CONGRATS 2yo filly Holiday Magic assumed the mantle of her sire’s 13th stakeswinner last weekend with a crushing win at Florida’s Calder Park.
The fact that the 8-runners in Saturday’s Listed Brave Raj Stakes were spread over 25-lens at the finish pole was testament to her complete dominance.
Holiday Magic’s own 4 1/4-lens winning margin was courtesy of a swift burst of acceleration in the stretch which saw her career away from early leader and stablemate, Quinnkat.
“Holiday Magic is a quicker filly,” said trainer Bill Kaplan before the race, “and I’ve been working hard to get her to settle down. If she can handle the added distance she’ll be tough.”
Holiday Magic had put the writing on the wall for this her fourth start by winning on debut over 1100m before placing in both the Stallion Desert Vixen Stakes L (1200m) and the Susan’s Girl Stakes L (1400m) at the same course.grats
The William Kaplan trained bay is the second 2yo stakeswinner to emerge from Congrats’ 2011 crop alongside the unbeaten Courgarville who ran out an easy 2-lens in the Listed Bird of Pay Stakes three weeks ago.
Congrats has been able to maintain a phenomenal set of statistics including a 70 percent winners-to-runners and a total of 31 stakes-horses from 203 starters (15%) from four initial small Florida crops.
Congrats’ army of black-type performers is led by his first-crop superstar filly/mare Turbulent Descent who won four Grade 1 races.
Congrats first large crop of Kentucky bred yearlings are selling now at keeneland. His first Australian bred yearlings will be on offer at the Magic Million on the Gold Coast in January.
