Exceed And Excel colt with big engine joins Riverdene
NSW operation Riverdene Stud has called on Group 3-winning juvenile McLaren (Exceed And Excel) to bolster the Riverina-based farm’s stallion roster.
The Canonbury Stakes (Gr 3, 1100m) winning McLaren, who was rated highly in the arsenal of valuable colts owned by the China Horse Club-Newgate Farm partnership, will stand for an introductory fee of $6,600 (inc GST) this year.
The Peter and Paul Snowden-trained colt came under public notice with three consecutive barrier trial victories before backing that up with a first start win in the Canonbury in February of last year.
He went on to finish fourth in the Silver Slipper Stakes (Gr 2, 1100m) and third in the Black Opal Stakes (Gr 3, 1200m) to complete his two-year-old season.
But it was McLaren’s Canonbury Stakes success that left jockey James McDonald under no illusions that the colt was an elite talent.
“He’s got that much speed, he doesn’t know how to harness it yet. That’s the exciting thing. Once he does learn to harness it, he is going to be a very good horse because it’s all on raw ability at the moment,” McDonald said at the time.
“I love his acceleration. He has a great will to win. He is a real racehorse and it will take him a long way.”
Peter Snowden said: “What he does at home is really, really good. I only let him go once and that was enough for me. I saw what he could do.’’
McLaren, who is a half-brother to the stakes-placed two-year-old Cao Cao (Fastnet Rock), is out of the four-time winner Serenada (Encosta De Lago), who in turn is a half-sister to Group 2-winning sprinter First Command (Commands), Hong Kong Sprint (Gr 2, 1200m) winner Oneworld (Danehill Dancer) and the stakes-placed pair Rule The River (Commands) and Twilight Song (Fastnet Rock).
Newgate Farm’s Henry Field was part of the buying team who selected McLaren, a $380,000 purchase at the 2018 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale.
“He’s an incredibly athletic type. Rangy, well-angled, big but well put together and you could see how he was going to take shape. He was a colt we just had to have,” Field said.
McLaren, who raced just five times, joins Strada (Danehill) and Va Pensiero (Stratum) on the Wagga-based stud roster for the 2020 season. The pair are standing on a fee on application basis.