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Regally-bred colt gets chance to justify owner’s faith in Blue Diamond
Julius Sandhu was not shocked he fell in love with the horse we now as Lofty Strike at last year's Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale.
By Australia's champion sire, Snitzel, the bay colt with the big white blaze is out of 2013 Golden Slipper winner Overreach.
What did surprise the Cranbourne trainer was that his major owner, Paul Lofitis, was able to get him for $280,000.
So surprised that they didn't even bother watching him go through the ring.
"Paul and I were of the opinion that he was probably going to be a million-dollar colt," Sandhu recalled.
"We weren't actually at the venue at the time, we were doing the things we would normally do and keeping an eye on the sales, and then all of a sudden we saw he was passed in at $280,000.
"Paul rang me and said, 'what do you think?'. We didn't have anything to say there was something wrong with the horse based on all of the information we had, so Paul made an offer and the rest is history."
Lofitis got Lofty Strike, who was offered by Corumbene Stud, for $280,000.
Sandhu conceded his x-rays weren't clear, but there were no glaring deficiencies, and suggested the fact he had been identified as a windsucker might have played a part.
Windsucking is when a horse gulps air, either by arching its neck or biting a fence post or gate, which is rarely a serious issue but can be an impediment to trading horses overseas.
"His x-rays were not perfect, but they were not bad," Sandhu said. "Put it this way, they weren't a set of x-rays that would say don't buy the horse.
"The only other thing is that he was a windsucker. If you're taking out the Hong Kong market holistically, both the purchasers at the sale and the ones that would want to buy and train into Hong Kong, it takes out a reasonable chunk of the wealthy market.
"But what the reasons were is hard for me to comment on because I've got the horse so I clearly didn't see them."
Lofty Strike is a chance to justify that faith and become the first product of Snitzel to win the $1.5 million Group 1 Blue Diamond Stakes (1200m), to be run at Caulfield this Saturday, which could make him worth 100 times his purchase price.
While Overreach won the Golden Slipper, her family also has a strong link to the Diamond with her dam, Bahia (by Snippets), a half-sister to the 2009 Blue Diamond winner Reward For Effort.
Like Reward For Effort, Overreach is by Exceed And Excel.
Lofty Strike is Overreach's second foal to race, following Talbragar, now a four-year-old gelding who is also by Snitzel and won a Narromine maiden on debut last October.
Overreach's first foal, a colt by Sepoy, died after birth, she missed to Snitzel the years between Talbragar and Lofty Strike, has a yearling Snitzel filly and weanling Zoustar filly and last year visited Capitalist.
Below is a summary of the bloodlines of the other horses who make up this year's Blue Diamond field:
1 – Semillion (Shalaa x Sistonic): $300,000 Premier yearling who is by a Magic Millions-winning sire out of a mare who is a three-quarter sister to Black Caviar, being by Bel Esprit out of a daughter of Scandinavia (Danavia).
3 – Daumier (Epaulette x Illustrate): Godolphin homebred from a Street Cry mare who won a Surround Stakes when a Group 2 and was placed in the G1 Flight Stakes.
4 – Sebonack (Capitalist x Profound Wisdom): $260,000 Easter yearling by a sire of precocious types who is out of a half-sister to G2 Skyline Stakes winner Santos.
5 – Counttheheadlights (I Am Invincible x Tahni Dancer): $800,000 Gold Coast yearling whose sire needs no introduction from a dam who is a daughter of Tahni Girl, who ran fifth in what turned out to be a glittering Golden Slipper; the First 4 was Dance Hero, Charge Forward, Alinghi and Fastnet Rock. Third dam Ballroom Babe was the Champion 2YO Filly in New Zealand.
6 – Jacquinot (Rubick x Ponterro): Passed in for $90,000 when there was a reserve of $120,000, Saturday's favourite is by the sire of Everest winner Yes Yes Yes out of a half to Randwick Guineas winner Inference and NZ G2 winner Dragon Leap.
7 – Rampant Lion (Frankel x Furnival): Passed in at the Gold Coast when $550,000 reserve was not reached. By an unbeaten freak from an unraced Street Cry mare who is a half-sister to Varda and Yavanna, the dam of Kementari.
8 – Merchant Prince (Written Tycoon x Afleet Esprit): By the stallion who produced 2018 Blue Diamond winner Written By out of a Bel Esprit mare, which is the same cross as Ole Kirk. Afleet Esprit was no slouch, winning the G2 Thousand Guineas Prelude.
9 – Flashing Steel (Not A Single Doubt x Medaglia Valore): Part of the quartet of Not A Single Doubt colts who sold for seven figures on the Gold Coast last January, going for exactly $1 million. Out of a daughter of Military Rose, who won a Magic Millions 2YO Classic.
10 – Hafey (I Am Invincible x Beat The Benchmark): $525,000 Easter yearling by a champion stallion from an American mare who won at 1100m at two and was placed in the G1 Natalma Stakes (1600m).
11 – Revolutionary Miss (Russian Revolution x Purcentage): Part of the first crop of a dual Group 1-winning son of Snitzel out of a mare who is a daughter of Gimcrack Stakes winner Spurcent.
12 – Miss Roseiano (By Exceed And Excel x Special Lover): By a two-time Diamond-winning sire from a family who is one of the most famous in Australasian breeding. Dam Special Lover is a daughter of Special Diamond, who is a sister to Don Eduardo and a three-quarter sister to Octagonal and Mouawad.
13 – Kiki Express (Sepoy x Maloose): An Epona Park homebred is the only runner in this year's race who is by a Diamond winner from a Redoute's Choice mare who has had four others to race, the best being three-time winner Shahzade, although granddam Classic Plume is a half-sister to Lightning and Newmarket winner Isca.
14 – English Riviera (Deep Field x Second Time Lucky): A $260,000 Easter yearling from a mare who was Listed placed in NZ and has had only two others to race, both of whom are winners.
15 - Waltz On By (I Am Invincible x Stay With Me): Homebred daughter of champion stallion out of the best son or daughter of a champion filly, Miss Finland, who won a Golden Slipper after finishing second in a Blue Diamond.
16 – Seven Sisters (Street Boss x Pleiades): Another Godolphin homebred by the sire of the 2020 hot favourite and runner-up, Hanseatic, out of a mare who is a sister to the dam of top 2YO and G1-winning 3YO Flit.
BEST ON BREEDING: 1 – Lofty Strike; 2 – Counttheheadlights; 3 – Waltz On By.