Darley seek boost for young stallions in Guineas Prelude
Aft Cabin and Sir Bailey tackle Caulfield feature representing sires Astern and Impending
Darley is optimistic today’s Caulfield meeting can mark a major milestone for two of their younger sires seeking a breakthrough this spring, in races that could prove to be stallion makers in more ways than one.
Dual Group 1-winning sprinter Impending (Lonhro), now in his fifth season at stud, sits fourth-lowest among Darley’s service fees, standing for $22,000 at Northwood Park.
Kelvinside’s Astern (Medaglia D’Oro), who is standing his sixth season, holds the group’s bottom rung, at just $11,000, coming off an opener of $38,500 in 2017, and $16,500 last year.
But the pair’s rankings could be about to change, given a number of exciting prospects starting to blossom this spring, and who are taking their next steps towards the Caulfield Guineas (Gr 1, 1600m) and other targets that could set up both their own, and their sires’, stud careers.
Godolphin’s Astern colt Aft Cabin is hot favourite for his fourth start in the Caulfield Guineas Prelude (Gr 3, 1400m) this afternoon, with gun jockey Jamie Kah aboard from gate six in the compact field of nine colts and two geldings.
His rival by Impending, Sir Bailey – the well-bred first foal of champion staying mare Jameka (Myboycharlie) – was a longer priced proposition at around $23 last night. But the Ciaron Maher and David Eustace–trained colt caught the eye with a first-up fifth combatting the unsuitable factors of 1200 metres and Moonee Valley that suggested expectations of later blooming over longer trips were on the money.
Impending also has Adelaide filly Hope At Hand continuing her Group 1 mission at Caulfield as an each-way chance in the Thousand Guineas Prelude (Gr 2, 1400m), while his Godolphin three-year-old Kin will seek her second straight win in the second race on the card.
Astern’s flag will also be flown when exciting mare Seradess resumes around the top of the market in the 1100-metre handicap that closes the Caulfield card.
The Mark and Levi Kavanagh-trained four-year-old, from Astern’s first crop, has won four stakes races to be one of only two black–type winners for her sire in Australia. Having also stood five seasons for Darley in the US, Astern has 76 winners from 170 runners worldwide, including five stakes winners.
So far his high notes have been the Group 2 success of Seradess in this year’s SAJC Tobin Bronze Stakes (1200m) at Morphettville, and victory at the same level in the Miss Grillo Stakes (1700m) for two-year-old fillies on turf at Belmont in the US of Sail By, who’s now three and on a Breeders’ Cup path.
But catching the most attention, the nine-year-old Astern also has Golden Mile promising major things in his three-year-old spring, the Godolphin colt becoming his sire’s second Australian stakes-winner by taking the Ming Dynasty Quality (Gr 3, 1400m) at Rosehill last Saturday by more than three lengths.
That second win from three starts sent Golden Mile to the head of the market for the Caulfield Guineas on October 8 – just ahead of Aft Cabin.
Golden Mile is also second favourite – behind stablemate In Secret (I Am Invincible) – for next Saturday’s Golden Rose (Gr 1, 1400m) at Rosehill, the race that brought Astern’s sole elite-level win from four attempts in his nine-start career.
Astern had ten winners from 26 runners at 38 per cent in his first Australian season, then 37 from 93 at 40 per cent to rank tenth among second season sires, and now has seven from 29 – four in the past 20 days – at 24 per cent in his third.
The stallion’s owners are now optimistic that after this relatively quiet start to his siring career – which was perhaps not too surprising but a nervous time nonetheless – the likes of Aft Cabin and Golden Mile could be about to propel Astern from the rear towards the pointy end of the Darley ship.
“Astern has really turned the corner in the last few weeks, with his second crop looking like it’s got at least two outstanding horses in Aft Cabin and Golden Mile,” said Darley’s head of stallions Alastair Pulford. “And it’s looking like there might be a couple more behind.”
While the waiting for Astern may have been growing uneasy, Pulford said it could have been expected a degree of patience would be needed.
“You’re always looking for the breakout horse, and he’s nearly got two in one hit. Every stallion needs it and it takes some of them a while,” he said, citing a shining Darley example – the sire of the incredible Winx (Street Cry) – for comparison.
“Even Street Cry was similar. He had no stakes-winners from his first crop in Australia, but in his second crop he had seven, and they included Whobegotyou, Shocking and Predatory Pricer.
“You do have to hang in there a little bit, but plenty of stallions were similar. Not A Single Doubt had a relatively slow start. Redoute’s Choice was always on a high level, but his second crop was was better than his first, and Snitzel was a little bit the same.”
While some stallions, such as Shamus Award (Snitzel) with Incentivise and Duais, have boomed later once their stayers matured, Pulford feels Astern is in a slightly different category.
“With Astern’s produce, you wouldn’t be thinking stamina, but you probably wouldn’t be thinking precocity either,” he said. “It does look like they want time, but now they’re three and four, they’re starting to win their races,” Pulford said, also noting Astern’s four-year-old Godolphin gelding Brigantine (8: 2-2-1) who resumes at Randwick today.
“Astern’s sire Medaglia D’Oro isn’t renowned for early two-year-olds, despite having a Golden Slipper winner [Vancouver]. You do look for those early two-year-olds with new sires, but just because they don’t get them it doesn’t mean they’re not going to be successful stallions.
“They don’t have to do it in their first crop. The commercial market likes it if they do, but they will certainly warm to them if they throw decent horses.”
Impending, also nine but a year behind Astern at stud, ranked seventh among first season sires last term with six winners from 30 runners, and he has six from 24 already this time in, to be equal second by that marker among second season sires. He awaits his first black–type victor, although fillies Hope At Hand and Moko have been Group 3 placed.
“He’s had a good number of three-year-old winners this season and he’s going well,” Pulford said of Impending, who was third in Astern’s Golden Rose and fourth in the Caulfield Guineas before winning his Group 1s in the Stradbroke Handicap (1400m) late that season and the Kingsford-Smith Cup (1350m) at four.
“He wasn’t an early horse himself. He became competitive at this time of his career, as an early three-year-old, but it was as a late three-year-old he got his first Group 1.
“His yearlings were good sorts who sold well, so the pressure was on a bit, and he’s got to live up to that now. But the people who’ve got them like them and won’t hear of them not winning decent races. Let’s hope they’re right, maybe Sir Bailey could be his breakout horse.”
Aft Cabin was last night around $2.30 in an intriguing Guineas Prelude which has drawn an 11-runner field representing 11 different sires and ten stables.
Second-favourite is the Chris Waller-trained colt Osipenko (Pierro) who resumes after his first two runs in June at Rosehill – a three and a half length romp on debut and a length second to subsequent stakes winner Kibou (Maurice).
Darley old-timer – and Pierro’s sire – Lonhro (Octagonal) has a chance for late-stage glory in the Mick Price and Michael Kent Jnr-trained colt Amenable ($14), while Rich Hill’s Japanese sire Satono Aladdin (Deep Impact) has third-favourite Japanese Emperor, a gelding chasing two-from-two for Mike Moroney and Jamie Mott after a two-length Sandown win.
Hot stallion Extreme Choice (Not A Single Doubt) is represented by the Lloyd Kennewell-trained third-starter Meridius ($10). The colt has Mark Zahra aboard after a last-start narrow second at Moonee Valley under Kah, who’s stuck with Aft Cabin.