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Five-year-old Exceed And Excel mare hands sire his 179th stakes winner

Invictus Salute (5 m ex Acquired by O'Reilly) - who is in foal to I Am Invincible (Invincible Spirit) - added a much deserved stakes win to her CV when she landed the Starlight Stakes (Listed, 1100m) at Rosehill on Saturday and in the process became the 179th stakes winner for her Darley Stud-based sire Exceed And Excel (Danehill). 

The five-year-old mare came out on top of a close finish to beat Spaceboy (Deep Field) by a head, while Viridine (Poet’s Voice) was another three-quarters of a length further away in third. 

Mark Newnham said after the race that the Sledmere Stud-owned mare would not have another start and would now embark on a career as a broodmare. 

“That'll probably be her last start now," Newnham said.

"She's in foal to I Am Invincible so we've added value to her and her offspring.

"She's carrying some valuable cargo there, a really good performance from horse and rider, everything worked out for her.”

The mare was offered at the Inglis Chairman's Sale earlier this year but was retained by Sledmere after she failed to make her $850,000 reserve and she is out of stakes-placed O’Reilly (Last Tycoon) mare Acquired, making her a half-sister to Group 2 winner Splintex (Snitzel). 

Acquired herself is a half-sister to Group 2 winner Hips Don’t Lie (Stravinsky) - the dam of Group 3 winner Ennis Hill (Fastnet Rock) and Listed winner Lake Geneva (Fastnet Rock), who also finished third in the Golden Slipper Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m), while she is also a half-sister to the dams of Group 3 scorer No More Tears (Darci Brahma) and Listed winner Weatherly (Beneteau). 

In 2019 Acquired produced a filly by Not A Single Doubt (Danehill), while this season she foaled a colt by Arrowfield Stud-based sire The Autumn Sun (Redoute’s Choice). 

Exceed And Excel - who will not return to Europe next breeding season for the first time since 2004 - stands at Darley’s Kelvinside base for a fee of $132,000 (inc GST).