The most successful first season sire so far this season with six winners including the stakes-winners Better Reflection and The Odyssey is Lyndhurst Stud's Better Than Ready, who was bred and sold as a weanling by Ian Smith of Edinburgh Park Stud.
By champion sire More Than Ready (USA) from the speedy metro winner Sally's
World, Better Than Ready was sold by Edinburgh Park at the 2010 Magic Millions
National Weanling Sale for $110,000 to Blue Sky Thoroughbreds.He was then re-offered by Newgate Farm at the Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale where his trainer Kelly Schweida snapped him up for $140,000.
Better Than Ready was a winner on debut at two and improved at three and four to win eight of 16 starts with four of his wins in Listed events. He had good looks and brilliant speed, but the best he could manage at Group I level was a third to Your Song in the Group I BTC Cup and a fifth to Shanexpress in the Group I VRC Newmarket Handicap.
As a winner of over $480,000 in prizemoney, Better Than Ready is a nice to horse to have on your honour roll as a breeder, but the real magic is only just starting to begin.
Better Than Ready will have as many as four runners in the Magic Millions 2YO
Classic and he is profiling in statistical terms along similar lines to
Queensland's other young sire sensation Spirit of Boom, who stood for $55,000
last year and covered 215 mares.Better Than Ready has been standing at a fee of $9,900 since retiring to stud in 2015 and in his first three seasons covered 411 mares giving himself a great opportunity to get rolling.
Last year as word got out that Better Than Ready had some fast 2YO's, his stocks started to soar and he covered 236 mares in 2018.
Edinburgh Park has been the nursery for plenty of good horses including a world
champion sprinter in Silent Witness, but in Better Than Ready Ian Smith might
have bred a horse to leave a lasting impression!Click here to find out more on Edinburgh Park's 2019 Magic Millions draft of 16 top class youngsters.
