Laurel Oak Bloodstock Eyes Another Successful Weekend

Laurel Oak Bloodstock is eyeing a potential Randwick bonanza April 2 with a career-best four runners in key races, and with the hope Fireburn claims a second major to help decide the new home of her sire Rebel Dane .

Fireburn is a short favorite to add the Inglis' Sires Stakes (G1) to her March 19 Longines Golden Slipper (G1) triumph on what's likely to be another very heavy Sydney track for day one of The Championships.

The Gary Portelli-trained filly showed her class and capacity for wet going in taking the Slipper after almost falling at the 600 meter mark, zipping up the inside to pull away for a 2 1/2-length win which suggested today's extra 200 meters will be no problem.

The victory came three weeks after Laurel Oak's Louis Mihalyka and Rebel Dane's other part-owners moved the dual group 1-winning son of California Dane  out of Glen Eden Stud, with the next destination unknown. The 12-year-old stood three seasons at Glen Eden, covering limited books of 11, 14, and 49 mares, following his first two at fellow Victorian farm Swettenham Stud, where he served 67 mares in total.

Mihalyka and partners fielded seven calls from studs enquiring about Rebel Dane—five from New South Wales and one apiece from Victoria and Queensland—before engaging International Thoroughbred Solutions' Mark Player to conduct formal proceedings, with expressions of interest asked for by March 31.

Mihalyka told ANZ Bloodstock News "a handful" of studs remained possibilities to take the suddenly-hot, new Slipper sire last night, with a decision hopefully coming during next week's Inglis Easter Yearling Sale.

"We'll have some pow-wows between owners and farms during the sale," he said. "There's enough interest to suggest he'll find a home.

"Some of our favorite studs expressed interest. That was a good reason to get Mark involved because I imagine we're going to have to say yes to one of our friends and no to a few others."

Aside from Fireburn today, Laurel Oak will be represented by Profiteer's debutante sister Asteria in the Kindergarten Stakes (G3), the John O'Shea-trained Benaud in the ATC Derby (G1), and Mark Newnham's Chenin in the Adrian Knox Stakes (G3).

"Either we're doing something right or it's dumb luck, or both," Mihalyka said, "but to have four starters on a big day like this is unheard of for Laurel Oak."

Mihalyka said Fireburn had progressed superbly since the Slipper despite the grueling run.

"She didn't leave anything, bounced out next morning, fresh and keen to go. There was none of this 'flat for two days' or anything, so it was a no-brainer to keep going," he said, adding the Champagne Stakes (G1) in two weeks would likely follow, either as a shot at completing the 2-year-old Triple Crown or not, provided Fireburn pulled up well.

"The 1,600 meters of the Champagne shouldn't bother her, since her mum (Mull Over) is by So You Think out of a Zabeel mare, and her racing style also suggests she'll be a chance."

Fireburn, a homebred out of a AU$22,000 (US$16,599) mare, meets three million-dollar colts today in the shape of Magic—Snitzel's second-highest price yearling at AU$2.5 million ($1,913,223)—Brosnan, another Snitzel who cost AU$1,050,000 ($816,798), and Man In The Mirror, who cost AU$1.8 million ($1,392,158).

While Magic was beaten almost two lengths when third of eight in the Bowermans Pago Pago Stakes (G3) and missed the Slipper, senior owner Rupert Legh expects him to be better suited by the 1,400 meters today, and more so by the 1,600 meters of the Champagne.

"He's done really well," Legh told ANZ Bloodstock News. "The slow tempo was really his undoing last time out. He's a Caulfield Guineas horse for next spring no doubt and being a heavy track the Sires' will be more like a 1600 meters race anyway. The tougher the better, I'd suggest. I think he'll cope with it."

Also sporting Laurel Oak's red, white, and green today will be the Newnham-trained Asteria, the second foal of former Melbourne city-winning Snitzel mare Athena Lass, with the other one being Profiteer.

Laurel Oak was fortunate to buy the Newgate-bred filly at the Gold Coast last year for AU$375,000 ($288,580) just before Profiteer upgraded the page by winning the Inglis Millennium Stakes at Randwick at his second start.

Mihalyka had checked his pedigree after his debut win at Flemington mostly because he had beaten the favorite Ranveer, a well-fancied son of Winning Rupert, a sire with which Laurel Oak was associated.

"I loved the pedigree because of the 3x3 duplication of Fusaichi Pegasus, on the two broodmare sires, which is the position where if it's going to work it'll work really well, or else be terrible," he said.

"Then this filly turns up at the sale, and the first thing that intrigued me was the pedigree. It didn't click until an hour or so later that this was Profiteer's sister, because Profiteer hadn't made it into the catalog at that stage. The irony was that then, before the Millennium, we were given the opportunity by Newgate to buy into Profiteer, so we ended up having brother and sister."

Profiteer then started favorite in last year's Golden Slipper but his seventh-place placing there portended a somewhat frustrating run towards his recent retirement to stud with that Millennium victory the highlight of three wins from nine starts. Asteria has replicated his early days with two trial wins but has been easy in betting for her debut.

"She's lightning quick like her brother, and we've targeted two short-course black type races in the Kindergarten and the Woodlands Stakes at Scone," Mihalyka said. "But Mark's worried the wet will nullify her brilliant speed and test her stamina on debut."

Laurel Oak will also be cheering Benaud, having bought a half share in the $280,000 ($184,383) yearling with trainer John O'Shea at Karaka in 2020. The gelding has firmed for the Derby since his strong-finishing fourth in the Tulloch Stakes (G2) on Monday.

"He might defy logic a bit because he's a half to Tofane," he said of the Legh-owned mare, who's four group 1 victories have come over 1,400 meters. "Or maybe Tofane's the one who defies the logic because she's by Ocean Park out of a Galileo mare, so we're probably truer to type.

"What is pleasantly unusual for us is that a lot of Reliable Mans don't handle the wet, but Benaud does."

Hitotsu—aiming to continue to recent surge of Japanese stallions and become the first VRC-ATC Derby double winner since Mahogany in 1994—was the race favorite last night at around AU$3.60. Next at around AU$5.50 was New Zealand raider Regal Lion, another who flew home in the Tulloch to finish second, while the gelding who actually won the race, Character, was at AU$10.

Rounding out Laurel Oak's quartet is Oaks-bound Chenin, a AU$12 chance in the Adrian Knox. Chenin has followed a similar path to the Laurel Oak-bred, Newnham-trained Quintessa, who, similarly immature early, was nursed through a light early preparation two years ago, came through an 1,800 meters Hawkesbury maiden (Chenin won hers while Quintessa was second) before running third in both the Knox and the Star Austalian Oaks (G1), behind Colette each time.

"Chenin has also always shown Mark Newnham ability, but she's been immature," Mihalyka said. "But hopefully what worked for Quintessa will work again. If she can even place in the Knox and the Oaks, we'll be happy campers."

Legh, meanwhile, expects a far stronger showing from his Toronado  gelding Masked Crusader when he takes on Nature Strip , and Eduardo in Saturday's TJ Smith Stakes (G1), following a fourth and a seventh in his first attempts up the Flemington straight in the Black Caviar Lightning Stakes (G1) and Newmarket Handicap (G1).

"I doubt he'll be going up the Flemington straight again," Legh said. "He just didn't handle it. But Randwick appears to be his favorite track. He's had five runs over 1,200 meters there for three wins and two great seconds. He loves coming off the bend. He gets back but they'll fan out around the corner and it's not a big field. If he brings his Randwick form tomorrow he'll be fighting out the finish."