Its Royal Ascot time again, and can the 3yo Home Affairs culminate his racing career with victory in the Platinum Jubilee Stakes on retiring to Coolmore Australia.
Already the $4.75 race favourite with Ladbrokes on Day 5, Home Affairs last scored a magnificent victory in the Newmarket Handicap to defeat the World’s Best Sprinter in Nature Strip.
In not only defeating Nature Strip, he also accounted for the world rated Eduardo in a record 56.64sec for the 1200m ‘straight six’ at Flemington, to become the fastest son of I Am Invincible.
Now with 4 wins and $2.27m in prizemoney, he was coming off victory in the stallion making Coolmore Stud Stakes, also over 1200m at Flemington, having previously won the Heritage Stakes.
The winner of the Silver Shadow Stakes at two, he was also placed in the Todman and Canonbury Stakes, and has been quoted as the highest price first season sire to stand in Australia.
A $875,000 graduate of the 2000 Australian Easter Yearling Sale, purchased by Tom Magnier form Torryburn Stud, he’s the family of highly influential sires Encosta de Lago and Flying Spur.
A bay at 16.2hh, his winning Flying Spur dam Miss Interior, is half-sister to Leading First Crop Sire Russian Revolution, and he half-brother to Caulfield Guineas placed winner Aysar.
His sire I Am Invincible says it all as the Season’s Leading Sire with Lombardo taking out the Goodwood Handicap, and at Sydney Easter Yearlings his half-sister to Classique Legend made $2m.
Also standing his first SH season at Coolmore in the Hunter Valley is ‘the World Champion 3YO’ in St Mark’s Basilica, who as the duel French classic winner was also Cartier Horse of The Year.
In taking out the French 2000 Guineas, the Poule d’Essai des Poulains 1400m, he next won the Prix du Jockey-Club of 2100m and then the Eclipse Stakes and Irish Champion Stakes both at 1¼m.
A winner over 6f and 7f at two, St Mark’s Basilica rounded out the season by winning the important Dewhurst Stakes at Newmarket, having earlier being third in the Curragh National Stakes.
A bay standing 16.0½hh, he’s by Pivotal’s French Champion Sire son Siyouni, the 2yo Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere winner, and was bred by Bob Scarbourugh, formally of The Nook Stud, Victoria.
From Galileo Gr3 winning daughter Cabaret, he’s a half-brother to Coolmore’s Newmarket 2000 Guineas winner Magna Grecia, who’s first SH weanlings sold up to $150,000 this year.
It’s highly unlikely that Coolmore stands a low-profile winning stallion but it’s the ‘one start-one win’ Acrobat, who will be surely be gaining notice for this coming season at Jerry’s Plains.
The winner of the $500,000 Inglis Nursery of 1000m in race record 56.02sec by 2¼ lengths, he’s a ‘very good looking son’ of Fastnet Rock, who now has eight of his sons siring Group 1 winners.
Owned and bred by Coolmore, Acrobat is a bay standing 16.1hh, and is a full-brother to the black type winners Lake Geneva and Ennis Hill, being from the Gr2 winner Hips Don’t Lie.
However, it the success of So You Think that’s continued to make headlines, and in being previously the Season’s Leading Sire he currently sits second behind I Am Invincible by only $164,103.
With his yearlings selling up to $500,000 this year, his weanlings made up to $525,000 at the Magic Millions National Weanling Sale, and in averaging $255,625 was Leading Sire on Averages.
Already this season he has had 275 runners win 135 races and $17,231,832, with Think It Over winning the Queen Elizabeth Stakes and now $7m in stakes and Knights Order the Sydney Cup.