Cressfield’s impressive broodmare band continues to produce the type of horses you’d expect with recent Gr2 winner Passive Aggressive (Fastnet Rock) being the latest up and coming star off the farm. Passive Aggressive took her record to 5 wins from 6 starts at Randwick recently scoring impressively in the Gr2 Challenge S, notably defeating two of Australia’s top Gr1 sprinters Eduardo and Giga Kick. Passive Aggressive was a $500,000 Cressfield graduate. VRC Oaks-Gr1 winner Personal (Fastnet Rock) also came from this farm and this sale, while group placed two year-old winner Cellsabeel is also an Easter/Cressfield graduate.
With only eight yearlings on offer – five of which are by Champion Sires – Cressfield’s draft remains true to their quality over quantity philosophy.
Two Snitzel colts with stallion’s pedigrees look very exciting. Snitzel is a four-time Champion Sire whose sire sons include Shamus Award (twenty stakes winners) and the very promising Russian Revolution (five stakes winners) as well as recently retired Gr1 winners Invader, Wild Ruler, and Trapeze Artist. Cressfield’s Operations Manager Liesl Baumann offered Bluebloods her insights about the farm’s 2023 offering.
Lot 31 is a Snitzel colt out of triple Gr3 winner Artistry (Shamardal) who won eight races, and whose first foal is a winning full sister to this yearling. Artistry’s three year-old is in the Snowden stable and has recently trialled. This is the family of Gr1 winners Samantha Miss and Cronus, as well as Gr2 winner Pravda (dam of stakes winners The Good Fight and Pravana).
“A very late foal that is quickly catching up to his peers in both size and strength. He has a lovely loose walk, is well- marked and looks an athlete. With his great overstep and flashy appearance, he is a colt that will catch the eye from afar.”
Out of dual Gr2 winner Thump is Snitzel colt, Lot 412, and Thump’s first two foals are multiple city winners. Wild West Wing has earnings over $700,000, while Brave Warrior is a city winner in Queensland. This colt’s second dam is Oomph (Flying Spur) who won six races, four at Listed level, while his third dam is dual stakes winner of seven races Nobellotto.
“A sensible colt with good shoulder and girth, and a lot of presence. He is another clever colt whose attitude stands him in good stead for the racetrack. With his great overstep and looks that will demand an inspection, we expect to be parading this colt a lot at the sales.”
I Am Invincible is the hottest sire in Australia at the moment, churning out Gr1 horses, and with sire sons like Brazen Beau (22 stakes winners) and emerging young sires such as Home Affairs, Hellbent, I Am Immortal, and Tassort. Cressfield have a colt and a filly by I Am Invincible on offer in 2023.
The colt, Lot 341, is the third foal of Robert Sangster Stakes-Gr1 winner Secret Agenda (Not a Single Doubt) whose first foal is a three year-old colt with the Ciaron Maher and David Eustace stable. Secret Agenda is out of an unraced Red Ransom daughter of Gr1 New Zealand Champagne Stakes winner Euphoria (Marauding), dam of Listed winner Fleet.
“A very strong, muscular colt with a great constitution. Broad across the hips, big sloping shoulder and with well sprung ribs. He is a great walker who covers a lot of ground and looks a readymade racehorse with a pedigree to match.”
I Am Invincible filly, Lot 201, is overflowing with residual value, being a half-sister to Gr1 winner Shooting to Win, group winner and quality sire Deep Field, and Listed winner Zaniah.
All of these are out of Listed winner Listen Here, who is from the same family of Gr1 winner La Luna Rossa, as well as Emerald Dream, and Gr3 winner She’s So High (I Am Invincible).
“A compact filly with a good length and strength to her hip. This filly is more forward than her siblings have been at a similar stage and presents well. She is a racey type whose family needs no introduction and whose pedigree holds immense residual value.”
Exceed and Excel is a marvel, still producing good two year-olds every season including this season’s stakes winners Cylinder, Barber, Zulfiqar, and Sky On Fire. A colt, Lot 290 is out of dual Gr1 winner Platelet (Strategic) who won both the Robert Sangster Stakes and Goodwood Handicap. At stud, her first foal has won four races, while her second foal is recent city winner Plagiarized (Exceed and Excel).
“A good looking, compact colt, with a ton of strength and great bone. He is an easy going colt with a good attitude and loves the chance to get out and exercise. This is easily one of the strongest Exceed and Excels that we have bred on our farm.”
Deep Field’s filly Lot 245 is the first foal of Misstook (Fastnet Rock), a full sister to Gr3 winner and three-times Gr1 placed sprinter Missrock (Fastnet Rock) and brilliant speedster Passive Aggressive (Fastnet Rock). This filly’s second dam is the tough racemare Miss Judgement (Strategic) who won ten races including two at black type level.
“A very strong, well developed filly, with a lovely shoulder and good depth to her girth. Short cannons and a good nostril make this filly look the athlete. She has a wonderful temperament and professional attitude that bodes well for the track. Given her similarity to her Group performing close relations, we can’t ask for much more from a first foal.”
Cressfield’s Lot 242 is a Zoustar colt who is the first foal of a group winning I Am Invincible mare. This colt’s dam, Miss Leonidas, won the Caulfield Sprint-Gr2 and was twice placed at Gr1 level in the Galaxy Handicap (second to I Am Excited) and the AJ Moir Stakes (second to Nature Strip). This is the family of Gr1 winner Newport.
“Stamped by his sire, he has great bone, a strong physique and a very purposeful walk. This is another first foal that we are extremely pleased with, who seems to tick all the boxes. He has a ‘can do’ attitude and will thrive in a racing environment.”
First season sire Pierata (Pierro)’s filly, Lot 287, is the second foal of Pepperberry (Redoute’s Choice), a winning full sister to stakes winners Great Esteem and High Esteem, from the European family of Horse of the Year Moon Ballad, Champion Older Male in GB Telescope, and Champion 3YO Colt in Italy Central Park.
“A bit of a Black Beauty, a lovely rich dark colour, attractive head, thick through the chest with a developing shoulder. She stands over quite a bit of ground, considering she is not an overly big filly, with short cannons, good gaskin and strong hindquarters. She shows the balance and the shape of her sire and is sure to turn heads at sale time.”
Cressfield’s commitment to quality over quantity shines through in their 2023 Inglis Easter Yearling Sale draft.