Coolmore will be monitoring the progress of Darley shuttler Bernardini and his first-crop three year-olds this season.

Coolmore has just announced it will stand Bernardini G1 winner Stay Thirsty at its Ashford base in 2013.  He will join former stablemate Uncle Mo who served his first Kentucky book earlier this year before arriving at Coolmore Australia in August.

Prominent owner Mike Repole raced Uncle Mo (Indian Charlie) and Stay Thirsty.  If Bernardini takes off in Australia, the way is clear for Stay Thirsty to shuttle here, too.

Bernardini (A P Indy) has sired 8 Australian winners from 44 starters in his first southern crop.  They are beginning to bloom as spring three year-olds with Essay Raider his latest winner over 1000m at Morphettville on Saturday

The Leon Macdonald and Andrew Gluyas-trained Bernardini gelding had won a barrier trial back in January and proceeded to demoralise his rivals by more than five lengths.  It wouldn’t surprise to see him head to Melbourne for some of the lucrative races over the carnival.

Essay Raider was bred by Harry Perks at Toorak Park and was raised at Mill Park.  He’s out of Zabeel mare Elegant Eagle who is a sister to the dam of G1 Caulfield Cup winner Southern Speed.  The dam has a yearling sister to Essay Raider and she recently foaled a colt by Medaglia d’Oro.

Bernardini has kicked off his Kentucky career in style with Stay Thirsty joining a burgeoning list of stakes winners along with fellow Group 1 winners Honor And Serve and Alpha

Stay Thirsty emerged from the shadow of his more celebrated stablemate Uncle Mo to become a legitimate Group 1 galloper.  At two, he was second in the G1 Hopeful Stakes.  At 3, he won the G3 Gotham, G2 Jim Dandy and the G1 Travers.  He was second in the Belmont Stakes.

Stay Thirsty is going out in career best form.  Last Saturday in the G1 Jockey Club Cup at Belmont, he set the pace and repelled three early challenges before going down a head to Flat Out.  “No doubt the Travers was the highlight of owning Stay Thirsty but he was most impressive in the Jockey Club Cup,” Repole on Saturday.  “He ran too good to be second.”

Repole will retain a minority interest in Stay Thirsty.  “Spending $500,000 to buy Stay Thirsty was the most I ever paid for a horse,” he recalled.  “And I got every penny of thrills from it.

“No other horse mean more to me than Uncle Mo or Stay Thirsty,” Repole said.  “That they will be together again is just an amazing feeling.  They couldn’t be on a better farm than Coolmore.”

Stay Thirsty will race once more before being retired.  Connections are considering the BC Classic or BC Dirt Mile at Santa Anita on November 3 or the G1 Cigar Mile at Aqueduct on November 24.

– Karl Patterson

STAY THIRSTY
Bernardini colt wins the G1 Travers Stakes at Saratoga