Best On Breeding

Mark Smith - Friday August 17

As Brenton Avdulla flies back to Japan after claiming his first George Moore Award for winning the Sydney Jockeys’ Premiership, it will give him some time to reflect on a filly that played a major part in his rise to the top.

Back in October 2010, a youthful Avdulla was contemplating a return to Melbourne before he was legged up on a three-year-old daughter of Dubawi (IRE) named Secret Admirer in the Group1 Flight Stakes at Randwick.

Advertisement

The Grahame Begg-trained filly defeated More Strawberries and Parables that day. Twelve months later, Secret Admirer stormed home from last to defeat Pinker Pinker and Red Tracer in the Group 1 Epsom Handicap to become the first mare in four decades to win the time-honoured Randwick mile. (photo Mark Smith)


It would be fair to say Avdulla never looked back after that.

As for Secret Admirer, she never won another race in 20 starts but that does not tell the whole story.

She placed in the Group 1 Emirates Stakes (twice), Group 1 Coolmore Classic, Group 1 George Ryder Stakes, Group 1 Queen Elizabeth Stakes, Group 1 George Main Stakes and Group 1 Doomben Cup.

The daughter of Dubawi (IRE) retired with a record of 3 wins, 5 seconds and 10 thirds from 28 starts with earnings of $1,443,530.

The story of Secret Admirer dates back to 2008 Easter Weanling Sale when Jon Freyer purchased her for $38,000 on behalf of John Muir's Milburn Creek Thoroughbred Stud.

Muir put her back through the 2009 Inglis Classic Yearling Sale but there was a decided lack of interest and Secret Admirer ended up racing in Muir’s brown and white check silks.

After earning $1.4 million on the track, Secret Admirer has added a further $960,000 with her first two foals.

The first was an Exceed And Excel colt that made $400,000 at the 2017 Easter Yearling Sale and $560,000 for an I Am Invincible colt that went through the same ring 12 months later.

Tim Martin signed for both colts.

The first, Danawi (pictured as a yearling) , clearly has ability although he has not befriended himself to punters by being beaten into second place after being heavily backed at his first two starts.

The son of Exceed And Excel will be favoured once again to break his maiden in Saturday’s Group III Up And Coming Stakes (1300m) at Randwick where he will face off with his last start conqueror Military Zone who ran him down in the final strides over 1200 metres at Randwick back on August 4.

Despite being by the speed influence Exceed And Excel there is plenty of evidence to suggest that Danawi could prove effective up to a mile.

Secret Admirer clearly got 2,000 metres at the highest level and her dam Secret Illusion (Secret Savings) is a half-sister to the Group 1 Metropolitan Handicap winner Donegal Mist (Balmerino) and to the dam of the Group III Warwick Stakes and Group II Prime Minister’s Cup winner Sir Dex (Dexter).

Secret Illusion’s dam Our Illusion (Balios) won over 2000 metres although she is a half-sister to that remarkable kiwi sprinter Mr Illusion (Sovereign Edition) who stormed home from the tail of the field to win the 1984 Group 1 The Galaxy and the Group 1 Oakleigh Plate 12 months later.

Secret Admirer should keep the cash register ticking over for Milburn Creek. She has a yearling colt by Snitzel and was covered by Vancouver last spring.

Advertisment
More Reading...
Pedigree Watch - Powerhouse Godolphin 3YOs Dominate
The current crop of three year-olds running for Godolphin lay claim to being the best they have ever produced in Australia and three of those colts won Group races in Australia on Saturday so let’s take a look at those pedigrees.
VRC Derby Favourite Strengthens His Chances With G2 Vase Win
When breaking his maiden by five lengths at just his second start last season, Ghaiyyath's colt Observer looked to have above average ability, but it was his third last start in the Group 1 MRC Caulfield Guineas (1600m) that had everybody talking about the exciting prospect.
First Winner for Home Affairs
Exciting young sire Home Affairs opened his account with his first winner in New Zealand on Saturday with a dominant debut victory for race favourite Harvey Wallbanger at Ellerslie.
2025 Cox Plate Result - Fastnet Rock and Waller Quinella
A genuine champion sire should be able to produce the horses that win the very best races in the country in which they stand and the late great Fastnet Rock have us a demonstration of that when his high class Northern Hemisphere bred offspring Via Sistina (IRE) and Buckaroo (GB) fought out an epic finish to the $6million Group I MVRC WS Cox Plate (2040m) at Moonee Valley on Saturday.
Stefi Magnetica Smashes Through $7m Mark
Already a dual Group1 winner, Bjorn Baker’s 5yo All Too Hard mare Stefi Magnetica added the $2m Group 2 ATC The Invitational (1400m) to her impressive record, with her earnings smashing through the $7m mark for her ownership group headed by the Cunningham family.
G2 McEwen Stakes To Jigsaw - Fifth Black Type Victory
A previous Group 2 winner at Moonee Valley a few years back, Jigsaw’s connections would’ve headed into Saturday’s Group 2 MVRC McEwen Stakes (1200m) with a level of confidence despite tackling last start Group 1 MVRC Manikato Stakes winner Charm Stone.
Blueblood Lonhro Colt Wins G1 Spring Champion
At the start of August we ran a story about the 3YO’s that were entered for this year Cox Plate and aside from the usual suspects there were some ‘Cox Plate dreamers’ and one of them was unraced Lonhro colt Attica, who capped his meteoric rise to fame with a thrilling victory in the $2million Group I ATC Spring Champion Stakes (2000m) at Randwick on Saturday.
Te Akau Win G3 War Decree Stakes with Snitzel Filly
Te Akau Racing made a blistering start to the afternoon across both New Zealand meetings on Saturday, racking up six wins in a three-hour period including with a pair of potential candidates for next month’s Gr.1 New Zealand 1000 Guineas (1600m).
Wootton Bassett Colt Leads Coolmore G1 Trifecta
The last British Group I race of the flat season was run overnight at Doncaster with Aidan O’Brien producing a trifecta of two year-old colts led by a son of the late Wootton Bassett (GB) in Hawk Mountain, who was too good for a pair of Frankel colts.
Invincible Colt Wins $1million G2 Callander Presnell for Godolphin
Progressive I Am Invincible colt Ohope won the $1million ATC Tapp Craig (1400m) at his previous start, however was not rewarded officially with Black Type for that result, but he did achieve stakes-winner status at Randwick on Saturday when scoring a determined win over quality colt Rivellino in the $1million ATC Callander Presnell (1600m).