A sibling to a champion New Zealand sprinter is among the favourites for the world’s most famous Classic, the Derby at Epsom.
The Aidan O’Brien-trained Anthony Van Dyck is on the third line of betting for the Derby (2400m) on Saturday (Sunday AEST) after winning the Listed Lingfield Derby Trial (2300m) by 2-14 lengths.
The runners ahead of him in the market are his stablemates, Sir Dragonet and Broome.
Anthony Van Dyck is by Galileo out of the Exceed And Excel mare Believe’N’Succeed, making him a half-brother to Bounding, winner of New Zealand’s premier sprint, the Railway Stakes (1200m) in 2014 as a three-year-old.
Gary Harding paid $425,000 for Bounding as a yearling and sold her for $1.9 million to American breeders Stonestreet.
Bounding’s dam was bought by Coolmore for A$1.1 million, and Anthony Van Dyck was her first northern hemisphere foal.
“It’s pretty amazing that Bounding’s half-brother is one of the favourites for the Derby this year,” Hardig told NZ Racing Desk.
“The family is really going from strength to strength, and it had major international appeal even before Anthony Van Dyck came along. It’s a family on the move.
“I remember Bounding being a lovely type of yearling when I saw her at the Easter Sale in Sydney, and by all accounts the half-brother is the same.
“Bounding was a truly fantastic horse for us. Horses like her are so hard to get. We had many, many pleasurable moments with her.
“Even though we don’t own her any more, we’re still very excited and really interested in her. We keep in touch with the Americans who bought her, and we’re following her progress closely as well as the rest of the family.”
Bounding’s first foal was born last year, a colt by US Horse of the Year Curlin, and she was then served by War Front.