Racegoers around the country were on Guineas watch on Tuesday, with a number of meetings boasting high-profile nominees. At Wyong, the 3-year-old filly Crystalane (Snitzel) cemented her claim to the G1 Thousand Guineas at Caulfield on October 12, posting a good win on debut.
Trained by Mark Newnham at Randwick, the filly had crept through her trials quietly this preparation. Tuesday’s 1100-metre event was her racetrack debut, and she jumped from barrier four to land the race by 0.06l to the Godolphin filly Perpignan (Ribchester {Ire}).
Crystalane posted a winning time of 1:05.30, the last 600 metres in 34.22s on a Good 4.
Miss Faberge (Russian Revolution) was the race favourite but she managed only sixth for her trainer, John Sargent. She, along with Crystalane, hold early nominations to the Thousand Guineas in October.
It’s a field that has a significant number of big names in the first round, including Coolangatta (Written Tycoon), Fireburn (Rebel Dane), Sheeza Belter (Gold Standard) and Revolutionary Miss (Russian Revolution) and, if Crystalane’s performance on Tuesday was anything to go, she’ll get the mile distance of the Guineas fairly well.
The filly was ridden by jockey Tom Sherry, and he had plenty of praise for her in the post-race broadcast.
Tom Sherry | Image courtesy of Ashlea Brennan
“She’s a nice filly that’s been well-prepared by Mr Newnham and the team at home,” he said. “She trialled up well and she has a great temperament. She did a lot of things right today. She had a good look around, which was to be expected, but she knuckled down.”
Sherry said there was room for Crystalane to improve on her gritty victory of Tuesday.
“With her attitude, she should stretch out further,” the jockey said.
A bit of sass about her
Crystalane is one of three fillies that Newnham has nominated for the Thousand Guineas. The others are Amberina (Lonhro) for Darby Racing and the impressive Seven Veils (Shalaa {Ire}).
The latter was a winner of the G2 Reisling S. at Randwick last March, and she reappeared this preparation on July 26 with a second-place trial. A week later, she was fourth to In The Congo (Snitzel) in another trial, and she also holds a nomination to Saturday’s G2 Silver Shadow S.
Crystalane as a yearling | Image courtesy of Inglis
For Crystalane, it’s a big ask to consider the Guineas after a maiden win at Wyong. However, the filly was one of the best-credentialled of Tuesday’s field on pedigree alone.
Raced by the IRON ownership, which is profiled by George Moore, she is a daughter of the Encosta De Lago mare Crystal Flute, Crystal Flute being a full sister to the Listed Black Opal S. winner Lucky Racquie and the Group 3 and dual-Listed winner Precious Lorraine.
However, Crystalane’s dam is also a three-quarter sister to the sires Manhattan Rain and in-form Rubick, and closely related Redoute’s Choice. Being by Snitzel, a son of Redoute’s Choice, she is in-bred to that Champion Sire.
Crystal Flute is owned by China Horse Club, and she was an expensive acquisition. The group paid $1.4 million to buy her from the Teeley Assets Dispersal Sale at Magic Millions in 2016, and she’s already paid herself off.
Crystal Flute when offered at the Magic Millions National Sale | Image courtesy of China Horse Club
Her subsequent foals have fetched $570,000 (Art Glass, by Sebring) and $500,000 (Pajanti, by Pierro), while Crystalane was a $475,000 youngster for IRON and George Moore Bloodstock at the 2021 Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale.
Crystal Flute was bred and reared at Sledmere Stud, and the majority of her foals have been sold through Sledmere’s very good drafts. In particular, Sledmere’s Royston Murphy recalls Crystalane from last year’s Easter Sale.
“She was a lovely filly, a really nice style of horse,” Murphy said. “I remember her because she had quite a bit of sass about her, which was nice to see. She was a lovely bodied type of filly, and she made quite good money.”
“She (Crystalane) was a lovely filly, a really nice style of horse. I remember her because she had quite a bit of sass about her, which was nice to see. She was a lovely bodied type of filly, and she made quite good money.” - Royston Murphy
Crystalane was the third foal from Crystal Flute and the second to make it to a sales ring.
She was correct with two white socks, and one of seven yearlings that IRON and George Moore collected at the 2021 Inglis Easter Sale. Interestingly, of those seven youngsters she was the only Snitzel, but one of the four fillies among them.
“She was just one of those fillies from a great family,” Murphy said. “If they can get the runs on the board, they’re worth a lot of money. She did everything right in the prep and, in the end, she was one of those uncomplicated horses that you take to an Easter Sale.”
Plenty to recommend her for the Guineas
Crystalane was one of 20 horses that padded out the Sledmere draft at that 2021 Easter Sale. She was the second best-selling of its fillies and, with such a page as she has, it was no surprise to Murphy.
Royston and Catriona Murphy
The second dam in this pedigree is the Danehill (USA) mare Monsoon Wedding, who is a full sister to no less than Redoute’s Choice and Platinum Scissors, and a three-quarter sister to Al Maher, the dam of Rubick in Sliding Cube (Rock Of Gibraltar {Ire}) and Twyla (Danehill {USA}), a daughter of Dancing Show (USA) (Nijinsky {Can}) and the subsequent dam of the Group 2 winner Murjana (Giant’s Causeway {USA}).
“At the time, we were a little surprised that George (Moore) bought her because they mainly buy colts,” Murphy said. “But she had plenty to recommend her, and she had the right amount of sass in a good way, which you do see in a lot of those good ones.”
Murphy said it was good to see Crystalane get up at Wyong on Tuesday. He half-expected it, knowing the filly as he did.
“The family suggests she’ll get over more ground so it will be good to follow her along now,” he said. “It’s nice to see them get their first start under their belt, and it’s nice to see in her pedigree that she will improve over distance. So I’d imagine that she will continue on that way and she’s in great hands with Mark Newnham.”
“The family suggests she’ll (Crystalane) get over more ground so it will be good to follow her along now.” - Royston Murphy
For China Horse Club, Crystal Flute has a Justify (USA) yearling and she’s in foal to So You Think (NZ). Her 2022 yearling was Pajanti (Pierro), who sold at this year’s Inglis Easter Yearling Sale to Kia Ora Stud for $500,000 from the Sledmere draft.
Sledmere Guineas double
The team at Sledmere had more than just Crystalane to cheer about on Tuesday, with another of its graduates winning on debut and also possessing a Guineas nomination.
At Donald, the 3-year-old Written Tycoon colt Bencoolen, touting the colours of ARAMCO Racing, won impressively for trainers Mick Price and Michael Kent Jnr, kicking right away to post a facile 2.75l win over the heavily back favourite, Gamadale Nip (Overshare).
The 1204-metre race was Bencoolen’s first under silks, but the manner of his victory suggested anything but. He won his race in 1:14.53 and, ridden by Damian Lane, he gave his rider every reason to suggest there was more to come.
“Very well-educated and prepared, as usual from this yard,” the jockey said in the post-race broadcast with Racing.com. “He did everything I asked of him and he was too good.”
“Very well-educated and prepared, as usual from this yard. He (Bencoolen) did everything I asked of him and he was too good.” - Damian Lane
Bencoolen is among the many early nominations for the G1 Caulfield Guineas on October 8. As expected, he’s among names like Best Of Bordeaux (Snitzel), Brereton (Zoustar), who posted a winning trial return on Tuesday morning at Pakenham, and the undefeated winner of last weekend’s G3 Vain S., Giga Kick (Scissor Kick).
He's also one of 13 horses from the Price-Kent Jnr yard that hold nominations to the Guineas.
The 3-year-old colt was purchased by ARAMCO Racing at the 2021 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale from the Sledmere draft, costing $190,000. He is the first foal from the unraced Stratum mare Stockton Abbey, and he was bred by Rob Roulston’s Rifa Mustang operation.
Bencoolen as a yearling | Image courtesy of Magic Millions
Stockton Abbey is a Rifa Mustang mare, and she’s a full sister to the Listed WATC Gimcrack S. winner Darlington Abbey (Stratum), the latter also third-placed in the G2 Western Australian Guineas.
This is also the family of the prominent Western Australian horse Rohan (Blackfriars), who won the G2 Western Australian Derby.
