Tracked – The Saturday Racing Review

Two freshman sires have made late bids for Golden Slipper representation as Drifting and Dublin Down secured ballot-exempt status for the world’s richest two-year-old race in winning at Rosehill.

The Peter and Paul Snowden-trained Drifting was no match for Saturday’s Listed Redoute’s Choice Stakes winner Bold Bastille down the Flemington straight last start, but back in her home in Sydney, she found another gear to claim the Magic Night Stakes.

Her success in the Group 3 race for fillies gave first-season stallion Zousain a maiden stakeswinner, with the son of Zoustar already a sire of five individual winners from 15 runners.

She has been a success for connections, exceeding her $160,000 purchase price with $192,050 in prizemoney.

Drifting was joined as a potential Slipper starter by the Group 3 Pago Pago Stakes winner Dublin Down, who made all the running for jockey Tim Clark to upset his more fancied rivals.

Trained by father-and-son duo Tony and Calvin McEvoy, Dublin Down notched his second success at this level, having won the Group 3 Maribyrnong Plate in November.

The $370,000 purchase from the 2023 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale has accrued $275,000 in prizemoney from his five career starts.

Dublin Down leads throughout in the @tabcomau Pago Pago Stakes!

A tough performance from the @mcevoymitchell trained son of Exceedance.

Another great frontrunning ride by Tim Clark #ExpectItAll #ChadonLadiesDay #RosehillGardens pic.twitter.com/0lFvb03o2M

— Australian Turf Club (@aus_turf_club) March 16, 2024

That victory gave him the distinction of being the first stakeswinner for Exceedance, who has made a strong start to his stallion career at Vinery Stud.

Zousain and Exceedance were prominent in stallion-making races throughout their careers, with their form intertwining among some of the most exciting young stallions standing in Australia.

A son of Zoustar, Zousain finished sixth in the Pago Pago in his two-year-old year, defeated by Written By, who himself looks to have a leading Slipper hopeful in Straight Charge.

He was forced to play second fiddle to The Autumn Sun, finishing runner-up in the Group 1 JJ Atkins and the Group 1 Golden Rose.

Zousain was the first colt home in the Group 1 Coolmore Stud Stakes in his three-year-old season, but again had to settle for second, this time at the hands of Sunlight, in a result that gave Zoustar a siring trifecta with Lean Mean Machine running third.

Exceedance went one better than Zousain in the Coolmore 12 months later, beating Bivouac, another young sire who now occupies a place on Darley’s Australian roster.

Cosmic Force and Alabama Express figured among the unplaced brigade in the 2019 Coolmore but like Exceedance and Bivouac, they have made promising starts to their stud careers.

A son of the recently retired stallion Exceed And Excel, Exceedance was a latecomer in his juvenile season, winning on the NSW provincial circuit before posting a city placing in two appearances.

The G3 Magic Night Stakes goes to Drifting for @SnowdenRacing1 and @tomo_sherry !@aus_turf_club pic.twitter.com/Ov2P9aI9fc

— SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) March 16, 2024

But he blossomed as a spring three-year-old, culminating in his Victoria Derby day triumph in the Coolmore that confirmed his future among our stallion ranks.

Bold Bastille is another youngster who may join the Slipper fray after her dominant win in the Listed Redoute’s Choice Stakes at Caulfield.

Sent out as an odds-on favourite, the speedy daughter of Brazen Beau was too fast for a small field.

Co-trainer Ben Hayes now has the option of sending Bold Bastille north for a shot at the $5 million Slipper.

“She did get pressured early … and she won quite easily again on the line, so that was really pleasing,” Hayes said.

“We now have to make a decision on what we do with her. We’re going to have a nice discussion with the owners over the next 24-48 hours and decide what we’re going to do.”

Zoustar’s ability to produce top racemares continued on Saturday, with Zougotcha notching her second Group 1 win with a gritty performance in the Coolmore Classic.

Champion rider James McDonald carved a path through the field, and was able to deny Semana in a close finish.

The star stallion of Widden Stud has sired seven individual Group 1 winners, of which five are mares.