Mill Ridge Farm Highlights: Keeneland November

One of America's most successful and prolific breeders, Mill Ridge Farm, presents an impressive draft of mares at the upcoming Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale and many of those look to be exciting prospects for Australia.

Since 2000, the Lexington farm has produced 36 Group 1 winners, their services trusted by some of America's most successful breeders and owners.

We take a look at some of their mares on offer next month...

Hip 1417 - Bonnaroo (USA) (Tapit {USA} x Rio Carnival {USA})

Bonnaroo (USA) is a daughter of America's three-time Champion Sire Tapit (USA), an outstanding influence with his 162 stakes winners, 31 of whom have won at the elite level.

From limited opportunity in Australia, he has been represented by 16 winners including the G3 Gloaming S. winner Love Tap. And little wonder his daughters are proving to be in such high demand with Tapit the broodmare sire of 93 stakes winners.

Fourteen of those are Group 1 winners, including one of America's most popular horses Cody's Wish (USA) and Japan's star Gran Alegria (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}). Tapit has only a handful of daughters at stud in Australia yet from just nine runners (six winners) they have produced two stakes winners - the G1 South Australian Derby hero Qafila (Not A Single Doubt) and the G3 Newcastle Gold Cup winner Hush Writer (Jpn) (Rulership {Jpn}).

Thirty-seven Tapit yearlings have fetched seven figures at yearling sales and he boasts record progeny earnings in excess of US$262 million (AU$411.9 million) whilst his daughters have produced the winners of over $179 million (AU$267.7 million).

With her Danehill (USA)-free pedigree, Bonnaroo, whose grandam Zenda (GB) (Zamindar {USA}) won the G1 French 1000 Guineas - is an easy mare to match up and a great fit for the I Am Invincible sireline with her dam, who has also produced the Group 3-placed eight-time winner Let's Meet In Rio (USA) (Flatter {USA}) - being a half-sister to Juddmonte's star Invincible Spirit (Ire) horse Kingman (GB).

Not only a great racehorse with his many titles, including European Horse of the Year, Kingman is well and truly doing the job at stud with his 74 stakes winners and nine Group 1 winners - something which will keep this mare's pedigree current for years to come.

Hip 1426 - Buzz Of New York (Ire) (Toronado {Ire} x Buzz Off Barroso {Ire})

The High Chaparral (Ire) line continues to flourish in Australia and his dual Group 1 -winning son Toronado (Ire) is much loved in this part of the world where three of his four elite-level winners have enjoyed their success.

A consistent sire of 34 stakes winners whose progeny pop up in the winner's circle week in, week out, Toronado is in the very early days of his broodmare sire career but already five of the first seven runners are winners and we all know what an outstanding influence his sire is proving in this department, High Chaparral's daughters producing 70 stakes winners including 12 Group 1 winners.

There is toughness and durability in this mare's pedigree, the German Champion Older Male Barney Roy (GB) (Excelebration {Ire}) one of her close relations as is the wonderful globetrotter Gordon Lord Byron (Ire) (Byron {GB}) who won Group 1 races in three countries including Australia, the G1 George Ryder S.

A three-time winner close-up in Group 3 company, Buzz Of New York is Danehill free and we know just how well Sadler's Wells (USA) and Danehill combine - 243 Group 1 winners and counting!

Hip 604 - Captain Beyond (USA) (Pioneerof The Nile {USA} x Holiday Soiree {USA})

Here is a happening page, Captain Beyond (USA) being a half-sister to the talented and in-form Vahva (USA) (Gun Runner {USA}) who has won four of her first 10 starts including her last two at Group level.

Just last week a winner in Group 2 company at Keeneland, Vahva pulled up well and has big aims - the G1 La Brea S. at Santa Anita on Boxing Day.

Also a half-sister to the lightly raced stakes placed Signal From Noise (USA) (Arrogate {USA}) who looks close to another win on the back of consistent form, Captain Beyond is a daughter of Holiday Soiree (USA) (Harlan's Holiday {USA}) whose five wins from 19 starts including three at Listed level, she was Group 1 placed on three occasions.

Her stakes-placed dam Try To Remember (USA) (Include {USA}) produced two stakes winners whilst her grandam produced four - this is just the sort of family suitable for Australia; lots of runners, lots of winners! And what a great start American Pharoah's (USA) sire Pioneerof The Nile (USA) has made as a broodmare sire - 175 winners already, with 11 of those being stakes winners.

Hip 225 - Dance To The Music (USA) (Maclean's Music {USA} x Beautified {USA})

A mare who did not know how to run a bad race, Dance To The Music (USA) won three of her 11 starts including the G3 Desert Stormer S. She was a Group 1 runner-up at just her second start at two - making her just the sort of precocious type Australian breeders love.

By the high-achieving Maclean's Music (USA) whose 32 stakes winners include four Group 1 winners, Dance To The Music is a granddaughter of the dual Group 3 winner Makeup Artist (USA) (Dynaformer {USA}) whose dam Deux Anes (GB) (Longleat {USA}) won three Listed races.

A lovely prospect for Danehill-line stallions - bred on the same Danzig (USA) and His Majesty (USA) cross as that legendary stallion, Dance To The Music boasts Mr Prospector (USA) crosses and has a pedigree of considerable depth.

Hip 1477 - Elianagrace (USA) (Malibu Moon {USA} x Rebalite {USA})

Showing good speed winning two of her first six starts over sprinting trips, Elianagrace (USA) is by the wonderful stallion Malibu Moon (USA) - a horse we did not get to see the best of on course but who has continued to impress with his 137 stakes winners inclusive of 17 Group 1 winners. And what a job he is doing as a broodmare sire, his 78 stakes winners including nine Group 1 winners, including the G1 Australian Guineas hero Lunar Fox (Foxwedge). A half-sister to the triple Group- winning stallion Race Day (USA), Elianagrace is out of a mare by More Than Ready (USA), one of the great shuttling success stories.

Her dam is a half-sister to the multiple Group 1 winner Lite Light (USA) (Majestic Light {USA}) and three other stakes winners. There are 10 stakes winners under Elianagrace's grandam, making this an impressive page for any catalogue.

And what a family this is, Elianagrace being a descendant of the famed matriarch La Troienne (Fr) (Teddy {Fr}) whose most recent success story in Australia is the first-season stallion Artorius.

Hip 321 - Just A Care (Ire) (Australia {GB} X Greater Good)

They don't come much better bred than Australia (GB), the four times Group 1 (including the Epsom & Irish Derby's) winning son of Galileo (GB) and the superstar mare Ouija Board (GB) (Cape Cross {Ire}) and he is passing on his superior genes with his 38 stakes winners to date inclusive of six Group 1 winners.

It is very early days for Australia in regards to his broodmare sire career but what an encouraging start he has made with his first eight winners including a stakes winner and a stakes placegetter.

A mare who showed plenty of talent in her five starts, winning over 1000 metres at just her second start before a second in Listed company, Just A Care is out of a mare by our very own Fastnet Rock and her grandam is the Group 3-winning juvenile Necessary Evil (USA) (Harlan's Holiday {USA}). Ran a tough race after a six-month spell to narrowly miss a win to Queen Of The Mud (Ire) at Keeneland on October 22nd,

What a pedigree this is, Just A Care being bred on one of the hottest crosses in the world, the Galileo and Fastnet Rock combination that has produced 48 stakes winners including 13 Group 1 winners.

Hip 1208 - Moral Clarity (GB) (Siyouni {Fr} X Ceisteach {Ire})

With Amelia's Jewel doing such a great job for her sire, whilst his outstanding son St Mark's Basilica (Fr) proving so popular locally - Siyouni (Fr) is hot property down under and his daughters are in strong demand.

The sire of four stakes winners from just 20 winners in Australia, Siyouni has been well represented by a total of 71 stakes winners, his 10 Group 1 winners including current UK star Paddington (GB).

And he has made a most encouraging start to his career as a broodmare sire with six stakes winners amongst his first 93 winners.

The unraced Moral Clarity (GB) is out of the Group 3 mare Ceisteach (Ire) (New Approach {Ire}), half-sister to the dual Group winner Steip Amach (Ire) (Vocalised {USA}) and to the dams of another two Group winners.

This is the prolific Mumtaz Mahal (GB) (The Tetrarch {Ire}) family which continues to excel in Australia, represented by two stakes winners just last weekend! It is the same branch which so strongly influences the pedigree of Canny Lad, dam sire of Redoute's Choice and I Am Invincible, making this mare an exciting match for members of both prolific lines.

Hip 503 - Tik Tok Famous (GB) (Belardo {Ire} x Gallice {Ire})

A stakes-placed two-time winner who found form quickly, Tik Tok Famous (GB) is by the dual Group 1-winning Lope De Vega (Ire) horse Belardo, the New Zealand shuttler who has sired Group winners in the northern and southern hemispheres.

Despite making his way to Australia for only a few years, Lope De Vega well and truly made his mark - the sire of 121 stakes winners all up represented locally by 19 stakes winners, including the Group 1 sprinters Santa Ana Lane, Gytrash and Vega Magic.

Tik Tok Famous is out of a half-sister to the four-time Group 1 winner Elusive Kate (USA) (Elusive Quality {USA}), one of the best juveniles of her year.

Her third dam is the G1 Prix Morny winner Regal State (USA) (Affirmed {USA}) whose wonderful son Pleasantly Perfect (USA) (Pleasant Colony {USA}) won the G1 Dubai World Cup and the G1 Breeders' Cup Classic, some horse!

High-class Group 1-winning stallion Distant View (USA) also hails from this prolific family and with Lope De Vega combining so very well with Fastnet Rock (two Group 1 winners, Santa Ana Lane and Gytrash - amongst the 17 winners) and Danehill - a further eight Group 1 winners, Tik Tok Famous is a natural fit for Australia.

Hip 1338 - Time Horizon (USA) (Practical Joke {USA} x California Spirit {USA})

Runner-up at her only start over 1200 metres, Time Horizon (USA) is a member of the thriving Into Mischief (USA) sireline via that high-class stallion's G1 Champagne S. -winning son, Practical Joke (USA).

A stallion who can really get a topliner - nine Group 1 winners amongst his 31 stakes winners - Practical Joke is yet to have runners as a broodmare sire but what a job his sire Into Mischief is doing in that department - already 13 stakes winners amongst the first 131 runners; some strike rate!

Time Horizon is out of a half-sister to the four times Group-winning, Group 1-placed Protonico (USA) (Giant's Causeway {USA}) out of a granddaughter of the champion mare Wild Spirit (Chi), the multiple Group 1 winner whose sire is a horse so well known in this part of the world, the outstanding Hussonet (USA).

And what a great job Hussonet has done when combined with Danehill - 17 Group 1 winners amongst the 86 stakes winners, making Time Horizon an easy mare for Australian breeders to match up.

Up And Down (USA) (Creative Cause {USA} x Breakfast Time {USA})

Talented and consistent, Up And Down (USA) found winning form over a mile at just her second start and was in the placings at another four of her six starts, never finishing further back than fourth.

Stakes placed over 1700 metres, she is a daughter of the Group 1-winning Giant's Causeway (USA), a line which has fared so well in Australia, combining very nicely with Danehill stallion Creative Cause (USA).

A reliable stallion with an outstanding strike rate of 72.8% and whilst he is a good stallion represented at the highest level, he is doing even better as a broodmare sire with an impressive five of his first 26 winners being stakes winners including the Group 1 galloper Zandon (USA).

Up And Down is a half-sister to the classy Fluffy Socks (USA) (Slumber {USA}) who is racing in such great heart, the triple Group winner at just her second run this time in finishing second in the G2 Spa S. at Saratoga in late August.

Up And Down's second and fourth dams Costume Designer (USA) (Capote) and Lake Valley (USA) (Mr Prospector {USA}) are both stakes winners from a family with plenty of black type.