Photo: Kenton Wright (Race Images)
Luigi Muollo has been involved with the family of his foundation mare Explosive for more than two decades, and it continues to produce for the Novara Park principal.
On Saturday, Special Sakura (Staphanos), a fourth generation of a branch of that family, secured black-type when taking care of a handy field to win the Listed Fulton Family Stakes (1500m) at Ellerslie.
Bred and raced by Muollo, Special Sakura’s victory was a great result for his Waikato farm, with the four-year-old mare becoming the third individual stakes winner for Novara Park resident stallion Staphanos, joining Group One winner Pignan and Basilinna.
Entrusted to the care of New Plymouth trainer Janelle Millar, Muollo said Special Sakura has shown plenty of ability in her prior nine starts and he wasn’t surprised by her 1-3/4 length victory on the weekend.
“She has always shown a huge amount of ability and has been well placed by Janelle,” Muollo said.
“She finished second to Hinekaha a few starts back and look at what she has gone on to do (win the Gr.2 Cal Isuzu Stakes, 1600m, and finish runner-up in the Gr.3 Aotearoa Classic, 1600m). The form has stood up around her and we knew she had run times very fast before.
“She probably could have gone for stakes races a bit earlier, but we have shown a bit of patience to get her right and now she has got it all ahead of her.”
Special Sakura’s victory has not only increased her value as a broodmare prospect, but also her immediate family, with Muollo still breeding from her dam, Mia Mamma, and he owns several of her siblings.
“It is valuable for me owning Special Sakura, her mum, Mia Mamma, another half-sister called Speedy Swey and another two-year-old in Janelle’s stable who I have leased to Janelle that is a full-sister to Special Sakura,” Muollo said.
Special Sakura is also a half-sister to Special Swey, who went on to win the Gr.3 Rough Habit Plate (2000m) for trainer Chris Waller.
“Special Swey was a very smart horse and I sold him to my brother after he won a race here by four lengths,” Muollo said. “He ended up winning the Rough Habit Plate impressively.
“There are not many mares around who have had three foals to race for two black-type winners.
“Mia Mamma is in-foal to Sweynesse to get a full-sibling to Special Swey.”
Special Sakura’s victory comes quickly off the back of New Zealand Bloodstock’s National Yearling Sales, and while Muollo only offered a couple of yearlings himself, preferring to retain some to race, it was a pleasing one for Staphanos, with his colt out of Group One winner Quintessential selling to Australian trainer Mick Price for $140,000 in the Book 1 session.
“It was a very good result,” Muollo said. “I have kept a number of fillies myself and not enter them in the sale because the fillies have got a very good strike-rate, especially on Group One winners and performers to runners. He (Staphanos) is tracking well.”
