South Australian nursery Mill Park Stud is the only vendor to have multiple Cox
Plate runners claiming race favourite Fawkner and last year's runner-up Happy
Trails.By Reset from Dane Belltar, Fawkner was sold by Mill Park at Inglis Premier for $70,000 and has won $2.8 million, while Happy Trails, by Good Journey (USA) from Madame Flurry, was sold at Magic Millions Adelaide for $11,000 and has won $2.1 million.
Fawkner is in red hot form this spring coming off a classy win in the Group I Caulfield Stakes and will run the favourite for Team Williams.
Fawkner was bred by Steve Bennetts, who now breeds from Dane Belltar in partnership with Mill Park.
The emergence of the Caulfield Cup winner and his older Group II winning
half-brother Tanby have considerably upped the ante on what the progeny of Dane
Belltar are worth.Earlier this year, Mill Park sold a Starcraft filly from Dane Belltar at Inglis Easter for $650,000 that set a new benchmark for her sire when knocked down to David Redvers. She will do her racing for emerging global bloodstock force Qatar Bloodstock.
She is the fifth foal of Group III winner Dane Belltar, whose four previous foals are all winners.
"We bred the filly in partnership with Steve Bennetts, who owned and raced her mother Dane Belltar," Mill Park's Chris Watson said.
"Steve bought two fillies from the sales back then to race and both of them won stakes races, before being retired to stud."
Dane Belltar won the Group III Auraria Stakes and was placed in three Oaks, while Debben won the SA St Leger.
"Debben was a complete disaster that produced just one live foal, while Dane Belltar has been amazingly good," Watson said.
"Steve bred Fawkner and Tanby himself and then in recent years we have been
breeding in partnership as Dane Belltar is his only broodmare."All of the progeny of Dane Belltar have gone through the Inglis sale ring, but the current yearling, a filly by Epsom Derby winner New Approach (IRE) will be retained.
"We'll keep her to race as you just don't know when the mare will have a another filly, but she's had a cracking Street Cry colt this year and he'll be heading to Inglis Easter in 2016," he said.
"Darley will be looking for a replacement for Street Cry and he might be the one."
Mill Park and their clients utilize Sledmere Stud in the Hunter Valley as a NSW base for their mares during the breeding season and another new arrival this spring has been the half-brother by All Too Hard to Happy Trails bred by Brenton and Liz Parker.
Other foals born this spring that have Cox Plate siblings are as follows.
Bred and sold by Emirates Park for $50,000 at Magic Millions, Almalad is by the
stud's stalwart sire Al Maher and has a half-sister by Dream Ahead (USA) from
Ilhaam born at Emirates Park.
A homebred for Darley by Lonhro, Sweynesse has a Commands filly that was born in New Zealand at Waikato Stud as her dam Swansea (IRE) was sold earlier this year at the MM Broodmare Sale to Rosemont Stud for $55,000.
Bred and sold by Arrowfield Stud at Inglis Easter for $1 million, Wandjina has a full sister born at Arrowfield Stud this spring. The Snitzel filly is the 13th foal of La Bamba, who has been amazing producer for Arrowfield.
"La Bamba is undoubtedly one of Arrowfield's gems," said Susan Archer of Arrowfield Stud.
"She has left eight winners from nine foals to race, among them three stakes-winners led by Group I winner Inspiration and her 10 yearlings sold have averaged $437,000.
"She has had nine colts and only four fillies including this latest one."
Some may wonder about the inclusion of Wandjina, who has won just one race from nine starts, but did finish third in the Group I Caulfield Guineas at his last start.
Let's not forget last year's race was won by a maiden Snitzel colt in Shamus Award.
Click here for Cox Plate sale mail.
