New Son of Danehill Dancer for Southern Highlands

The burgeoning thoroughbred breeding nursery of the Southern Highlands of NSW is set to welcome another new stallion this spring with Eucallea Equine at Boomerang Berrima proud to announce the arrival of intriguing prospect Dare to Dream (IRE).

A stunning Irish bred son of champion sire Danehill Dancer, Dare to Dream was imported to Australia as a Melbourne Cup prospect and given to master trainer Bart Cummings to prepare.

He showed immense promise in just a handful of starts, before his career was curtailed through injury and may well have lived the Melbourne Cup dream if he had not been beaten narrowly after missing the start in the Group III VRC Lexus Stakes by Kelinni, who then finished fourth in the Cup.

Click here to watch his run.

"Some of the world's most successful owners and judges of racehorses and stallions in Sir Patrick Hogan, Dato Tan Chin Nam and Richard Pegum bought into the horse as a racing prospect and they have kept ownership of him to stand at stud," said Fiona Mylan of Eucallea Equine.

Dare to Dream was an expensive purchase out of the Jeremy Noseda stable at Newmarket and had won three of his first four starts at three stamping himself as a very promising young stayer of the future.

He had only five further starts in Australia and retires lightly raced with three wins and three placing from nine starts in total, his final run a fourth to brilliant stayer Puissance de Lune (IRE) in the Group III VRC Queen Elizabeth Stakes.

Dare to Dream is a half-brother to stakes-winner Bow Creek from stakes-winning Most Welcome mare Beneventa, but it's his sire Danehill Dancer that will hold the most interest for broodmare owners.

One of the few shuttle sires to excel in both hemispheres, 21 year-old Danehill Dancer is the sire of more than 150 stakes-winners worldwide and tasted success first here in Australia through the likes of multiple Group I winners Private Steer and Choisir.

He shuttled to Australia for 12 seasons standing for as much as $110,000 and his progeny are still a formidable presence on our tracks, the Group I ATC Coolmore Classic won this year by his six year-old daughter Steps in Time.

As a sire of sires, Danehill Dancer has also made his mark notably with our own brilliant Choisir, the sire of over 60 stakes-winners, but also with sire sons such as Mastercraftsman (sire of Group I winners Kingston Hill and The Grey Gatsby), Monsieur Bond (sire of Group I winner Gilt Edge Girl), Jeremy (sire of this year's Group II winning juvenile Kool Kompany) and Where or When (sire of two stakes-winners).

The latest Danehill Dancer sire son to make his presence felt is Fast Company, who has had 17 first crop winners in Europe this year led by Group II Royal Ascot Norfolk Stakes winner Baitha Alga.

Danehill Dancer is also carrying his sire dynasty through another generation with Choisir's best son Starspangledbanner, now regarded as one of the hottest young sires in the world after producing a pair of Royal Ascot Group II winning juveniles in The Wow Signal and Anthem Alexandra.