Two mares bought at the Goffs November Sale in 2008 and subsequently exported to India provided the first two home in the Grade 1 Fillies’ Championship Stakes for three-year-olds at Bangalore on Sunday.
Bertolini was responsible for the first two home in Indian Fillies' Championship
The mares – Designer Chic (Red Ransom) and Pescara (Common Grounds) – were bought for €10,500 and €11,000 respectively by Century Bloodstock and Hugo Merry and both went on to foal fillies by Bertolini. Their daughters, now named Vijays Pride and Portia, finished just half a length apart in the mile contest, with the runner-up having previously won the Grade 2 Juvenile Million at the same track on May 27.
Trained by Vittal Deshmukh, Vijays Pride had been bought by major Hyderabad owner/breeder Dodla Pratap Chandra Reddy, who had been in the process of establishing a stud farm at the time of his death a fortnight ago.
Despite breaking well, she dropped back through the field to be near-last in the early stages before making her winning move on the home turn and just reeling in co-favourite Portia in the shadow of the winning post.
Vijays Pride and Portia were both conceived during Bertolini’s stint at Darley’s Kildangan Stud in Ireland. The son of Danzig has since returned to Overbury Stud in Gloucesterhshire, whence he started his stallion career in 2002, becoming the leading first-season sire in Europe in 2005.
The star of his first crop, Cheveley Park Stakes winner Donna Blini, is another of his daughters to have been exported overseas following her purchase by Katsumi Yoshida for 500,000gns at the Tattersalls December Sale in 2006. She has proved to be as successful as a broodmare as she was a racehorse with her first two daughters both being stakes winners, including this year’s Japanese 1,000 Guineas and Oaks winner Gentildonna.
