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Son of champion former Aussie mare wins at Gosford

The significance of Fleet Commander's win at Wyong on Thursday ran much deeper than your standard 1900-metre Gosford maiden winner.

The Bjorn Baker-trained gelding became the first Australian winner for Atlantic Jewel when he did it at both ends to break his maiden at his seventh start.

Atlantic Jewel was one of Australia's great mares of this century, beaten once – narrowly by Dundeel in the Group 1 Underwood Stakes – in an 11-start career that yielded Group 1 wins in the Thousand Guineas, All Aged Stakes, Memsie Stakes and Caulfield Stakes.

Part-owned by Coolmore, Atlantic Jewel was sent to Ireland when her racing career was over, where she had a chequered career in the breeding barn before returning to Australia in 2019.

That was after she foaled Fleet Commander, who had six starts in Europe last year for two second placings and a third, before being bought by Darby Racing for 100,000gns at the 2022 Tattersalls Autumn Horses In Training Sale.

He improved off a sixth placing in a 1600m Kembla Grange maiden on May 27 to score a dominant staying win under Jason Collett at Gosford.

Atlantic Jewel's only other product to race in Australia was Empireofthedragon, who was retired after failing to place in four starts.

The best of her foals to race is Russian Emperor, who like Fleet Commander and Empireofthedragon is a son of Galileo, who won a Group 3 Hampton Court Stakes in England before heading to Hong Kong.

In Hong Kong, Russian Emperor has won the past two editions of the Group 1 Champions & Chater Cup and last year's Group 1 Hong Kong Gold Cup.

Atlantic Jewel's other winner is Pacific Ocean, another son of Galileo, who had one win from six starts – in a 1609m maiden at Navan.

After returning to Australia, Atlantic Jewel was sent to Justify and died shortly after foaling a colt by Justify who is now a two-year-old called Maravillas and is in the care of Annabel Neasham.