Fourth Stakes Win for Exceed And Excel's Signore Fox

James Mcdonald has five wins from as many rides on the five-year-old Exceed And Excel entire Signore Fox, with four in stakes races, the latest coming in Saturday’s Group III Star Kingdom Stakes at Rosehill Gardens.

Trained by Peter and Paul Snowden, Signore Fox was given a ground-saving ride by McDonald before peeling out in the straight to overpower the 3yo Headwater colt Wisdom Of Water by one and a quarter lengths with the consistent 5yo Lonhro gelding Roheryn a half-neck back in third.

It has been five starts and nine months since Signore Fox last entered the winner’s circle in the Listed Ramornie Handicap at Grafton.

“He’s been very good to me. I just seem to get on him at the right time,” McDonald said.

“The Snowdens gave him three really good trials. He executed brilliantly today and was too good. He’s a beautiful stallion, very kind natured, just does what he has to do.”

Paul Snowden said McDonald has a rapport with the 5yo entire.

“He gets along really well with the horse, and we try to get him on as much as we can,” Snowden said.

“This horse is still an entire and has an amazing attitude. He’s so quiet. Full credit to (owner) Joe (Stamble) and the family. It’s always a good time for us to get a good win for them.

A $300,000 purchase by Snowden Racing out of the Coolmore Stud draft at the 2017 Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale, Signore Fox advanced his record to nine wins, two seconds, and a third from 31 starts with earnings of $678,085.

He was the penultimate foal of the imported Touch Gold mare Sharp Susan (USA), who left her mark with four foals in her five seasons in Australia before her export to South Africa.

A Grade II winner at Saratoga and Grade 1 placed at Belmont, Sharp Susan (USA), first hit the headlines at the 2012 Inglis Australian Easter Broodmare Sale when she was knocked down to Badger’s Bloodstock for $1,050,000 on behalf of Gaynor Rupert’s Drakenstein Stud.

The daughter of Smart Strike had been purchased in the US in 2008 by Tyreel Stud for US$2 million. She is a half-sister to Group 1 winners Spring at last (Silver Deputy) and Sharp Lisa (Dixieland Bound), the dam of the Group 1 ATC Metropolitan winner Foundry (Galileo).

Before her trip to Australia, Sharp Susan (USA) foaled the AP Indy colt Indiano Jones who was a multiple Group placed winner of seven races in Canada.

But the best was yet to come. Her second foal in Ausatralia was the Street Cry (IRE) filly Oh Susanna, a 4-time Group 1 winner in South Africa who was honoured as the Horse of the Year in South Africa in 2017-18.