More Than Ready moved off the mark with his latest crop of Kentucky bred juveniles at Churchill Downs on Thursday.  The Todd Pletcher trained filly More Than Minted won on debut under the Twin Spires.

Vinery’s champion shuttler enjoyed a bumper year with his northern hemisphere two year-olds in 2010.  He was Champion USA 2YO Sire with 19 winners culminating with a G2 Breeders’ Cup double in the Juvenile Turf (Pluck) and Juvenile Fillies Turf (More Than Real).

More Than Minted (2f More Than Ready – Deputy Maiden by Deputy Minister) is raced by Let’s Go Stable and was a $75,000 buy at the 2010 Keeneland September yearling sale.

The winner was a handful for jockey John Velaquez on debut.  She was unruly in the warm up and unseated the leading hoop before the start.  But she was all business in the race itself crossing from an outside gate to lead her rivals by two lengths at the top of the straight.

More Than Minted still held sway at the post to score by a length from the favourite My Due Process clocking 52s for 900 metres.

The Lane’s End Farm bred filly is a younger half-sister to the winners Indomitable (Vindication) and Atlaal (Speightstown).  Her dam didn’t race but second-dam Meter Maid (Geiger Counter) was a G3 winner of the Gardenia Stakes at Ellis Park.

More Than Ready was Australia’s Champion 2YO sire in 2007-08 and 2008-09 thanks to his Golden Slipper winners Sebring and Phelan Ready.  The last sire to be champion in both hemispheres was Danehill.

The son of Southern Halo heads the 2011 Vinery Australia roster at fee of $99,000 (inc gst).