One aspect of Vancouver’s commanding 2015 Golden Slipper victory that has barely rated a mention in the columns of post-race coverage the world’s richest 2-year-old event has received is the extended sireline this exceptional young racing talent represents.
Well, for the very first time in the race’s glorious history, the breed-shaping event of the Australian thoroughbred industry was claimed by a maleline descendant of the immortal Sadler’s Wells!
An immediate son of Medaglia D’Or (USA) and paternal grandson of El Prado, Vancouver traces directly back to a legendary stallion that has virtually influenced every form of thoroughbred competition on the planet. Now Sadler’s Wells has a Golden Slipper triumph to be added to his incomparable record.
“Who’d have thought a maleline descendant of Sadler’s Wells would win a Golden Slipper ,” observed Bowness Stud proprietor John North. “It’s quite possibly the beginning of a new era in Australian thoroughbred racing and breeding .”
North took special delight in the history making triumph of Vancouver as he stands Bullet Train (GB), one of the last remaining sire-sons of Sadler’s Wells at stud in Australia. And it wasn’t just the Golden Slipper on last weekend’s Rosehill Gardens program that highlighted the pre-potency of the Sadler’s Wells sireline but the majority of the Group 1 events scheduled on the stellar program.
As North points out: “While Vancouver’s Golden Slipper win was obviously the highlight, don’t forget that a son of High Chapparal (Contributer) won the Rawson Stakes and a grandson of Montjeu (Volkstok’n’barrell) landed the Rosehill Guineas. I suppose it’s nothing less than we have come to expect from this remarkable sireline .”
It was the Golden Slipper win of Vancouver that gave North most satisfaction however, and for very good reason. The new star of the Australian turf is bred on remarkably similar terms to Bullet Train as both were produced by daughters of Danehill (USA).
“Sadler’s Wells over Danehill has been enormously effective ,” re-affirmed North.”This is especially so through Galileo as this specific line of breeding has produced the likes of world acclaimed Group 1 winners Teofilo, Intello, Tapestry, Maybe etc, as well as Bullet Train’s three-quarter brothers Frankel and Noble Mission of course .
“Vancouver is just the latest elite galloper bred on these proven lines .”
North added that he could not be more impressed with the first locally-bred crop of Bullet Train that landed on the ground last season.
“Bullet Train’s first crop is unquestionably the finest group of foals I’ve seen in all my years of breeding — and I’m talking 40 years! ” he confirmed.”They are virtually all bays .He [Bullet Train] is a homozygous bay like Sadler’s Wells and Danehill, so we really couldn’t be more encouraged by the early signals .
North concluded: “We intend to offer a quality selection of first weanlings at the bloodstock sales in Sydney, on the Gold Coast and in Melbourne during May and June. Our timing couldn’t be much better considering the parallels that can be drawn between Bullet Train and this year’s outstanding Golden Slipper winner .”
– Bowness Stud
