Exceed And Excel continued his superb record of siring Royal Ascot juveniles on Wednesday June 15, when his daughter Best Terms landed the G2 Queen Mary Stakes in a photo from favourite Shumoos.
In a fiercely run contest over the straight 1000m track, she was never too far off the pace and showed tremendous tenacity to win by a short-head. Now unbeaten in three starts after victories at Windsor and Newbury, she should continue to progress as she was the youngest runner in today's field, only being a May foal.
Owned and bred by Robert Barnett, she is out of the unraced Kris mare Sharp Terms, a granddaughter of Oaks heroine Time Charter. From a stamina packed family the includes the Group winning middle-distance horses, Zinaad, Time Allowed and Plea Bargain, a step up in trip looks well within Best Terms' compass. Sharp Terms has also just been covered again by Exceed And Excel and is confirmed as carrying a full-sibling to Best Terms.
Since his first European sired runners hit the racetrack back in 2008, Exceed And Excel has gained a reputation for siring Royal Ascot juveniles. Prior to this seasons festival he had sired six Stakes juveniles, twice as many as any other stallion. With Best Terms now making it seven and with a number of likely candidates later in the week through Burwaaz and Pyman's Theory in the G2 Norfolk Stakes and Sajwah in the G3 Albany Stakes, his reputation can only be cemented further.
Standing the forthcoming season at Darley Kelvinside at $66,000 (inc GST), Exceed And Excel has been enjoying a tremendous racing season in the southern hemisphere also. Not only is he the sire of dual G1-winning juvenile Helmet, but fellow Stakes winners Rebel Call, Chinchilla, Anevay, Curtana and Canali. With more two-year-old winners and more two-year-old Stakes this season than any other stallion, Exceed And Excel is in an enviable position as we move into the breeding season in a few months time.
