Mike O’Donnell’s Fairhill Farm is a proven source of quality yearlings at the Inglis Classic Yearling Sale with past star graduates headed by outstanding I Am Invincible filly Fiesta, who has a close relation to be offered at Inglis Classic 2020.
A $150,000 Inglis Classic purchase for Star Thoroughbreds and Chris Waller in 2017, Fiesta won over $1.2million in prizemoney with highlight wins in the Group II ATC Silver Shadow Stakes and Group III ATC Widden Stakes. She's the latest flagbearer from a farm that has enjoyed past Group I success with horses such as Good Project, Glorious Days and Choice Bro.
The Fairhill Farm Inglis Classic draft for 2020 features 13 yearlings by a wide range of sires with Lot 76, an Odyssey Moon colt from a winning half-sister to Fiesta in Consolari.
Fiesta’s sire I Am Invincible has provided plenty of good results for Fairhill Farm and they have one in the draft this year, a filly from Limbo Down to be offered as Lot 256.
“Star Thoroughbreds bought the full sister to this filly at Classic last year for $330,000 and she is in work with Chris Waller,” said Mike O’Donnell.
“I believe she is trialling next Monday and this filly will be sold on Sunday, so someone might get a good result with her, while her sister is still under the radar.”
Yarraman Park’s ill-fated Hinchinbrook has the favourite for Saturday’s $2million Inglis Millennium in Cellsabeel and Fairhill Farm also have one of his fillies in their draft.
From the very last crop of yearlings by Hinchinbrook, Lot 511 is from stakes-winning More Than Ready (USA) mare Teasing.
The first two year-olds by Pride of Dubai have hit the ground running and Lot 600 is a very appealing filly.
A well grown, early maturing type, she is the second foal of good metropolitan winner Antarctic Dream a daughter of Group III winner Groundless Threats.
The Fairhill Farm brand was carried by Choisir’s Group I winning two year-old Choice Bro and Choisir features in the draft with Lot 80, a colt from well bred Encosta de Lago mare Crazyonyou, whose dam is a sister to champion sire Fastnet Rock.
“The Choisir x Encosta de Lago cross has been highly successful producing nearly 20% stakes-winners to runners with six stakes-winners bred that way including Group I winners Divine Prophet and Japonisme,” Mike O’Donnell pointed out.
Another youngster with an interesting pedigree is Lot 735, a Rubick filly from Redoute’s Choice mare Ram’s Choice.
“She has a double cross of blue hen Shantha’s Choice which has produced four stakes-winners so far including three very good mares in Haut Brion Her, Summer Sham and Jamaican Rain, so that’s something that might interest people that follow pedigrees,” O’Donnell said.
Another filly that catches the eye on pedigree is Lot 716, a Foxwedge filly from Sadler’s Wells mare Mofajah (GB), who is the dam of eight winners headed by Group II placed Sadler’s Story and up and coming stayer Hasta La War, who has had six wins and three seconds from 10 starts and won his last four in a row.
“Hasta La War is by Declaration of War and looks a real staying star on the rise with the Adelaide Cup on his program this year,” said O’Donnell.
“Foxwedge is a very good sire of fillies. His six best horses are all fillies and two of his Group I winners Foxplay and Volpe Veloce are bred from Sadler’s Wells line mares and this filly is from a daughter of Sadler’s Wells.”
See the Fairhill Farm draft at Barn E Stables 1- 16, 22- 24.
