Personal proved a worthy winner of the VRC Oaks at Flemington and during Cup week is an appropriate winner for her immediate Australian pedigree and highlights what is becoming a dynamic cross.
In winning the Tom Dabernig and Ben Hayes-trained filly becomes the 40th Gr1 winner for Fastnet Rock, his 142nd stakes winner and his eighth Gr1 winner out of a mare by Galileo.
Like his sire Danehill, Fastnet Rock has now made his reputation in both hemispheres and it should arguably come as no surprise he is doing well with Galileo mares – what stallion wouldn’t?
Galileo himself has a fine record with mares by Danehill and his sons so one question was if the cross would work in reverses.
Given both stallions stand at Coolmore in Ireland the geographical bias was always going to deliver a numeric advantage.
Numbers are one thing, results entirely another and so far it appears the Fastnet Rock / Galileo cross is a highly successful one for breeders with 20 stakes winners to date from 117 named foals bred this way – that’s just over 17 percent and with another eight stakes horses the stakes strike-rate increases to a staggering 24 percent.
Personal, pictured above as a foal, is the eighth Gr1 winner bred this way following Oaks winners Qualify in England and Unforgotten in Australia along with South Australian Derby winner Magicool.
In reverse, Galileo has Gr2 winners High Definition and Innisfree out of Fastnet Rock mares and Galileo’s son New Approach has South African Gr2 winner New Predator out of a Fastnet Rock mare.
Gleneagles is represented by the 2020 Japanese Grade 3 winner Shock Action out of a Fastnet Rock mare and Fastnet Rock’s otherwise disappointing sire son Wanted’s sole Gr1 winner Leicester is out of a Galileo mare.
Part-owned by Coolmore, who paid $640,000 for her as a yearling from breeder Bruce Neill’s Cressfield Stud at the 2019 Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale, Personal showed Gr1 form last season at two placing in the Blue Diamond Stakes
Personify is Galileo’s only stakes winner below 1200m winning the Listed Queen Adelaide Stakes over 1100m on debut at Morphettville but failed to place in seven subsequent starts.
At stud she has produced six winners, including the Listed-placed trio Trope (More Than Ready), Selectify (Redoute’s Choice) and Laser Flash (Redoute’s Choice).
Personify was sold for $1,025,000 to Grant Pritchard-Gordon at the 2006 Magic Millions National Sale before being purchased for $2 million by Cressfield the following year at the Inglis Easter broodmare sale.
Inbred 4×3 to Mr Prospector, she is one of four stakes winners left by Gr3 Tristarc Stakes at Caulfield winner Procrastinate (Jade Hunter), including South African Gr1 winner Laisserfaire (Danehill).
This is a family highlighted by it’s talented female runners. Personal’s fourth dam Rainbeam (Vain) won the Silver Slipper Stakes and her seventh dam is Rainbird (The Buzzard), runner-up in the 1944 VRC Oaks before winning the Melbourne Cup the following year.
At stud Rainbird left the South Australia Oaks and Wakeful Stakes winner Raindear (Orgoglio), herself the dam of Edward Manifold Stakes winner Rainburst (Orgoglio).
Rainbird is 4×5 to Gas (Ayrshire), placed in the 1000 Guineas for Lord Rosebery and a half-sister to the influential tap-root mare Chelandry (Goldfinch).