Royal Ocean Sails to Listed Victory

Three-year-old filly Royal Ocean (Fastnet Rock) broke her maiden in grand style with success in the Listed A$80,000 Express Colour Printing Morphettville Guineas (1600m) in Adelaide on Saturday.

The NZ$160,000 Karaka Premier Sale purchase entered the race for trainer Mick Price having placed at three of her four career starts in Victoria. Price had a good opinion of the filly having run her in the Group 3 Blue Diamond Prelude for her first start as a two-year-old behind boom filly Earthquake (Exceed and Excel).

“She has always shown ability,” commented Price. “She has always been a bit immature, she still is, but she does have ability and it is good to see her win a black-type race.”

Starting as the second-favourite behind odds-on race-favourite Betsy (Redoute’s Choice), Royal Ocean settled in fifth position for leading South Australian rider Dom Tourneur. Betsy was in front early in the straight with Royal Ocean in a position to challenge. In a close finish, it was Royal Ocean who got the better of Betsy to win in determined fashion by a head.

“She was purchased by a long-time supporter of NZB in Bill Frost, he bought Zarita from that Sale and likes buying horses off Gordon (Cunningham). She is a nice filly but she wasn’t overly expensive,” said Price.

“She is lightly raced and doesn’t hold a lot of condition at the moment. I am not sure how long she will go into this spring but we will get her back from Adelaide and give her a freshen up and look towards the Thousand Guineas.”

Royal Ocean is owned by Bill Frost of Pendant Equine who purchased the filly at the 2013 Karaka Premier Sale from Curraghmore Stud. Gordon Cunningham’s Curraghmore Stud enjoyed a stellar week, producing five winners from five starters in Australia and New Zealand on Wednesday along with Royal Ocean’s victory, and all were graduates of Karaka.

Bred by the Matthew Goodson, Royal Ocean is out of Giant’s Causeway mare Chasing Mammon, a half-sister to Listed winner Zelsintz (Snitzel). Chasing Mammon is out of a half-sister to dual Group 1 winner and successful sire Holy Roman Emperor (Danehill).