Stakes Producers Star for Twin Hills

Twin Hills Stud have enjoyed a fruitful past 12 months as a new vendor at the major Australian sales and will present a select trio of mares at the 2019 Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale including the dams of Group I ATC Australian Derby winner Levendi and brilliant, but ill-fated Group II winner Smart Melody.

Twin Hills enjoyed a strong clearance rate at the Inglis Australian Broodmare and Weanling Sale and sold eight yearlings for up to $185,000 at the Inglis Classic Yearling Sale, but their real sales highlight of the year came at the Magic Millions in January.

Twin Hills consigned the half-sister to Levendi and Group III winner Marcel from Madrid, a stunning filly by More Than Ready (USA) from Lipari that made $550,000 when knocked down to Strawberry Hill Stud.

To be offered at the Gold Coast as Lot 1325, Lipari is sure to be one of the stars of the sale.

A 10 year-old daughter of champion sire Redoute's Choice from Group I winner Tully Thunder, Lipari has started her stud career in exciting fashion and promises to be a blue hen with her first three foals to race all winners and two of them Group winners headed by $1.6 million earner Levendi.

This stunning mare is in foal to champion sire I Am Invincible on an early September cover.

Also sure to generate huge interest is Lot 1613, stakes-winning Encosta de Lago mare Sweetest Melody, who is best known as the dam of Kris Lees star three year-old filly Smart Melody.

The daughter of Smart Missile was breathtaking in winning her first five starts in succession culminating in the Group II MRC Guineas Prelude (1400m), before finding the 1600 metres of the Group I MRC Thousand Guineas a bridge to far when fading to finish seventh to Amphitrite.

Smart Melody died tragically of colic during a subsequent spell, but there is no doubting her talent that could easily have delivered Group I success if she had raced on.

Sweetest Melody is in foal to her sire Smart Missile so will produce a full sibling to Smart Melody this spring. Smart Missile is riding the crest of a winning wave having sired three stakes-winners in the past week in Special Missile, Missile Mantra and Ready to Prophet.

Rounding out the draft is Lot 1195, Firebird Flyer (NZ),a metropolitan winner by Stravinsky (USA) from the family of Group I winner Veloce Bella, offered in foal to Smart Missile in her first season at stud.