Widden Sold Casino Seventeen Wins G2 Perth Cup

Not all yearlings Widden Stud consign for sale are expensive and a colt by Casino Prince from Tikal that sold for just $9,000 at Inglis Classic in 2019 has proven a star performer in Western Australia where he won the $1million Group II WATC Perth Cup on New Year’s Day.

The Grant & Alana Williams trainee was sent off a short-priced favourite and duly delivered, hanging on grimly in a desperately tight finish.

“This has been 12 months in the making,” said an elated Grant Williams post-race.

“We were able to get here on the minimum (weight, 53kgs) and if we didn’t have that, we might have got beaten.

“The preparation has gone so well I was waiting for something to go wrong but it hasn’t.”

Casino Seventeen has won nine of his 35 starts and placed in a further 17 for earnings of $1,139,546.

The admirable gelding was purchased for just $9,000 at the Inglis Classic Yearling Sale by Jo Hardy from the draft of Widden Stud, who offered him on behalf of his breeder, Grant Briscoe.

“Casino Seventeen is just another fantastic example of the value that can be found through the Australian Yearling Sales Series and in particular, at the Classic Yearling Sale,” said Widden’s Antony Thompson.

“He always looked the sort of horse that would appreciate time to develop and he’s really found his niche is Perth with Grant and Alana, who are doing an amazing job with him.

“He’s now won over $1.1m in prizemoney, which is quite incredible.”

Widden Stud will be well represented at the 2024 Inglis Classic Yearling Sale, with a draft of 56 yearlings set to go under the hammer.

“We have a strong-looking draft for the sale, with 18 different stallions featured, including the first yearlings by Anders and Doubtland, who we are very excited about,” added Thompson.