very Australian pedigree.”
“When you just mix that with Snitzel, one of the best two or three stallions in the country, it certainly makes him an exciting prospect with Gerald’s older staff saying he the nearest to Snitzel.”
In being the equal Champion 2YO Colt in 2021-22, he took out the Silver Slipper Stakes of 1100m and Canonbury Stakes of 1100m and was second to Fireburn in the $5m Golden Slipper Stakes.
At three-years he won the Roman Consul Stakes 1200m at Randwick, having previously finished second in the Run to The Rose at Rosehill, and then being third in the Manikato Stakes at Moonee Valley.
Of course, by the four times Australian Champion Sire in Snitzel, who this year had his second Golden Slipper winner in Shinzo and claimed his fourth 2YO Sires’ title with record earnings of $5m.
In also having 18 stakes winners last season, he had 10 yearlings sell for $1m and above this year, with his Ultimate Fever colt being a full-brother to Sprightly Miss and Le Cordon Blue making $1.6m.
A $425,000 buy for Kasey Fogden Racing at the 2021 Gold Coast Magic Millions, Best of Bordeaux is the close family of Casino Prince, being from the winning High Chaparral mare Chateau Cheval.
With Australians welcoming the unbeaten US Triple Crown champion Justify back to the Hunter Valley, he’s now the 2022-23 Australian Champion Leading Sire and his top yearling selling for $1.6m.
With trainer Bob Baffert saying Justify would succeed on turf in Australia, it was the Annabel Neasham trained Learning To Fly who won all three starts, but lost her rider in the Golden Slipper.
In first winning the Widden Stakes of 1100m on debut, she next took out the $2m Inglis Millennium of 1100m and then the Reisling Stakes of 1200m each time when ridden by Chad Schofield.
In addition, the Leon Macdonald-Andrew Gluyas’ Air Assault won the SAJC Sires’ Produce Stakes while Legacies won MRC Anzac Day Stakes and second in the McNeil Stakes for Peter Moody.
His trainer Bob Baffert said “Justify could have run on any surface, as the great ones bring their track with them and super great horses go on anything, as his athleticism was remarkable.”
In mixing success on both dirt and the heavier European turf, Justify had Arabian Lion win the Woody Stephens Stakes and Sir Barton Stakes plus third in the H. Allen Jerkens Memorial Stakes.
Aspen Gove won the Belmont Oaks and Newtownanner Stud Stakes and Verifying the Indiana Derby and second in Champagne Stakes, H. Allen Jerkens Memorial Stakes and Blue Grass Stakes.
Just Cindy won the Schuylerville Stakes and Champions Dream the Nashua Stakes with Justique the Desi Arnaz Stakes and third in the Chandelier Stakes and Las Virgenes Stakes.
In addition, Justa Warrior won the Debutante Stakes at Ellis Park, Wonderful Justice the Black Gold Stakes at Fair Ground and Living Magic taking out the My Dear Stakes at Woodbine.
In Europe it was the filly Ramatuelle who defeated the colts by four lengths in the Prix Robert Papin and the Prix du Bois by five lengths, he was also a close runner-up in the Prix Morny.
City Of Troy was a 6½-length winner of the Superlative Stakes, Statuette the Airlie Stud Stakes, Red Riding Hood the Snow Fairy Fillies Stakes and Opera Singer the Newtownanner Stud Stakes.
With the now highly versatile Starspanglesbanner returning to Coolmore Australia, it was his champion son California Spangle who turned the tables on Golden Sixty in the Hong Kong Mile.
In winning 10 races, six seconds for trainer Tony Cruz he also won the Sha Tin Trophy, Chairman’s Trophy, Celebration Cup, and second in Champions Mile and The Queen’s Silver Jubilee Cup.
Also in Hong Kong, John Size had Beauty Eternal won five races in his first seven starts and then third in the Hong Kong Derby, while at Morphetiville Treasurway won the 2yo Breeders Stakes.
However, its Starspangledbanner’s international sire-son State of Rest who’s also in the Hunter Valley, being the only horse in history to have won three consecutive Gr 1 races on three different continents – the WS Cox Plate, Royal Ascot Prince of Wales’s Stakes, Prix Ganay and the Saratoga Derby.
