Vintage result for Vinery with Exceedance colt Dublin Down
Vinery Stud was celebrating yesterday the Maribyrnong Plate (Gr 3, 1000m) performance of Dublin Down, an important milestone win for the two-year-old colt’s young sire Exceedance (Exceed And Excel).
The fact the victory of Dublin Down – the first winner and maiden stakes winner for Vinery’s first crop stallion – occurred at Flemington up the straight was also not lost on those associated with Exceedance whose biggest racecourse achievement came when he won the Coolmore Stud Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m) at this carnival in 2019.
Trained by Tony and Calvin McEvoy, the Edinburgh Park Stud-bred Dublin Down came into the $200,000 Group 3 race as the most experienced of the eight runners, finishing fourth in the Maribyrnong Trial Stakes (Listed, 1000m), before finishing runner-up to Admitted (Brazen Beau) at Bendigo a fortnight later.
Yesterday, however, Dublin Down ($11) showed professionalism beyond his years, rallying late under jockey Zac Purton to defeat his talented stablemate and race favourite Blue Stratum (Blue Point) ($3.90) to score by a head.
A long-head away in third was Odinson (Night Of Thunder ($4.80) for trainers Ciaron Maher and David Eustace.
Vinery Stud bloodstock manager Adam White, who is in America for the breeding stock sales, was inundated with congratulatory text messages immediately after the Maribyrnong Plate while his colleagues at home in the Hunter Valley were also delighted to see Exceedance get on the board so early in the new two-year-old season.
White praised the training performance of the McEvoys.
“He was a lovely individual at the sales and he’s been well educated and well primed for this Group race,” White told ANZ Bloodstock News.
“His first two runs were very encouraging, especially that first run at Flemington. I think he really let down quite well, but he was in the middle of the track, he possibly got a little bit lost. Having those two runs under his belt made the difference today, for sure.”
Calvin McEvoy was happy with both of the stable’s colts and labelled Dublin Down, the first to race out of Listed winner Dublin Lass (O’Reilly), as a horse who may be capable of stretching out in distance as he matures.
“It is a job to get these two-year-olds up and going and to handle it on an occasion like today and both of our colts handled it beautifully,” McEvoy said. “These are horses that are going to get better and the winner, he’s going to be a lovely horse. A Guineas-style of horse next year.”
McEvoy also rated the performance of runner-up Blue Stratum, an impressive barrier trial winner in the lead-up to his first start. Blue Stratum was bought by his trainers, Gabbedy and First Light Racing from the Yulong Stud draft for $130,000 at the Inglis Premier Yearling Sale earlier this year.
“Blue Stratum was fantastic. I saw that he hit the front and experience just got him beat,” McEvoy continued.
“He’s a nice horse as well. They’re different styles of horses and two we’re very happy to have in training.”
Exceedance is the sixth first season stallion so far to register a winner and the third to have a stakes winner and joins Newgate Farm’s Tassort (Brazen Beau) and Yulong’s Pierata (Pierro) in achieving black–type.
Dublin Down was a $370,000 Magic Millions graduate selected by the McEvoys and their agent Damon Gabbedy of Belmont Bloodstock.
“We get them [stallions] to this point and then it’s up to them to do the job, so for him to get his first winner/first Group winner down the Flemington straight is very fitting I think given that the horse himself won the Coolmore down the straight during the spring carnival. It’s a perfect start for him,” White said.
“Dublin Down was a lovely colt and he was actually right behind us where our draft was at the Gold Coast and he was a colt that we have followed all the way through really.
“I remember when he was born, Ian Smith, who bred him, called me and said that he was such a lovely colt.
“We might have even done a little bit of promo work on the horse at a young age because of that. He was certainly a quality horse and Damon, Tony and Calvin obviously identified that and bought him well now.
“You never know with these first-year horses. Exceedance was every chance to make it at stud and he’s out of a good mare, so well done to them.”
Exceedance, who defeated another son of Exceed And Excel (Danehill) in Bivouac in his scintillating Coolmore Stud Stakes win, stands this season for a fee of $33,000 (inc GST).
White is optimistic that Dublin Down won’t be the only two-year-old by Exceedance to show his wares in high-class races.
“There’s quite a few around coming through the system now. We’ve just got to remember that he didn’t debut until May of his two-year-old year, but there’s a few out of the right mares they can run early and that was demonstrated today,” he said.
“We’ve spoken to quite a few trainers around the place just to keep tracks on them. Team Hawkes, who trained Exceedance, have got a nice number of them and Michael, in particular, has been very forward in saying that he loves them.
“I know Gai [Waterhouse] and Adrian [Bott] have got a nice filly that they bought off us at Sydney Easter that they really like as well, so hopefully in the not too distant future we’ll see a few more step out.”
Dublin Down’s breeder Smith dispersed much of his Edinburgh Park bloodstock portfolio at Magic Millions in May, with Dublin Lass purchased by Kingstar Farm’s Matthew Sandblom for $85,000.
Dublin Lass had a colt by Aquis Farm’s Glenfiddich (Fastnet Rock) in September while the now yearling sister to Dublin Down was bought by Kitchwin Hills for $100,000 at the Gold Coast in as a weanling in May.
The filly is set to be reoffered at the Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale next April.