Dundeel’s future looks truly great

A dominant victory in Saturday’s $250,000 Perth Racing Ted van Heemst S. 2100m G2 took Truly Great’s earnings for his owner-breeders Bob & Sandra Peters past the million-dollar mark. 

Consecutive stakes for Dundeel 5yo TRULY GREAT in the Gr2 C B Cox (Ted Van Heemst) Stakes at Ascot. @ArrowfieldStud pic.twitter.com/IFMha5J6OZ

— Pedigree Update (@pedigreeupdate) December 19, 2020

That makes him the third millionaire by Dundeel, after Castelvecchio & Super Seth.

Equally impressive when winning last month’s Kingston Town Classic, Truly Great is also Dundeel’s fifth Group 1 winner. It’s a milestone the sensational young sire has reached faster than Champion Sires Encosta de Lago, Flying Spur, Snitzel, Star Kingdom & Zabeel.

And it’s not the only sign that Dundeel is capable of joining their ranks in coming years.

In the super-heated competition of the Australian stallion roster, a Champion Sire needs to leave consistent class across ages and distances. 
Dundeel has already shown he does that, with a pair of top 2YOs (Castelvecchio & Yourdeel), Guineas winners (Super Seth & Castelvecchio), middle-distance 3YOs (Ain’tnodeeldun, Atyaab, Global Exchange, Transact, Victoria Quay & Victoria Derby runner-up Hit The Shot), sprinter-milers (The Inevitable) and older horses (Truly Great).

These horses have emerged at a steady rate from his first three crops, with 7  stakeswinners coming out of his first crop, 4 from his second crop and two, Victoria Quay & Ain’tnodeeldun from his 2017 crop.

There’s plenty more stakes-class talent where they come from.

Take, for instance, Hit The Shot, who will do his future racing from the John Size stable in Hong Kong.

His Australian trainer Matt Cumani has no doubt about what Hit The Shot could have achieved if he had remained here. “He is a horse that would have gone on really well and been really successful for the rest of his three-year-old year and into his four-year-old year.”

Or Geelong Classic LR runner-up Azaly, described as “very promising” by the Lindsay Park team. A virus sent him to the spelling paddock before the Victoria Derby G1, but he will be back for an Autumn Classic program.

Or the latest of Dundeel’s 22 stakes performers, Gold Coast mare Purrfect Deal, a four-time winner from 7 starts and third at her first try in stakes company, at Randwick on 12 December. 

Her trainer Michael Costa says, “She is tough as nails…she can stay a journey but still show a remarkable turn of foot which is a huge asset.

“At the sales she was very light on her feet and looked sharp for a filly with a pedigree to get over some ground.

“Being lightly raced, she is still learning her craft and if she shows natural progression into her next preparation, she should go to another level again.”

Check out Dundeel’s 13 yearlings on offer at Magic Millions 2021.