Silver Slipper perfect fit for Cylinder

Exceed And Excel colt resumes in stunning fashion to further boost sire’s amazing record with two-year-olds

Champion stallion Exceed And Excel’s ability to sire feature-race juvenile winners was again highlighted on Saturday, 18 March when Cylinder won the G2 Silver Slipper Stakes over 1,100m at Rosehill Gardens.

In the same month his Exceed And Excel two-year-old stablemates Zulfiqar (G3 Chairman’s Stakes) and Barber (G3 Blue Diamond Prelude) both won in Melbourne, Cylinder resumed from a spell with Brenton Avdulla in the saddle to score a powerful victory in Sydney.

Having only his third start after two close and unlucky seconds last November, the colt ran down Platinum Jubilee to win by a widening half-length. King’s Gambit finished third, a further long-neck away.

The James Cummings-trained Cylinder had trialled well at Rosehill last week and must now be a major contender for the G1 Golden Slipper at the same track on 18 March.

He is also the first stakes winner from the Street Cry mare Circular, the five-time winner including the G3 Schweppervesence Trophy at Flemington. 

Interestingly, Circular’s second foal, the progressive filly Parisal (Astern), was victorious in the race before the G2 Silver Slipper, providing the mare with a race-to-race double on the day.

Cylinder is a direct descendant of the G3-winning, multiple G1 placegetter Shadea (Straight Strike), a mare famed for being the dam of Darley's own Champion sire Lonhro.

Exceed And Excel has been a phenomenon at stud, the dual G1 winner now the sire of 568 two-year-old winners of 786 races worldwide.

Cylinder became his 87th juvenile Stakes-race winner, his 106th Group-race winner and his 209th Black-Type race winner.

Worldwide, his stock have won more than A$251 million in prize money.

Exceed And Excel had 12 lots sell at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale last month for an average of $590,000, with his top lot fetching a whopping $1.8 million.

His one lot, a colt out of Whispered Secret, sold at the Inglis Classic Yearling Sale in Sydney last week for $400,000.

Exceed And Excel led the stallion roster at Darley’s Kelvinside property in the NSW Hunter Valley last season, standing for a service fee of $132,000 (GST inclusive) and is set to continue for the 2023 season with his fee to be announced at a later date.