High-flying Yulong poised to unleash more autumn firepower

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Yulong dominated the most prestigious meeting of the year so far on Saturday with three stakes wins, but Zhang Yuesheng’s empire is about to grow far stronger with the arrival of a fresh battalion of reinforcements set to tackle the autumn.

The green and white army were particularly satisfied with their Caulfield haul, coming as it did from three different fields of endeavour.

Their Blue Diamond Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m) triumph arrived via the Kingstar Farm-bred, Team Hawkes-trained colt for whom they paid $1.4 million at Magic Millions Gold Coast, in Devil Night (Extreme Choice).

The Angus Armanasco Stakes (Gr 2, 1400m) was taken out by their Matt Laurie-trained homebred Treasurethe Moment (Alabama Express), who set the scene for a stellar autumn by winning a fifth straight race, first-up from her VRC Oaks (Gr 1, 2500m) triumph.

And the Anthony and Sam Freedman-trained Deny Knowledge (Pride Of Dubai), who Yulong bought at last year’s Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale and saw win a Group 1 in the spring, took out the Victoria Gold Cup (Listed, 2000m), also first-up.

For good measure, the Yulong horse who didn’t win the Blue Diamond – third placegetter Tycoon Star (Written Tycoon) – so impressed with his run that bookmakers tightened him to the fourth line of betting for the Golden Slipper (Gr 1, 1200m) at $15, ahead of Devil Night at $26.

Tycoon Star hails from yet another facet of Yulong’s operations. The farm bred him – by its all conquering, evergreen flagbearer Written Tycoon (Iglesia) – and sold him to Lindsay Park at the Gold Coast for $400,000, staying in his ownership with a 25 per cent stake that means he carries their now ubiquitous silks.

“It was a great day, bringing results from a cross-section of the various aspects we’ve have been operating in,” Yulong general manager Vin Cox told ANZ Bloodstock News.

“Three winners, with three different trainers, drawn from three different sources. Plus another horse in Tycoon Star with a fourth set of trainers, who we sold and kept a leg of.

“So the day was a win for everybody – a win for the breeders, trainers, jockeys, and supporters of Yulong. It was fantastic.

“It’s great for the boss [Zhang]. He’s put a lot of money in and he and his family are enjoying it immensely. Anyone who puts any sort of money in the game deserves some sort of success.”

Yulong memorably smashed the spring with seven Group 1 winners. While it would be brave to predict a repeat in the autumn, Zhang’s ever-expanding group is well poised to go close.

Angel Capital (Harry Angel), the Clinton McDonald-trained colt bought by Yulong last week for an undisclosed figure after his fourth win in seven starts, is favourite for Saturday’s Australian Guineas (Gr 1, 1600m) at Flemington.

On the same afternoon at Randwick, Via Sistina (Fastnet Rock) – winner of four of those spring Group 1s for Chris Waller – will go second-up into another, in the Verry Elleegant Stakes (Gr 1, 1600m).

The record-smashing Cox Plate (Gr 1, 2040m) heroine could feature in three more elite events in the autumn, with nominations in for the Doncaster Mile (Gr 1, 1600m), Flemington’s All-Star Mile (Gr 1, 1600m), plus either the Queen Elizabeth Stakes (Gr 1, 2000m) or Queen Of The Turf Stakes (Gr 1, 1600m), which are on the same day at Randwick.

The Gary Portelli-trained Group 1 winner Kimochi (Brave Smash), plus Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott’s unbeaten Clean Energy (Zoustar) and her stablemate Straight Charge (Written By) are about to start their campaigns.

Plus, with three-year-old colt Growing Empire (Zoustar), with yet another trainer in Ciaron Maher, also in the mix – he’s nominated, like Kimochi (Brave Smash), for the TJ Smith Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m) – Yulong’s strength shows no signs of abating.

And that’s just the horses who are already here.

In the next couple of weeks a planeload of six more high-priced imports will arrive to bolster Yulong’s stocks, headed by three Grade 1-winning mares bought for high prices at November’s Kentucky bloodstock sales.

The trio is headed by Moira (Ghostzapper), a six-year-old by southern time. Canada’s 2022 Horse of the Year was bought at the Fasig Tipton November sale for US$4.3 million (A$6.9 million) only days after winning the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf (Gr 1, 11f) at Del Mar.

There’s also five-year-old Anisette (Awtaad), the British-bred mare who won three Californian Grade 1s and was bought for US$1.8 million (A$2.9 million)at Keeneland’s November Breeding Stock Sale.

And there’s six-year-old Full Count Felicia (War Front), a Woodbine Grade 1 winner last September over 2000 metres, bought at Fasig Tipton for US$1 million (A$1.6 million).

The three have been in training at Newmarket with James Ferguson since late last year, following a path set by Via Sistina and Place Du Carrousel (Lope De Vega) before they arrived in Australia with a bang last autumn, filling the first two placings in Rosehill’s Ranvet Stakes (Gr 1, 2000m).

Cox said Moira, at least, would likely also attempt the Ranvet as a first-up mission.

Like Via Sistina, Moira, Anisette and Full Count Felicia are nominated for the Doncaster, the Queen Elizabeth and the Queen Of The Turf.

So too is the Irish-bred River Of Stars (Sea The Stars), a triple stakes winner in England who’s also about to join Waller’s stable after being bought by Yulong for 1.65 million guineas ($3.4m) at the Tattersalls December Mare Sale. Having run second at her last start in Longchamp’s Prix de Royallieu (Gr 1, 2800m), the six-year-old is also nominated for the Sydney Cup (Gr 1, 3200m).

Zarir (Frankel), a Group 1-placed five-year-old gelding bought at Arqana last year for €1,300,000 ($2.14m), will also land with Yulong’s coming consignment, but will likely not race until the spring, Cox said.

But four-year-old Sakti (Caravaggio), bought at Newmarket in December for 525,000 guineas ($1.1 million), will be placed with the Mick Price and Michael Kent Jnr stable and could be seen in the autumn, having been nominated for the Queen of The Turf.

“We’re looking forward to seeing the imports come in,” Cox said. “It’s exciting times.”

As for those already on the ground, Cox said a decision on pressing ahead to the Golden Slipper with Devil Night and Tycoon Star would be made with their trainers in the coming days.

“All going well the Slipper is the obvious target, but you’ve got to make sure they’ve come through the Blue Diamond alright,” Cox said. “The welfare of the horse comes first, and then the race program is secondary.”

Cox said it was extremely heartening to see the confidence Yulong showed in buying Devil Night for $1.4 million pay off.

He was by far the most expensive horse of the 15 in the Blue Diamond – more than triple the second highest in sixth-placed favourite Field Of Play (Deep Field), who was bought at Karaka for NZ$500,000. 

“The press like to write about these expensive horses and how unsuccessful they tend to be, but Devil Night is one who turned up and won a Blue Diamond at his second start,” Cox said.

“It was the first time a horse has done that since his own great-grandfather Redoute’s Choice, so that was extremely gratifying.

“It doesn’t happen like that generally, with expensive yearlings, but in yesterday’s [Saturday] case it did. The Hawkes team did a magnificent job to get that colt there, after only one start.”

While Devil Night is still well below $3.50 favourite Wodeton (Wootton Bassett) in Slipper markets, Cox believes that for the colt to win over 1200 metres at only his second start augurs well for his chances, given physical development and race experience, over the same trip in the Slipper.

“Nothing improves a horse like ownership,” Cox joked, “but he’s got to be in a Golden Slipper up to his neck.”

The same goes for Tycoon Star, who won Flemington’s Maribyrnong Plate (Gr 3, 1000m) on debut, and flew home from the rear for his Blue Diamond third at his fourth start, beaten 1.35 lengths.

“He hit the line super well and had ‘back me next start’ written all over him,” Cox said.

“He looks like a very good two-year-old. Written Tycoon keeps finding another good horse and this one looks like a pretty good colt.”

Cox said Treasurethe Moment had come back in “terrific” order as shown in her dominant Armanasco victory. Trainer Laurie said the three-year-old filly would stay amongst her own age and sex for her autumn targets: Flemington’s Kewney Stakes (Gr 2, 1400m), Rosehill’s Vinery Stud Stakes (Gr 1, 2000m), and the ATC Oaks (Gr 1, 2400m) at Randwick.

“The way she’s come back and the way she’s won from spring to autumn is a great credit to Matt and his partner Kate,” Cox said.

“They’ve worked very hard and got that filly going really well. She’s got a big future. She’s only three, she’s a lovely big filly, and as she matures and gets older, it’ll be a very exciting time for her.

“It was nice to have a day like we did on Saturday, and we’ve got a lot to look forward to in the autumn.”