Bargain buy Howmuchdoyouloveme stepped up to Group 2 company without breaking stride in the Caulfield Sprint (1100m) on Saturday.  He was racing first-up since winning the LR Ramornie Hcp at Grafton in July.

The Sydney visitor raced on the speed and then scooted away in the straight to score by two lengths for trainer Con Karakatsanis.  “It was a pretty tough task to go straight into a Group 2 at the spring carnival,” Karakatsanis said.  “He’s absolutely bombproof and has got a big future.”

Howmuchdoyouloveme (4g Written Tycoon – Betula Belle by Celtic Swing) cost just $5,000 out of the 2010 Inglis Classic yearling sale and will now head to the G2 Salinger Stakes and/or G1 Patinack Farm Classic at Flemington.

Bred by Glentree Downs Pastoral, Howmuchdoyouloveme was purchased by Con’s father Tony Karakatsanis from the draft of Red Gums Stud and has now earned $315,000.

His sire Written Tycoon was relocated from Eliza Park’s Victorian headquarters to its new Queensland base at Innisplain earlier this year.  The moves comes on the back of his victory in the 2010-11 Australian first-season sires’ premiership.

Written Tycoon (Iglesia) has sired 40 individual winners in his first two crops and they have won a total of 81 races.  He is also the sire of this year’s G3 Gunsynd Classic winner Trump.

Eliza Park’s manager Mark Lindsay said shifting Written Tycoon showed the industry its commitment to Queensland.  “Capturing the first season sires’ premiership really broke the glass ceiling for non-NSW based stallions,” he said.  “And it made good sense to send him north because he’s by highly successful Queensland sire Iglesia.”

Howmuchdoyouloveme is the second winner from Betula Belle who was dropped from ASB records after missing to Written Tycoon last year.

– Karl Patterson

WRITTEN TYCOON
G2 winner for Eliza Park (Qld) stallion