California Dane; Zabeel; Exceed And Excel; Redoute's Choice.

• STUD interest in crack sprinter Rebel Dane should have been revived after the son of California Dane returned to winning form in the G2 Shorts at Randwick.

Showing that he has made a strong recovery from a tie-back operation, the G1 winner of the 2013 Rupert Clarke Stakes remains on the market as a potential sire.

“He had a tie-back operation and until they are under race pressure you don’t know how they will go,” said a relieved trainer Gary Portelli. “He was the only Group One horse in the race and he needed to beat these horses to take the next step.”

Despite his two-year absence from the winners’ list, Rebel Dane has continued to perform well at the highest level including a second in the TJ Smith Stakes won by Lankan Rupee and a third in the AJ Moir Stakes behind Buffering.

The 6YO Rebel Dane (California Dane x Texarcana by More Than Ready) has won seven of his 23 career starts with his prize money earnings totalling $1,495,630.

Bred by his part-owners Laurel Oak Taxarcana Syndicate, Rebel Dane is the sole winner from three foals to race out of the winning mare Texarcana.

• ZABEEL’s Victoria Derby winner Preferment produced a strong Melbourne Cup trial with a sustained finish to win the G2 Hill Stakes at Randwick at just his second start for the spring.

The four-year-old had never won before on a wet track and trainer Chris Waller admitted he had contemplated scratching the classic winner due to the heavy going.

Options for Preferment now include the G3 Craven Plate in Sydney on October 3 or the G1 Turnbull Stakes in Melbourne a day later before the Caulfield and Melbourne Cups.

“We’ve got a good horse we can think big with,” he said.

Preferment (Zabeel x Better Alternative by Flying Spur) has now won two of his 13 career starts, with five further placings for $1,200,905 prize money.

Waller purchased Preferment for NZ$190,000 at the 2013 New Zealand Bloodstock Premier Yearling Sale from the draft of Cambridge Stud.

The colt is the best-performed of three winners out of the winning Flying Spur mare Better Alternative. His siblings include the G3 winner Rezoned.

Preferment’s third dam is the unraced Hello Lottie (Beau Sovereign) who produced 11 winners including G1 winner Ancient Song (Canny Lad) and the stakes winners Royal Lott (Royal Abjar) and Danzig Beau (Slant).

• GODOLPHIN’s Exceed And Excel filly Pearls reflected the depth in her international pedigree when she won the G2 Teas Rose Stakes at Randwick last Saturday.

Pearls is a daughter of the imported Accessories, a Singspiel mare who has become a gem in Darley’s Australian broodmare band by producing four Group winners.

Accessories joined Darley's Australian broodmare band unraced after suffering a career-ending injury while in training in the UK with Saeed Bin Suroor.

Her first foal was the Elusive Quality colt Bullbars, winner of Flemington's G3 Debonair Stakes and second in the G1 Australian Guineas.

Her next foal was the triple G1 winner Helmet, now a Darley shuttle sire with is first crop 2YOs to race this season.

He was followed by the Commands colt Epaulette, another G1 winner of the Golden Rose and Doomben 10,000 before also joining the Darley stallion roster.

Pearls (Exceeed And Excel x Accessories by SIngpiel), who has raced just three times for two wins, will now seek her first G1 win in the Flight Stakes at Randwick on October 3.

Accessories is a half-sister to 11 winners including stakes winners Pozarica (Rainbow Quest), Annaba (In The WIngs) and Anna Of Saxony (Ela-Mana-Mou).

Her family also features the G1 winners Ave (Danehill Dancer) and Anna Monda (Mounsun).

Pearls became the 105th stakes winner for Exceed And Excel. Her win was well-received at Highview Stud in New Zealand where her half-brother Bullbars is a resident sire.

• MARVELLOUS broodmare Kisma added a third stakes winner to her outstanding record when her Redoute’s Choice three-year-old Counterattack won the Listed Heritage Stakes at Randwick on Saturday.

Counterattack became the 124th stakeswinner for his champion sire and joins Dane Shadow’s G1 winners Shellscrape and Red Tracer as stakes winners for the Snippets mare Kisma.

All eight of Kisma's foals have won, with 35 wins to their collective credit. Kisma is due to produce another Redoute’s Choice foal this spring.

Counterattack is set for the G2 Roman Consul Stakes at Randwick on October 3 before a Melbourne campaign.

His success keeps Redoute's Choice on track to at least match his 2014/15 tally of 15 stakes winners. This season he has been already been represented by Group winners Royal Descent and She's Clean as well as Counterattack.