China Horse Club’s Australian breeding programme looks to have unearthed another quality performer after Equation saluted in fine style in the AUD45,000 Magna Grecia @ Coolmore Australia Handicap (1100m) in Sydney today.
The colt has a steep curve ahead of him if he is to join fellow CHC graduates Dame Giselle (winner of this season’s G2 Reisling Stakes winner) and Global Exchange (1st 2019 G2 Autumn Classic, 1st 2019 G2 Alister Clark Stakes) but he may be given his chance more prestigious events off the dominance of his performance.
Global Exchange (from left)
Equation was an AUD110,000 purchase from the Magic Million’s National Weanling Sale by Aquis and becomes the fourth individual winner for the China Horse Club’s former standard-bearer Press Statement. Press Statement’s first crop of runners are only two-year-old’s and his talented son Spokesman will endeavour to replicate his own triumph in the G1 J.J. Atkins Stakes this weekend.
Press Statement
Press Statement, who raced for a partnership that included his breeder Tony Muollo, Vinery Stud and China Horse Club, was a progressive juvenile, rising from two wins in Sydney to annex the G1 J.J. Atkins Stakes. As a three-year-old, he was exceptionally consistent scoring in the G2 Stan Fox Stakes and G1 Caulfield Guineas in successive starts in the spring while in the autumn he dominated the G2 Hobartville Stakes before an unlucky second in the G1 Randwick Guineas and a game third in the G1 George Ryder Stakes behind the immeasurable Winx.
“It is fantastic to see talent like Equation continue to come through the China Horse Club’s breeding programme. In a short window of time we have seen that quality performers are coming through season after season and there is a lot to be proud of,” said Michael Wallace, Head of Bloodstock and Racing for China Horse Club.
“In the last 18 months in Australia we have seen Dame Giselle and Global Exchange mark themselves as outstanding. While in Europe Johannes Vermeer (G1 winner) and Elizabeth Browning have headlined our programme and in the United States, the likes of Kimari and Valiance have surfaced in quick time.
“There is a great deal for breeders to take note of when they do see the ‘CHC’ brand where ever our stock is being sold. Australian breeders should also continue to pay attention to Press Statement, his stock are starting to show up and there is no doubt he is passing on the ability he readily demonstrated.”
Star jockey Tommy Berry was impressed by Equation who he has partnered in each of his two careers starts to date.
“I have a pretty big opinion of this colt and was a bit deflated when he was unplaced here first-up,” Berry told media post-race.
“In hindsight, it was a hot field and he got a bit lost on the wrong part of the track. He travelled much better today and didn’t lose his compass coming around the corner. That first run switched him on and I was able to hold him up and then finish them off in the straight. He’s a progressive young horse and will develop into a nice type next season.”
China Horse Club purchased Equation’s dam, Purcentage, in 2015. Her Vancouver colt was sold this year for AUD105,000 and she has a filly from the first crop of boom stallion prospect Russian Revolution and is in foal to that sire again.
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