Juvenile summary: Cap It All captures black type on debut, 'magic temperament' propels Amosu to Magic Millions Debut win

Cover image courtesy of Peter Rubery (Race Images)

Capitalist filly puts in huge performance for debut Listed win

The debutante To Cap It All (Capitalist) provided her Inglis Classic Yearling Sale-bound half-sister a timely pedigree update with victory in the Listed Wellesly S. at Trentham on Saturday. Trained by Stephen Marsh, the 2-year-old filly had won her only trial in December and dug deep when challenged several times in the home straight, ultimately emerging the winner by a 0.1l margin over the more seasoned Abbakiss (Microphone).

Bred by Ridgemont Farm in partnership with Boutique Thoroughbreds, To Cap It All was a $280,000 graduate of Ridgemont’s Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale draft where she was purchased by Marsh Racing and Dylan Johnson Bloodstock.

“We loved this filly right from the moment we first saw her,” said Dylan Johnson. “You have to pay a bit of money to buy nice fillies like her, but we’re lucky to have an amazing group of owners that put their support behind us to do that.

“She’s a big, strong filly who moved beautifully at the sales. She looked great in the parade today and acquitted herself very well on debut.

“We were confident coming into today. Stephen (Marsh) has had a big opinion of her all the way through, and she’s a filly with a lovely attitude. It’s never easy for a first starter in a race like this, going up against proven stakes horses. It was a massive effort to travel this far and win on debut.”

Connections eye the G2 Matamata Breeders’ S. in February as a potential next target.

“She’s a stakes-winning filly with a big pedigree and has done a great job already,” Johnson continued.

To Cap It All is the third foal from winning Snitzel mare Oh My Mimi, a daughter of G2 Tristarc S. winner Mimi Lebrock (Show A Heart), making To Cap It All’s dam a half-sister to G3 Black Opal S. winner Barbaric, who has six yearlings from his first crop of foals selling next week in Book 2 of the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale, and a full sister to G3 Gimcrack S.-placed Diddles.

Oh My Mimi’s filly by first-season sire Stay Inside will be Lot 491 in Alma Vale’s draft at the Inglis Classic Yearling Sale next month.

'Pleasure to train' Amosu dominant in Debut on the Gold Coast

A winner of two of her trials, including beating out subsequent dual winner La Bella Boom (Spirit Of Boom) in December, Amosu (Invader) well justified her short quote when winning the $500,000 Magic Millions The Debut at the Gold Coast track on Saturday. The tough Liam Birchley-trained filly clashed with Darn Hot Lady (Too Darn Hot {GB}) down the straight and snatched victory from her in the shadow of the winning post, ultimately getting her head 0.1l in front.

“It’s been great, she’s a pleasure to train,” Birchley told 7HorseRacing. “Cameron and Kellie Bond (of Kenmore Lodge) broke her in, and they did a lot of the hard work for me.

“She’s got a magic temperament, she got Barrier one, and (jockey) Nikita (Beriman) knows her well. It all came together. (We were) happy to lead if we landed there, but we just didn’t know how much pressure there was going to be. I left it up to her (Beriman) and they came up trumps.”

Bred by Miss B Langbecker, Amosu was offered at the Magic Millions Gold Coast March Yearling Sale by Kenmore Lodge, where Bloodstock Solutions signed the docket for $60,000 for the filly.

She is the second foal from five-time winner Precipitate (Masked Assassin), a daughter of Listed Inglis Premier Yearling Sales S.-placed Pray For Reign (Fairy King {USA}). Pray For Reign is a half-sister to G3 St Leger-placed Tumble Home (Salieri {USA}) and closely related to dual Australian Champion Jumper, 13-time winner Gold Medals (Elvstroem). Precipitate passed away in early 2024, leaving behind a filly by Profiteer.

King’s Legacy’s first winner pings the lids at Wyong

Coolmore Stud’s King’s Legacy got his name on the board with a debut win from his daughter Kujenga in the first race at Wyong’s The Lakes raceday on Saturday. The Annabel Neasham and Rob Archibald-trained filly led from the jump and fought off a late challenge from Damien (Hellbent) to take the win by 0.17l.

“She was very impressive,” stable representative Megan O’Leary said. “She really pinged the lids and after that, she was never going to be caught.”

Bred by Mr C Barham and Binalong Bloodstock, Kujenga was offered by Lime Country Thoroughbreds at the Inglis Classic Yearling Sale last year, where she was purchased by Triple Crowns Syndications for $70,000.

She is the first foal from Jenga (All Too Hard), a half-sister to dual Listed winner Granny Red Shoes (Not A Single Doubt), dam of the promising Listed Blue Diamond Preview (colts & geldings) winner High Octane (Deep Field). Another half-sister Miss Shanghai (Flying Spur) is the dam of Listed Raconteur S.-winning Brave Spirit (Brave Smash {Jpn}).

Segenhoe Stud offered Kujenga’s half-sister by Stay Inside at the Gold Coast this week, where she was knocked down to Michael Hickmott Bloodstock for $200,000. Jenga missed to Capitalist last season and revisited him in November. Winner of the G1 Champagne S. and the G1 Sires Produce S., King’s Legacy has been well-supported in his burgeoning stud career, having covered an average of 132 mares per year across his first four seasons.

'Feisty' Too Darn Crystal too darn quick at Cranbourne

Mick Price and Michael Kent Jr.'s Too Darn Crystal (Too Darn Hot {GB}) continued the upwards trajectory of her sire, who currently sits atop the second season sires tables for both winners and prizemoney, with a dominant debut win in the $40,000 2YO Maiden Plate at Cranbourne’s Saturday night meeting. Runner-up Cloisters (Frosted {USA}) was no match for the filly, finishing 3l behind, with the third-placed Wild Roses Grow (Hanseatic) a further 2.5l behind.

“It (the race) went to plan perfectly,” Max King, stable representative, said. “She showed some early speed in her two jump-outs and there’s been a bit of form around that, and at Cranbourne, if you are out in front and skip away, you can be really hard to run down. It was good to see her do that.

"We did want her to sit just off the leader, but there was no point fighting her. She jumped two lengths in front and was travelling along, and she had plenty left in her to kick up the top of the straight.

“She is a feisty little thing (at home), she’s got a bit of a temper - good fillies are like that.”

Bred and retained by Hesket Bloodstock, Too Darn Crystal is the first foal from Crystal Star (Starspangledbanner), a half-sister to 11-time winner Crystal Dreamer (Stratum), victor of the G3 Heath S., and Fast Talker (Fastnet Rock), dam of three-time Group 1 winner Zougotcha (Zoustar), as well as the Listed winners The Actuary (Sebring) and Persuader (Zoustar). Hesket Bloodstock also bred Crystal Star out of Listed Dequetteville S.-winning Crystal Wit (Distorted Humor {USA}).

Crystal Star has a yearling filly by Gold Standard, who is catalogued as Lot 614 in Maluka Thoroughbreds’ draft at the Inglis Premier Yearling Sale this year and was served by Bivouac in October.

Luana Miss locks in for stylish debut win at Ascot

The tenacious Luana Miss (Bivouac) made good on the promise of her last Belmont trial, where she skipped away to a 3.7l over 850 metres, with a stylish win in the $80,000 Magic Millions Plate at Ascot on Saturday. Trained by Trevor Andrews, the filly surged past fellow debutante Baby Pearl (Rommel) to win by 1.82l in the 1000-metre event. She gets a second win on the board for her sire Bivouac, who celebrated his first winner just after Christmas with his daughter Intention's victory in the G2 Wakefield Challenge S. at Manawatu.

“She has shown really good ability at home and her trials have been super,” said Andrews. “It’s been a bit of a while since she trialled, but her work on the track has just been pretty special. We were pretty confident, but I was a bit nervous pre-race (as) she was on her toes and misbehaved a bit. She runs a bit hot, but she’s got a motor.

“She’s got a really good turn of foot, and really good ability. She’s out of a mare called Little Bit Ditsy, so maybe I should have read into that a bit more when I bought her!

“She’s a really nice filly with a lot of upside, so if she pulls up well, we will probably go to the Perth Magic Millions.”

Bred by Mr CB Atwell, Luana Miss was offered at last year’s Magic Millions Perth Yearling Sale by Western Breeders Alliance, where she was snapped up by her trainer for $110,000.

She is the fourth named foal for metro-winning, Listed Princess S.-placed Little Bit Ditsy (Bel Esprit), a half-sister to Listed Adelaide Guineas winner Vienna Miss (Snitzel), from the family of dual Group 1 winner Hollow Bullet (Tayasu Tsuyoshi {Jpn}) and G3 Breeders' S. winner Last Bullet (High Chaparral {Ire}). Little Bit Ditsy has a yearling filly by Farnan and was served this spring by Playing God after missing last season to Splintex.

La Roux thrills with back-to-back wins at Murray Bridge

Well-related Zousain filly La Roux rocketed to a 2.29l debut win at Morphettville on Boxing Day and she followed it up with a demolition job at Murray Bridge on Saturday. Kicking off the card in the $65,000 Magic Millions 2YO Plate, the Phillip Stokes trainee motored away in the home straight to a 2.8l victory over Eagerly Awaits (Written Tycoon).

“There was a bit of pressure to get out there with such a short quote, but she’s done well,” said stable representative Kerrin Stokes. “She’s very professional, she does everything right and she’s taken the ownership group on a good journey so far.

“Lachlan (Neindorf) was happy to let that horse (Eagerly Awaits) lead and just keep her in a nice rhythm. It’s added another string to her bow, having to follow another horse into the race. If she pulls up well, then we could look to the Listed Cinderella in six weeks time, or we could look to a Blue Diamond Preview and roll the dice.”

Bred by Widden Stud Australia Pty Ltd, Mr P Bittar, Mr A Swales, The Racing Agency, and Mr J McDermott, La Roux was a $60,000 purchase for Phillip Stokes Racing and Rick Connolly Bloodstock from Widden’s draft at the Inglis Premier Yearling Sale. She brings up four multiple winners for Thrill (NZ) (Flying Spur), half-sister to eight-time winner, G3 Blamey S. victor Star Of The Seas (NZ) (Ocean Park {NZ}) and Group 1-placed stallion Spieth (NZ).

Proven Thoroughbreds and Matt Hoysted Racing paid $90,000 for Thrill’s yearling colt by Trapeze Artist (Lot 24) on Day 1 of the Magic Millions sale at the Gold Coast this week. She has a filly at foot by Jacquinot and returned to Zousain in November.