Arrowfield stallions dominates 2YO feature fields
Arrowfield stallions will field a remarkable nine runners in Saturday’s 2YO Listed features at Randwick, the NSW Breeders’ Plate and the Gimcrack Stakes – more than any other stud roster.
It’s also the largest group of Arrowfield-sired acceptors for the season’s first juvenile black type contests in Sydney since at least 2002. Arrowfield stallions have sired 14 Australian Group 1 2YO winners – 8 colts, 6 fillies – in the past decade, but have only twice had more than two runners in either of Sydney’s first 2YO stakes races.
That was in the 2004 Breeders’ Plate, won by Snitzel, with Al Samer third, and the 2010 Gimcrack Stakes, when Starcraft’s daughter Hallowell Belle finished second.
Not A Single Doubt, himself a pre-Christmas 2YO stakeswinner, has the best representation of any stallion in this year’s races: three colts (Arcadian, Lord Beckworth & Sure And Fast) and the filly Undoubted Pleasure, third emergency in the Gimcrack.
Snitzel has two colts, Scratch Me Lucky and Wandjina, the now-retired Flying Spur has the filly Tiare, and first season sires All American and Manhattan Rain are represented by the fillies Datable and Bergdorf.
Arcadian, Wandjina, Bergdorf and Datable are all Arrowfield/Bellerive yearling sale graduates.
Add Maribyrnong Trial S. LR starters at Flemington Here Comes TheBoom (by Redoute’s Choice) and Risen From Doubt (by Not A Single Doubt), and Arrowfield has an interest in almost a quarter of the combined runners in the day’s three 2YO Listed Races.
That’s not so surprising – after all, the Stud’s roster includes Group 1 2YO performers Redoute’s Choice (1st, 1999 VATC Blue Diamond S.), Manhattan Rain (1st, 2009 AJC Sires’ Produce S.) & All American (2nd, 2008 MRC Blue Diamond S. G1); and three Breeders’ Plate winners who subsequently won or placed at Group 1 level: Charge Forward (2003), Snitzel (2004) & Smart Missile (2010).
However, early 2YO results are not always a reliable guide to the season’s best juveniles, or each generation’s best performers. Subsequent dual Group 1 winner Guelph was second in last year’s Gimcrack; Dear Demi was fourth in 2011. Va Pensiero finished last in the 2012 Breeders’ Plate; Dance Hero and Onemorenomore both found a couple of horses too quick for them in their respective runnings of the race.
Of the 14 Arrowfield-sired 2YO Group 1 winners since 2004, only six have started their racing careers before December: Dance Hero and Mentality (both 3rd in their respective Breeders’ Plates), Nadeem (4th, VRC Maribyrnong Trial S. LR), Reaan (won at Bendigo), Sizzling (won at Eagle Farm) and Star Witness (won at Moonee Valley).
Miracles of Life won at Morphettville on 22 December, Miss Finland made her first raceday appearance on 6 January, Forensics and Stratum made their debuts in February, and Samantha Miss did not start until 12 March.
Nevertheless, for the 60 minutes between 11.50 am and 12.50 pm on Saturday there will be plenty of Arrowfield eyes on the opening races of two splendid cards at Randwick and Flemington.
