Fourth Group 1 winner for Maurice
Photographed at Arrowfield in November 2022, Maurice has already sired two exceptional Group 1 winners, triple Classic hero Hitotsu and brilliant sprinter Mazu from fewer than 100 runners in Australia. (PHOTO: Joan Faras)
Back in 2017, Katsumi Yoshida expressed his faith in Maurice’s prospects at stud by sending him his best mare, 7-time Group 1 winner and two-time Horse of the Year Gentildonna.
Five years later, with Maurice a rising star among stallions in both Japan & Australia, the result of that mating earned her elite credentials with a powerful victory in last Sunday’s Hanshin Queen Elizabeth II Cup 2200m G1.
Geraldina is Maurice’s 4th Group 1 winner following triple Classic winner Hitotsu & brilliant sprinter Mazu in Australia, and Pixie Knight in Japan.
G1 2200m Queen Elizabeth Cup at Hanshin
1st 4f 18. GERALDINA (Maurice x Gentildonna) a brilliant Cristian Demuro 🇮🇹 ride
DH 2nd 5m 13. WIN MARILYN (Screen Hero) Damian Lane🇦🇺
DH 2nd 3f 15. LILAC (Orefevre) Mirco Demuro 🇮🇹2.13.0
Hero Is Coming#JRA pic.twitter.com/RCtGU46dLC
— Graham Pavey $8 (@LongBallToNoOne) November 13, 2022
Jockey Cristian Demuro said, ” The filly was traveling very well in the last corner, came out and gave a good turn of foot. The last time when she won, it was a good race, so I was pretty confident with her.”
It was the 6th win for the Takashi Saito-trained Geraldina, who won her third start at two and then missed the Spring 3YO Classics before three straight wins in July 2021.
This year she has raced exclusively in Group company, recording two placings before winning the Nakayama All Comers G2 in September. Geraldina has now won ¥298 million (~A$3 million) and may next be seen in the Japanese season’s climactic contest, the Nakayama Arima Kinen G1 on 25 December.
Maurice, second on the Australian 3rd Season Sires’ table, is completing his work at Arrowfield where he has served a full book of mares this Spring at $88,000 inc. GST. In Japan he is holding a top 10 spot on the main sires’ list headed by Deep Impact, Lord Kanaloa & Heart’s Cry.
Rounding out a big weekend for Arrowfield’s Japanese shuttlers was the first stakeswinner for Deep Impact’s Group 1-winning son Real Steel whose single southern season in 2019 produced 51 foals, now 2YOs.
Real Steel’s son All Parfait (ex Queen Grace by Rulership) scored a gritty victory in Saturday’s Hanshin Daily Hai Nisai S. 1600m G2, defeating the favourite Danon Touchdown (by Mind Your Biscuits) in 1:33.2.
All Parfait🇯🇵 (Real Steel @ArrowfieldStud – Queen Grace, Rulership) (2020) wins the DAILY HAI NISAI STAKES G2 over a mile and becomes the 1st GSW for the 1st season 2yo sire Real Steel.pic.twitter.com/OqhyfDkM8m
— Toshi Onikubo (鬼窪峻大) (@toshionikubo) November 13, 2022
Mind Your Biscuits (23 winners) and Real Steel (15 winners) head Japan’s First Season Sires’ table and, given that Real Steel found his best form at 3 & 4, his future as a stallion looks exciting.
