First Stakes Horse for Merchant Navy

Fastnet Rock’s exciting young sire son Merchant Navy had two runners in the time honoured first Australian juvenile stakes races of the season in Sydney at Randwick on Saturday with both horses acquitting themselves well and Drisana (2f Merchant Navy x Broadband, by Sebring) earning valuable Black Type with a gallant second placing.

The Group III ATC Gimcrack (1000m) was won in explosive fashion by the race favourite Coolangatta, who clocked a new class record in running the 1000m in 56.78 seconds, but the run of the Peter and Paul Snowden trained filly Drisana to finish second was full of merit.

She had a chequered run up the straight, but did enough to garner high praise from her rider Kerrin McEvoy.

“That was really pleasing. We had to duck and weave up the running after beginning a bit slowly but the best is ahead of her,” he said.

Drisana was foaled and raised at Segenhoe as was her sire Merchant Navy and fetched $125,000 at the Inglis Weanling Sale when purchased by Donald Dickie.

Bred by Peter Horwitz, she is the first foal of Group III winning Sebring mare Broadband, a juvenile winner whose dam is a three-quarter sister-in-blood to Group I winner Anamato, the dam of superstar colt Anamoe.

In the Group III ATC Breeders Plate (1000m) for colts and geldings the Ciaron Maher and David Eustace trained colt Calico Jack (2c Merchant Navy x Shrill, by Shamardal) finished off his race well to claim sixth place beaten just over two lengths by the winner Sejardan.

“Very happy with the run,” said his rider Robbie Dolan.

“He didn’t really know what he was doing the first half of the race, but hit the line very well at the end.”

Merchant Navy has 49 entries for the 2022 Golden Slipper that include both Drisana and Calico Jack.

A dual Group I winner by Fastnet Rock, Merchant Navy is well priced this spring at a fee of $33,000.