St Mark’s Basilica x Splendido 2yo Filly

Shares are available in this gorgeous, free-flowing filly by Leading Northern Hemisphere First Season Sire ST MARK’S BASILICA out of the regally bred mare SPLENDIDO. This filly has a pedigree line that is in the upper echelon of Australian racing, boasting 5 individual Group One winners.

European Horse Of The Year and Champion 3YO Colt, St Mark’s Basilica earned those prestigious Cartier Award titles with his six brilliant wins from nine starts at two and three. Joining the likes of Nijinsky, Mill Reef, Try My Best, Storm Bird, Rock Of Gibraltar, Shamardal, Too Darn Hot, and Frankel as the winner of the Gr.1 Dewhurst Stakes at two, the classy bay was one of that year’s best juveniles, and he really came into himself at three/four starts, four Gr.1 races, and four impressive victories. First up, finishing off strongly to secure a 1 3/4 length victory in the French 2000 Guineas, St. Mark’s Basilica was sent out as the favourite in the French Derby, which he won by the same margin. From there it was off to England for the Eclipse Stakes to take on the older horses, and he was even better, racing away by 3 1/2 lengths from a horse well known to Australian racegoers—the local triple Gr.1 winner Addeybb. St. Mark’s Basilica was home in Ireland for his finale, the Irish Champion Stakes, and he retired on a winning note as an odds-on favourite. Described by Aidan O’Brien as “a wonderful horse,” he gave rider Loritz Mendizabal the feeling of strength and power, “When you’re sitting on a Formula One car like him 250 metres from the winning post in a classic, it’s a great feeling,” he said of his French 2000 Guineas win. St. Mark’s Basilica is one of the 91 stakes winners (11 Gr.1) sired by the Gr.1-winning juvenile Siyouni, who, despite never shuttling, has made a great impression on Australian racing with the Gr.1 mare Amelia’s Jewel and fellow stakes winners Aylmerton, Nugget, and See You In Spring. Doing a good job with his first Northern Hemisphere-bred crop, St. Mark’s Basilica is third in the UK, leading the first-season sire chart by stakes winners, and second in France. Nineteen of his progenies are already winners; three of those being stakes winners, including the very exciting unbeaten filly Diamond Necklace, last start winner of the Gr.1 Criterium des Pouliches. St. Mark’s Basilica has the right sort of pedigree for Australia, the half-brother to the dual Gr.1 winner Magna Grecia being a descendant of the legendary matriarch Selene, as were Sir Tristram and Star Way and such outstanding gallopers as Might And Power.

While she did not manage a placing, Splendido is a good enough type to have proven popular with buyers on two occasions during her broodmare career, changing hands—firstly for $180,000 and then for $160,000. A daughter of Redoute’s Choice’s Gr. 1 Golden Slipper Stakes winner Stratum (a successful sire of 48 stakes winners, including seven Gr. 1 horses, and a dam sire of 13 stakes winners, including the in-form Gr. 1 winner Lindermann), Splendido is out of the excellent Last Tycoon mare Decidity.

That city-placed two-time winner did a wonderful job at stud with her seven winners, including the Gr.1 Empire Rose Stakes and triple Gr.3 winner Bonaria and the Gr.3 winners Time Out and Legally Bay. Her daughters are excelling at stud; Bonaria has produced the five-time stakes placed multiple city winner Miss Aria and the $800,000 Waterhouse & Bott-trained Starblitz, while Legally Bay is the dam of three stakes winners: the local and Royal Ascot Gr.1 winner Merchant Navy, the Gr.2 winner Jolie Bay, and the Listed winner Setanta. Additionally, Jolie Bay is the dam of triple Gr.1 winner Joliestar, and other descendants of Decidity include Gr.1 Winterbottom Stakes winner Paulele, as well as Group winners Montsegur, Corniche, Hersey, Airman, Tessera, and Listed winners Ebhaar and Hindaam.

A lightly raced daughter of Twig Moss, she passed away young after producing only three foals—yet all became winners, including the triple stakes winner Classy Fella. Class’s dam, Pirouette (a sister to Gr.1 Queensland Derby winner Our Planet and dual Group winner Gypsy Kingdom), also produced the Gr.2-winning juvenile Twirled. Pirouette is the ancestress of several Group performers, including A Beautiful Night, Vestey, Ready Set Sail, Turnitaround, Pasta Express, and most recently the Red Anchor Stakes winner Napoleonic.

Two of St. Mark’s Basilica’s first three stakes winners (as well as two of his stakes placegetters)—including his Gr.1 daughter Diamond Necklace—are line-bred to Danehill, as is this filly, who is 4 X 4 via Siyouni’s dam and Stratum’s high-achieving sire, Redoute’s Choice. St. Mark’s Basilica is a descendant of the great matriarch Selene via her influential daughter All Moonshine, whose classy son Mossborough is Splendido’s fourth dam sire, and line-breeding to the family of a well-related stallion is a proven method of producing topliners. St. Mark’s Basilica also carries strains of Selene’s sons Pharamond and Hyperion and her relation Chamossaire, whilst Splendido has further Hyperion as well as relation Fair’s Fair. Another cross of great interest in this filly’s pedigree is that of Polar Falcon (Siyouni’s grandsire) and Last Tycoon (Splendido’s dam sire), noting that those two extremely successful stallions are both descendants of the prolific mare Schiaparelli, and those two horses have combined well in the pedigrees of 17 stakes winners, five of whom are Gr. 1 winners, including Amelia’s Jewel and Ervedya, who are both Siyouni’s. There is excellent background strength in this pedigree as well; this filly boasts duplications of the influential mares Aurora, Sweet Lavender, Baby League, La Troienne, Canterbury Pilgrim, Gibside Fairy, Lady Susan, Alcibiades, Lady Juror, Mumtaz Begum, Mumtaz Mahal, Pretty Polly, Admiration, and Lalun.