Commanding Hope turned his three recent runner-up finishes into a win in emphatic fashion when landing the G3 Bletchingly Stakes over 1200m at Caulfield.
The consistent Commands four-year-old won by three lengths to record his third win for his owner/breeders. In nine starts he has also been second four times. Commanding Hope is the eighteenth Stakes winner for Commands, who stands for Darley at Denman at a fee of $66,000 (inc. GST).
There was also success for Cootamundra resident Strategic, who sired the quinella in the STC Rosebud Quality at Rosehill when Desuetude led home previous winner Aichi, both in Sheikh Mohammed’s colours.
In Germany on Sunday, Tiger Hill also enjoyed Listed success when Allanit won the Pattex Rennen on the Preis der Diana (German Oaks) card. Bred by H Pferdmenges, the four-year-old colt is out of the Monsun mare Astibe and is already a winner this season, having landed the Movenpick-Preis at Baden-Baden in May. He is the 22nd Stakes winner for Tiger Hill.
Exceed And Excel may have been crowned Champion first-season sire in Australia but the story of his first crop is far from over as he continues to sire northern hemisphere-bred winners. The latest, Olynard, was making his second start and scored decisively over 1000m at Lingfield. He is the thirteenth individual winner in Europe from a smart bunch of debutants which include Royal Ascot winner Flashmans Papers and G2 runner-up Spin Cycle.
