Sire More Than Ready Gets First Aussie Group I

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Vinery's 8-year-old landed his first Australian group I winner with a member of his freshman crop when Carry on Cutie upset the favorites in the $450,000 (Australian funds) Champagne Stakes (Aus-I) at Randwick.

And the timing was immaculate. Southern Halo's King's Bishop (gr. I) winner covered a quarter of the 87 mares Tom Simon has listed for sale less than 24 hours later, not far down the road from Randwick at Inglis & Son's Newmarket complex.

The broodmares, including two fillies-in-training, are part of the opening day of the Australian broodmare sale that starts on April 3.

Carry on Cutie's splendid win at the expense of likely top rated 2-year-old filly Fashions Afield (by Redoute's Choice) and Media (Gilded Time) will be ultra fresh in the minds of potential buyers.

The Yashraj Trust-bred filly was retained after she was an RNI for $40,000 in the same sale ring, as a yearling at the 2004 Sydney Classic.

Handler Graeme Rogerson took a share and the filly has won three of four starts and $436,000 at her first campaign.

Her only defeat was when second to Media in the Magic Night Stakes (Aus-II) at her third start. She won the Sweet Embrace (Aus-III) on the way to Rosehill.

Carry on Cutie is from unraced New Zealand mare Rose of Latakia, by Conquistarose. Her second dam, Syrian Port, is a raced-once daughter of Alleged.

The fillies swept the males in the 140th Champagne, the winner stopping the clock at 1:36.28 for the 1,600 meters on a drying, but far from fast track.

Carry on Cutie (25-1) and Len Beasley swept down the outside to win by 1 3/4 lengths. Media (7-2) was a surprise leader for Shane Dye and faded to be 2 1/4 lengths astern of Fashions Afield (2-1 favorite), who beat her in the AJC Sires' Produce Stakes (Aus-I) on March 26.

The $292,000 winner's purse took More Than Ready into the lead for the freshman title with seven winners (two graded) of 22 races and $925,000, almost $140,000 ahead. It also places him second on the 2-year-old earnings table with last year's freshman winner, Redoute's Choice a runaway on that list. His Australian juvenile tally this season is a record $5.7 million.

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