Royal result for Almanzor as Queen Elizabeth-bred Circle Of Fire lands Australian Group 1

There was a royal win of sorts at Royal Randwick on Saturday as the Queen Elizabeth II-bred Circle Of Fire landed the Group 1 Sydney Cup under an emotional former British-based rider Andrea Atzeni.

The Italian-born, now Hong Kong-based pilot paid tribute to his close friend and fellow Sardinian, Stefano Cherchi, who died earlier this month from injuries in a race fall at Canberra. Atzeni had flown to Australia when Cherchi was in hospital and returned for his recent memorial service.

Bred out of winning Galileo mare Fiery Sunset, Circle Of Fire had begun his career in the scarlet and purple silks and showed plenty of promise for Sir Michael Stoute, winning a two-year-old event at Salisbury and finishing in the first four in all four starts in stakes company at three. 

He was fourth for King Charles and Queen Camilla behind Gregory in last year's Queen's Vase at Royal Ascot and used his stamina to draw away for a two-length win on this step up to two miles.

Circle Of Fire is a second top-level winner for his sire, European champion Almanzor, who is asserting himself with southern hemisphere runners after shuttling between Haras d'Etreham and Cambridge Stud. He produced the 2022 Victoria Derby winner Manzoice and was having a one-two here as he also sired runner-up Athabascan. The winner’s half-brother, Evening Sun, went on to overseas Graded success in America after starting off in Britain.

Trainer Ciaron Maher credited his bloodstock manager, Will Bourne, for sourcing Circle Of Fire privately. A winner of the Group 2 Chairman's Quality only last week, the horse is likely to be now pointed towards the Melbourne Cup.

In 1954, on her first overseas visit following her coronation, the Queen had visited Randwick and seen the first running of the newly-named Queen Elizabeth Stakes, another of the day’s Group 1 features. Maher won that race as well, with Pride Of Jenni, a daughter of Coolmore's former Irish shuttler Pride Of Dubai, turning it into a procession after an extraordinary front-running ride from Declan Bates.

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