LEASE SYNDICATION
ST MARK’S BASILICA x SHIRLEY, FILLY ‘23
Sire St Mark’s Basilica
Dam Shirley
Trainer Robbie Griffiths
Color Bay or Brown
Sex Filly
Foaled Nov, 14 2023
She’s broken in, pre-trained and ready to go — why wait?
St Mark’s Basilica was European Champion 2YO and World Champion 3YO, winning five straight Group 1s. He now stands at Coolmore and shuttles to Australia, with first-crop yearlings selling up to $700,000 and strong averages at 2025 sales.
This filly was hand-picked as a weanling and is a true type for the family.
Dam – Shirley (Zabeel × Merlene)
• By Zabeel out of champion 2YO Merlene.
• Producer of VRC Oaks winner and $2.14m earner Dear Demi, plus multiple G1/G2 victories and placings.
• From the elite Merlene family, responsible for numerous top performers.
What that means:
She’s out of a proven G1-producing mare, from one of Australia’s most valuable female families — a line that throws both staying stars and high-class sprinters.
Trainer – Robbie Griffiths
• G1-winning Cranbourne trainer with decades at the top.
• Has trained multiple horses from this family, including Burnstone and Yaki Ishi.
• Experienced in developing elite horses across all distances.
Why it suits her:
Griffiths has the patience and program to bring a classic-style filly through the grades and target Oaks/Guineas pathways while chasing black type along the way.
”A St Mark’s Basilica filly from the blue-hen Zabeel mare Shirley, dam of VRC Oaks winner Dear Demi and daughter of champion 2YO Merlene. This is European World Champion 3YO class over a proven Oaks family – a genuine classic prospect but with plenty of depth in the pedigree with 2nd dam Merlene being champion 2 yr old and producing elite sprinting speed”