Ironstein is held in high regard by connections and he lived up to that rating in the Listed McKell Cup (2400m) at Rosehill on Saturday.

Ironstein (5g Zabeel – Gentle Genius by Danehill) collared the leaders in the straight to defeat Sherpa Tenzing and Skyerush. “He will stay all day and is a very nice horse,” Gerald Ryan’s foreman Brad Tyson said. “He’s had a couple of weeks on the water walker and is back to somewhere near his best.”

A graduate of Strawberry Hill Stud, Ironstein was purchased for $250,000 at the 2007 Gold Coast Magic Millions. He is by Cambridge Stud legend Zabeel from Gentle Genius. The dam won four races including the G3 MVRC Tesio Stakes and LR STC Millie Fox Stakes but is probably best remembered for her close second to Sunline in a Coolmore Classic.

Zabeel has now sired the winners of 323 stakes races.

The McKell Cup completed a stakes double for Cambridge Stud on Saturday. The Roger James-trained Firebolt had claimed the first leg in the G3 Lord Mayor’s Cup (1615m) at Doomben,

Firebolt (5g Stravinsky – Woodsong by Woodman) has won 8 races and his only other black-type was a G2 victory in the 2010 Shannon Stakes at Rosehill. James also trained his dam to wins at Avondale, Hastings and Awapuni. Second dam Kailey (Festal) was a G1 winner of the Railway Hcp at Ellerslie.

Firebolt’s victory comes just days after Sir Patrick Hogan announced that Stravinsky will return to Cambridge Stud for the coming season. The Nureyev stallion is a proven commodity and his homecoming will be a massive boost for the New Zealand breeding industry.