Always B Miki a sire at the top of his game

What an amazing week it’s been for super sire Always B Miki!

In New Zealand, his progeny dominated during Cup Week, with his daughter Esmeralda’s brilliant four and a quarter length win in the Listed Sires’ Stakes Southern Mares’ Classic on Show Day seeing him finish up as the Carnival’s leading sire of stakes winners, as well as individual winners.

His other stakes winners were of course Kingman, who was simply unbelievable in winning the Group 1 New Zealand Trotting Cup on Tuesday after racing three wide for the last 1400m, and Celestial Sea, who so impressively claimed the Group 1 Nevele R 3YO Fillies Series on the same day.

Across the Tasman, Always B Miki's progeny were in fine form too – particularly at Gloucester Park, where his millionaire son Mister Smartee headed up a winning treble for the sire when taking out the Group 2 James Brennan Memorial on Friday night.

The last start Group 1 Golden Nugget runner-up, Justcallmemiki and The Iron Duke rounded out the treble.

At an abbreviated Albion Park meeting the following night, his son The Janitor proved too good for his rivals in The Be Good Johnny Sprint.

Always B Miki then capped off a fabulous week worldwide, producing two stakes race winners at The Meadowlands in the last of the North American Grand Circuit meetings for the year.

His Canadian Pacing Derby winning son Maximus Miki captured his fifth Graded Race win of the year with a stakes-record-equalling 1:47.6 victory in the $350,000 Gr. 1 FanDuel Open Championship, while the outstanding 3-year-old filly Miki And Minnie routed her older rivals in the Gr.2 FanDuel Open Mares Championship and took her seasonal earnings to more than US$1.1 million.

On a breeding note, three of last week’s six stakes winners were out of Direct Scooter line mares - Celestial Sea (Christian Cullen), Esmeralda (Christian Cullen) and Maximus Miki (Somebeachsomewhere), two were from Artsplace line dams – Kingman (Dali) and Mister Smartee (Stonebridge Regal), while reigning US 2YO Pacing Filly of the Year Miki And Minnie hails from a mare by Roll With Joe – a full brother to Bettor’s Delight.