Cable Bay off the mark at the highest level as son Uncommon James shows dazzling speed

Cable Bay sired his first Group 1 winner on Saturday when son Uncommon James showed a brilliant turn of foot to win the Oakleigh Plate at Sandown in Australia.

The four-year-old gelding, out of Jet Spur’s daughter Pickabee, was also providing jockey Ben Thompson with his first elite-level winner.

Cable Bay stood at Highclere Stud from 2016 until last year, when he left for the Dr Kehar Singh Stud in India after being purchased by Gaurav Rampal. 

He shuttled to Woodside Park in Victoria for four seasons, covering a total of 403 mares. Uncommon James is his only stakes winner from his southern hemisphere crops. 

The 12-year-old's other leading performers include Dragon Symbol, who was first past the post in the 2021 Commonwealth Cup but demoted to second for causing interference, as well as the Group 2 Temple Stakes winners King’s Lynn and Liberty Beach, and Listed winner Laneqash.

Uncommon James, trained by Steve O'Dea and Matt Hoysted, proved too strong for 15 rivals on Saturday in the five-and-a-half-furlong contest, beating Lofty Strike by three-quarters of a length. Asfoora was a head away in third. 

Cable Bay himself proved at his most effective over slightly further, his two stakes-race triumphs coming over seven furlongs in the Group 2 Challenge Stakes at Newmarket and Group 3 John of Gaunt at Haydock. He was runner-up to War Command over the same trip in the Dewhurst, being trained throughout his three-season career by Charlie Hills.

On the same Sandown card, Frankel’s daughter Steinem struck for the first time at Group 2 level in the Peter Young Stakes, while the other two Group 1s fell to Alligator Blood (Futurity Stakes) and Little Brose (Blue Diamond Stakes).

Also winning Group 1s on what was a hectic summer Saturday of racing in Australia and New Zealand were Godolphin’s Anamoe (Chipping Norton Stakes, Randwick), Sunshine In Paris (Surround Stakes, Randwick) and Levante (WFA Classic, Otaki), while ex-Coolmore shuttler Mendelssohn sired his first juvenile winner in Australia when Felix The Scat won at Doomben.

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