There is some fabulous two-year-old action coming up this Saturday with the running of the divisions of the Blue Diamond Preview at Caulfield while at Randwick the wraps come off the $2.8 million Inglis Easter Yearling sales-topper Mount Fuji.
Peter and Paul Snowden have a big say in the race at Randwick with Mount Fuji (Snitzel x Ichihara) and the $900,000 Magic Millions purchase Rulership (I Am Invincible x Devoirs), who will also be making his debut. Both have impressed at the trials however Rulership looked something special when he whipped subsequent winner Prague in a 1050m trial at Randwick.
In the same race at Randwick on Saturday, Sun Stud’s homebred Mission River (Redoute's Choice x Yosei) makes his career debut. The Gerald Ryan-trained colt is another to impress at the trials.
His dam Yosei (Invincible Spirit) won four races and three of those were Group 1, AJC Sires' Produce Stakes, MRC One Thousand Guineas and the Tatt's QLD Tattersall's Tiara.
But we’ll head down south for the Best On Breeding and put out faith in the Anthony Freedman-trained filly Supreme Idea in the Group III Blue Diamond Preview (F).
The daughter of I Am Invincible was a $500,000 purchase by Dean Hawthorne Bloodstock on behalf of Jonathan Munz’s Pinecliff Racing, out of the Glastonbury Farm draft at the 2019 Inglis Easter Yearling Sale.
She is the second foal of the unraced Snitzel mare Sweet Sister, a $200,000 yearling, who was purchased by Hilldene Stud for $550,000 at the Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale when carrying Supreme Idea.
At that sort of money it’s not hard to guess that Sweet Sister has some notable relations and as the name suggests she is a sister to that grand racemare Sweet Idea and the striking Showtime and a half-sister to the top-class Singapore performer Rush (Charge Forward).
From her first start, a win in the Victory Vein Plate at Randwick, to her 19th and final start, a win in the Group 1 The Galaxy at Rosehill, Sweet Idea mixed it with the elite. A $240,000 purchase by Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott out of the Arrowfield Stud draft at the 2012 Gold Coast Yearling Sale, Sweet Idea won eight races and placed a further eight times while banking $2,415,350.
At the conclusion of her track career, Sweet Idea was consigned to the 2015 National Broodmare Sale where Nick Vaas parted with $1.6 million to buy out his partners.
Not long after the sale The Queen’s racing manager John Warren came knocking with an offer too good to refuse and Sweet Idea boarded a plane for Europe.
Her brother Showtime, a $1.1 million yearling, had a victory over Hartnell in the Group II PB Lawrence Stakes at Caulfield in addition to winning the Group II Stutt Stakes at Moonee Valley and was placed in the Group II Expressway Stakes behind Trapeze Artist , third in the Group 1 Futurity Stakes and Group 1 All-Aged Stakes and second in the Group II Arrowfield Sprint.
Little wonder he earned a spot on the Arrowfield Stud roster where he covered 128 mares last spring at a fee of $11,000.
At the 2018 Magic Millions, Reg Inglis/Jon Kelly/Paul Frampton, went to $1.8 million, the top price filly of the sale, to secure a full-sister to Sweet Idea, Showtime and Sweet Sister.
Named Evening Slippers she finished third behind Time To Reign and Bivouac at her career debut at Randwick back in October 2018 before breaking her maiden at Warwick Farm although she has failed to impress in three starts at stakes level.
Their dam Flidais won just one of her 16 starts but earned some valuable black-type when third in the AJC Adrian Knox Stakes. Purchased for $37,500 as a broodmare the daughter of Timber Country (USA) is a daughter of the dual Group 1 winner Electronic.
While Flidais was a very limited racehorse who became an outstanding broodmare, her dam Electronic was a wonderful racemare but a miserable disappointment at stud where she left just two minor winners from her seven foals.
Purchased by Gai Waterhouse in New Zealand as a tried horse, Electronic, who was also part-owned by Nick Vaas, numbered the Group 1 STC Ranvet Stakes and Group 1 AJC Metropolitan among her nine wins.
Her sire First Norman (USA) offered some obscure bloodlines in these parts being a son of Charlie Whittingham’s champion Cougar II who became the first Chilean-bred to be inducted into the racing Hall of Fame after a stellar career where he won or placed in 34 of 38 U.S. starts in the early 1970s.
Cougar II became a reasonably successful sire with the highlight coming when his son Gato Del So captured the 1982 Kentucky Derby.
Milburn Creek Stud, on behalf of Hilldene Stud, will offer a More Than Ready (USA) colt out of Sweet Sister at the Easter Yearling Sale.
Also heading to the Easter Sale is Arrowfield Stud’s brother to Sweet Sister, Sweet Idea and Showtime.
He is the 12th living foal of Flidais and there is no stopping there. The daughter of Timber Country had another colt foal by Snitzel last September and was bred back to that excitement machine The Autumn Sun last spring.
So, there is plenty at stake when Supreme Idea takes her place in the field for the Group III Blue Diamond Preview (F) on Saturday.
The daughter of I Am Invincible made a winning start to her career over 1112m at Geelong back on Boxing Day. She looked a true professional, bouncing straight to the lead and was untroubled to win by two and a quarter lengths.
