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Balmaurice makes winning debut at Eagle Farm becoming first Australian winner for his sire.
Arrowfield Stud shuttler Maurice (Screen Hero) sired his first winner in Australia on Wednesday when the Rex Lipp-trained Balmaurice (2 g ex Bal du Siecle by Danehill Dancer) made an impressive winning debut over 1200 metres at Eagle Farm.
The two-year-old gelding forged clear in the final stages to post a two and a quarter length victory over Reawaken (Kiss And Make Up), while Archdeacon (Better Than Ready) finished another neck away in third.
The gelding is out of the placed Danehill Dancer (Danehill) mare Bal du Siecle, who has produced four other winners.
Bal du Siecl herself is her half-sister to Listed winner Buenos Dias (Peintre Celebre).
The gelding's third dam is Benediction (Day Is Done), who produced 11 winners headed by multiple Group 1 winner Might And Power (Zabeel), while she also produced Group 3 scorer Matter Of Honour (Casual Lies) and Listed winner Bastet (Giant's Causeway).
Bastet herself is the dam of Listed winner Barocci (Deep Impact) and Group 1 winner Beauty Parlour (Deep Impact) who in turn produced Listed winner and Grade 1-placed Blowout (Dansili), while further back this is also the family of multiple Group 1-winning champion Mosheen (Fastnet Rock).
In 2019 Bal du Siecle produced a colt by Coolmore Stud's US Triple Crown-winning shuttler American Pharoah (Pioneerof The Nile), before foaling a filly by his barnmate So You Think (High Chaparral) and she has most recently been covered by Eureka Stud-based Encryption (Lonhro).
Maurice was handed his first stakes winner on Sunday when Pixie Knight (3 c ex Pixie Hollow by King Halo) scored a dominant length and a quarter victory in Sunday's Nikkan Sports Sho Shinzan Kinen (Gr 3, 1600m) at Chukyo and he has now sired 33 winners in total.
The son of Screen Hero (Grass Wonder) shuttled to Australia for three seasons between 2017 and 2019 but did not return in 2020 and his 2021 fee at Shadai Stallion Station has been set at Y8,000,000 (approximately $100,000), double what he stood for last year.
