Is it possible to buy a yearling filly bred by a leading G1 producing farm, sired by a proven champion from the Dancing Show family for under $100,000? Yes it is!
The first day of the Everest carnival saw great racing at Royal Randwick, with established stars and host of up and coming talent strutting their stuff on a beautiful spring day in Sydney!
The Benchmark 78 over 1400m featured a field of thirteen ensuring a keen betting race with some highly progressive four year old mares heading the market with Bjorn Baker's Gosford Guineas winner Dance To The Boom (Exceedance) sent out favourite under Rachel King carrying 56.5kg.
A brace of quality Dundeel daughters were also well in commission.
The G1 Australasian Oaks placed Polymnia was resuming with 58kg, and Matthew Smith's Idle Flyer (56.5) was chasing consecutive wins after an extremely impressive first up victory over 1200m a month ago.
Stakes placed Dominetta (Zoustar) for Waterhouse/Bott and the speedy Nicconi gelding Well Timed had their admirers.
When the gates flew open Tim Clark shot Dominetta straight to the lead, and she set a solid pace for the contest with J Mac aboard Polymnia sitting just off her, and Zac Lloyd positioning Idle Flyer beautifully on the rail in third.
Dance To The Boom was back in the field pulling her head off, while Well Timed and Bauhinia (Hellbent) - who had worked across from a wide gate - were within striking distance.
As the field thundered into the straight, Dominetta had a fight on her hands! Polymnia and Bauhinia were challenging strongly and Idle Flyer was looking to come off heels behind them.
20/1 shot Bauhinia charged to the lead under Tommy Berry and had all the momentum nearing the post - but when Idle Flyer saw clear air she picked up as only a good horse can do.
Showing a classy burst of smooth acceleration she put the result beyond doubt in a few strides, and went clear to win by just under a length from Bauhinia who ran out of her skin.
Polymnia held her ground for third in an excellent return, and Dominetta fought on bravely for fourth.
Connections of all three placegetters would have seen much to be pleased about going forward!
None more so than Warwick Farm trainer Matthew Smith, who purchased Idle Flyer for just $70,000 in partnership with Randwick Bloodstock as an Inglis Classic yearling from the draft of Torryburn Stud.
The Dundeel four year old runs for a big group of stable clients and now boasts five wins and a second from just nine lifetime starts, for earnings of $225,225.
This patiently handled mare is a blueblood now beginning to live up to an impressive pedigree!
She is the best of three winners from the four time winning Street Cry mare Progressive, a full sister to the dam of GI winner Tom Kitten and stakes-winners Va Via and Promotions.
After seeing what Idle Flyer had under the bonnet Matthew Smith also purchased the latest yearling from Progressive, a colt by Russian Revolution duly snapped up from Torryburn Stud at Magic Millions for $75,000.
Progressive produced a filly by Tom Kitten’s sire Harry Angel last spring and this year she is awaiting a foal by exciting young sire Tassort.
The third dam of Idle Flyer is the royally bred Twyla, a three quarter sister to none other than the legend, Redoute's Choice, and to Al Maher and Platinum Scissors among others. She was a half sister to Hurricane Sky and Umatilla, and to Blue Hen Shantha's Choice
By Danehill from that bluest of Blue Hens Dancing Show, Twyla was trained by Bart Cummings and a winner in a brief six start career.
At stud, she foaled six winners with only one stakes winner Murjana (Giant's Causeway), who won the G3 SAJC Breeders’ Stakes at two, but with each generation Twyla's influence as a broodmare increases.
Her daughter Isstoora by Dundeel's sire High Chaparral is dam of G1 winner and current topliner Desert Lightning (Dubai Destination) and promising young sprinter Oak Hill (Per Incanto)
Twlya's daughter Celebria by Nureyev's Arc winning son Peintre Celebre became dam of G1 Railway Stakes winner Gathering (Tale Of The Cat), Listed winning sprinter California Turbo (Fastnet Rock) and notably Florentina - her 2008 daughter by Redoute's Choice!
Bred by Fairway Thoroughbreds, this was one of the earliest and most striking examples of the appreciation this incredible family has for close duplication.
The cross of three quarter brother and sister was brave and well judged - producing a G3 Gold Coast Guineas winner who also bred on very successfully - among her foals the US G1 winning mare In Italian by Dubawi.
The legacy of Nijinsky’s incredible matriarch Dancing Show just keeps powering on - who can even keep track these days of stakes winners linebred / inbred / closely inbred to her, to her daughters, to Shantha's Choice in particular, to her grand dam Best In Show?
Thank goodness for high powered software running the stats! Not that we really need it - because any examination of a big race day’s results will inevitably reveal at least one shining example of family duplication on the winner's list.
It's also incredible the way stallions from this family, be they sitting at the heights of commercial success or just good “bread and butter” sires, will come to the linebreeding party in full force, and the same can be said for many of the mares.
Star juveniles, Classic winners, sprinters, milers, stayers, the family can and will produce them all on a regular basis. It's a rare production line not many of the breed's great matriarchs can set in train - and Dancing Show is enthroned up there at the producer’s pinnacle with Eight Carat.
It was never a surprise when the great Zabeel forged an enduring connection with Redoute's Choice, and Dundeel out of Zabeel's fine daughter Stareel has taken that ball and run with it, as it has proven to be his most prolific nick.
His fantastic G1 Guineas winning son Super Seth now a boom young sire is bred on the direct cross, while dual G1 winner Celestial Legend just commencing his stud career, is out of a Snitzel mare.
Dundeel's stakeswinners Entente, Deel Her In, Epimeles and Cinch are all out of mares by Redoute's Choice or his sons.
Dundeel has also had success with the tail male line of Idle Flyer's damsire Street Cry, Machiavellian.
His multiple Group winning daughter Konasana is out of a mare by Medicean (Machiavellian) x Danehill (Machiavellian's close relation)
His elite daughters Femminile (G1 SA Derby), Aintnofallenstar, and Hopeinyourheart are out of mares carrying Danehill in the second generation.
Interestingly, there have been 22 winners by Dundeel directly out of Encosta de Lago mares but only one stakes winner to date, the G2 MV Vase winner Red Aces. His second dam was Exit To Nowhere (relation of Machiavellian and Danehill)
Red Aces though talented is quite dour - and it looks like the Encosta cross is inherently compatible but will work better in the second, third or fourth removes, as exemplified in the pedigree of Idle Flyer.
Given all the above, it's obvious that Idle Flyer is bred on a combination of all Dundeel's best nicks, with the added bonus of her own peerless damline being the engine room of the finished product!
Idle Flyer is bred
Northern Dancer 4m x 5m
Blue Hen Fairy Bridge 4m x 5m
She carries the highly successful cross of the full brothers Sadler's Wells and Fairy King, and an important line to their three quarter brother Nureyev.
Through Street Cry's Blue Hen dam Helen Street ( now also rewarding breeders who duplicate her!) a nick is formed with High Chaparral's dam Kasora - the latter is by Never Bend's greatest tail male descendant Darshaan and the former out of a daughter of his son Riverman.
Kasora traces tail female to a daughter of Norseman (by Umidwar out of Tara) - and Helen Street to the mare Boulevard (by Umidwar's close relative Palestine, out of Costa Sola, by Tara’s grandson Worden)
Additionally, Shirley Heights and Helen Street both descend from the same taproot mare Illuminata, whose daughter Chelandry wielded a breedshaping influence in Australasia.
She is the ancestress of Dundeel's second damsire Fiesta Star - and he was foaled by a daughter of Worden's half brother Wilkes.
Where to next for Idle Flyer?
This highly progressive, patiently handled mare looks a very good prospect to earn some black type in the near future!
She is certainly bred to run a mile and perhaps further, but Street Cry as a damsire has a propensity to throw a lot of speed - she's got the classy turn of foot of a sprinter miler, and is obviously reaping the benefits of maturity now!
