King's Legacy, Quick Thinker Shine at Randwick

Redoute's Choice may have died just over a year ago, but he continues to leave his mark on the Australian racing industry, landing the quinella with King's Legacy and Prague April 4 in the Inglis Sires' Stakes (G1) at Randwick. 

The Ciaron Maher and David Eustace team looked to have all but sealed another feature 2-year-old win for the season as Prague kicked clear in the home straight, but Peter and Paul Snowden's King's Legacy had other plans, motoring home in the last furlong of the 1,400-meter (seven-furlong) test to deny Prague by half a length in the final few strides.

John Thompson's Mamaragan closed off well to finish third by another 1 1/4 lengths.

The Snowdens have produced several stallions over the years, headed by Coolmore's leading first season sire Pride Of Dubai, and it's now likely that King's Legacy, as a group 1-winning son of a proven sire of sires, will find a place at stud at the end of his racing career.

The valuable colt also ran in the Magic Millions 2-Year-Old Classic at the Gold Coast in January, finishing fifth, and Paul Snowden believes that experience helped to bring out the best in him.

"He only ran in the Magic Millions because he was up there but that trip toughened him up," he said. "We always knew he was a good one but it does so much for them to go away to the Gold Coast, particularly the colts.

"He had the pre-Christmas money in the bank, which allowed us to go straight to the Golden Slipper and you saw the benefit of that run today.

"He was always going to be a horse that was going to get better at 1,400 meters. I think he will be even better at a mile in a couple of weeks but it is exciting to get the group 1 with him because he is a very valuable colt now."

Hugh Bowman credited the colt's will to win for his brilliant finish. 

"They would have had a plan for this colt a long time ago and I would imagine the Champagne would be in those plans," Bowman said. "You saw his will to win today. Prague, who is a superb colt in his own right, had the race shot to bits. I was on a horse who wanted to win and wanted to win bad and he had the ability to do it."

Prague's co-trainer Maher was pleased with his colt's efforts but believes we still haven't seen the best of him yet. 

"He looked pretty good but he had to do a bit of work early and it was probably going to have an impact somewhere," Maher said. "He is a horse with a lot of upside. He is doing it all on raw ability at the moment. He's not the furnished product yet. I think he's got exceptional ability."

King's Legacy has now had five starts for two wins and a third, earning a total of AU$651,500 in prize-money.

He was purchased at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale by James Harron Bloodstock from the draft of Segenhoe Stud for AU$1.4 million (US$1,003,800).

King's Legacy is the second foal out of seven-time winning and stakes-placed Hussonet mare Breakfast In Bed, who herself is a half sister to group 1 winner Oohood. His third dam, Singles Bar, is responsible for Arrowfield Stud's recently pensioned champion sire Not A Single Doubt.

Segenhoe Stud will offer a sister to King's Legacy at next week's Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale, cataloged as Lot 355. 

"She's a typical high quality Redoute's Choice, a very scopey filly with a beautiful head who has just improved, improved, improved during the prep,'' Segenhoe's Peter O'Brien said.

Breakfast In Bed foaled a filly by I Am Invincible last spring and was covered by Pierro in November.

King's Legacy is the 38th group 1 winner for Arrowfield Stud legend Redoute's Choice, who died in March last year aged 22. Redoute's Choice has five yearlings on offer at the Easter sale next week.

Another Australian Derby for Baker and Forsman

New Zealand's Murray Baker and Andrew Forsman proved once again that they know how to prepare a classic winner as Quick Thinker landed the AU$1 million Australian Derby (G1).

Backing up after taking out the Tulloch Stakes (G2) last week, the OTI Racing-owned colt settled just behind the pacemakers under countryman Opie Bosson before making his move around the home turn.

Quick Thinker went head to head with the Team Hawkes-trained Zebrowski for the final 300 meters of the 2,400-meter (about 1 1/2-mile) test, but the son of So You Think just got the better of his rival, winning by a neck.

Queensland raider Eric The Eel ran a blinder, finishing 1 1/4 lengths away in third.

"Opie Bosson is a top class rider, his record proves that and I had complete faith in him," Baker said from New Zealand. "He's quite a tough little customer. I thought he'd kick on a bit."

It was Bosson's second Australian Derby victory after winning the race aboard Mongolian Khan in 2015.

"Murray Baker is a genius getting his horses ready for this race," Bosson said. "He rang me yesterday morning and said the horse is rock hard fit and he'll run a huge race.

"To be honest, he pulled my arms out the whole race. He didn't come off the bit until we got to about the half mile. I thought we might have done too much in the running but then the Murray Baker fitness kicked in."

Baker has won more group 1s in Australia than any other New Zealand-based trainer and Quick Thinker added to his Australian Derby haul. Baker first won the race in 2008 with Nom Du Jeu.

Dundeel and Mongolian Khan added to Baker's Derby tally, while since being in partnership with Forsman, he has won with Jon Snow and now Quick Thinker.

Favorite Castelvecchio never threatened and dropped out in the straight to finish 21 lengths from the winner in ninth on the heavy track.

Richard Litt told stewards the colt did not love the wet ground, had been "knocked around a little bit" and was likely to go to the paddock.

Now a four-time winner from 11 starts with prize-money earnings of AU$1,009,913, Quick Thinker was purchased for AU$100,000 (US$76,830) at the Australian Inglis Easter Yearling Sale by De Burgh Equine from the draft of Coolmore Stud. 

He was bred by Andrew Bowcock, who said: "I never really thought I would breed a Derby winner but this is a fantastic result."

"I'm only a small breeder. I'm fourth generation but for the small number of mares my wife and I breed, I think to do what we have done over the years is pretty extraordinary and I'm very proud of it.

"Quick Thinker, it's only his second prep and he's achieved so much, especially these past few weeks. He showed what he was made of out there today.''

Coolmore's Tom Magnier added: "As a $100,000 yearling Quick Thinker is yet another example of the great value that can be found at the Easter Sale. Congratulations to Hubie de Burgh and OTI Racing who identified him as a future Derby type.

"He was always a classy individual with plenty of scope and a great mover and next week we offer a So You Think colt (Lot 139) who also looks like a Derby horse of the future.

"Congratulations must also go to his breeder, Andrew Bowcock."

Quick Thinker is one of four winners out of the Al Maher mare Acouplamas, making him a half-brother to HDF McNeil Stakes (G3) runner-up The August. His second dam Mahira is a half sister to Kensington Gardens, who produced group 1 winner and leading Western Australian sire Blackfriars.

Acouplamas was covered by new Widden Stud resident Trapeze Artist last spring.

Bowcock will offer a close relation to Quick Thinker in next week's Easter Yearling Sale as part of the KBL Thoroughbreds draft.

Lot 367 is the only Star Turn filly in the catalog and is out of Capable Mahira, who herself is a sister to Quick Thinker's dam Acouplamas.

"She's a cracking filly, a really special type,'' Bowcock said.

Quick Thinker is the sixth individual group 1 winner for Coolmore Stud's So You Think, who stood for a fee of $38,500 (inc GST) in 2019. He has 11 yearlings on offer at next week's Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale.