Celts blows them away in Birthday Card

A winner at Listed level during her three-year-old season, Lonhro mare Celts produced a good turn of foot to come from behind the leading-duo at Rosehill to take the G3 Birthday Card Stakes over 6f in a photo finish on March 31.

Trained by Peter Snowden and racing in the colours of Sheikh Mohammed, Celts held off the late charge of Next The Universe, with a short neck margin to Domesday mare Divorces and Canny Lad mare Graceful Anna finishing fourth.

Bred by Woodlands Stud, Celts is out of the Canny Lad mare Dinna Fash, a half-sister to G3 winner Appoint. Celts has a yearling colt by Dubawi and a weanling filly full-sister to Celts.

The sire of 32 Stakes winners highlighted by G1 winners Benfica, Denman and Beaded, Lonhro will head into the AUS$3.5million G1 Golden Slipper in a week’s time with the unbeaten three-time Stakes-winning colt Pierro. If victorious in the G1 juvenile event, Pierro will give back to back victories for the Darley stallions after the victory last year of Elusive Quality colt Sepoy.