Joseph Pride couldn’t hide his admiration for Almanzor following an impressive breakthrough success for his son Nosferatu on his home track.The Warwick Farm trainer is a paid-up member of our shuttle stallion’s fan club and is expecting his three-year-old, a graduate of the farm, to reach a decent mark once he steps out over more ground.“He’s a high-quality horse Almanzor, I really like him,” Pride said.Nosferatu was unplaced on debut following mediocre trial results, but those efforts hadn’t changed Pride’s opinion of his charge.“It’s only his second start and he’s a city winner now, he got beaten a furlong in a trial and I said to the connections don’t worry about that,” he said.“He’s taken a bit of time and is a gorgeous, big horse and over time he’ll stretch out over 2000 metres, I’m sure.”Nosferatu drifted back on the fence and when the field fanned out into the straight, the gelding lengthened stride in style along the rail for rider Jay Ford and they were out by two lengths at the end of 1600 metres.Bred by Finemore Thoroughbreds with Peter Maher and Gerry Ryan, he is a son of the English-bred High Chaparral mare Durack and the family of the multiple Group 1 winner and sire Lawman.

Two-time Group 1 winner Hello Youmzain added to the cracking start he has made in the Northern Hemisphere with a winning double in France.Our exciting young shuttle stallion took his tally to seven first-crop winners, including the G2 Coventry Stakes runner-up Electrolyte, from 18 representatives when Burn To Shine and Stormy Donald were successful.

A colt out of the Kingmambo mare Angel Falls, Burn To Shine stepped up to 1600 metres at his third appearance to open his account in the hands of Alexis Pouchin for Chantilly trainer Pascal Bary.

Burn To Shine is a half-brother to the G1 Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere winner and sire National Defense.Their dam is a half-sister to the G3 Prix de la Grotte winner and G1 Irish 1000 Guineas runner-up Anna Salai, who produced the G1 English Derby hero Adayar.Stormy Donald was having his second outing and he scored over 1400 metres for Fabrice Chappet, also based at Chantilly. His dam is the stakes-winning Nathaniel mare Stormyza.

With Simon Planque in the saddle, Stormy Donald accounted for another Hello Youmzain colt in Good Speed.

Shogun Express has made a bright start to his career and the three-year-old crowned a run of placings with a stout winning performance at Ballarat.The Michelle Payne-trained son of our shuttle stallion Almanzor had finished in the money in each of his first five appearances before convincingly breaking through over 2600 metres.He missed the jump and tailed the field until 700 metres from home when rider Luke Nolen made his move and they improved rapidly. Shogun Lodge rounded the home bend in second spot and held a strong gallop to crush his rivals by three and a-quarter lengths.“He mucked up the start a bit, but he likes to find his feet and can stay. He looked the winner a long way out,” Nolen said.“He likes to get his toe in the ground so he’s in at the right time of the year.”A half-brother to a quartet of winners, Shogun Express was bred by Little Avondale Stud and sold on their behalf by Sledmere Stud to Payne for A$90,000 at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale.He is a son of the Flying Spur mare Tsukioka and she is a half-sister to the G1 Hong Kong Mile winner Glorious Days and the Listed winners Bangalore Bullet and Spurcent.