Sydney, March 16 – Champion filly Alinghi’s three year-old half-brother Musaytir ran out an easy winner over 1600 metres at Hawkesbury on Thursday and has now won two of three starts.
Purchased for $525,000 by Tim Stakemire (on behalf of Sheikh Mohammed Bin Khalifa Al Maktoum) from the draft of Yarraman Park Stud at the 2005 Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale, Musaytir has been given time to mature by John O’Shea and is now delivering on the potential he has always shown in trackwork.
“He tore a hamstring earlier in his career and we’ve just had to be patient, but he’s going well now and seems a real staying type,” said O’Shea.
“It’s hard to place a restricted class horse at this time of year without throwing them in the deep end, something I’m not a fan of, but after winning second up over a mile beating older horses we’re inclined to give him his chance in the Group Two Tulloch Stakes over 2000 metres at Rosehill in a fortnight.”
Musaytir is nominated for the Group One AJC Australia Derby but would have to win the Tulloch for O’Shea to consider running him in the Blue Riband, with a race like the Group Three AJC Frank Packer Plate a more appealing option.
The third living foal of glamour producer Oceanfast, Musaytir is the first of her foals to be born in the ownership of Yarraman Park Stud, who purchased the mare privately while she was in foal to his sire King Charlemagne (USA).
Her subsequent foal, a filly by Encosta de Lago set an Australian record price for a filly when she fetched $2.6 million at the Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale last year and is currently in Sydney for the carnival.
Now named Perfect Persuasion and trained by Lee Freedman, she will target some of the longer juvenile events after the Slipper and has already shown ability with a stakes-placing behind Sleek Chassis and an unlucky fourth in the Group Three SAJC
Thoroughbred Breeders Stakes.
The yearling full sister to Alinghi and Perfect Persuasion will be offered by Yarraman Park at Easter this year as Lot 372.
