Faith, persistence and good judgment had their rewards at Ellerslie last weekend when the Medaglia d’Oro colt Crown Prosecutor won the G1 New Zealand Derby.
A winner only once from his previous six starts, Crown Prosecutor came to the Derby without fanfare and with few admirers.
But from a number of angles, it was a victory that had everything – including a lot of influence by the Darley stallions.
Crown Prosecutor became Medaglia d’Oro's 22nd G1 winner, a G3 win last year having already placed him among the stallion’s 122 Stakes winners.
For Crown Prosecutor’s owners Harvey and Linda Green and Lib Petagna the benefit of winning a NZ$1 milliion race are obvious.
Thanks to the excellent judgment of noted New Zealand based bloodstock agent, Bruce Perry, who paid $50,000 for the colt at the 2017 Melbourne Premier Sale, the owners tapped into one of the outstanding families built by David and Jenny Moodie, arguably Australia’s most successful private breeders.
Crown Prosecutor is from Riptide, a winning Exceed And Excel mare who is a half-sister to the multiple Stakes winner Cross Current and from a family that includes the Stakes winners River Dove, Willow Creek, Ride The Rapids, First Command and the young stallion Headwater.
Which is where the faith and persistence come in.
In 2014, a year prior to her visiting Medaglia d’Oro, the Moodies had sent Riptide to then first-season stallion Sepoy, the mating producing the city winner Mulk.
Since producing Crown Prosecutor, Riptide has delivered, in successive years, foals by the Darley stallions Lonhro, Street Boss and Frosted.
At Tuesday’s session of the Premier Sale, the Street Boss filly – a half-sister to Crown Prosecutor - will be offered as Lot 414 as part of the Blue Gum Farm draft.
And anyone who misses out on her won’t need to wait long for another chance to buy into the family.
The very next Lot is a filly from Riptide’s half-sister River Express, a daughter of Hard Spun.
Crown Prosecutor was the first of two Stakes winners for Medaglia d’Oro over the past weekend with the three-year-old filly Cambier Parc proving much the best when winning the G3 Herecomesthebride Stakes at Gulfstream Park.
While Exceed And Excel featured as Crown Prosecutor’s damsire, he had a more direct role in the victory of his two-year-old son Microphone who raced to prominence in G1 Golden Slipper Stakes discussions with his win in Saturday’s G2 Skyline Stakes at Randwick.
