Owner Lloyd Williams is certainly not shy when it comes to importing European stayers for Australia's Cups races, and he looks to have unearthed another potential star in that realm in the form of Saturday's G1 Metropolitan winner Foundry. Initially campaigned in Europe by the Coolmore partners, Foundry finished second in the 2013 G2 Great Voltigeur S. and fifth in that year's G1 St Leger. Expatriated the following March to join trainer Robert Hickmott's string Down Under, Foundry had previously done little to turn heads in his new setting. Off for nearly a year after finishing third in a Caulfield handicap last September, Foundry was beaten three-quarters of a length in a Moonee Valley handicap on return on Sept. 9 and was racing second up here. Settled off the pace early, Foundry was third and three wide at the top of the stretch. Put to a drive by Michael Dee thereafter, the bay battled down the middle of the track as Big Duke came with a run up the inside. Foundry hit top gear approaching the 100 metre mark as Big Duke squeezed between horses to engage him, but Foundry had more to give as they came down to the wire, getting there a half-length the best.
Young Melbourne-based rider Dee said, “I'm speechless, I've never ridden a winner at this track, I've been up here a few times now. To win a Group 1, I just couldn't be happier. To Lloyd Williams and the team at Macedon Lodge, thank you very much for having me on. The horse is a beauty, he's just lovely to ride, they brought him here in tip-top shape and he ran accordingly. He jumped really well and got there quite easily, I didn't have to use up much gas early. I got pushed out three-wide on the bend, but luckily I was able to come back and land in the one-one. From then on he travelled beautifully throughout, the team said once he got to the 800m to make it a true staying test so I let him stride and to the horse's credit, he toughed it right out.”
Pedigree Notes…
Although gelded, Foundry boasts a page that would stand out anywhere in the world. By the perennial champion sire Galileo, he is out of GI Las Virgenes S. winner Sharp Lisa, herself a half-sister to GI Donn H. winner and sire Spring At Last (Silver Deputy) and dual graded winner Sharp Susan (Touch Gold), the latter the dam of two stakes-placed horses including the once highly regarded 3-year-old Indiano Jones (A.P. Indy). The third dam produced three stakes winners, including the four-time Group 1 winner and sire Bien Bien (Manila). Foundry's three years younger Housesofparliament went slightly better than his elder brother in the St Leger, placing third last year, and like Foundry he was also second in the Voltigeur. Sharp Lisa's most recently recorded progeny is a yearling colt by Galileo.
Saturday, Randwick, Australia
METROPOLITAN H.-G1, A$755,000, ATC, 9-30, 3yo/up, Open Handicap, 2400mT, 2:27.73, Good.
1–FOUNDRY (IRE), 50.5, g, 7, by Galileo (Ire)
1st Dam: Sharp Lisa (USA) (GISW-US, $658,100), by Dixieland Band (USA)
2nd Dam: Winter's Gone (USA), by Dynaformer (USA)
3rd Dam: Stark Winter (USA), by Graustark (USA)
*1st Group 1, 1st stakes win. O-N C Williams, Mr & Mrs L J
Williams, M S Gudinski, P M Mehrten, B N Singer, V J
Sammartino, Echo Beach Bloodstock P/L, J & Mrs F Ingham,
Heffernan Bloodstock; B-Smithfield Inc, IRE; T-Robert
Hickmott; J-M J Dee; A$435,500. Lifetime Record: GSP-Eng,
16-3-3-3, A$670,509. *Full to Housesofparliament (Ire), GSW &
G1SP-Eng, GSP-Ire, £186,051. Werk Nick Rating: A++. Click for
the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Big Duke (IRE), 55.0, g, 5, Raven's Pass–Hazarayna (GB), by
Polish Precedent (USA). (€50,000 2YO 2014 Arqana May
Breeze Up Sale) O-Australian Bloodstock, Get The Dukes Out
Racing, Leroys No 2, Bartholomeusz Racing, Buckling, G & M
Barnett Racing, J Shaw, Carty Racing, S McInnes, P Johnson, O
Barry, G Makauskas; B-Mount Coote Stud & Richard Pegum,
IRE; T-D K Weir; J-B Avdulla; A$141,000.
3–Chocante (NZ), 54.5, g, 5, Shocking–Strictly Maternal (NZ), by
O'Reilly (NZ). O-M W Freeman & D G Price; B-M W Freeman &
D G Price, Central, NZ; T-S B Marsh; J-C W Brown; A$74,250.
Margins: 0.5 len, 1.8 len, 2.6 len. Odds: 9.00, 4.00, 20.00.
Also Ran: Who Shot Thebarman (NZ), Broadside (NZ), Libran (IRE), Antonio Giuseppe (NZ), My Diamantine (NZ), Life Less Ordinary (IRE), Destiny's Kiss.
Click for the Racing Post result. Click for the free Arion.co.nz catalogue-style pedigree.
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