Casino Prince has started December with yet more black-type when his six year-old mare Slots won the LR Just Now Stakes (1350m) at Doomben on Saturday.
The Vinery champion has now sired five individual stakes winners this season and the Brisbane result comes hot on the heels of Mighty Lucky in Sydney (LR Festival Stakes) and Casino Dancer in Melbourne (G3 Eclipse Stakes) in November.
Slots (6m Casino Prince – Serein by Snippets) powered home from midfield to defeat 2013 Magic Million Classic winner Real Surreal. “We were drawn close in and that gave me the chance to get some cover,” winning jockey Lester Grace explained. “Then she ran home hard.”
Like a lot of the Casino Prince stock, Slots has matured with racing after winning three of her first four races at Taree. “She has been really great for us this year with placings in Group and Listed races,” visiting Newcastle trainer Grant Marshall said. “We were really after a black-type win and that puts her on the charts as a broodmare.”
Slots is a half-sister to the winners Giant Killer (Elusive Quality) and Irishkiwi (Red Ransom). Their dam Serein won four races and was stakes placed in Adelaide. She is a three-quarter sister to G1 HK Stewards Cup winner Mr Vitality and three-time LR Mornington Cup winner Gunnamatta.
“She will stay up here for a race like the (LR) Goldmarket Hcp at the Gold Coast on Boxing Day,” Marshall said. “Then she will come back from a spell and have one more preparation before going to stud.”
Casino Prince opened his black-type account this season with Hooked (G2 Tramway Hcp) in September and added the second with Escado (G3 MVRC JRA Cup) in October.
The first of his 11 career stakes winners was champion colt All Too Hard in the Listed Talindert 2yo Stakes who stands alongside his sire at Vinery.
