A crystal ball could not have predicted the surge of Group winners sired by Winning Rupert since it was announced he would be crossing the continent to stand at Geisel Park Stud.
Winning Rupert (Written Tycoon) had been bereft of black-type this season prior to the autumn carnivals but, as if on cue, Semana (Triscay Stakes) and Tintookie (Wenona Girl Stakes) landed Group 3 features at Randwick.
Cut to the Australasian Oaks meeting at Morphettville on Saturday and Seonee went top of the class defeating Lady Jones (Toronado) and Silent Surrente (Fiorente) in the Group 2 Queen of the South Stakes (1600m).
Seonee (pictured) is raced by a Prime Thoroughbreds syndicate and manager Joe O’Neill led a large travelling cheer-squad in Adelaide. “She’s just a lovely mare. We didn’t pay much for her and she’s been fantastic. Paddy Payne, what a training performance, and Billy Egan, what a ride.”
Seonee (5m Winning Rupert – Mowgli by Not A Single Doubt) will likely head to the LR Centaurea Stakes (2000m) at Morphettville on May 11 before an intended trip north culminating in the G1 Tatt’s Tiara (1400m) at Eagle Farm in June.
“She’s done a great job and Paddy has brought her along gently, let her develop, didn’t push and look what we have today,” O’Neill continued. “Brisbane is still a maybe if we decide to go that far otherwise we can put her away.
“We just don’t know how far she can take us. She’s a lot stronger now and, who knows, next year it could be the Group 1 Coolmore Classic at Rosehill.”
An $80,000 graduate from Yarraman Park at the 2021 Gold Coast Magic Millions, Seonee has now earned $592,000 and with 9 wins to her credit is the second-most winning mare from that Sale behind Te Akau Racing’s champion mare Imperatriz.
Egan was happy how the race panned out in the Queen Of The South. “Legacies was a good horse to use as a bunny and I knew it would take me a long way. Everyone wanted to get away from the fence but I wanted to go there and then come out to the middle.”
Seonee put the finishing touches on another successful week for Winning Rupert. Putt For Dough had won a Randwick Midway the previous Saturday, Curl Curl broke through first-up in a Newcastle maiden on Wednesday and Fourth Power completed a hat-trick at Gawler on Anzac Day.
Geisel Park will stand Winning Rupert for an $8,800 (inc GST) service fee alongside Aysar, Manhattan Rain and All American.
