Randwick Guineas Triumph for Mosheen

On a big weekend for leading sire Fastnet Rock, the icing was put on the cake when his star filly Mosheen (3f Fastnet Rock x Sumehra, by Stravinsky) again asserted her dominance over the colts with an amazing victory in the Group I ATC Randwick Guineas. The Robert Smerdon trained filly finished second in last year’s Golden Slipper over 1200 metres and then coasted to a nine length win in the Group I VRC Oaks in the spring over 2500 metres, but it’s somewhere in the middle of that distance range that we really see the best of her. Mosheen bested the colts last start to win the Group I VRC Australian Guineas over 1600 metres at Flemington and then repeated the effort on a rain soaked Randwick to take this 1600 metre feature by a neck over progressive geldings Said Com and Laser Hawk. Drawn awkwardly in gate 12, Danny Nikolic allowed Mosheen to settle back in the field and as we’ve seen before, her scintillating turn of foot is what allows her to somehow snatch a victory out of what often appears at the top of the straight a certain defeat. “Looking at it early I thought she was gone after all the buffeting... I’d all but conceded at the 200, I thought she’d just run out of time, but she’s such a good filly,” said Robert Smerdon. “She ran down a couple of furlongs the other morning. I asked Danny to run home in about 26 and she did it 22.8 with him swinging off her and that’s what separates these really good horses from the others. “She has a great constitution and can really hold her condition, so we’re not at the end of her yet.” Purchased for $250,000 from the Bylong Park Thoroughbreds draft at the 2010 Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale, Mosheen has the impressive record of six wins and five placings from 13 starts with $2.3 million in prizemoney. From six starts at Group I level, Mosheen has was won three of them and finished second twice, her only failure when finishing sixth to Hurtle Myrtle against the older mares in the Group I VRC Myer Classic against the older mares. She is entered for everything in coming weeks – Rosehill Guineas, Vinery Stud Stakes, AJC Oaks, Derby and Doncaster, so connections have some enviable decisions to make. Raced by a partnership including her original owner Phil Sly and leading Japanese breeder Katsumi Yoshida, Mosheen is one of eight Group I winners for leading young sire Fastnet Rock and is the second of his Group I winners trained by Robert Smerdon, who also puts the polish on SAJC Goodwood Handicap winner Lone Rock. Bred by Bylong Park Thoroughbreds, Mosheen is the first foal of the Stravinsky (USA) mare Sumehra (NZ), a winning half-sister to Group I HK Derby and International Mile winner Lucky Owners and stakes-winner Miss Power Bird from the family of champion racehorse Might and Power, whose many wins included Melbourne Cup, Caulfield Cup and Cox Plate. Fastnet Rock also featured earlier in the day when his two year-old filly Jade Marauder (2f Fastnet Rock x Jade Diva, by Jade Robbery) booked a berth in the Golden Slipper with a fast finishing win in the Group III ATC Sweet Embrace Stakes. Fastnet Rock has a stunning draft of 50 youngsters to be offered at the 2012 Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale.