Cheer Leader blitzes rivals at Moonee Valley

Just two weeks after being relegated to third in the Listed Festival of Racing 1000 Stakes at Flemington, the Makybe bred Cheer Leader blitzed her rivals by over 5 lengths at Moonee Valley on Friday night to win the Listed Sun Stud Valley Pearl Stakes over 1200m. With Damien Lane in the saddle, the daughter of Snitzel charged to the lead and never looked in doubt as she had all of her rivals off the bit on the turn for home.

Sold $300,000 at the Easter 2018 Yearling Sale to Yulong Thoroughbreds, the filly was mildly off set in both fronts and was knocked by most buyers as a result. Cheer Leader is a half-sister to Group 1 MRC One Thousand Guineas winner Amicus and the stakes-placed Il Cavallo.

She is the eighth named foal and the seventh winner out of the stakes-placed El Moxie mare Gold Chant who is a half-sister to Starspangledbanner. Gold Chant has an absolute stunning weanling colt by I Am Invincible on the farm and was given the year off due to the late foaling.

The farm still owns the half-sister to Cheer Leader in ‘Faith in Hand’; who is currently in foal to the ill-fated Sebring. Gold Chants’ dam is also a long-term resident of the farm and is currently in foal to Snitzel, with a Written Tycoon weanling filly in the paddocks that will raise eyebrows in the near future. It must also be noted that Aussie, a two-year-old colt who is also by Snitzel and out of Gold Anthem, has also shown plenty of talent winning {albeit somewhat erratically} at Hawkesbury last month over 1000m.