Camelot Contributes To A Special Day

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The first southern hemisphere stakes winner by Camelot contributed to a day of significant black type results for the Murray Baker/Andrew Forsman training partnership in Australia and New Zealand on Saturday.

Savabeel colt The Chosen One registered a G3 win at Randwick in the Frank Packer Plate while the Group and Listed wins by Quick Thinker (So You Think) and Lord Arthur (Camelot) at Ellerslie were notable on several fronts.

Quick Thinker won the Listed Champagne Stakes before Baker and Forsman took the honours in the G2 Valachi Downs Championship Stakes with Lord Arthur, a half-brother to four winners including the stable’s multiple G1 winner and two-time New Zealand Horse of the Year Bonneval (Makfi).

Progressive three-year-old Lord Arthur (Camelot x Imposingly by Zabeel) is the 14th stakes-winner worldwide for the former Coolmore shuttle sire, a classic winning son of Montjeu who served only one season in Australia.

Lord Arthur was retained by his breeder Peter Newsome after he was passed in on reserve of $110,000 when offered by Westbury Stud at the 2017 NZB Premier Sale at Karaka, the same sale where his half-sister Bonneval made $150,000 in 2015.

She went on to win a G1 treble in the New Zealand Oaks, ATC Australian Oaks and Underwood Stakes and earned more than $1.5 million.

Imposingly is also the dam of other stakes winners Full Of Spirit (Flying Spur), Lady Cumquat (Duke Of Marmalade) and Imposing Lass (Makfi).

Lord Arthur has now had eight starts for two wins, two placings and $73,850 prizemoney.

Australian-bred juvenile Quick Thinker (So You Think x Acouplamas by Al Maher) gave the stable a record 21st black type winner in NZ for the season.

Prepared for Australian-based syndicators OTI Racing, Quick Thinker was a $100,000 buy for De Burgh Equine from the Australian Easter Yearling Sale where he was offered by Coolmore on behalf of his breeders Bowcock Bloodstock.

The 17th stakes winner by So You Think, he is a half-brother to the G3 placed The August (I Am Invincible) from the family of G1 Victoria Derby winner Blackfriars and South Australian Oaks winner Larrocha.

OTI Racing also enjoyed trans-Tasman success on Saturday when their imported stayer Grey Lion (Galileo x Grey Lilas by Danehill) won the G3 JRA Plate at Randwick, becoming the 290th stakes winner for his champion sire.

Originally trained in France, Grey Lion won his first Australian race at Randwick last year when trained in Victoria by Matt Cumani before he ws transferred to Sydney trainer Matthew Smith.