Arrowfield’s Japanese-sired stars go head-to-head in Australian Guineas
Profondo diverted to Melbourne to take on Maurice’s Hitotsu as Messara reveals return of Real Impact to stud roster
Arrowfield Stud’s renowned faith in Japanese stallions is well poised to bear more spectacular fruit at Flemington today, with star three-year-olds Profondo (Deep Impact) and Hitotsu (Maurice) heading the market for the $1 million Australian Guineas (Gr 1, 1600m).
While John Messara had previously entertained thoughts of sweeping the country’s peculiar dual Guineas day, the fact Sydney’s rain forced Profondo’s switch from the Randwick Guineas (Gr 1, 1600m) to meet Hitotsu in Melbourne has left the stud’s supremo with a different dream for the Arrowfield-bred colts.
“I think I’d rather win two Guineas, but we’ll put up with a quinella in one of them if we’re forced to,” Messara said with a smile.
“I’m thrilled with how things are shaping up. It wasn’t meant to happen of course – I had visions of breeding both Guineas winners, and now there can only be one. They may fight it out, but of course there are plenty of other talented horses in the field, but Profondo and Hitotsu do appear on past form to have the edge.”
With both colts resuming from spells in the 1600-metre Group 1, most markets on Friday had the Richard Litt-trained Profondo marginally ahead for his first anti-clockwise contest, at around $4.80 to Hitotsu’s $5.00.
A son of the late, great Deep Impact (Sunday Silence) out of the Group 3-winning Redoute’s Choice (Danehill) mare Honesty Prevails who was bred to southern hemisphere time, Profondo topped the 2020 Magic Millions Yearling Sale when sold for $1.9 million by Arrowfield to Ottavia Galletta. The retired construction baron had also tasted success with Litt via dual Group 1 winner Castelvecchio, by Arrowfield’s Dundeel (High Chaparral), who was raced in a syndicate that also included the stud and its Japanese associate, breeding and racing giant Katsumi Yoshida.
Given time to develop, Profondo won a Kensington maiden on debut last September and ran a narrow second in the Gloaming Stakes (Gr 3, 1800m) before his stunning two-length victory in Randwick’s Spring Champion Stakes (Gr 1, 2000m) in October. The powerfully-built colt tuned up for today with an 1175-metre barrier trial win at Warwick Farm on February 28.
By contrast Hitotsu, from the first southern hemisphere-bred crop of six-time elite-level-winning shuttler Maurice (Screen Hero) and bred by Arrowfield along with partners including former radio host Alan Jones’ Belford Productions, was a $100,000 purchase at the same Gold Coast sale, by Cranbourne trainer Wendy Kelly.
Out of another Redoute’s Choice mare in the unraced Love Is Fickle, Hitotsu had three unplaced runs for Kelly, all at Group level, before a transfer to Ciaron Maher and David Eustace. Then came a spring blossoming, one which famously comprised a Donald maiden win, a fifth in the Caulfield Guineas (Gr 1, 1600m), and his explosive VRC Derby (Gr 1, 2500m) success. He had one barrier trial before this preparation, when fifth of seven over 990 metres at Casterton almost a month ago on February 7, a contest won by one of today’s chief rivals in Forgot You (Savabeel).
Aside from Hitotsu, Maurice has two other Australian Guineas starters in Bjorn Baker’s Maurice’s Medad ($35) and the Julius Sandhu-trained Sharp Response ($51).
Profondo and Hitotso aren’t quite in the “match race” category. Many pundits are leaning towards the race fitness of Capitivant (Capitalist) and Pinstriped (Street Boss), who are both around the $6.50 mark, or $7 chance Forgot You. There is also support for Lightsaber (Zoustar) and Ranch Hand (Fastnet Rock), towards the $20 mark.
But, regardless of their first-up showings today, the favourites have the form on the board to make them two of the country’s most exciting gallopers, which Messara regards as a fitting reflection of the Japanese breed.
Japanese stallions were well represented again at last Saturday’s Saudi Cup programme through victories in the three turf races. Songline (Kizuna) sat behind the leaders before winning the Turf Sprint (Gr 3, 1400m), Authority (Orfevre) led throughout in the Neom Turf Cup (Gr 3, 2100m), while Stay Foolish (Stay Gold) also set the pace to claim the Red Sea Turf Handicap (Gr 3, 3000m).
Faith in the breed here, and particularly Maurice, was shown in the fact that while the 11-year-old was unable to shuttle from Arrowfield’s associates, the Shadai Stallion Station, for the 2020 season due to the pandemic, he returned last year to cover the largest of his four Hunter Valley books to date, at 156 mares.
“We could’ve covered 250 mares if we’d wanted to, but we had an agreement with the owners of the horse, the Yoshida family, for 150,” Messara said. “We rang them with a week or two to go and said ‘can we take another five or six please?’”
Messara, who has shuttled other sires from Japan, including Admire Mars (Daiwa Major), a Grade 1-winning, unbeaten two-year-old that covered 103 mares in his first season last spring at a $22,000 fee, and three other sons of Deep Impact in Real Steel, Real Impact and Mikki Isle, believes his breeding operation is successfully refining which of the country’s leading stallions will make their mark in Australia.
“We are thrilled with how the Japanese stallions are going,” he said. “We’ve been at it for more than 20 years with our Japanese partners, and we’ve experimented with a number of horses. They don’t all work, obviously, just like not all European horses work here and few of the American horses do. But we think we’ve zeroed-in now on the sort of Japanese horses that seem to work down here.
“They’re tough horses. Generally, if you get one that’s produced several significant wins, it’s probably an outstanding animal, and would be competitive and perhaps even superior in most parts of the world. That’s been supported by Japanese horses winning important races in various parts of the world, including here.
“With their type of racing, their training regimen, only the toughest survive, and I think the brilliant tough ones are the ones you want to be breeding by: big hearts, good lungs, big motors.
“Plus the Japanese horses here in Australia often represent a complete outcross, which is very handy when you’ve got a band dominated so much by Danehill and Danzig.”
Maurice currently sits second on the Australian second season sires’ list, with 26 winners from 54 runners, compared with leader Capitalist’s (Written Tycoon) 43 from 132.
“Maurice was a racehorse with a tremendous cardio-vascular system,” Messara said of the son of Screen Hero (Grass Wonder), who stood last year for $44,000 (Inc GST).
“You assume he had to have it by the way he raced, but he did have it. At the time, with their heart monitors and everything else, they could tell just what a good motor he had. If he passes that on to his progeny, we’re going to get some outstanding animals.
“Hitotsu might be one of those. What he did in the Derby was amazing. That last sectional running about the same time as they did in the open sprints that day, that’s pretty hard to believe, for a three-year-old at the end of 2500 metres.”
Maurice, whose strongest Japanese performer has been Sprinters Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m) winner Pixie Knight, also has a strong chance for Sydney honours today with his other Australian black type winner Mazu holding favouritism for the Fireball Stakes (Listed, 1100m).
With the meeting set to proceed on a Heavy 10 track amid yet more forecast showers, the Profondo-less Randwick Guineas is considered a one-horse affair by bookmakers, with Godolphin star Anamoe (Street Boss) at around $1.70 last night. Converge (Frankel) and Hilal (Fastnet Rock) were the only others in the 11-horse field under double figures at around $6.
In Randwick’s other Group 1, the Canterbury Stakes (1300m), Forbidden Love (All Too hard) is expected to start a short-priced favourite ahead of Lighthouse (Mizzen Mast) and Private Eye (Al Maher).
Nature Strip (Nicconi) holds favouritism for his return bout with Eduardo (Host) in the five-horse Challenge Stakes (Gr 2, 1000m). Sejardan (Sebring) is installed as the $2.80 favourite to boost his Golden Slipper (Gr 1, 1200m) prospects in the Todman Stakes (Gr 2, 1200m), while Russian Conquest (Russian Revolution) was odds-on in the six-horse fillies’ equivalent, the Reisling Stakes (Gr 2, 1200m).
Another who is avoiding the Sydney rain, Zaaki (Leroidesanimaux), was last night favourite at close to even money for Flemington’s other highlight, the Blamey Stakes (Gr 2, 1600m), despite strong support for Danny O’Brien’s former Western Australian mare Inspirational Girl (Reliable Man).
Real Impact to return to Arrowfield roster
Messara also confirmed to ANZ Bloodstock News that Arrowfield planned to bring back Real Impact (Deep Impact) from Shadai this year. The sire of Count De Rupee and WA Group 3 winner Lunar Impact stood three seasons at Arrowfield until 2018 but the stallion was rested for the 2019 shuttle season with his subsequent return prevented by pandemic-related issues.
“We’re planning to get him back,” Messara said. “He’s gone under the radar a bit, but he’s a very consistent horse, without huge opportunities. He stood at a lower price, he didn’t get the very best mares, but he’s done brilliantly out of it, and I’m keen to get him back.”
Real Impact covered 136 mares at a private fee in his first season shuttling to the Hunter Valley, and topped 100 again in 2017 when standing for $19,250 (Inc GST), before his numbers dropped to 70 a year later.
The stallion, who won the 2015 George Ryder Stakes (Gr 1, 1500m) at Rosehill in addition to earning Grade 1 success in his native Japan, is represented by four stakes performers in Australia, including Rosehill Guineas (Gr 1, 2000m) runner-up Sky Lab, a first-up winner of the James Ruse Handicap (1400m) last month. These add to his solitary stakes winner in Japan – NHK Mile Cup (Gr 1, 1600m) winner Lauda Sion.