Engine Of War fuels Derby hopes for Circus Maximus

4th August| Windsor Park News

Victoria Derby aspirant Engine Of War made a strong impression on debut in Australia, scoring over 1500m at Sandown for the Mick Price and Michael Kent Jnr stable and is now the early pre post favourite for the Flemington blue riband.
Engine Of War wins impressively at Sandown for Mick Price and Michael Kent Jr - Click photo through to replay

The son of Circus Maximus was previously third on debut in New Zealand for Andrew Forsman before being purchased by MyRacehorse and transferred across the Tasman.
 
Ridden by Mark Zahra, Engine Of War settled behind a modest tempo and proved strongest late, holding off the fast finishing There Were Roses, another Kiwi import. Zahra commented that “he’s only going to get better the further he goes and should be an ideal derby type”.
 
Trainer Michael Kent Jnr was pleased with the performance but noted the colt is still learning. “It was a good effort,” Kent Jnr said. “He raced fairly tractably. He looked to get to the front quite easily and then didn’t really know what to do or how to put the race away, but he’s got plenty of upside.”
 
Engine Of War is from the first Southern Hemisphere crop of Circus Maximus, a high-class son of the breed-shaping sire Galileo. A top-class European miler, Circus Maximus built an elite race record, winning the prestigious Gr.1 St James’s Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot - defeating triple Group One winner Too Darn Hot - before claiming the Gr.1 Prix du Moulin de Longchamp in Paris. He returned to Royal Ascot as a four-year-old to take out the Gr.1 Queen Anne Stakes, cementing his place among Europe’s leading milers.
 
CIRCUS MAXIMUS - Standing 2025 for $17,500
 

Circus Maximus continues to make his mark at stud, with Engine Of War joining an exciting early crop of runners that includes 2YO stakes winner Towering Vision, dual metropolitan-winning juvenile and dual stakes-placed Ha’penny Hatch, and promising debut winner Paltrow Miss, recently purchased by high-profile owner Ozzie Kheir for Ciaron Maher. Other notable progeny include Rufus, a strong fourth in the Champagne Stakes, as well as highly regarded trial performer Road To Paris from the James/Wellwood yard.
 
With his progeny already displaying talent, toughness, and scope for further development, anticipation is building around Circus Maximus’s influence on the upcoming three-year-old features. As his stock continues to mature and step out over longer distances, his reputation as a source of classic contenders is only set to grow.
 
The beautifully bred and conformed Circus Maximus stands at Windsor Park Stud for a fee of $17,500+gst.