10 Stakes-Winners Worldwide for Rock

13th June 2007

Rock of Gibraltar posted his tenth individual stakes-winner at Saint-Cloud on the weekend when three year-old filly Maria Gabriella (3f Rock of Gibraltar - Celestial Lagoon, by Sunday Silence) saluted in the Listed Prix Des Lilas over a mile.

Prepared by Carlos Laffron-Parias, Maria Gabriella had been stakes-placed a couple of times previously, so was overdue to gain a Black Type success and has now won three races and placed six times from nine starts.

Bred by the Niarchos family, she fetched 80,000 euros at the Deauville October Yearling Sale and is from the stakes-placed Sunday Silence mare Celestial Lagoon and her next dam interestingly is by Woodman.

Both Sunday Silence and Woodman have combined with Danehill and his sire sons to achieve great success in Australia producing a number of Group One winners so the pedigree of Maria Gabriella is certainly worth noting.

Rock of Gibraltar returns to Australia this spring at a fee of $82,500 after spending the Northern Hemisphere season in Japan and with only a month and a half of the Australian racing season to run is less than $50,000 behind Choisir in the battle to be leading Australian first season sire by earnings, while his nine individual winners have him sharing the lead by winners.