Choice Group 2 treble in Melbourne & Sydney
King’s Rose, Rekindled Interest and Master of Design delivered a stunning Group 2 treble and $420,000 prizemoney for champion sire Redoute’s Choice within 45 minutes at Moonee Valley and Rosehill today.
Pictured: Rekindled Interest wins the MVRC Dato Tan Chin Nam S. G2 at Moonee Valley today. (PHOTO: Sportpix)
Rekindled Interest struck first, swooping wide from the back at Moonee Valley to beat Alcopop and favourite Whobegotyou in the $300,000 MVRC Dato Tan Chin Nam S. 1600m G2. It was the 4YO gelding’s third win from ten starts and his second Group win at Moonee Valley, following last year’s AAMI Vase G2 over the Cox Plate distance of 2040 metres. A return to Moonee Valley for this year’s $3 million Tatts Cox Plate is now likely.
From the Irish-bred Rainbow Quest mare Rekindled Affair, Rekindled Interest, like his promising 3YO brother Rekindled Alliance and their 2YO sister, was born and raised at Bellerive Stud for owner-breeder Jonathan Munz.
Rekindled Affair, who died in December 2009, was descended from Stolen Date, a half-sister to the great broodmare Best in Show, third dam of Redoute’s Choice.
Next up was Master Of Design, bred at Arrowfield by the Arrowleave Joint Venture, and sold from the Arrowfield draft for $2.1 million at the 2007 Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale. He is raced by Luke Murrell and partners including James Phelan, Jamie Stumer, Mark Harvey & Michael Virgo.
Master Of Design became the 77th stakeswinner by Redoute’s Choice after taking an early lead in the $200,000 ATC Theo Marks S. 1300m G2 and keeping up a powerful gallop to hold off Torio’s Quest by a half-neck, with a neck back to Fast Clip.
The lightly raced 6YO entire is from the Last Tycoon mare Urge to Merge, a winning sister to the dam of 2010 Australian Horse of the Year Typhoon Tracy, and also the dam of South African Group 1 winner Suntagonal. Urge to Merge is foaling this spring to Charge Forward and will visit Arrowfield’s new sire Beneteau .
Twenty minutes later Dr Gene Tsoi‘s high-class 4YO mare King’s Rose (ex Nureyev’s Girl by Nureyev) firmed up her own Cox Plate plans with her second Australian Group 2 victory, in the $200,000 MVRC W.H. Stocks S. 1600m G2. The 2010/11 New Zealand Filly of the Year settled midfield, and raced three wide with cover before jockey Luke Nolen sent her forward on the turn. Pinker Pinker put up a strong fight for the lead, but King’s Rose found enough to win by a head, with another fine mare Lady Lynette three-quarters of a length back in third place.
King’s Rose has now won eight of her 14 starts and $542,474, including the 2010 CJC NZ 1000 Guineas G1 and last month’s MRC Memsie S. G2. Her next target is the VRC Turnbull S. G1 on 2 October, three weeks before the Cox Plate.
Redoute’s Choice’s 3YO daughters Hurriyet (from Milliyet, and so a sister to champion filly Samantha Miss), and Lipari (from Group 1 winner Tully Thunder) chipped in with their first black type performances, by filling the minor placings in the SAJC Morphettville Guineas LR.
These five horses have all contributed to Redoute’s Choice’s outstanding start to 2011/12, which sees him on top of the Australian General Sires’ list with 33 winners, three Group winners and prizemoney of more than $1.4 million – all in the first 41 days of the season.
