Tattersalls record-breaker Sir Delius proves money well spent with Chairman’s win
The Melbourne Cup (Gr 1, 3200m) now looks on the agenda for Sir Delius (Frankel) after he lived up to his record-breaking purchase price when making a perfect start to his career in Australia with a victory in the JRA Chairman’s Handicap (Gr 3, 2000m) at Doomben on Saturday, writes Lydia Symonds.
Raced in Europe as Delius, the four-year-old was trained for the Coolmore partners by Jean-Claude Rouget, who saddled the son of Frankel (Galileo) to three victories culminating in the Prix du Lys (Gr 3, 2400m). He was then third to Sosie (Sea The Stars) in the Grand Prix de Paris (Gr 1, 2400m) and second to the same rival in the Prix Niel (Gr 2, 2400m). He was having his first competitive outing on Saturday since his mid-division finish in last October’s Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe (Gr 1, 2400m) won by Bluestocking (Camelot).
He then topped the Tattersalls Autumn Horses In Training Sale he sold to his trainers Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott, Sir Owen Glenn’s Go Bloodstock, in whose colours he runs in, Hubie De Burgh of De Burgh Equine and Johnny McKeever’s McKeever Bloodstock for 1,300,000gns.
Sir Delius, who is still entire, warmed up for his Australian debut by winning two of his three trials and on Saturday he easily accounted for his 11 rivals with a 1.3-length win over Floating (Puissance De Lune). The Chris Waller-trained Manzoice (Almanzor), winner of the VRC Derby (Gr 1, 2500m) in 2022, finished third.
While the Flemington showpiece on the first Tuesday of November is Sir Delius’s long-term target, Bott said they could continue raiding Queensland’s coffers with $1.2 million The Q22 (Gr 2, 2200m) now a possible target for the four-year-old.
“He’s a quality individual, his form showed that previously and you saw that in the yard today, so it’s good to see him put it all there together today,” said Bott.
“He’s only going to keep improving off the back of that experience and 2000m is still well short of his best.
“You saw how strong he was through the line but I thought he showed a nice turn of foot there, some good acceleration and there’s only up from here.
“He was always purchased as a Melbourne Cup prospect. He’s got that quality about him. So everything that we do in this preparation now is going to be geared towards that. We may look at a race like the Q22 and see how that fits in with the spring.
“I’ve got to thank Sir Owen Glenn. He was looking for a Melbourne Cup prospect and we were able to partner with him as a major shareholder on the horse out of the Tattersalls Sale.
“We had some owners in the stable looking for similar prospects. Sir Owen put together a nice partnership for some very loyal owners.”
Sir Delius was bred by David and Trish Brown of Furnace Mill Stud who sold the colt to Magnier for 675,000gns at the December Foal Sale in 2021. His dam, Whatami (Daylami), has bred five winners and three stakes scorers. His siblings include his Wolferton Stakes (Listed, 1m 2f)-winning brother Juan Elcano and the Group 3-winning Nkosikazi (Cape Cross).
Whatami is a sister to Group 2 winner James Garfield’s (Exceed And Excel) dam Whazzat (Daylami), who in turn is the second dam of Royal Lodge Stakes (Gr 2, 1m) scorer Wimbledon Hawkeye (Kameko), who finished third in Thursday’s Dante Stakes (Gr 3, 1m 2f) at York.
One of 156 stakes winners globally for Juddmonte’s stallion Frankel, Sir Delius becomes the stallions 19th in the southern hemisphere and the cohort is headed by three Group 1 winners: Hungry Heart and Converge, who were both bred in Australia, while his other, Mirage Dancer, winner of the Metropolitan (Gr 1, 2400m), was produced in Britain and now stands at Capital Stud in Ireland for a fee of €3,500 (approx. AU$6,000).