Two of the top three lots from last year’s sale again clash with a familiar foe.
Saturday's McKenzie Stakes at The Valley won't be the first time the names Let'Srollthedice, Crosswinds and Shalaman have been seen together.
In fact, their connection dates back to before their racing days started.
All three are graduates of last year's Inglis Premier Yearling Sale, where Crosswinds – a son of Written Tycoon and Gybe – became just the second million-dollar yearling in Victorian history when sold for $1.1m.
Shalaman (Shalaa x Our Daisy) was the third highest-priced lot of the sale at $700,000, while Let'srollthedice (Dundeel x Hannah In A Hurry) cost $240,000.
Quirkily, their names all bobbed up in a form guide for the first time together, exactly one year after being sold, in an 1100-metre 2YO Maiden at Bendigo on March 1 this year.
Crosswinds was scratched from that race due to a Heavy 9 track, but the Danny O'Brien-trained Let'srollthedice made the perfect start to his career when he won by 3-1/2 lengths with Shalaman second.
Let'srollthedice proved that performance was no fluke when he went straight to the G2 VRC Sires' Produce Stakes (1400m) and won before a third placing in the G1 ATC Sires' (1400m) and fourth in the G1 Champagne Stakes (1600m) in Sydney.
Shalaman, who is trained by Matt Laurie, flopped in the VOBIS Gold Rush at his second start but resumed with an easy maiden win at Cranbourne before a second at The Valley late last month.
The Anthony and Sam Freedman-trained Crosswinds won at Ballarat the week after his Bendigo scratching, which was followed up by Listed success in the St Albans Stakes (1200m).
They will all have their first starts as a three-year-old in the $175,000 Listed McKenzie Stakes (1200m), which is a great advertisement for the Premier Sale.
Street Boss colt El Padrino ($210,000), Manhattan Thunder (Manhattan Rain x Personal Ensign, $150,000) and Fasuto (Supido x Juggles, $60,000) give Premier the majority of representatives in the 10-horse field.
Two others were bought out of the Inglis Easter Sale – Latvian (Pariah x Real Stolle, $375,000) and Foujita San (Maurice x Belle Giselle, $360,000) – while Chester Warrior (Zululand x Ehor) cost $100,000 at the Tasmanian Magic Millions Sale
Fast Witness, a colt by Star Witness and Fast Shanti, is the lone runner who was not offered for sale.
