It must be
When that happens again the following season there must be a feeling of resignation.
That scenario faced the Esplin family when the American-foaled mare Only Vanda (USA) went to stud.
In her first two
Miraculously, Only Vanda (USA) decided being a mum was not so bad and she had a foal every year for the next 12 seasons.
Though she was born in the US, Only Vanda (USA) did her racing in Australia where she was a 3-time winner in Sydney and placed in a further 5 of her 13 starts.
She is a daughter of the top-class Linamix, a homebred for Jean-Luc Lagardère who won the Group 1 Poule d'Essai des Poulains (French Two Thousand Guineas) before making his mark as a stallion. His daughters, in particular, are highly prized.
Only Vanda is a daughter of the Northern Dancer mare Te Kani who is a half-sister to the champion Ogygian (Damascus) who won all his three starts at two including a nine and a half-length romp in the 1985 Grade 1 Futurity Stakes at Belmont Park.
At three he won the Jerome Handicap, Dwyer Stakes and Riva Ridge Stakes, all at Belmont, before being retired to Claiborne Farm with a record of 7 wins, 1 second and 1 third from 10 starts with earnings of $455,520.
In 1995, Ogygian was sold to continue his stud carer in Japan. He was quite successful at stud but much like Linamix, he garnered a reputation of being a top broodmare sire.
His daughters have produced the shuttlers, Johannesburg, Street Boss and Johan Cruyff.
A little aside here. At the age of 22, Ogygian was purchased from his Japanese owners by Old Friends to live out the rest of his days in Kentucky.
This is a wonderful organisation with a lively twitter account where we here in Australia could track the golden years of our homegrown champion Bint Marscay who died in died in January at the age of 28.
Ogygian spent 10 years at Old Friends, finally succumbing to complications from colic in 2015 at the age of 32.
Back to Only Vanda (USA).
Her first foal is Warpath, a daughter of Reset, who was sold at the 2008 Inglis Easter Yearling Sale for $55,000 and won 7 of her 13 starts including the Listed ATC Aspiration Hcp.
The second foal of Only Vanda (USA), the talented Charge Forward filly Limerock, was purchased by Peter Moody for just $40,000 at the 2009 Inglis Easter Yearling Sale. She carried the colours of David Moodie’s Contract Racing to 5 wins and 2 seconds from 15 starts before embarking on her own stud career.
The first three foals of Limerock to reach the track have shown ability led by the Group III MRC Blue Diamond Preview winner Limestone.
The somewhat controversial daughter of Helmet, who was scratched on veterinary advice, much to the annoyance of her trainer, before a race at Flemington, had a short career of nine starts, which, besides her stakes triumph included a second in the Group II Blue Diamond Prelude, a fourth behind Merchant Navy in the Group 1 Coolmore Stud Stakes, and a spectacular fall in the Group II Danehill Stakes.
Limestone has been retired and visited Written Tycoon last spring.
Warpath has yet to produce a stakes-winner but she has come close twice. Her first foal Alkaashef finishing third in the Listed UCI Stakes at Flemington and her fifth foal Rotator kick-started her career with a fast-finishing second in the Group III Widden Stakes at Rosehill on February 2 (image above by Steve Hart
A daughter of Not A Single Doubt, Rotator (pictured right as a yearling) was consigned by Kia Ora Stud to the 2018 Inglis Easter Yearling Sale where she made $270,000 to the bid of Spicer Thoroughbreds.
A grey like her mum, Rotator makes her second start in Saturday’s Pierro 2yo Plate at Randwick. No black-type here in what looks to be a hot race for the babies, which we feel will feature several black-type winners in the future.
It will also have special significance for Bhima Thoroughbreds, as agent for Kia Ora Stud, who will offer a full-brother to Rotator at the upcoming Inglis Premier Yearling Sale as Lot 17
While her daughters, Warpath and Limerock have made promising starts to their careers at stud, Only Vanda (USA) is not done yet.
She has a yearling filly by Darley Stud’s promising young stallion Epaulette. After 12 consecutive
