Krone Pays Off With Coolmore Classic Score

In an industry of high risk for high reward, it is just so that the aptly named Roll The Dice Racing are not afraid of raising the stakes.

The prominent syndicators, who own leading Longines Golden Slipper Stakes (G1) contender Profiteer, balanced risk with reward once more when in July last year they decided to race on with listed-winning mare Krone, withdrawing her from the Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale and setting her on a speculative path to the Gold Coast in January in pursuit of the lucrative Magic Millions raceday riches.

It has proved to be a decision that has paid a far greater dividend than could even be contemplated.

Not only did Krone race away to claim the AU$1 Million TAB Magic Millions Fillies and Mares race—at odds of 30-1—but she is now a group 1 winner, the first for the syndication group, as she burst through the pack to claim the March 13 Coolmore Classic (G1) for trainer Tony Gollan at Rosehill.

"We actually sent her to Tony to obviously finish off her racing career," said Steve Travaglia, director of Roll The Dice Racing, to ANZ Bloodstock News Saturday.

"Mick Price had taken her up there before and she ran third in the Fred Best. She came back down here (to Melbourne) and she went a bit sore on a hard track at Caulfield one day and, pardon the pun, but we thought we'd have one last roll of the dice and send her back up (to Queensland), so we gave her a few runs in similar types of races with Tony (Gollan).

"She'd only ever won a listed race, even though she'd been highly unlucky in a couple of group 1 and group 2 races, we thought we'd have one last crack at it and hopefully it culminates in a really good race."

Only it wasn't the last roll of the dice.

Krone ended her last-chance prep in the hands of Gollan with victory in the Tab Glasshouse Stakes on the Sunshine Coast, a result, coupled with the lure of the Magic Millions, that coaxed Travaglia and part-owner Anthony Mithen of Rosemont Stud to press on.

"I said to Tony 'she's going good, feeling great, is there any reason why we couldn't have a crack at the Magic Millions?'" continued Travaglia.

"We love the Magic Millions day—1,300-meter mares race, we knew Invincibella had been retired and we couldn't come up with any mares that were too strong for the race.

"I then rang Mitho (Anthony Mithen) and said 'what do you reckon? Let's have another crack' and he said 'why not?'

"We looked at it and we probably would have only got AU$400-450,000 for her as a broodmare, whereas she could win over AU$500,000 for winning that race."

It's the sort of calculation that has propelled the ownership group to the upper echelons of the syndication business, however, after being beaten 10 lengths in the Rawgroup Hospitality Keith Noud Stakes before drawing barrier 14 for her target Fillies and Mares race at the Magic Millions, it appeared a calculation that would get comeuppance.

"At the start of the prep it didn't really go that well, but Tony was adamant that she was coming good and that she'd be a good chance at the Magic Millions if we could draw a barrier," said Travaglia.

"We didn't—but we won it and once we won that it was vindication done. We'd set our long-term plan and won the race and we'll just have a few throws at the stumps in Sydney on wet tracks because we know she excels, and she's just gone to another level.

"She just kept thriving, so what do you do? You keep going and raising the bar and hopefully they keep stepping up."

The wet-tracker label is one Krone has now emphatically shrugged off. Flashing home on the inside to win the Magic Millions Fillies and Mares on a Good 4 surface, it was a Good 3 she was faced with Saturday and a high-class level of opponent, including last-start group 1 runner-up Mizzy and Darley Flight Stakes (G1) fourth Dame Giselle who ran second and third Saturday, beaten 1 1/4 lengths and 1 3/4 lengths, respectively.

"We know she can gallop on a dry track but our theory is probably that other horses might not go quite as good, so it brings a few horses back to the field more than anything else.

"We thought she could be a group 1 mare on a wet track where all these horses have brilliant speed and acceleration but she'll keep going through a wet track, whereas they'll spin their wheels a little bit. But then that theory was blown out of the water with her Magic Millions win which was on a rock-hard track.

"Jeremy Rogers who picked her out—he was a bit emotional today—he called me up and said 'that was a proper group 1 race today and she's beaten them well.'"

Gollan echoed those sentiments and said the 5-year-old had been thriving in recent weeks.

"It's really satisfying," said Gollan in the aftermath of her victory. "I must admit, I was a lot more confident earlier in the week when it looked like we were going to get a wet track and when it didn't eventuate I was really kicking stones this morning, leaving Brisbane and coming back down here. I really thought it was going to be hard for her on the firm ground.

"I always had barrier 1 up my sleeve really. She was always going to need a lot of luck, ridden that way to win. From 600 (meters) when she started to suck up underneath him and he cut the corner beautifully and once the run presented, she was really just too good.

"She's gone up in weight today and on an unsuitable Good 3, and she's still done the job, which is fantastic. She's just a really good mare in good form and when they're like this, they're really hard to beat," said Gollan.

Krone was a AU$120,000 (US$89,459) purchase for Roll The Dice Racing out of the 2017 Magic Millions 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale, double the price of AU$60,000 ($45,006) Mithen paid for Krone at the Gold Coast Yearling Sale, in turn a figure twice that paid for her as a weanling, when selling for AU$30,000 ($21,561).

Although her current ownership group can expect a windfall of much more than double the price they paid this time around, Travaglia said no decision had been made as to whether she'd return to the Gold Coast for the Magic Millions Broodmare Sale in May.

"To be honest we haven't sat down and discussed that with Mitho or anyone else," he said. "I mean, obviously she's extremely valuable now.

"There's all different options because if she doesn't go through the sales then Mitho at Rosemont, I'm sure he'd help people out with breeding to her as well. But we know that's fraught with danger, especially with a very expensive mare, but we've got a few different options.

"We said all along that we'd be guided by Anthony on that, because that's his forte."

The win also delivered a first group 1 success for outcast stallion Eurozone, who covered just 15 mares last year at a fee of AU$5,500 at Bellereve Breeding and Racing where he stands, but can now lay claim to being the latest elite-level-winning stallion.

Secured to stand at Newgate Farm upon his retirement, the group 2-winning 3-year-old and twice group 1 runner-up is responsible for two further stakes winners, the listed-winning pair of Mystery Love and Tagmaster, a stakes winner in Macau.

Krone is out of the once-raced Soft Landing, a half sister to four-time group 1 winner and champion 3-year-old colt Universal Prince as well as Robert Sangster Stakes (G1) winner Universal Queen.

Soft Landing was not covered in 2018 and slipped to National Defense in 2019, but is currently in foal to Vino Rosso .