RACING NEWS BLUEBLOODS AND BATTLERS FOR MCEVOYS AT MORPHETTVILLE - PAGE 13 Saturday, May 2, 2020 | Dedicated to the Australasian bloodstock industry - subscribe for free: Click here DIRECT TO YOUR INBOX EVERY MORNING Alabama Express Read Tomorrow’s Issue For Saturday’s Stakes Reviews & Results retires to Yulong What's on Victorian stud continues its expansion by adding a second stallion Stakes races: Morphettville (SA) - TAB to its 2020 roster Classic (registered as Robert Sangster Stakes) (Gr 1, 1200m), Schweppes Oaks (registered as Australasian Oaks) (Gr 1, 2000m), Euclase Stakes (Gr 2, 1200m), Queen Of The South Stakes (Gr 2, 1600m), D C McKay Stakes (Gr 3, 1100m), Port Adelaide Cup (Listed, 2500m), Queen Adelaide Stakes (Listed, 1050m). Ascot (WA) - Northam Stakes (Gr 3, 1100m) Metropolitan meetings: Randwick - Kensington (NSW), Sandown (VIC), Doomben (QLD), Morphettville (SA), Ascot (WA) Race meetings: Newcastle (NSW), Kempsey (NSW), Horsham (VIC), Emerald (QLD) Barrier trials/ Jump-outs: Kempsey (NSW) International meetings: Tokyo (JPN), Kyoto (JPN), Fukushima (JPN), Taipa (MAC), Alabama Express SPORTPIX Oaklawn Park (USA) as Beneteau (Redoute’s Choice) and Zoustar International Group races: Oaklawn Park BY ANDREW HAWKINS | @ANZ_NEWS (Northern Meteor). (USA) - Arkansas Derby (Gr 1, 9f), Oaklawn roup 1-winning three-year-old “Obviously, Redoute’s Choice has been a Handicap (Gr 2, 9f). Tokyo (JPN) - TV Tokyo Alabama Express (Redoute’s great stallion himself and a sire of sires so we had Hai Aoba Sho (Japanese Derby Trial) (Gr 2, Choice), a horse that trainer been keeping an eye on sons of Redoute’s Choice,” 2400m). Mike Moroney says could have Yulong’s chief operating officer Sam Fairgray told G“potentially been the best horse I have trained”, has ANZ Bloodstock News yesterday. “We thought been retired and will stand at Yulong this spring. he was an ideal stallion prospect being out of an Yulong announced the retirement of Encosta De Lago mare, which is the same cross Alabama Express last night, with this year’s C as Beneteau, who was well on the path to sitting F Orr Stakes (Gr 1, 1400m) winner set to join alongside Not A Single Doubt and Snitzel until Grunt (O’Reilly) as part of their stallion cohort his untimely passing. He’s got the performance in 2020. By Redoute’s Choice out of an Encosta and he will suit the Australian broodmare band De Lago mare, he combines the same sire lines as well.” Continued on page 2>> Follow us @anz_news | 1 | Brought to you by Alabama Express retires to Yulong | 2 | Saturday, May 2, 2020 << Continued from page 1 Alabama Express was bred by Jonathan Munz’s GSA Bloodstock and was the fourth and final foal out of Lago Ovation (Encosta De Lago). The bay hails from a family that traces back to top Italian filly Bubinka (Nashua), his fifth dam, with the likes of Rekindled Interest (Redoute’s Choice), Designs On Rome (Holy Roman Emperor), Romanised (Holy Roman Emperor), Grey Swallow (Daylami) and Covert Love (Azamour) also from his wider family. Sent to the 2018 Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale from the Arrowfield Stud draft, he was purchased by Paul Moroney Bloodstock for $280,000 for Rupert Legh, with Moroney’s brother Mike to train. Alabama “Alabama Express was just a Alabama Express with owner Rupert Legh (centre) Express was cracking athlete and he had a lot and trainer Mick Moroney GETTY IMAGES just a cracking of quality, with a great mind,” Paul athlete and he had Moroney said. “He had a lot of his legendary Redoute’s Choice (Danehill) are particularly striking to a lot of quality, with a dad, Redoute’s Choice, about him. Fairgray, who was Arrowfield Stud’s operations manager for 14 years and He was a great moving horse and was closely involved with the three-time Australian Champion Sire. great mind to me, he was a stand-out on class. “I was lucky enough to work at Arrowfield for several years with - Paul He’s got all the hallmarks to make Redoute’s Choice,” Fairgray recalled. “He has so many characteristics Moroney a great stallion – he’s a Group 1 of his father. You get glimpses of his head and you think, ‘My god, that’s winner, he’s athletic and he’s a your father through and through.’ It’s really exciting to have a son of stand-out on type.” Redoute’s Choice and he’s going to get a great opportunity here at The similarities to the Yulong.” Continued on page 4>> Updated daily, the information on each stallion includes; top performer, recent race & auction results, upcoming race entries, sire statistics, hypothetical pedigrees with Truenicks Over 36,000+ 400,000 users in sessions Over 2019 5.2m screen views Follow us @anz_news | 2 | Brought to you by IN THE WORDS OF TRAINER, JOHN GOSDEN... “He’s a Ferrari-McLaren type. He is a very neat, compact powerful horse, and speed was his game.” NEW for 2020 TOO DARN HOT Dubawi - Dar Re Mi $44,000 inc GST Alabama Express retires to Yulong | 4 | Saturday, May 2, 2020 << Continued from page 2 Both Alabama Express and Grunt raced retiring with a lot more to give, but I understand why he’s being retired too. in the navy, gold and white colours of Legh. Alabama Express is the third He did have that virus as well and that could have made things difficult if freshman sire next season to have been owned by Legh, along with Newgate he didn’t come up in the spring. It’s an understandable decision. Farm’s Brutal (O’Reilly) and Vinery Stud’s Exceedance (Exceed And Excel). “However, he did have more to give. Potentially, he is the best horse Legh expressed to ANZ Bloodstock News earlier this year that he had I’ve had. He’d just hit his straps and now he’s off to stud. It’s pretty hard to included a clause to race Alabama Express into his four-year-old season tell, of course, but as far as natural ability goes, he has it as much as any and beyond, but Fairgray said that circumstances - both market forces horse that I’ve trained. He had speed and a great temperament to match. due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the virus which saw him end up in From the day we started moving him up, he was a natural.” Werribee Animal Hospital after Alabama Express raced only once as a two-year-old, winning a maiden In the end, he finishing last in the Australian at Sale. However, Moroney said that he’d been planning a Brisbane raid was one of Guineas (Gr 1, 1600m) - had seen for the J J Atkins (Gr 1, 1600m) until a minor setback ruled him out until the only three-year- the decision made to retire him to the spring. olds in the autumn stud earlier than planned. “He won his only start as a two-year-old and he was going to chase to beat the horses at “There was consideration to his Group 1 in Queensland,” Moroney explained. “Then he had a small racing him on, but with everything problem with a hock and we had to operate, it was just the band that holds weight-for-age and that has happened over the last the ligaments together, it was swelling a bit so we had to go in and nick the only one to do it few months, we just feel that the it. It’s a simple operation and that cost him black-type as a two-year-old.” at the highest level timing is right to retire him to At three, he won the Gothic Stakes (Listed, 1400m) at Caulfield when - Mike stud,” Fairgray said. “We’ll support sitting handy, before travelling near the rear and making ground late him with some very nice mares when midfield in the Coolmore Stud Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m). Moroney and give him a great opportunity An off-season three-year-old handicap win over the Flemington 1100 into the future.” metres earned him a spot in the C F Orr Stakes, where he sat three wide Mike Moroney added: “He’s and handy before fighting on strongly to the line. Continued on page 6>> ENTER NOW MAY 22-27 ONLINE SALE ENTRIES CLOSE MAY 20. Featuring broodmares, yearlings and racing stock. Catalogue available at inglisdigital.com Follow us @anz_news | 4 | Brought to you by Alabama Express retires to Yulong | 6 | Saturday, May 2, 2020 << Continued from page 4 Seven Group 1 winners were in behind: “It’s starting to build,” Fierce Impact (Deep Impact), Kings Will Dream (Casamento), Fifty Stars Fairgray said. “We’ve built up (Sea The Stars), Avilius (Pivotal), Scales Of Justice (Not A Single Doubt), some really nice broodmares Begood Toya Mother (Myboycharlie) and Hey Doc (Duporth). and the stallion facility is just “In the end, he was one of the only three-year-olds in the autumn to about complete. Now it’s a beat the horses at weight-for-age and the only one to do it at the highest process of going out and finding level,” Moroney said. “And the day he did it, he had a torrid trip, he sat the stallions that we think will three-wide and he still beat them. It was a great performance. Obviously suit the Australian broodmare Yes Yes Yes did it in the spring, but we were expecting it to happen more in population. Grunt and Alabama the autumn and yet he was the one.” Express, obviously as our first Zhang Yuesheng’s Yulong is one of the newest players in the Victorian couple, are going to be really well breeding industry, having purchased the former Limerick Lane in 2018 supported with the broodmare and now presents two stallions to the market.