Adelaide Sale Offers Plenty Of Highlights

A half brother to Group One star Happy Trails - a poster boy for South Australian racing in recent years - is set to be sold at the Adelaide Magic Millions Yearling Sale next week.

Magic Millions manager Adrian Hancock believes the colt from Madame Flurry will attract plenty of attention when the sale kicks off on March 14.

“Paul Beshara has good interest in the colt, as do several other trainers so we are hopeful he will be popular,” he said.

Happy Trails is the only stakes winner from Madame Flurry, but she has also produced Danish Twist, who is under the care of Kris Lees in NSW.

Cornerstone Stud has the biggest draft of the sale with 49 yearlings, 17 of those by Hussonet.

The 25-year-old stallion is in the spotlight as the dam sire of Blue Diamond Stakes winner Extreme Choice and sire of Contentment, winner of the G1 Queen’s Silver Jubilee in Hong Kong last weekend.

Contentment was sent to Hong Kong after trialling in Victoria under the care of Patrick Payne and is now being aimed at the Champions Mile after recording his ninth win from 16 starts.

Hussonet, a veteran son of Mr. Prospector, has had a spectacular stud career, starting in Chile before his importation to Australia by Arrowfield Stud in NSW and finally to Cornerstone Stud.

He was champion sire in Chile seven times, leading sire of 2yos twice and a champion broodmare sire and was champion sire in Australia in 2007-08 when his runners included Australian Horse of the Year Weekend Hussler.

Hussonet was represented by his 31st G1 when his Australian bred son Contentment broke won Silver Jubilee Cup at Sha Tin, madding to his record as the most successful living sire of G1 winners at stud in the southern hemisphere.

Hussonet has 16 yearlings in the Adelaide catalogue. Other Cornerstone sires Dalakhani (8 lots) and first season sire Ambidexter (8) are also represented.

Other leading sires in the Adelaide catalogue include Exceed And Excel, Casino Prince, Americain, Street Boss, Testa Rossa, Last Tycoon, Denman, Redoute’s Choice, Excelebration, Uncle Mo, Lope de Vega, Reset, Bel Esprit, Master Of Design, Helmet, Wanted, Nicconi, Good Journey, Congrats, Rockaroundtheclock, Instinction and Strategic Maneuver.

Newcomers to the three-day Adelaide sale include prominent racing identity Bruce McHugh and yearlings by his Red Ransom stallion Arlington.

The McHugh-owned Arlington is a half-brother to Cox Plate winner and champion New Zealand sire Savabeel is standing at Lincoln Farm Stud in the NSW Hunter Valley and represented by seven yearlings in the Adelaide catalogue.

The Graeme Rogerson-trained Arlington was a winner of five races from 1100m to 1800m including two at Randwick and the Douro Cup in New Zealand and was G2 placed in the Japan-International Trophy and Fernhill Handicap and third in the G1 Randwick Guineas.

Arlington covered over 100 mares in each of his first two seasons and has his first crop 2-year-olds racing this season.

His Adelaide yearlings feature a Bruce McHugh-bred colt from Tennessee Mischief (8 wins to 1200m), a representative of the successful Tennessee family that supplied the $1.6 million Snitzel colt which sold for the top price at this year’s Gold Coast Magic Millions sale.

That Gold Coast yearling is from MM Classic winner Mirror Mirror, the dam of No Looking Back (second Blue Diamond, Magic Millions 2Y0 Classic) and from a half-sister to Tennessee Vain.

The winner of seven races including three G2s and second in the G1 VRC Oaks), Tennessee Vain is the dam of three Bletchingly stakes winners including Group winner Tennessee Morn (Maribyrnong Plate, Blue Diamond Prelude), the grandam of the Arlington yearling in the Adelaide sale and also the G1 winner Aloha.