Rubisaki (Rubick) winning the Gr.2 Kewney Stakes at Flemington

Rubisaki Claims Deserved G2 Victory

His Everest winner Yes Yes Yes might have been retired to stud, but Australia’s leading second crop sire Rubick has a new star on the rise in quality filly Rubisaki (3f Rubick x Senro Kisaki, by Danehill Dancer), who claimed her first Black Type victory with a dominant win in the Group II VRC Kewney Stakes (1400m) at Flemington on Saturday.

Trained in Victoria by Patrick Payne and sporting the familiar colours of Joe O’Neill’s Prime Thoroughbreds, Rubisaki was a last start winner of the lucrative $1million Inglis Sprint in Sydney and started favourite in this competitive contest featuring 14 fillies.

She produced her customary finishing burst to surge clear for Billy Egan and win by a length and a quarter taking her overall record to six wins and two seconds from eight starts with prizemoney just a whisker shy of $1million.

The best is still to come from Rubisaki with part-owner Joe O'Neill indicating the $7.5 million Golden Eagle (1500m) in Sydney this spring for four-year-olds would have to be a goal for later in the year.

"It's 1500 metres and she would get in," O'Neill said.

"She's a star.

"She's been to Sydney and won a $1 million race so she goes well on that leg.

"I think there's a lot more to come from her.

"I'm not sure exactly how good she is. We've looked after her and Patrick has done a marvellous job.

"There was some pressure to go to Sydney last week (for the Group I Surround Stakes) but we thought we'd wait here for this race and then we'll see where we go from here.

"She's a high class horse. Who knows what her limit is? She's won six out of eight and could have been eight from eight with any luck."

An $85,000 Inglis Classic purchase for Prime Thoroughbreds from the Edinburgh Park draft, Rubisaki was bred by Ian Smith and is the fourth winner from four foals to race from Senro Kisaki, a Sydney metropolitan winner by Danehill Dancer.

Coolmore’s Colm Santry has had a hand in the extended pedigree of Rubisaki.

He purchased her dam Senro Kisaki as a yearling at the Inglis Scone Sale for $80,000 and he also bought her imported mother Leifling (USA) from the Tattersalls Sales in the UK back in 1996 on behalf of Greg Nattrass, who bred Senro Kisaki.

The Coolmore team were delighted to have Senro Kisaki back at the farm last spring to visit Rubick again and she has a lovely weanling filly by So You Think.

Rubisaki is the third stakes-winner for Rubick, who was super popular last spring at the increased fee of $38,500 covering 262 mares.