VICTORIAN-based, Great Britain-bred Dandino, who is based at Christoph Brechert’s long established Bombora Downs on the Mornington Peninsula, should be recalled for his stakes wins in three countries, including two group wins in England and one in Australia, as he was successful in the Queen’s Cup-G3 in Melbourne.
Having nine wins and 12 placings for total earnings equivalent of $2 million, Dandino also ran a barnstorming race when second in the prestigious Caulfield Cup-G1.
Dandino is a son of Danehill’s best northern hemisphere-bred sire son Dansili, sire of more than 120 stakes winners including GB-bred Zacinto who has found immediate success from stud use in New Zealand.
Among his first foals is a colt from O’Marie owned by Cranbourne trainer Doug Harrison.
Mares expecting foals to Dandino include Xaar Best, who had eight wins and won $213,862; and Melbourne winning Testa Rossa mare Tio Rossa, who had five wins and won $329,897.
Standing at Vinery Stud, Scone, Australian-bred group winners Headwater, by champion Danehill sire Exceed And Excel, and Press Statement, by Hinchinbrook, have their first foals.
Serving 303 mares between them, Press Statement and Headwater have been represented with foals at Byerley Stud at Sandy Hollow.
Byerley has a Headwater colt from Onemorenomore mare Dreamlike, while Press Statement is represented with a filly foal from Highland Secrets, a Charge Forward winner of four races.
Headwater and Press Statement were both two-year-old group winners.
Headwater won the celebrated group 2 event the ATC Silver Slipper Stakes, followed with a third in the Todman Stakes-G2. Also a stakes-winning three-year-old, the bay horse won Flemington 1000-metre speed test, the Kensington Stakes-LR, defeating older horses including subsequent group 1 victor The Quarterback.
Press Statement was an undefeated juvenile winner, taking out the group 1 J J Atkins Stakes over 1600m at Doomben and earning more than $1.8 million from his 11 starts. Belonging to the first crop by Hinchinbrook, a group-winning Fastnet Rock three-quarter-brother to champion sire Snitzel, Press Statement also went on as a three-year-old to win his second group 1, the MRC Caulfield Guineas.
