Champion mare Atlantic Jewel kicked off a Cox Plate campaign in stunning style at Caulfield on Saturday when she demoralised her rivals in the Group One Memsie Stakes (1400m).
Returning to the races after about 70 weeks on the sidelines, the daughter of Fastnet Rock extended her unbeaten run to eight when she left an outstanding field of Group One winners floundering behind.
Connections of the superstar including trainer Mark Kavanagh were lost for words in the moments immediately after the race.
The win will go down as one of the greatest comebacks in Australian racing history and elevate the mare to the country’s highest rated galloper and one of the world’s best.
“You’ve got no idea what’s been going on and the pressure that my wonderful staff and the people involved at my farm and everywhere have put on themselves as a team effort to bring this horse back,” a composed Kavanagh said later.
“The whole of the world was watching this. I did radio interviews for Dubai and England and everything like that. It was massive for me and certainly a massive relief.”
Kavanagh sent a chilling warning to potential carnival rivals when he declared the mare would only improve.
“She’s got so much improvement in her, it’s frightening,” he noted.
The mare is likely to have her next start in the Dato’ Tan Chin Nam Stakes at Moonee Valley as she heads to the Cox Plate where she is now a warm favourite with bookies.
Atlantic Jewel, who sent her earnings past $1.1 million with the win, carries the famous Coolmore navy and many believe she is the greatest mare to carry the colours anywhere in the world.
She was purchased by renowned international bloodstock agent Demi O’Byrne for $320,000 from the Vinery Stud draft at the 2010 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale.
O’Byrne races the mare along with the Magnier family’s Coolmore Syndicate, Laurie Macri, Michael Kirwan, Mathilde Texier, Clem Murphy and MV Magnier.
Coolmore’s Michael Kirwan summed up the Memsie Stakes win well as he watched the replay.
“You just don’t see them do that,” he said. “That is a remarkable performance. She’s a very special mare.”
Bred by Greg Perry and foaled down at Vinery, Atlantic Jewel is from the Zabeel mare Regard.
Regard was sold by Magic Millions as a yearling in 2004 for $235,000 (from Emirates Park to Graeme Rogerson) and then as a broodmare in 2008 for $340,000 (from Vinery to Steve Brem).
When sold at the 2008 National Broodmare Sale on the Gold Coast, Regard was in foal to Fastnet Rock – the resultant foal, her first, none other than Atlantic Jewel.
The mare’s only other foal before her unfortunate passing was subsequent Group One winner Commanding Jewel – sold also at the Gold Coast Yearling Sale for $205,000.
The family is all Magic Millions’ with Regard’s dam Nanshan, an import, being sold to Emirates Park from Torryburn Stud for $425,000 at the 2002 National Broodmare Sale when Torryburn was being dispersed by the Ferguson family.
Nanshan topped the sale with the 33 Torryburn mares selling for over $3 million as part of the dispersal 11 years ago.
