Caulfield Cup win by Mer De Glace takes Rulership to the summit

Mer De Glace provided his sire Rulership with his most significant winner to date in Saturday’s , as well as a first top-level strike outside of Japan.

The Shadai-based stallion ventured out away from his homeland on several occasions, finishing a slightly disappointing sixth in the 2011 Dubai Sheema Classic only to later earn Group 1 honours in the QEII Cup in Hong Kong.

Rulership, who notched a handful of other middle-distance graded victories over middle-distances, was competitive in a strong period for Japanese racing and locked horns with the likes of Orfevre, Gentildonna and Gold Ship.

Now standing at Shadai at a fee of Y4,000,000 (£28,500) for 2019, the son of King Kamehameha was the leading first-season sire in Japan in 2016 and has four crops of racing age.

His seven top-flight winners had been headed by one at Grade/Group 1 through the Japanese St Leger hero Kiseki, who was beaten in this year’s Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.

The performance of Mer De Glace in coming past Vow And Declare (Declaration Of War) and Frankel's son Mirage Dancer will do Rulership no harm in Australia. He was also on the mark recently through Hush Writer, who won the Group 3 Newcastle Gold Cup for the Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott stable last month.

Mer De Glace himself has made a swift ascent up the ranks through graded company in Japan. Bred by Northern Farm, he is descended from a top-quality family owned by Sheikh Mohammed, including Zieten and Blue Duster.

The dam, the Sunday Silence mare Glacier Blue, has produced winners from all her four foals to have raced, including a two-year-old named Fairweather, a filly by I'll Have Another. She is reported to have a yearling colt foal by Tosen Jordan.

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