At Canterbury on 15 February, first-crop sire sensation Exceed And Excel wasted little time in adding to his tally of winners when Bentley Man proved victorious on his racecourse debut. This followed on from a truly outstanding weekend where he sired the first two home in both the colts’ and fillies’ G3 Blue Diamond Preludes.
Graeme Rogerson’s charge flew out of the gate and sent to an early lead, was never headed in the 1100m contest which he won by almost two lengths. Bred by Michael Sissian’s Segenhoe Stud (who incidentally also bred Exceed And Excel’s Stakes-placed son Kalash), Bentley Man was purchased by his trainer for $100,000 at last year’s Magic Millions Yearling Sale. He is from the juvenile Stakes winner Corn Maizcay, also dam of G3 winner Sweet Corn.
The following day, Exceed And Excel sired Stakes performer number six, when his son Giotto made a pleasing debut, finishing third in the Listed Canonbury Stakes at Randwick.
Exceed And Excel has now sired seven individual winners, including four that have won at Black type level. He is currently sitting comfortably atop not only the first-season sires’ list, but also the leading sires of two-year-olds table with his progeny having amassed over $570,000 in prizemoney – some $326,000 ahead of Redoute’s Choice.
Away from the racetrack, there was also success in the sales ring for the young Darley stallion when his two yearlings offered at the Perth Magic Millions Sale averaged a very respectable $250,000.
His yearling from Vintage Dance was the highest-priced filly of the opening session when bought by Slade Bloodstock for $190,000; and on Sunday another of his daughters, from the Magic Ring mare Magic Heaven, was snapped up by Troy Corstens for $310,000.
