The Willis family has been breeding horses from Mittagong since the early 1990s, and this week, at the 2023 Inglis Classic Yearling Sale, the Rheinwood Pastoral team will celebrate 30 years of breeding thoroughbreds on the Southern Highlands property.
It’s a marvellous milestone, one that recalls the likes of Group 1 winner Albert The Fat (Magic Albert), Dark Jewel winner So Anyway (General Nediym) and stakes performers Final Fantasy (Chimes Square), Dottoressa (Dr Grace {NZ}) and Insistence (Black Hawk {GB}), among others. All were raised on the paddocks at Rheinwood Pastoral Co.
Ray and Kirsty Willis invite you to inspect the Rheinwood Pastoral Co. draft at Riverside Stables, located in Barn F.
Lot 597 - All Too Hard x Meridian Star (filly)
Lot 597 is a brown filly by the proven high-class stallion All Too Hard out of the four-time winning, three-time city placed Meridian Star (Stratum). She is her dam's second foal, her first being the yet to race two-year-old Mandate (Astern), a member of the Joseph Pride stable.
Bred on the same All Too Hard/Redoute's Choice cross (one which provides for a duplication of the wonderful mare Best In Show {USA} by Traffic Judge {USA}) as the stakes winners Hard Landing and Cuba, she has as her third dam the fast G3 Frances Tressady S. winner Ticket To Rome (At Talaq {USA}).
This is a terrific local family, one whose members also include the tough stakes winners Great Delight (Regal Classic {Can}), Alaskan God (Playing God), Truly Wicked (Rubiton), Amber Sky (Exceed And Excel) and Shigeru Sendan (Denman).
Lot 638 - Nicconi x New Summer Night (colt)
Lot 638 is a bay/brown colt by the reliably classy Group 1 winning stallion Nicconi, who is of course best known as the sire of the super sprinter Nature Strip.
He is the second foal for the five-time winner New Summer Night (Manhattan Rain) who was successful over sprinting trips at Morphettville and Sandown. Her dam is the Listed Blue Diamond Preview winner Beauty School (Royal Academy {USA}) whose seven named foals have all made it to the track - six being winners including the stakes-placed, city-winning juvenile Mount Zero (Northern Meteor).
Bred on the same Nicconi/Encosta De Lago cross (one that provides for the duplication of Fairy Bridge {USA}) by Bold Reason {USA}) as the stakes winners The Bopper and William Thomas, this colt hails from the same family as the G1 Golden Slipper S. winning stallion Farnan.
Other relations include the stakes winners Petite Dane (Danehill {USA}), Danish Silver (SAf) (Silvano {Ger}), Tallow (Street Cry {Ire}), Sandbar (Snitzel) and Mr Unforgettable (Rubiton).
Lot 698 - Dubious x She Has Arrived (filly)
Lot 698 is a bay filly from the debut crop of Aquis Farm's dual-Group winning Not A Single Doubt stallion Dubious out of a half-sister to the Listed winner Best Yet To Come (Econsul {NZ}) and the Group 3 placed, multiple city winner Simply Put (Charge Forward).
Two of her dam's first three to race are winners and her grandam is the stakes-placed Simply The Best (NZ) (Kingdom Bay {NZ}), half-sister to the Listed Wanganui Guineas winner Shaquille (NZ) (Blazing Keel).
Stakes winners Major Decision (NZ) (Zamazaan {Fr}) and Everswindell (NZ) (Align) also hail from this family and this filly has a lovely Best In Show (USA) (Traffic Judge {USA}) cross via Redoute's Choice and Domesday; a combination which has produced the Group 1 gallopers Trapeze Artist and Extra Brut (Domesday).
Lot 756 - Harry Angel (Ire) x Cross Kick (colt)
Lot 756 is a bay/brown colt by Darley's exciting young stallion Harry Angel (Ire). He is the first foal for the unraced Cross Kick (by Giga Kick's sire Scissor Kick) whose half-sister is the triple-Group 3 winner Judged (High Yield {USA}) dam of the Group 3 placed Judicial Rock (Fastnet Rock).
The dual-Group winner Lawyer also hails from this family and this colt boasts interesting pedigree patterns including two strains of Try My Best (USA) and one of his relation Redoute's Choice.
And how well do those two stallions do together?! Exceptionally well - combining in the pedigrees of 67 stakes winners, twelve of whom have been successful at the elite-level.
Lot 793 - Headwater x Lakotadreamcatcher (USA) (filly)
Lot 793 is a grey filly by Exceed And Excel's proven son Headwater out of an imported stakes winner whose first two foals are both showing promise.
Her four-year-old half-sister Dream Witness (Star Witness) is a Mornington winner whilst her three-year-old half-sister Wakanjeja (Impending) bolted in at just her second start at Morphettville in December.
Her dam Lakotadreamcatcher (USA) is a Listed-winning full-sister to the stakes-placed Lakota Rose (USA) from the family of the stakes winners Welcome Aboard (USA) (Rock Hard Ten {USA}), My Girl Jeannie (USA) (Hostage {USA}), Lucinda (USA) (Olympio {USA}), Anew (USA) (Awesome Again {Can}), Cesar Eduardo (USA) (Hostage), Night Spirit (USA) (Seattle Slew {USA}), Triple Buck (USA) (Sunny's Halo {Can}), Dreamy Kid (USA) (Lemon Drop Kid {USA}) and Kid Dreams (Can) (Lemon Drop Kid).
Lot 821 - Castelvecchio x Parfaits (filly)
Lot 821 is a chestnut filly from the debut crop of Arrowfield Stud's dual-Group 1 winning Dundeel (NZ) stallion Castelvecchio out of a mare proven on and off the track.
Parfaits (Strategic) won four of her 14 starts and was twice successful over sprinting trips at Canterbury. She is really doing the job at stud with her four winners including the G1 Queensland Derby hero Sonntag (Teofilo {Ire}) and the multiple city winner Ridgewood Drive (Sebring).
Parfaits' dam is the triple-Listed winner Ice Cream Sundae (Sovereign Red {NZ}), dam of the G1 Salinger S. winner Flavour (Rubiton) and ancestress of the stakes winners Je Suis Belle (Bel Esprit), Raspberries (Lonhro) and Valour Road (Frost Giant {USA}).
This filly is bred on the same High Chaparral (Ire)/Zeditave cross as last weekend's G3 Bellmain S. winner Wrote To Arataki (NZ) (Wrote {Ire}) - noting that both of those high achieving stallions are descendants of the famed matriarch Chelandry (GB) (Goldfinch {GB}) as is this filly's third dam sire Rarity (GB).
