Locally trained Exceedance 3yo Sugar Coat didn’t break stride breaking his maiden on debut at Pakenham on Friday.
Prepared by Peter Moody and Katherine Coleman, he travelled like a readymade racehorse for stable jockey Luke Nolen before angling off the fence to collar the favourite Ahha Ahha (Starspangledbanner) in the Race For Rule Plate (1100m).
Sugar Coat (3g Exceedance – Sugar Rush by More Than Ready) is the latest strike for the Vinery sire who is making early inroads with first-crop winners like Cristal Clear, Dance To The Boom and Mine Kart Carnage so far this season. He’s off to a great start on the 2024-25 second-season winners table behind Zousain (6) and equal with Yes Yes Yes (4).
Sugar Coat sold for $100,000 at the 2023 Gold Coast Magic Millions and is bred to keep improving for a Wylie Dalziel syndicate. His dam was a Randwick winner for Gai Waterhouse while second-dam Sugar Babe (Exceed and Excel) was a Group 3 Caulfield winner for John Singleton.
“He looked a nice sort at the Magic Millions. ‘Moods’ liked him and we did, too,” he recalled. “He’s always shown a lot although the owners have had to be patient. He was held up early with a split lip but it all worked out today.”
Dalziel bought him from Kitchwin Hills (as agent) from breeder Neil Werrett who stayed in the ownership group. So did the breaker Brad Pearson. Another part-owner is tennis star Chris O’Connell who watched a replay during the US Open in New York.
Stable jockey Luke Nolen can see Sugar Coat progressing through the grades after his home-track breakthrough on Friday. “He settled in the box seat and, if anything, felt too relaxed underneath me. But when I asked, he exploded and could have won by more if not for looking around when the race was already won.”
Werrett has an Ole Kirk yearling half-brother to Sugar Coat and bred his dam Sugar Rush back to Ole Kirk on a late cover last year. The mare is now four-from-four with Vinery sires following Candy Women (Headwater), Just Too Sweet (All Too Hard) and Let’s Try (All Too Hard).
Vinery stands Exceedance (Exceed And Excel) for an unchanged $33,000 (inc GST) service fee this season with payment on a live foal. For bookings or further information, contact Adam, Harry, McKoy or Peter on (02) 6543 8333.
