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Victoria’s Sun Stud enjoyed one of its best days since its foundation with success on a number of fronts in Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide on Saturday.
Formerly Eliza Park International, the stud farm was purchased by the Sun International Group in 2013 and could not have wished for a better start to the new season with connections to four winners on Saturday:-
• Resident sire Wanted was responsible for two winners at Flemington (Shaf) and Morphettvile (Mystified)• Classy 3YO prospect Thronum carried the Sun Stud colours to a stakes victory at Randwick
• Talented Lonhro mare Beirut signed off on her career with a win in the G3 Spring Stakes at Morpettvile ahead of her mating with another Sun Stud stallion Magnus.
Trained by Ryan Balfour, Mystified was bred by Two Bays Farm and is out of the Forest Danger mare Ice Mist, a stakes winner in North America.
At Flemington Shaf recorded his seventh win to takes his earnings to more than $250,000 for owner Sheikh Hamdan’s Shadwell Stud.Shaf, who has won five of his last eight outings for the Lindsay Park stable, is out of the stakes winning Jade Robbery mare Jade Diva, also the dam of multiple Group winner Bliss Street and Sydney Group winner Jade Marauder.
Sun Stud will have high hopes in the G1 Golden Rose for Thronum (Snitzel x Helena’s Secret by Five Star Day) after his tough win at Randwick in the Listed Rosebud Stakes.The first stakes winner for the new training partnership of Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott, Thronum was purchased for $300,000 as a yearling by Sun Stud from the Highgrove Stud at the 2015 Australian Easter Yearling Sale.
Thronum is out of the US-bred mare Helena’s Secret (Five Star Day), a juvenile winner in Canada who is a half-sister stakes winner Tears I Cry and the stakes-placed Anna Dana.His winning grandam Mount Helena, a Danzig mare, is a half-sister to the late Street Cry, crowned Australia’s champion sire for last season.
Mount Helena is also the dam of French stakes winner Historian and the stakes-placed Helsinki, the dam of another leading sire Shamardal.
The Henry Dwyer trained mare made it vive win in succession for a career tally of eight wins and over $275,000 prizemoney.
Beirut (Lonhro x Leica Light by Hennessy) has been booked to be served by Magnus this spring by bloodstock agent Tim Stewart on behalf of her owners.Magnus finished the 2015/6 season with over 100 individual winners, 10 stakes wins and more than $6 million in progeny earnings with his oldest progeny just six.
Beirut, the 63rd stakes winner by Lonhro, is a homebred for Victoria’s Andrew Gilopoulous out of Leica Light, an eight-time winner and half-sister to dual NZ Group winner Delbrae.She is related to Leica Western (Best Western), dam of G1 Australasian Oaks winner Leica Smile (At Talaq).
Lonhro also had a stakes winner at Saratoga in New York when the 3YO colt Holding Gold won the Quick Call Stakes on the turf on August 4.Bred by Florida’s Live Oak Stud, Holding Gold is out of the G1 Gazelle Stakes winner and G1 Kentucky Oaks runner-up In the Gold (Golden Missile).
