3 minute read

Quest For Fame, the 1990 English Derby winner standing at Darley Cootamundra in NSW, made his presence felt as a broodmare sire last Saturday when his daughters were represented by winners of two feature races at Flemington.

The first leg of the double was the lightly raced New Zealand-bred Lord Tavistock, an impressive winner of the Henry Bucks Plate over 1400m.

The second winner Aichi annexed the Danehill Stakes, a Group 3 event over 1200m.

Lord Tavistock, a colt now with Mick Price at Caulfield, was appearing for only the fifth time.

He was a close second at 1100m in the Vain Stakes at Caulfield on August 16 and earlier in New Zealand had turned in two promising efforts at Trentham, a debut win at 1100m and a second at 1200m.

Despite 1400m being his longest journey to date, Lord Tavistock appears a good prospect for the Victoria Derby over 2500m at Flemington on November 1.

He is bred on a cross of two European Derby winners in the Sadler's Wells product Montjeu and Quest For Fame.

A visitor to New Zealand for four seasons, Montjeu was a world class 2400m performer winning the Irish and French Derby, the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud and Royal Ascot King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes.

With his oldest progeny 6-year-olds, Montjeu has included in his European progeny the classic winners Authorized (English Derby), Scorpion (Grand Prix de Paris, English St Leger; second Irish Derby), Hurricane Run (Irish Derby, Ascot King George V1 & Queen Elizabeth Stakes, Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe) and Motivator (English Derby).

His New Zealand bred Australian runners have included Nom Du Jeu, winner of the 2008 AJC Australian Derby and second in the AJC Queen Elizabeth Stakes, and the year-older Gorky Park, second to Efficient, subsequent winner of the 2007 Melbourne Cup, in the 2006 Victoria Derby and earlier this year successful in the Duke of Norfolk over 3200m at Flemington.

A son of the Blushing Groom sire Rainbow Quest and a mare by a Nijinsky sire, Quest For Fame won five races including the English Derby and the Hollywood Turf Handicap and was twice third in the Breeder's Cup Turf.

Upstage, the dam as her first foal of Lord Tavistock, was bred in the UK and had six unplaced runs in England for her breeders, the Duchess of Bedford's Bloomsbury Stud, and was then sent to their stud at Matamata in New Zealand.

Upstage's dam Pedestal was unsuccessful at her only start, but she has produced four modest winners and is a half-sister to Jupiter Island, a winner of 14 races, including the Japan Cup and major events in England and France.

Aichi, winner of three of five outings and second in the other two, is trained by Peter Snowden for Darley's Sheikh Mohammed.

Aichi is by Strategic, the good Zeditave sire who also makes his home at the Cootamundra Stud, from Nagoya, a Quest for Fame Sydney 2-year-old winning three-quarter sister to Debutant Stakes winner Le Mans.