For the third consecutive weekend, a Sledmere Stud sales graduate has saluted in a feature Pattern Race event staged on a major Melbourne or Sydney metropolitan race day.
Very much to our delight, Saturday’s W.S. Cox Plate program at Moonee Valley witnessed the Group 2 Lexus Fillies Classic (1600m) go the way of Yes Baby Yes, the 3-year-old daughter of Dissident trained by Leon & Troy Corstens.
Backing-up from a very good second at Caulfield over 1400m just seven days earlier, Yes Baby Yes received a brilliant front-running ride by Craig Williams and proceeded to score by no less than three and three-quarter lengths.
In so doing, the quality filly took her record to two wins and one second from nine starts for $247,488 in earnings — and put a very valuable black-type victory on her pedigree page!
The victory of Yes Baby Yes gave everyone associated with Sledmere Stud immense pleasure for a number of reasons.
First and foremost, the filly was bred by us before being sold at the 2019 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale for $120,000 to Flemington Bloodstock.
Secondly, we retained an interest in Yes Baby Yes and remain in the ownership group which also includes Mr S P Morrissy, Mr B L Riddle, Mr J Cucuzza, Mr W Blenman, Mrs J J Miller, Mr G W Fielding, Mr I J Riley, Major Racing, Mr P Johnson, Mr P A Mcdonald, R & C Legh Racing Pty Ltd & Mr R A Ford.
And furthermore, Yes Baby Yes’s dam Exabelle remains an active member of our broodmare band and has since produced a filly by Shooting To Win named No Baby No now also in training with Leon & Troy Corstens; another filly by Spieth (NZ) heading the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale in 2021; and, a beautiful full-sister to Yes Baby Yes just recently foaled at Sledmere Stud in the last week of September.
Another aspect of Yes Baby Yes’s coveted black-type victory which also gives us great satisfaction at Sledmere Stud is the fact that she became the second stakes winner for the Newgate stallion Dissident and that we have bred them both.
Yes Baby Yes follows in virtually the exact same path as Pancho [pictured below], the stallion’s 3-year-old stakes winner at last year’s VRC Melbourne Cup Carnival produced by Novel Dancer, another existing member of Sledmere Stud’s broodmare band.
Amazingly, Dissident sired in the vicinity of 300 foals in his first two crops and the first two winners of his stud career have both been bred by Sledmere Stud. We very much consider this achievement as a badge of honour for our select breeding concern and for all of the individual members of our team who played a role in their development.
Last Saturday’s Group 2 victory of Yes Baby Yes capped an outstanding weekend of results for Sledmere Stud graduates, which also included the hugely creditable Group 1 Manikato Stakes placing of Dirty Work; the richly-deserved Randwick victory of Icebath (NZ); another blistering display of sprinting by Meteorite in winning at Sale; and overseas stakes placings by Unition and Nowyousee in New Zealand and Singapore respectively, plus the win of Exactamente on the Gold Coast.
Congratulations to all parties involved. It’s a pleasure to have played our part!