Darley sire Lonhro started the new week with a narrow lead over High Chaparral in the Australia sires’ premiership and he increased the margin when first starter Corduroy won at Ararat on Monday.

Lonhro ($6.88 million) has seen off High Chaparral ($6.87 million) with his Doomben 10,000 winner Beaded still in contention for the G1 Stradbroke Hcp and G1 Winter Stakes.

Lonhro colt Benfica can also boost the bank in the upcoming G2 Queensland Sires’ Produce Stakes and G1 T J Smith Stakes.

High Chaparral’s G1 winning son Shoot Out is playing a lone hand for the Coolmore sire.  He is nominated for the $252,000 P J O’Shea Stakes this Saturday but would need to break a losing streak stretching back to the G2 Liston Stakes in August.

Reigning champ Redoute’s Choice is the only wild card.  He’s exactly $500,000 in arrears of Lonhro and his last start Doomben winner Varenna Miss would have to beat Beaded in the Stradbroke Hcp and Winter Stakes to snatch an unlikely victory.

Corduroy (3g Lonhro – Hymns by Palace Music) became the 113th individual winner for Lonhro in Australia this season when he scored a three-quarter length victory on debut in the Graeme McKay Earthworks Maiden (1100m) at Ararat.

Roberta MacLeod prepares him at Colac and there’s plenty of upside to work on.  He crossed the field from an outside gate to sit outside the leader Comeuppance and then moved up a gear when Jason Lyon asked for more in the straight.

Corduroy is bred to win better races than a Mallee maiden.  His dam Hymns is a sister to Woodlands G1 winner Anthems and she is also a half-sister to the dam of Woodlands G1 sprinter Yell.

Corduroy wasn’t part of the deal when Sheikh Mohammed purchased Woodlands.  He was a $21,000 buy for Newminster Park at the 2008 Inglis Easter weanling sale

But even Darley couldn’t have timed his debut any better with the Australian sires’ title on the line.