Stratum 2YO Wins G3 Breeders Stakes
When the Adelaide carnival gets going you can trust Leon Macdonald and Andrew Gluyas will have a stakes-winner and two year-old Stratum gelding Tequila Time put them in the frame when winning the Group III SAJC Breeders Stakes at Morphettville on Saturday.
Gelded after racing twice last spring for a third and a seventh, Tequila Time has been a genuine competitor this time around winning by big margins at Morphettville in March and early April before stepping up to Black Type.
Driven forward by Claire Lindop from a wide gate to lead, he repelled all challengers to win the 1200 metre sprint by a long neck over proven stakes-winners Fundamentalist and Krone with blue-blooded Frankel colt Farooq finishing well for fourth.
“The horse was terrific. He came into the race in great form and he’s just a good horse,” said Leon Macdonald.
A $170,000 Magic Millions Adelaide purchase for his trainers from the Willowgrove Stud draft, Tequila Time was the second highest priced colt sold at that sale and has won three of five starts earning over $144,000 in prizemoney.
He is a three-quarter brother to stakes-winner Inner Warrior and is one of four winners from Encosta de Lago mare El Milagro, a grand-daughter of Group II winner Golden Prayer. El Milagro has a weanling filly by Shamus Award.
Tequila Time is the 39th stakes-winner for Stratum, who died in 2016, with his dual Group I winning son Stratum Star now standing in his place at Widden at a fee of $11,000.
