Monday, 15 April 2019: Imported stayer Shraaoh provided the acclaimed Irish sire Sea The Stars with his tenth Group One winner when he won Saturday’s $ 2 million Sydney Cup at Randwick to extend the great run Australian Bloodstock have enjoyed with their overseas buys.
Shraaoh wins the Sydney Cup
The Newcastle-based syndication business, run by Jamie Lovett and Luke Murrell, have become leading importers of overseas talent led by such big names as Melbourne Cup winner Protectionist , their outstanding Japanese acquisitions Tosen Stardom and Brave Smash , previous Sydney Cup winner Big Duke and other G1 and G2 winners Reliable Man , Mawingo , Red Cardinal , Mongolian Wolf , Master Of Design and Lucas Cranach . Giving trainer Chris Waller his fourth Sydney Cup win, Shraaoh (Sea The Stars x Jumooh by Monsun) was one of four stayers – the others being Big Duke, Red Cardinal and Doukhan - representing Australian Bloodstock syndicates in the 3200m feature. The 5YO was identified by Australian Bloodstock as a good staying prospect after two wins and four placings from his first 13 starts in the UK, notably because his dam Jumooh is by the champion German sire Monsun. Monsun also sired Saturday’s Sydney Cup runner up Vengeur Masque but is best known in Australia as the sire of Melbourne Cup winners Fiorente , Protectionist and Almandin . Shraaoh won first-up for Waller over 2800m at Flemington in November and had been placed in his three Listed and Group starts in the lead-up to the Sydney Cup, taking his record to four wins and seven placings in 19 starts for earnings of $1,579,256. Waller has a record second to none with imported stayers, being one of the first trainers to directly purchase likely prospects from the UK and Europe. “These European horses adapt to Australia where they can go to another level,’’ Waller said of his success with the imports. “Shraaoh was identified from England by the people behind the horse and I thank them very much. “He won first-up over 2800m and that gave us the confidence to know he was capable of winning a race like the Sydney Cup. “The team in the northern hemisphere said he was twice the horse on a dry track and he proved that today.” Shraaoh is one of 50 stakes winners by Sea The Stars, an Epsom Derby winning son of Cape Cross who stands for 135,000 euros at Gilltown Stud in Ireland. His notable northern hemisphere progeny include the Derby winner Harzand, Taghrooda, Cloth Of Stars, Sea The Moon, Stradivarius and Sea Of Class. Shraooh's dam Jumooh is a half-sister to G2 winner Maqaasid (Green Desert) from Eshaadeh, a Storm Cat three quarter sister to G1 1000 Guineas winner Ghanaati (Giant’s Causeway) and half-sister to G3 winner and sire Mawatheeq (Danzig) from the family of champion sires Nashwan (Blushing Groom), Nayef (Gulch) and Unfuwain (Northern Dancer). Jumooh produced a Sea The Stars filly in 2016 and a filly by his half-brother Born To Sea in 2017.
