Rosberg revs up for spring riches

Clinton McDonald is no stranger to producing big race winners on debut, but unlike his 2024 VOBIS Platinum Showdown (1200m) hero Stanley Express, crack colt Rosberg won’t be going anywhere.

Stanley Express was shipped off to Hong Kong to continue his racing career following his dynamic debut in the $1 million feature race on Victorian Owners and Breeders Raceday; and whilst some big-money offers are now likely to flood in for Rosberg off the back of the eye-catching start to his career at The Valley last Saturday, connections have vowed to resist the temptation to cash in. 

Named after the 1982 Formula One World Champion Keke Rosberg, the son of Deep Field showed he has a huge motor under the bonnet as he took the chequered flag in the Listed McKenzie Stakes (1200m) to justify his $750,000 price tag at last year’s Inglis Ready2Race Sale. 

Having made the best possible first impression, Rosberg was promptly catapulted into outright favouritism for the Group 1 Coolmore Stud Stakes (1200m), with McDonald aiming to get at least one more run into the speedster before his date with destiny on Derby Day.  

The country’s most prominent stud farms would surely be circling if Rosberg were to fly to victory down the famous Flemington straight in the stallion-making Coolmore, but for now his ownership group are just enjoying the ride. 

Part-owner Dennis Alysandratos, who also has a share in McDonald’s smart filly Miss Ole, was trackside with his wife and their four children to witness the win. 

The 51-year-old has been in the ownership game long enough to know that huge expectations placed on a horse are not always met, but like McDonald he believes that Rosberg possesses all the attributes required to be a seriously player in some of the spring’s sprint features.  

“That win gave us all a massive thrill,” said Alysandratos. 

“Owning a horse isn’t always the easiest of rides, so you have to enjoy and cherish the wins when they come along. He’s always shown Clinton a hell of a lot of ability at home, so we knew he might be pretty good but they don’t always bring that to the races – and especially on debut. If he can continue to improve and produce the goods on raceday, then the future with him could be very exciting.”

Alysandratos is one of 17 owners in Rosberg, who will have his next start in the Group 2 Danehill Stakes (1100m) at Flemington on Saturday, 4 October. The shares range from 20% all the way down to 0.5% but, regardless of the size of their investment, all owners get the same thrill out of seeing their horse win.  

The ownership group includes Bob Melham, whose daughter-in-law Jamie steered Rosberg to a victory which netted connections a cheque for $105,000. Given that McDonald was moved at the weekend to draw comparisons between Rosberg and seven-time Group 1 winner Weekend Hussler, it is unlikely to be the last time that a significant sum lands in his owners’ bank accounts. 

“It’s a really good ownership group that Clinton and [bloodstock agent] Shane McGrath have put together,” said Alysandratos.      

“Luke Jervis, who is the Managing Director of [racehorse administration platform] KniGGhts Management, is a good friend of mine and I brought another friend of mine and his wife into the horse with me, so they’re pretty happy about it. 

“The rest of the owners are made up of Clinton’s existing stable clients and they’re all really good people, which makes the whole experience even more enjoyable. We had a great day out on Saturday, although we were with our kids so that probably kept a bit of a lid on the celebrations. But if he were to win the Coolmore, I think we’d all be celebrating pretty hard that night!”