Singapore Airlines International Cup
Able Friend is a chestnut gelding, with a white sock on his right hind leg bred in Australia by Stuart Ramsey's Ramsey Pastoral Co Pty Ltd. He was sired by the Godolphin stallion Shamardal who won six of his seven races in Europe including four Group One events. On his retirement from racing he became a "shuttle" stallion standing in Ireland for part of the year before moving to Australia for the southern hemisphere breeding season: his progeny have included Mukhadram, Lope de Vega, Dan Excel (Singapore Airlines International Cup) and Casamento (Racing Post Trophy). Able Friend's dam Ponte Piccolo was a successful racemare who won the Keith F Nolan Classic in 2005. She was great-granddaughter of the Irish-bred broodmare Royal News, whose other descendants have included Hit The Roof (Victoria Derby) and Ivory's Irish (Australian Derby). Able Friend is an unusually large racehorse, with a peak racing weight of 1315 pounds (596 kg), and is nicknamed "Elephant" by his stable staff.