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It's been an excellent week for Arrowfield Stud in Asia with graduates winning domestic Group races in Hong Kong and Singapore and a new stakeswinner in Japan for Redoute's Choice.
The 5YO entire Fluky scored a handsome 1.25 length victory in Sunday's Listed Hanshin Port Island Stakes, his sixth win in a 15-start career that has earned $1.5 million.
Prevously G3-placed and sixth in the G1 Kyoto Kikuka Sho as a 3YO, he is now his champion sire's 125th lifetime stakeswinner.Conceived in Australia to northern time and foaled in Japan, Fluky was bred by Northern Farm from the dual European Group winner Sunday Smile, a daughter of Sunday Silence and dual European Group winner Sensation, and grand-daughter of Outstandingly, the G1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies and G1Hollywood Starlet Stakes winner.
Fluky was sold for ¥30 million ($354,000) at the Yearling Session of the 2011 JRHA Select Sale to owner Makoto Kaneko whose blue, yellow and black silks were made famous by the champion Deep Impact.Fluky is one of 11 Redoute's Choice stakeswinners outside Australasia, a figure that his two French-conceived crops are sure to increase.
Three colts and three fillies from the first of those crops will be offered in Book 1 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale this week.In SIngapore Sunday's $S500,000 Kranji Mile (Sgp-1) was won by the prolific Arrowfield graduate Stepitup, bringing to an end Spalato’s unbeaten run of eight wins in Singapore.
The first leg of the Singapore Triple Crown saw Stepitup and Michael Rodd hit the lead 400m out and put the outcome beyond doubt with a dazzling turn of foot to score by four lengths, easily the biggest winning margin among his nine Singapore Group wins.Quechua was second, with Wild Geese third and Spalato, possibly hampered by throwing a shoe during the race, more than five lengths from the winner.
Stepitup has now won 14 of his 32 starts and taken his earnings to more than $S2.2 million - many times more than the $90,000 paid for him by Cliff Brown at the 2011 Melbourne Premier Sale.The 6YO gelding was one of six stakeswinners sold by Arrowfield at that sale.
The others are G1 winner Snitzerland, G2 winner Flying Snitzel, South African G2 winner Honorine and Listed winners Smoko and Road Trippin'.Bred by Arrowfield and John Leaver, Stepitup is by Hussonet from the multiple stakes-winning broodmare Ain't Seen Nothin' (Nothin' Leica Dane), also the dam of dual stakeswinner Ain'tnofallenstar (Starcraft) and G3 2YO winner Bachman (All American).
Ain't Seen Nothin' has a 3YO colt by Starcraft, a yearling sister to Bachman and last week she delivered a filly by Dundeel.The second Leg of the Triple Crown, the Raffles Cup 1800m is run on 25 October, and the 2200-metre Singapore Gold Cup follows on 15 November. No horse has yet won the Triple Crown.