Vinery champion More Than Ready played to an international audience over the weekend with three Group winners in three countries.
His treble came on top of another successful Saturday for Vinery sires. Mossman sprinter Love Conquers All (Caulfield) and Testa Rossa gelding Ranger (Ascot) both won stakes races ahead of Group 1 assignments in the next month.
Vinery’s new shuttler Congrats sired the stakes winners I’m Steppin It Up (Chief Tamanaco Stakes) at Belmont and Oligarch (Tropical Park Derby) at Calder on Saturday.
Congrats was North America’s champion freshman sire in 2010 and his first crop now boasts a 75% winning strike-rate. His second crop is up and running with brilliant filly Applauding smashing the Keeneland track record on Friday clocking 1.07.76s for 1200 metres.
Not to be denied, More Than Ready started the weekend with More Joyous winning the G2 Tristarc Stakes (1400m) on Caulfield Cup day.
The champion mare has won 15 times in 21 starts and has earned owner-breeder John Singleton over $2.40 million. The G1 VRC Myer Stakes on October 29 is next on the agenda for More Joyous.
Singapore based Better Be The One added the second leg for More Than Ready in the G3 Saas Fee Stakes (1400m) at Kranji on Sunday.
Better Be The One was a $485,000 yearling consigned by Makybe at the 2008 Inglis Easter Sale. He had struck a G3 level last year in the Garden City Trophy at Kranji.
More Than Ready got him from Sydney and Melbourne winner Common Smytzer. The mare has also foaled G3 Maribyrnong Plate winner Exceedingly Good (Exceed and Excel) and she has a yearling colt by More Than Ready.
Trainer Michael Freedman is setting Better Be The One for the G1 Al Quoz Sprint (1000m) at Meydan in March.
Vinery homebred Regally Ready completed the More Than Ready treble in the G1 Nearctic Stakes at Woodbine in Sunday.
Regally Ready (4g More Than Ready – Kivi by King of Kings) is back firing on all cylinders ahead of the G1 Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint next month.
Arguably the hottest American turf sprinter in the first half of this season, Regally Ready controlled the pace and then met the challenges of Gypsy Ring and Bated Breath in Canada.
The Steve Asmussen trained gelding won a Santa Anita allowance earlier this year and then added the LR Hernandez Stakes, G3 San Simeon Hcp and G3 Twin Spires Turf Sprint on Kentucky Derby Day.
Following a three-month break, he was beaten at Monmouth Park and Philadelphia but they were used a preps for the end-of-year features.
Regally Ready was bred at Vinery Kentucky and sold to the racing arm of the operation for $110,000 at the 2009 Keeneland September yearling sale. His dam Kivi (King Of Kings) won at Saint-Cloud, his second dam is the classic-placed Vilikaia (Nureyev) and his third dam is influential producer Baracala (Swaps).
More Than Ready finished off the weekend with his 10th Kentucky bred juvenile winner of the year on Sunday. Ready Signal took him into double figures in a mile maiden at Belmont.
Ready Signal is the first winner for Bay Meadows stakes winner Marwood (Marlin). She cost $190,000 at the 2011 Ocala 2YO March Sale.
More Than Ready has sired 845 individual winners of 2,394 races world-wide. There have been 90 stakes winners of 169 stakes races in that total.