Coolmore Australia 2018 Brochure

Merchant Navy steams home to win Coolmore Stud Stakes … the spectacular Group I Coolmore Stud Stakes win of Merchant Navy… the colt was near last in the Flemington straight before surging home to score a breathtaking win Ben Dorries , www.racenet.com.au, 4th November 2017

THE win of the Spring

The Coolmore Stud Stakes (registered as Ascot Vale Stakes) (Gr 1, 1200m) is now recognised as one of Australia’s stallion making races… it became a major sprint contest for three-year-olds in 1969 with that year’s winner, champion sire Vain (Wilkes), establishing a high standard at stud for later winners to emulate. Among those later winners to match or better Vain ’s breeding influence are champion sires Century (Better Boy) and Encosta De Lago (Fairy King) while a number of others such as Kaapstad (Sir Tristram), Zeditave (The Judge) and Bureaucracy (Lord Ballina) have been very useful sires. More recent Coolmore Stud Stakes winners include Northern Meteor (Encosta De Lago), Star Witness (Starcraft) and Sepoy (Elusive Quality)... Last Saturday’s renewal of the Coolmore Stud Stakes attracted a field of 20 down the straight course at Flemington and was among the most competitive and memorable as it produced a dramatic finish with superbly bred colt Merchant Navy (Fastnet Rock) darting through on the rails close to home… [to] likely cement a future spot on the Coolmore Stud stallion roster as a successor to his father Fastnet Rock (Danehill), twice champion sire in Australia and already represented by successful young sire sons… Legally Bay comes from an outstanding female line and has proved a fine producer… Merchant Navy certainly has the depth of pedigree to become a good sire Les Young , 8th Nov. 2017

Carnival – simply awesome Tony Thomas , The Sportsman, after the Coolmore Stud Stakes- Gr.1 Unbeaten Navy salutes at Stakes debut Merchant Navy enhanced his status as one of Victoria’s most exciting three-year-old prospects with victory at Flemington on Tuesday [ in the $120,000 Listed Anzac Day Stakes (1400m) ] . Brad Bishop , racing.com, 25th April, 2017

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