Halling's consistent four-year-old son Holberg will join Godolphin’s Melbourne Cup team, following his game victory in the Listed Classic Foundation Stakes at Goodwood on Wednesday.
Taking up the running in the 12-furlong contest, Holberg was ridden along two furlongs out and headed close to home, fought back impressively to win by a short head from Pink Symphony, with the pair a full four lengths clear of the third-placed horse.
Holberg has won or placed in eight of his 12 starts and has been victorious on six occasions, including in last year’s Queen’s Vase at Royal Ascot and in the Listed Tapster Stakes (also at Goodwood) earlier this year. He will be joined in Australia by his paternal half-sister Eastern Aria, who was the impressive winner of the G2 Park Hill Stakes at Doncaster earlier this month.
Also on Wednesday, first-season sire sensation Iffraaj took another step towards Invincible Spirit’s record 34 winners when Godolphin’s Male Model justified favouritism to take the seven-furlong maiden at Redcar, becoming his sire's 31st winner.
Bred by Whitsbury Manor Stud and Mrs M E Slade, Male Model is out of the Indian Ridge mare Bling Bling, a full sister to multiple Stakes winner and G2 performer Watching. Bling Bling’s half-sister Desert Lynx (Green Desert) is granddam of G1-winning juvenile Awzaan.
Later at Recar, fellow first-season sire Librettist recorded his eighth individual winner when Tapis Libre won over a mile.
Bred by Sedgecroft Stud, Tapis Libre is the first foal to race out of the Galileo mare Stella Manuela and is from the family of G1 winner Infamy.
