MATTHEW Smith, the man who guided the unusually named Hurtle Myrtle to Group 1 glory, was quick to claim multiple yearlings by `first season sire’ Congrats at the recent Magic Millions sale.
The Warwick Farm handler was the successful bidder on Lot 903, a brown colt by the A. P. Indy son out of a Belong To Me mare.
The colt’s 3rd dam is none other than the great Pebbles who won the Breeders’ Cup Turf in the USA plus the One Thousand Guineas and Champion Stakes in England.
Smith wasn’t the only multiple buyer of Congrats first Australian-bred offspring.
Rosehill trainer David Payne bought two, as did Aquanita Racing P/L while two more are Hong Kong bound.
Congrats was the Leading First Season Sire in the USA in 2010 and has so far sired 33 stakeshorses (15 of them stakeswinners) led by three separate Grade 1 winners.
Congrats has a phenomenal overall winners to runners strike rate of 72.8 percent which climbs to a staggering 89 percent (W/R) from his first crop (10% SWer’s to runners).
