Group 1 triumph for Peters & Redoute’s Choice
Champion Sire, dominant Sire of sires, Champion Broodmare Sire and all-round legend Redoute's Choice. (PHOTO: Bronwen Healy)
Redoute’s Choice added yet another notable chapter to his legend on Saturday when Bob & Sandra Peters’ home-bred Galaxy Star swept to victory in the $1 million WATC Railway S. 1600m G1 at Ascot in Perth.
The 6YO mare is the great sire’s 34th individual Group 1 winner and she earned that status the hard way, drifting back towards the rear soon after the start to end up in a seemingly impossible position as the field rounded the turn.
However, Perth’s champion jockey William Pike kept his cool and deftly claimed the space that opened around Galaxy Star at the 250-metre mark. The mare did the rest, sprinting swiftly to the lead and powering clear to score by 1.75 lengths from Gatting and Material Man in 1:34.08.
Watch Galaxy Star win the WATC Railway S. G1.
Less than an hour earlier, the same players – the Peters, trainers Grant & Alana Williams, William Pike and Redoute’s Choice – also figured in Arcadia Queen’s WA Guineas G2 victory. The Pierro filly is out of a Redoute’s Choice mare and helps to consolidate his newly acquired position at the head of the Australian Broodmare Sires’ list with $8.8 million prizemoney and 11 stakeswinners including Victoria Derby G1 winner Extra Brut.
— Sky Racing (@SkyRacingAU) November 24, 2018
Galaxy Star is the second of only two foals left by city winner Galaxy Queen (by Jeune) before her premature death in January 2013.
Galaxy Queen’s stakes-winning half-sister Star Encounter has been even more successful at stud, leaving three stakeswinners for Bob & Sandra Peters, including Galaxy Star’s close relatives Perfect Jewel & Royal Star, both by Redoute’s Choice.
Peters Investments has been a consistent supporter of Redoute’s Choice, as breeder & buyer, since the early days of his stud career and has been rewarded with six valuable fillies that have won nine Group & Listed Races. All are home-breds except for Very Tempting, a $420,000 Magic Millions yearling bought by Belmont Bloodstock from Vinery Stud and the only one not out of a mare by either Jeune or Metal Storm, both from the Grey Sovereign sire-line.
Below is Arrowfield’s tally of Bob & Sandra Peters’ contribution to Redoute’s Choice’s extraordinary lifetime record of 161 stakeswinners & 321 stakes victories. Galaxy Star,with ten wins from 13 starts and prizemoney only $19,000 short of $1 million, will have her next chance to extend it in the $1 million Kingston Town Classic G1 on 8 December.
| STAKESWINNER | DAM, DAMSIRE (SIRE-LINE) | STAKES WIN | TRAINER |
|---|---|---|---|
| ANTIQUE BELLE (AUS) 2009 | Antique by Metal Storm (Grey Sovereign) | 2014 WATC Jungle Mist Classic, L. , 1200m | Grant Williams |
| ANTIQUE BELLE (AUS) 2009 | Antique by Metal Storm (Grey Sovereign) | 2012 WATC Burgess Queen S., L. , 1400m. | Grant Williams |
| BROADWAY BELLE (AUS) 2005 | Antique by Metal Storm (Grey Sovereign) | 2009 WATC Jungle Dawn Classic, L. , 1400m. | Graeme Ballantyne |
| GALAXY STAR (AUS) 2012 | Galaxy Queen by Jeune (Grey Sovereign) | 2018 WATC Railway S., Gr.1, 1600m | Grant & Alana Williams |
| GALAXY STAR (AUS) 2012 | Galaxy Queen by Jeune (Grey Sovereign) | 2018 WATC Asian Beau S., Gr.3 , 1400m | Grant & Alana Williams |
| PERFECT JEWEL (AUS) 2014 | Star Encounter by Jeune (Grey Sovereign) | 2017 WATC Belgravia S., L ., 1200m | Grant & Alana Williams |
| PERFECT JEWEL (AUS) 2014 | Star Encounter by Jeune (Grey Sovereign) | 2017 WATC WA Guineas, Gr.2 , 1600m | Grant & Alana Williams |
| ROYAL STAR (AUS) (2013) | Star Encounter by Jeune (Grey Sovereign) | 2017 WATC Natasha S., L. , 2200m | Grant & Alana Williams |
| VERY TEMPTING (AUS) 2013 | Fit And Ready by More Than Ready (Halo) | 2017 WATC WA Oaks, Gr.3 , 2400m | Grant & Alana Williams |
Thanks largely to sensational colt The Autumn Sun, Galaxy Star and a second Perth stakeswinner Super Maxi, Redoute’s Choice has moved up into sixth spot on the General Sires’ Premiership with earnings of $3.9 million.
A big name in the sale-ring since his first million-dollar yearling in 2004, Redoute’s Choice has 21 lots catalogued for the 2019 Magic Millions Sale, including 5 fillies and two colts consigned by Arrowfield.
