It’s been nearly a decade since a horse won the Blue Diamond Stakes series treble in Australia. And it was 20 years before that when Rancher was the shortest priced Blue Diamond Stakes winner ever at $1.40 – 1. Well there’s a new horse reaching new heights down under and his name is Sepoy. The brilliant son of Elusive Quality left no doubt as to his superiority in winning the G1 Blue Diamond Stakes at Caulfield Racetrack in Australia on February 25 while running the second fastest time ever recorded for the race.
Although getting his first mount on the Darley homebred, new jockey Kerrin McEvoy simply had to hold on as the two-year-old colt lived up to the hype in winning the $1 million dollar event with the tote board displaying a final price equal to that of previous winner Rancher. Sepoy sat just off the pace throughout and then pulled away from the pack in the stretch for an easy four and one-quarter length win to remain undefeated in four career starts.
Sepoy is out of a full sister to G1 winner Camarena, she the dam of G1 winner Camarilla, also by Elusive Quality. His is also the family of the G1-winning Darley Australia stallion Canny Lad.
Elusive Quality was also well represented earlier on the Caulfield race card when Elusive King finished second in the G2 Yalumba Stakes after setting the pace throughout.
Sepoy is one of 20 career Graded or Group winners for Elusive Quality who was North America’s leading sire by number of total progeny Stakes wins in 2010. Among his 66 career stakes winners - seven at the highest level - are last year’s multiple G1 winner Quality Road, as well as Kentucky Derby hero Smarty Jones and and G1 Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Raven’s Pass who stands at Darley’s Kildangan stud in Ireland.
