Monthly Archives: April 2020

Inglis Easter Yearling Sales 2020

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Inglis  Easter Yearling Sales 2020 (Part1)

The famous Sydney Easter Sales of 2020 are about to get underway and as always there are some excellent colts and fillies in the 514 Lots on display. I have picked out the pedigree of three horses to examine. Another Delta cross producing a colt (lot 44) which is closely related to the Snitzel-Crystal Flute colt I made comments about in my December blog.  A filly from a Sunday Silence mare and a high PRI ranking Exceed and Excel Colt (Lot 342).

Lot 44:  Not a Single Doubt-Lucky Raquie

This colt has a 2×2 cross of a full brother to a full sister (Redoute’s Choice x Monsoon Wedding). The parentage of both horses is Danehill x Shantha’s Choice.  This cross is a type of Delta cross and is quite rare. Monsoon Wedding (Danehill- Shantha’s Choice) produced two fillies to Encosta de Lago and these are of course full sisters. Crystal Flute was mated to Snitzel and Lucky Raquie to Not a Single Doubt. Both colts had PRI scores in the mid 80’s so they should win races. Lot 44 should be a sprinter. A word of caution though, these delta crosses can be either very good or very bad..

Lot 230: More than Ready-Sunday Joy

Sunday Silence

         Sunday Silence

Sunday Silence is currently the most successful broodmare sire in the Northern Hemisphere. Last year he had score of 91.4% winners/dam. Any of his mares are worth looking at. I calculated a PRI score at 82.5 which is a little lower than expected.  Although Inbreeding to Halo doesn’t seem to be a problem, Hail to Reason doesn’t seem to like many of the stallions in the broodmare sires pedigree. Still with the powerful genes in Sunday Joy, this may be overcome.

Lot 342: Exceed and Excel-Bahia               

After my first run through of the Catalogue, I thought Lot 342 could be a bargain buy. However, after some research I now believe this colt is worth big money. His PRI score was very high and the 6GFI of his dam a respectable 6.2. More encouraging is the fact that Bahia is right in the middle of a golden vein of black type winners. Not only that, but the female family contains a number of high class sprinters. Brawny Spirit (3xG1, including a Newmarket Handicap), Reward for Effort winner of a Blue Diamond and Turrfontein (2xG1, with a William Reid Stakes) to mention a few. There is also a Victoria Derby winner Hit the Roof. A dosage analysis suggests this horse will be very quick

My examination is only at the pedigree level.  You need to look and make your mind up.

Pretty Polly and Australia

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Pretty Polly and Australia

I took an interest in the Pretty Polly Stakes while researching the Capricornia Sales. This race has some interesting association with Australian Racing. The association involves Pretty Polly herself, the jockeys, and the pedigree of some of the 2018 field.

Who was Pretty Polly?

    Pretty Polly: superstar

Pretty Polly (Gallinule- Admiration) was foaled in Ireland in 1901. As a 2yo she had nine starts and won them all. A 3yo, she won all the Fillies Classics and became only the fifth filly to complete the Fillies Triple Crown. This series commenced in 1814. Her racing career lasted 3 years and numbered 24 Starts, 22 wins and 2 seconds. She won 15 straight races.

Broodmare Status

At stud, Pretty Polly had seven registered foals. Although none of them achieved much on the racetrack, her four daughters were very successful broodmares and formed the now famous Pretty Polly family. Pretty Polly  is the fourth dam of the great sire Donatello ll and the fifth dam of Brigadier Gerard. This horse with a record of 17 wins and a second from 18 starts achieved a timeform rating of 144-equal third with the best in history. Derby winners haven’t escaped the family either. Pretty Polly is the sixth dam of the Epsom Derby winner St Paddy.  She has been named as the Matriarch of Family 14-C, the most successful female family in Thoroughbred racing history.

But where does the Aussie connection come in? In 1924, Pretty Polly had her final daughter Baby Polly (Spearmint –Pretty Polly) and Spearmint is a son of the mighty Carbine and he needs no introduction.

The Pretty Polly Stakes

Peeping Fawn: the iron filly

In honour of the great race mare and broodmare, the Pretty Polly Stakes commenced in Ireland in 1948. Originally it was a G2 3yo fillies race over 10f (2012m) but has now been given G1 status and is open to both fillies and mares. For me, 2007 had the most interesting winner, Peeping Fawn (Danehill–Maryinsky). She won 4xG1 before her second in the Epsom Oaks and she is closely related to Rags to Riches (A P Indy-Better than Honour) who was the first filly to win the Belmont Stakes in 100 years. Both mares share the same grandmother, Blush with Pride whose dam is Best in Show. The fillies won their races in 2007.

The 2018 the race had only six runners. Fillies and mares from Australian sires  Foxwedge, Fastnet Rock and So You Think. comprised half the field. Urban Fox (Foxwedge-Lomapamar) won easily.

The Jockeys

Bill Williamson

Bill was a great Australian Jockey. He is best known in Australia by his win on Dalray in the 1952 Melbourne Cup and his partnership with the mighty New Zealand champion Rising Fast. He went to Europe in 1960 and had great success. Few people know that he won not one but two Arc de Triomphe and he still holds a record which is unlikely any Australian Jockey is going to match let alone beat. Bill is one of six jockeys that have each won three Pretty Polly Stakes and shares that record with Lester Piggott, Michael Kinane and three others.