International affair as Hitotsu and Converge both triumph in Guineas

The growing influence of international bloodlines in Australia was brought starkly into focus once again when Hitotsu - a colt by Arrowfield Stud shuttler Maurice - landed the Australian Guineas at Flemington, while Converge, a son of unbeaten champion Frankel, produced an impressive performance in the Randwick Guineas.

With both wins came a small slice of history, as the Ciaron Maher and David Eustace-trained Hitotsu became the first horse to land the Flemington Group 1 first-up from a spell, while Converge provided Gai Waterhouse - who now trains alongside Adrian Bott - the perfect celebration of 30 years in the training ranks.

Hitotsu’s rise to a bona fide Group 1 winner has been less than conventional. The colt only broke his maiden at Donald over 1350 metres last September, after which he finished fifth in the Caulfield Guineas and then went on to land his first elite level contest in the VRC Derby on October 30.

With Maher overseeing the stables runners in Sydney, the celebrations and post-race reaction was left to an emotional Eustace, who was joined at the track yesterday by his parents, James and Gay, after being finally reunited with them earlier in the week having not seen them since the start of the pandemic.

"It's great to have mum and dad here but I'm gutted that the boss isn't here," Eustace said.

"He's up in Sydney and we don't get to share many big wins."

Ridden by John Allen, Hitotsu scored by a long-neck from Lightsaber with Bon's A Pearler another three-quarters-of-a-length away in third.

While he believed the colt had come back in the best shape since his victory in the Derby, Eustace was concerned about whether the three-year-old would have the burst of speed required to win a Group 1 over 1600 metres.

"It was an awesome ride and he's just a really good horse," Eustace said. "We were confident, but I was a little worried about whether he had the speed to accelerate at the mile, but he needed every inch of the mile."

"It wasn't a very nice last 100 [metres]. Johnny's got so much faith in the horse and is rarely too confident, but he was really confident.

"He's in the All-Star Mile and that would have to be a possibility, we know he gets further, we'll worry about it tomorrow," Eustace continued.

The race had been touted as a clash between Hitotsu and the Richard Litt-trained Spring Champion Stakes winner Profondo, who was redirected to the Australian Guineas from the Randwick equivalent due to the wet weather in Sydney. But the son of Deep Impact never looked comfortable and eventually finished a well-beaten 13th of 15 runners.

Hitotsu was purchased out of the Arrowfield Stud draft by his former trainer Wendy Kelly for $100,000 at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale last year and he ran three times as a juvenile for Kelly, including a tenth-placed finish in the Blue Diamond Stakes, before being acquired by prominent owner Ozzie Kheir and other clients and sent to Maher and Eustace for his three-year-old career.

The colt is out of the unraced mare Love Is Fickle, herself a daughter of Group 1 winner and top producer She’s A Meanie.

She’s A Meanie is the dam of Group 2 winner and stallion Love Conquers All and Listed winner She’s Meaner who, in turn, produced Group 2 winner and Group 1-placed Lean Mean Machine, who now stands at Widden Stud.

Converge: son of Frankel was adding a second top-level success to his name in the Randwick GuineasCredit: Martin King

Love Is Fickle’s unraced two-year-old filly - named Twelfth Night - was purchased by Mystery Downs and Valiant Stud for $150,000 at the Inglis Classic Yearling Sale in 2021, while her filly by Arrowfield Stud-based sire in Shalaa was unsurprisingly snapped up by Maher and Eustace for A$250,000 at the Inglis Premier Yearling Sale earlier in the week. Last season, Love Is Fickle produced a filly by Castelvecchio, who also resides at Arrowfield and has most recently missed to Maurice.

Maurice calls the Shadai Stallion Station home in the northern hemisphere and he is the sire of six stakes winners overall and his other stakes winner in Australia is Mazu, who added a second Listed victory to his record yesterday when he landed the Fireball Stakes at Randwick.

Hitotsu was the headline act of a memorable day for Arrowfield Stud’s international contingent, with Seven Veils adding to Shalaa’s stakes tally with a victory in the Reisling Stakes and once again repaying John Messara’s faith and investment into the sourcing foreign blood for a market overrun by Danehill influence.

Meanwhile, the international theme continued apace in Sydney as Converge advertised the global dominance of Juddmonte Farm’s champion Frankel with the gelding adding a Randwick Guineas win to his CV to accompany his juvenile Group 1 triumph in the J.J. Atkins Stakes.

The gelding had no issues with the Heavy 10 conditions, unleashing a potent turn of foot to finish a neck ahead of Anamoe, who came from a long way back and agonisingly fell just short in his attempt to topple the impressive winner. Hilal was a further two and a quarter lengths away in third.

Waterhouse’s first victory as a trainer came when Gifted Power won at Hawkesbury and the dynamic trainer said she still remembers the day clearly.

"It's remarkable how this has happened thirty years to the day since Gifted Poet won at Hawkesbury," Waterhouse said. "I remember that race like it was yesterday.

"Today was the day to win the Randwick Guineas – it's fabulous to be able to win a Group 1 on this date."

Bott said they were confident Converge could win, provided he handled the heavy conditions.

"The way the race unfolded worked out perfectly for us," Bott said.

"Tim [Clark] was able to put him in a positive position early and the race unfolded around him. He got into a lovely spot and was able to work into it nicely.

"When Tim was looking around like that before he let down, I knew there was a bit more there and I'm glad he was able to showcase that for us."

Waterhouse and Bott will let the dust settle before deciding Converge’s next assignment, but the co-trainers said the gelding is likely to head towards the Doncaster Mile, either via the Rosehill Guineas or the George Ryder Stakes.

Bred by Evergreen Stud Farm on southern hemisphere time, Converge is the first foal out of the placed Irish-bred mare Conversely, who was purchased by BBA Ireland for €6,000 at the Goffs February Mixed Sale from the Godolphin draft in 2017.

Conversely is a daughter of US Grade 3 winner Melhor Ainda and she is herself out of Grade 1 scorer Potrinner, making her a half-sister to Listed winner Danon Go Go.

In 2019 Conversely produced a three-quarters brother to Coverage, a colt by Coolmore Stud shuttler Churchill, who was purchased by Raphe Bloodstock for A$28,000 at the Inglis Weanling Sale in 2020. The colt is now named Conservative and is unraced.

Meanwhile, Converge’s Invader half-brother will be offered as Lot 116 by Evergreen Stud Farm at the Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale, which gets underway in Sydney on April 5 and last season Conversely produced a filly by Aquis Farm’s Divine Prophet.

Since retiring to Banstead Manor in Newmarket, Frankel has proved as dominant a force in the breeding barn as he was on the racecourse and his influence has stretched to every corner of the globe, carving himself an enviable reputation as one the greatest stallions of the modern era. His total stakes-winning tally stands at 84 and Converge is among 20 elite level winners for the all-conquering stallion.

His record in Australia alone makes for impressive reading, with the stallion having sired nine stakes winners including two other Group 1 scorers, Hungry Heart and the northern hemisphere-bred Mirage Dancer.

In Australia the stallion’s 54 starters have yielded 34 winners, which fires at an extraordinary strike rate of 67.3 per cent, while his stakes winners to runners at is an equally impressive 15.2 per cent.

Frankel is standing at stud for a career high fee of £200,000 (approx. A$359,251).

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