Australia’s best breeders have joined together and put their faith in Best Of Bordeaux completing the journey from race track to stud as a spring three-year-old.
Coolmore’s Tom Magnier, who has become an industry leader, put together the deal to purchase a majority of the Snitzel colt after he finished second to Fireburn in the Golden Slipper.
Best Of Bordeaux will wear the famous navy blue silks and will have James McDonald in the saddle for first time on raceday when he resumes in the San Domenico Stakes at Rosehill on Saturday, but he will also carry the hopes of some breeding heavyweights.
James McDonald gets a feel of Best of Bordeaux in a recent Rosehill barrier trial.Credit:Getty
“He was an easy sell being the best colt of his generation, and I think people appreciate that and wanted to be involved with him,” Magnier said.
“The people involved have the best bands of mares in the country and, if he is as good as we think he is, he will get tremendous support when he goes to stud.
“He just has to do it on the track now, and we are excited about what lies ahead.”
In a year where Godolphin’s Blue Diamond winner Daumier was the only colt to take out a group 1, Best Of Bordeaux put together a series of wins that made him the standout colt of the generation.
He won the Canonbury Stakes and Silver Slipper before his brave attempt to lead all the way in the Golden Slipper. Those results made him Timeform’s top-rated colt last season.
Coolmore was able to get a controlling interest in Best Of Bordeaux from Tony Fung’s Aquis Farm. Aquis remain in an ownership group that includes Widden Stud, Qatar Bloodstock, Cressfield, Torryburn Stud, Bowness Stud, Peachester Lodge and Bangaloe Stud.
Add Gerry Harvey, who kept his share in the colt he bred, and Sir Owen Glenn’s Go Bloodstock, and the ownership group is one you would only find in a premium sale catalogue.
Gold Coast trainer Kacy Fogden continues to guide the campaign of Best Of Bordeaux, which she picked out at the Magic Millions as a yearling, and understands how important winning a group 1 like the Golden Rose or Coolmore Stud Stakes will be this spring.
“There is a big bunch of people to keep happy, but I probably won’t feel that pressure until raceday because, up until now, I have been concentrating on the horse,” Fogden said.
“You just want to get the best out of him, and we have worked to get him to settle so he can run 1400m this spring.
“Everyone has seen him at the trials; he is going really well. It’s a starting point on Saturday, so there is improvement left there because he has some really important goals later on.
“It is exciting, but we’ll just see what he does before deciding where he might finish this spring.”
There is also the shadow of The Everest, where Coolmore would be prepared to use their slot for the three-year-old, as they did with Yes Yes Yes when he won the world’s richest turf race in 2019.
“We have won it with a colt before, and if Best Of Bordeaux shows he is up to that it is certainly an option,” Magnier said.
Supplied by Racing NSW
Full form and race replays available at racingnsw.com.au.
