Messene all class in Ajax

Having won the Listed National Sprint at Canberra last time out, Lonhro gelding Messene gave the Hawkes team their second Lonhro Stakes winner in the space of a few days after Wednesday’s G3 victory of Mecir, clearing out to win the G2 Ajax Stakes over 1500m at Rosehill.

Now a winner of nine of his 12 starts to date, the ever consistent five-year-old was away fast from the gates for jockey James McDonald and went forward to sit in second behind the Gai Waterhouse-trained Ecuador.

With a solid tempo upfront, Messene pulled out from behind the heels of the leader just before the home turn and bounded to the lead, taking the race by almost three lengths. Victory in the race has now set up a possible tilt at the $3 million G1 Doncaster Handicap on April 12.

One of 43 Stakes winner for his sire, Messene was bred by Cloros Bloodstock and is out of the Redoute’s Choice mare Belle Giselle, from the family of G1 winners Baryshnikov and Zabeel.

With a draft of 25 yearlings catalogued for the Inglis Easter Yearling Sale highlighted by Lot 277, a half -brother to Darley stallion Sepoy, Lonhro is the sire of six individual G1 winners including Darley stallions Denman and Benfica.