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First Group 1 for son of champion Australian stallion
In the week it was announced Exceed And Excel had been retired from stud duty, Cylinder provided the son of Danehill with another win in the race he won so impressively in 2004.
The James Cummings-trained colt denied nine-time Group 1 winner Imperatriz a historic when he won the $1.5 million Group 1 Newmarket Handicap at Flemington.
It was the first win at the highest level for Cylinder but the second in the race for a son of Exceed And Excel following the win of Bivouac in 2020.
Cylinder, who was ridden by Jamie Kah, was already one of Exceed And Excel's 215 Stakes winners – a record for an Australian-bred stallion – but becomes the 20th individual Group 1 winner for the 23-year-old sire.
"It is with great sadness that we retired Exceed And Excel from the roster this week and amazing that in the same week one champion exits the stage and potentially the next potential champion stallion joins the roster," Cummings said.
"He's a very interesting horse, Cylinder.
"He's by Exceed and Excel who won a Newmarket and had over 200 Stakes (winners) with an amazing career as a stallion.
"He was the first horse that Sheik Mohammad bought in Australia, his first really big move into this country with Darley at the time.
"Now we've got Cylinder who is by that horse, from the family of Lonhro and he's out of a Street Cry mare so he's got it all and what he didn't yet have was a Group 1.
"Things just hadn't gone his way and now he's got the Newmarket to his name.
"That is a huge result for the farm, and he just had them covered a long way out."
Exceed And Excel retires the sire of more than 1800 winners who have amassed more than $271 million earnings across the globe.
