Lady Luck wasn’t riding on the shoulder of James McDonald aboard Cambridge Stud’s high-class mare Joliestar at Randwick, but the farm still had ample reasons to celebrate at the weekend.
The Chris Waller-trained four-year-old was heavily fancied in the A$20 million The Everest (1200m) and ran home strongly for seventh after having no favours in the running.
“It was a shame that she got shuffled further back than anyone would have liked and obviously ran on really well, but the race had got away on her by that point,” Cambridge Stud sales and nominations manager Scott Calder said.
“The positive is that the way she finished showed she’s up to that level and in the future, she’ll have another crack.”
However, the day ended on a major high with homebred rising star Ceolwulf producing a stellar performance to lower the colours of champion mare Pride Of Jenni when winning the Gr.1 King Charles III Stakes (1600m).
It completed a memorable top-flight double for the Joseph Pride-prepared son of the ill-fated Tavistock who had claimed the Gr.1 Epsom Handicap (1600m) at his previous appearance.
Ceolwulf was sold on the nursery’s behalf by Riversley Park at New Zealand Bloodstock’s Ready to Run Sale for $170,000 and is out of the unraced Shamardal mare Las Brisas.
She was one of five purchases made by stud principal Brendan Lindsay with chief executive Henry Plumptre at the 2018 Tattersalls December Mares’ Sale, secured for 50,000gns.
“Brendan and Henry went up to Tatts that year and worked the sale with John Foote, who often buys for us there and at Arqana,” Calder said.
Lawman mare Mitigate was purchased for the same price that year and is the dam of Dundeel’s son Investigate who was runner-up in last season’s Gr.3 Manawatu Classic (2000m).
From the family of international Group One winners Cerulean Sky, Moonstone and Wellington, Las Brisas has also produced an Almanzor filly.
She was knocked down to Queensland bloodstock agent Foote for A$260,000 at the Inglis Premier Yearling Sale earlier this year.
Las Brisas has visited newcomer Chaldean after producing a son of Sword Of State, who has featured on Trackside’s The Guerin Report as they follow the early stages of his life on the farm.
“He’s a really nice colt and been named Mickey G, we couldn’t have picked a better foal as it’s turned out with his half-brother winning two Group Ones since he was born,” Calder said.
Adding to Cambridge Stud’s bumper weekend was Intuitu with the farm sharing in the ownership of the stayer who was successful over 2400m at Eagle Farm for trainers Annabel Neasham and Rob Archibald.
Intuitu is a French-bred son of the nursery’s resident sire Almanzor, whose son Athabascan confirmed he was on target for a tilt at the Gr.1 Melbourne Cup (3200m) with his triumph in the Gr.3 St Leger Stakes (2600m) for John O’Shea and Tom Charlton.
On the home front, the stud’s colours were carried to victory at Ellerslie by the promising Zousain filly First Dance who comfortably broke her maiden at her third start for the stud’s private trainer Lance Noble.