BEL SPRINTER SUPERB IN GALAXY

Breednet’s Mark Smith looks at the 2013 The Galaxy.

The most remarkable part of Bel Sprinter’s stunning victory in Saturday’s Group I The Galaxy (1100m) at Rosehill Gardens was not the fact he missed the start and came from last, it was how quickly he passed a slick field of sprinters to earn his first win at the highest level.

It was not unusual for the son of Bel Esprit to miss the start, he has a well-documented history of doing so. But Kerrin McEvoy was not tempted to search for inside runs. He had Bel Sprinter running free down the centre of the track before blasting passed two Golden Slipper placegetters, Snitzerland and Decision Time. The Jason Warren trained 5yo gelding won by a rapidly widening 3-1/4 lengths.

“It was a huge win”, McEvoy said. “He fluffed the start a bit but they ran along and I knew at about the 600 [metres] he hadn’t spent much petrol and when I wound him up he just exploded and maintained it all the way to the line.”

The Mornington based Warren also celebrated his first Group I victory: “I’ve got to pay credit to my vets. This horse has had throat surgery, they’ve fixed him up. He was getting half as much air as he needed,” he said.

“I was disappointed we couldn’t run in the Oakleigh Plate. I know how good he is first-up. We've set him for this.”

Warren said he would take on Black Caviar, in the Group I TJ Smith Stakes (1200m) at Randwick on April 13.

“Looks like we're staying in Sydney for another two weeks,” Warren said.

With his injury woes, Bel Sprinter has been restricted to just 14 starts. He has won half of them with earnings of $643,825.

A homebred for part-owner Glen Bailey, Bel Sprinter is the first foal of the Snippets mare Gavroche.

Gavroche has a two-year old full-brother to Bel Sprinter, who was purchased by Warren for $140,000 at last year's Magic Millions Yearling sale, but she has not had a mare return put in to the Stud Book for two seasons before being covered by Redoute’s Choice last year.

A half-sister to the stakes-placed Azelna, Gavroche is out of the imported Miswaki mare La Miserable who is a half-sister to the smart import Always Aloof who defeated another import Istidaad in the 1997 Underwood Stakes.

Previously the winner of a Group 3 and a pair of Listed stakes, Bel Sprinter becomes the third Group 1 winner for Bel Esprit after the incomparable Black Caviar and Bel Mer.

The son of Royal Academy covered 129 mares at Eliza Park Stud last season for a fee of $27,500.

SCANDIVA’S MAGIC IS A FAMILY AFFAIR

Is Scandinavia the most influential broodmare in Australia?

Well, if money is the barometer, then this ‘blue hen’ has just gone ‘deep purple’.

No sale in living memory has captured the imagination quite like Easter ’13 with the Redoute’s Choice colt from Scandinavia’s daughter, Helsinge, poised for a rock star reception when he arrives at Newmarket. As a three quarter brother to Black Caviar and All Too Hard, this is his due.

But Helsinge isn’t the only branch on this tall oak. Scandinavia produced yet another Group winner on Saturday when Scandiva captured a thrilling victory in the Group Two Magic Night Stakes, joining three quarter brothers, Magnus and Wilander, on the black type stage.

(A Group One winning sprinter, Magnus is jointly leading the Australian Second Season Sires’ chart by winners).

The timing certainly hasn’t been lost on breeder/owner, Robert Crabtree whose colours were carried to victory by Scandiva. With next Saturday’s Golden Slipper still a possibility, Crabtree will sell – via Eliza Park’s Easter draft – a three quarter brother (by Redoute’s Choice) on Wednesday 10 April.

There will certainly be a lot of box shopping between Stables 1 (the Helsinge colt) and 2 (Lot 319, the Scandinavia colt) during Easter week.

But even more tempting is that another of Crabtree’s homebreds, the Bel Esprit 2YO, Iconic, won the $250,000 VOBIS Gold Rush a fortnight ago and appears to have a very promising future with two from three. He is out of Scandinavia’s first foal, Danavia.

And last, but certainly not least, is Itameri, who finished just a length off the pace in the Magic Night.

Jockey Kerrin McEvoy clearly has a big opinion of the filly and feels she is poised for stakes success during the Sydney carnival. Her mother: another of Scandinavia’s daughters in Baltics!

The Scandinavia colt to sell as Lot 391 at the Easter Yearling Sale

MAGNUS SPURRED ON

Magnus is on another roll, producing two winners (from just two runners) on successive days leading into Easter.

At Sandown on Wednesday, Backstedt showed why he is such a highly prized member of the powerful David Hayes stable, by leading throughout over 1600m to notch up his third win from seven starts – and second win on the trot.

Then, on Thursday, another Magnus 3YO in Imprimis also led from the front, winning over 1000m at Bendigo.

Magnus has now produced 23 individual winners in 2012/13 and is just one behind current leader, Casino Prince on the Australian Second Season Sires’ chart.

Interestingly, both Magnus and Casino Prince are by the Champion Danehill stallion, Flying Spur, but that’s not the only ‘tie in’: Magnus is a half brother to the dam of both Black Caviar and Casino Prince's 3-time Group One winner, All Too Hard.

Magnus will have a three quarter brother sell at the upcoming Australian Easter Yearling Sale (Lot 319) via the Eliza Park draft.

Lot 319: the Redoute's Choice colt from Scandinavia

FIRST FOR BUSHRANGER

And so it begins! Bushranger has produced his first winner in Europe, justifying his favouritism for the Champion First Season Sires’ title. Following is a report from Racing Post.

Eliza Park shuttler, Bushranger, became the first of this year’s European freshman sires to produce a winner after his daughter Outback Lover, won at Wolverhampton on Wednesday.

Ridden by Darren Egan, the Stan Moore-trained filly made all to win by a length and three-quarters from first-timer Memory Styx, a daughter of Clodovil.

Bushranger stood his first season in 2010, following two seasons on the track which included a pair of juvenile Group 1 victories - in the Prix Morny and Middle Park Stakes - earning the son of Danetime the title of champion juvenile in England and France.

Bought as a yearling for 100,000gns, Bushranger’s yearlings have been equally well-received, with five selling for six figures in 2012. Jeremy Noseda parted with 220,000gns to secure his most expensive offering, a Tattersalls Book 1 colt out the Polish Precedent mare Polish Belle.

Wednesday’s win justifies the favouritism bestowed upon Bushranger after Stan James opened their leading first-season sire market.

Stan James’s Joseph Burke said: “It’s been all one-way money since we opened the betting last Friday and Bushranger is now 11-8 clear favourite, from an initial quote of 9/4, in the battle for the first-season sire title by number of individual winners.

“He’s been the only stallion backed into any significant degree in the prize-money list, from 8/1 into 6/1.

“It’s early days yet though and it's a long way to go until November 9, but he’s made a decent start.”

Go you good thing!

MAGNUS 3YO PEDALS SANDOWN WIN

Resounding win at Sandown on Wednesday for the Magnus 3YO, Backstedt: leading throughout over the mile journey.

Trained by David Hayes, who snapped up the flashy bay for $50,000 from Eliza Park’s 2011 Melbourne Premier draft, Backstedt has now won three of his seven outings.

Named after the famous cyclist Magnus Backstedt, the equine version is out of the Group One winning Tights mare, Lycra … adding even further merit to whomever had the job of naming the horse.

Even though Backstedt is by a Group One winning sprinter, out of a Group One winning sprinter, he appears to be improving as he gets over a bit of ground and expect to see a lot more of him in future.