Private Life prevails in Gr.1 Caulfield Guineas
As the saying goes, age is just a number, and that rings especially true when it comes to former Australian Champion sire Written Tycoon. The 22-year-old stallion may be in the twilight of his career at stud but is still showing the young guns a thing or two, siring a second Gr.1 Caulfield Guineas winner in Private Life on Saturday 12th October.
Racing in the Westerberg colours of German-born businessman Georg Von Opel, in conjunction with Coolmore and partners, the Chris Waller-trained colt was sent straight to the fore in the 1600m contest under a bold front-running ride by jockey Damian Lane. Straightening for the judge, Private Life kept finding in the final 200m, holding off the advancing Feroce and the fast finishing Evaporate and Broadsiding to win by a short head.
Private Life becomes the second Gr.1 Caulfield Guineas winner in five years for his nine-time Victorian Champion sire following Ole Kirk‘s win in 2020 edition, and his 16th individual Gr.1 winner to date. Written Tycoon also joins an illustrious roll of honour including Redoute’s Choice, Choisir, Sir Tristram, Street Cry and Star Kingdom, who have all sired multiple winners of the time-honoured classic.
The $650,000 Magic Millions Gold Coast graduate was bred by Arrowfield Stud and is the first Stakes winner for Snitzel mare Aliyana Tide, herself a Gr.3 winner and placed at Gr.1 level on three occasions. Aliyana Tide is an own sister to Gr.3 Widden Stakes victrix Teaspoon, and a half-sibling to two further Black Type winners including Stella Artois, dam of Gr.2 Breeders’ Stakes winner Freestyle. This is the extended family of dual Gr.3 winner and multiple Gr.1 placegetter The Astrologist.
Private Life is the second top-flight winner for Written Tycoon out of a mare by Champion sire Snitzel following Velocious‘ win in the Gr.1 Sistema Stakes last season. This same cross has also produced New Zealand Gr.2 winner Captured By Love, twice placed at Gr.1 level as a two-year-old, along with Gr.3-placed Supercilious.
Standing at Yulong for the past four seasons, Written Tycoon currently heads the Leading Australian Sires table following Private Life’s win on Saturday and the victories of Southport Tycoon and First Settler earlier this season. The best may still be yet to come with 108 yearlings in his outstanding 2023 crop, many due to be presented at this season’s upcoming yearling sales. Among them is an August-born filly bred on the same successful Snitzel cross as Private Life and Velocious, out of Ciaron Maher’s Champion Two-Year-Old Away Game.
No denying Yulong mare in Gr.1 Might And Power
Magic Millions National Broodmare buy Deny Knowledge swiftly covered her $500,000 purchase price on Saturday, scooping the $1m Gr.1 Might And Power Stakes at Caulfield. Last seen running an eye-catching fifth in the Gr.1 Underwood Stakes, the Irish-bred daughter of Pride Of Dubai established a sizeable lead over her rivals, fending off a late charge from fan favourite Mr Brightside to win by three-quarters of a length under Mark Zahra.
Bred by Mylestown Farms and bought for just €26,000 by Peter and Ross Doyle at the Goffs Sportsman’s Sale as a yearling, Deny Knowledge is now the winner of over $1.5m in Australia following her previous victories in the Gr.2 Matriarch Stakes and Gr.3 Belle Of The Turf Handicap. She is out of the winning Manduro mare The Paris Shrug, a half-sister to Gr.1 Ascot Gold Cup hero Big Orange and from the family of Gr.1 Hong Kong Vase winner and three-time Melbourne Cup bridesmaid Red Cadeaux.
Deny Knowledge will now look to back up for connections in this Saturday’s Gr.1 Caulfield Cup with Craig Newitt taking the ride.
First runners for Blue Diamond hero Tagaloa
Last weekend also marked the racecourse debut of Gr.1 Blue Diamond winner Tagaloa‘s first-crop runners. A pre-Christmas two-year-old winner himself, it came as no surprise to see his progeny up and early, making their first steps onto the track barely two weeks into the juvenile season. First-crop daughter Meisho made a promising start to her career with a credible short second in the Moorundi Classic at Murray Bridge for Tagaloa’s own trainers Trent Busuttin and Natalie Young.
The daughter of winning Charge Forward mare Dream Chaser showed plenty of ability in a trial at Caulfield a week previous and built on this experience in great style, pulling clear of the field alongside $350,000 Snitzel filly Hiatus, with fellow Tagaloa colt Horseback Heaven a chasing third. Last year’s edition produced multiple Stakes-placed filly Karavas from a small field so it will be interesting to see how Meisho progresses herself over the coming season.
