Storm Leopard added to the growing reputation of his sire Ghaiyyath while forcing a potential autumn campaign pivot in winning the G2 Tulloch Stakes at Rosehill on Saturday, 28 March.
Making a Sydney debut, the Victorian-trained Storm Leopard advanced his record to three wins and one placing for Lindsay Park’s Ben, Will and JD Hayes.
The gelding relished stepping out to 2,000m for the first time, drawing clear for a 1-3/4 length win in a race that is a final lead-up to the G1 ATC Australian Derby at Randwick on Saturday, 4 March.
Raced by micro syndicator MyRacehorse, Storm Leopard isn’t entered for the Derby, but Ben Hayes says the ease of the Tulloch victory is likely to prompt a rethink.
“If he pulls up well, (the Derby) will definitely be something that will be considered,” he said.
“It will be a good discussion to have.”
Out of the Street Cry mare Brilliance, Storm Leopard was bred by Premier Bloodstock and cost $125,000 at the 2024 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale, while Ghaiyyath’s yearlings have sold up to $625,000 this year.
Ghaiyyath, the 2020 European Horse Of The Year, has sired 84 winners globally, with Storm Leopard bringing up his sire’s 10th individual Stakes winner.
He is also the sire of Godolphin’s two-time G1 winner Observer, the favourite to add the Australian Derby to his G1 Victoria Derby success at Flemington in the Australian spring.
Ghaiyyath’s impact this season has been underlined by a strong tally of three-year-old Stakes winners, headlined by victories in the G1 Victoria Derby and G1 Australian Guineas, and supported by further success in the G2 Moonee Valley Vase, G2 Autumn Stakes and G2 Tulloch Stakes, along with the Listed Hill Smith Stakes, Jim Moloney Stakes and VRC Trophy - eight Stakes wins in total across distances from 1,400m to 2,500m.
That return sees him sit alongside I Am Invincible and Snitzel as leading sires of three-year-old Stakes winners this season.
