Mill Ridge believes two particular offerings at the Fasig-Tipton November Sale could hold strong appeal for Australian buyers, with Sunlit Uplands (Ire) (Sands Of Mali {Fr}) and Whiskey Decision (USA) (Into Mischief {USA}) presenting different opportunities for potential buyers.
Price Bell, General Manager at Mill Ridge, believes that the appeal is twofold with Sunlit Uplands, who could race on before entering the breeding barn, while Whiskey Decision represents an attractive broodmare prospect from a family with significant momentum.
“I regard the Australian market very highly. Australia is an exciting place with all the talent there, the love of racing and trading,” Bell commented.
“We have some Australian clients at Mill Ridge and I love how they look at the market as a global space. They don’t use isolation as an excuse and are very aware of the global market.
“They play the whole field and are always looking at upgrading stock and families, and they have had a lot of success breeding out of mares sourced from America.”
Hip 211 – Sunlit Uplands (Ire) (Sands Of Mali {Fr} x Illico (GB) {Dansili (GB)})
Sunlit Uplands is being offered as both a racing and breeding prospect, having already established an impressive record on the track.
A four-time winner, she has captured success at Group 3 level in Germany and has also finished in the top four at stakes level in America, Italy and Great Britain.
She brings a strong international pedigree, being out of the unraced Dansili (GB) mare Illico (GB), who has produced four winners. Among her progeny is the 2-year-old winner and three-time Italian Listed-placed Cotaystar (Ire) (Cotai Glory {GB}).
Illico is also a sibling to four individual stakes placegetters, including one who is the dam of Swedish Listed winner Aurinko (USA) (Karakontie {Jpn}).
Sunlit Uplands (Ire) | Image courtesy of Fasig-Tipton
Sunlit Uplands' grandam, Insight (GB) (Sadler’s Wells {USA}), was a winner of the G1 EP Taylor Stakes and the G2 Prix de l'Opéra, adding further depth to an already appealing international family.
On the track, Sunlit Uplands has been producing figures that suggest there is still significant upside.
She recorded Beyer Speed Figures of 94 and 95 in America when placing at Grade 2 level. During the 2025/26 season, those figures would have been high enough to win any of the other Grade 2 races, while sitting just one point below the winning marks of five different individual Grade 1 races.
She is also nominated for the G1 Matriarch Stakes at Del Mar in late November, as well as the Listed Cardinal at Churchill Downs, also in late November, making her an appealing, ready-made prospect for those types of races with no real need to wait..
There is also scope for further improvement as she matures. Last season, Kathynmarissa (USA) (American Pharoah {USA}), Expensive Queen (Ire) (lope De Vega {Ire}) and Vina Arana (Ire) (Make Believe {GB}) all won their Graded stakes races as 5-year-olds, while Sunlit Uplands will turn five in 2027, leaving open the possibility of further success on the track.
Hip 162 – Whiskey Decision (USA) (Into Mischief {USA} x Funny Song (USA) {Distorted Humor (USA)})
Whiskey Decision offers a different proposition, with her record on the track and strong female family making her an attractive broodmare prospect.
A five-time winner over distances from 1600 metres to 1800 metres, her victories include the G3 Monmouth Eatontown Stakes, Listed Aqueduct Athenia Stakes, and Listed Delaware Park Christiana Stakes.
She has also finished in the top four in a further five graded races up to Grade 2 level, including when beaten a nose in the G2 Tampa Bay Downs Hillsborough Stakes.
Whiskey Decision was most recently purchased at the 2025 Keeneland November Breeding Sale by Alpha Delta Stables for US$1.5 million (AU$2.1 million).
Whiskey Decision (USA) | Image courtesy of Fasig-Tipton
She is by the outstanding Into Mischief (USA), a six-time Champion sire in the United States Of America and Canada who has produced 202 stakes winners.
Her dam, Funny Song (USA) (Tapit {USA}), is by Distorted Humor (USA) and is a full sister to the dam of Group 1 winner Sandman (USA) and the G3 Churchill Downs Chilukki Stakes and dual Listed winner She Can’t Sing (USA) (Bernardini {USA}).
Funny Song is also a three-quarter-sister to the Grade 3-winning stallion Gershwin (USA) and a half-sister to the Grade 3-placed dam of Listed winner and Grade 1-placed Moon Over Miami (USA) (Malibu Moon {USA}).
It is an exceptionally strong family, with Grade or Group 1-winning gallopers Musical Chimes (USA) (In Excess {Ire}), Mystic Guide (USA) and Music Note (USA) (A.P Indy {USA}) all featuring.
Whiskey Decision has a pedigree in full bloom, with the family continuing to gain momentum.
Her damsires are also particularly relevant to Australian breeders, with Distorted Humor, Unbridled’s Song (USA) and Sadler’s Wells (USA) all being top-class influences very well known in Australia.
The wider family is being bred exceptionally well, with progeny produced by stallions including Justify (USA), Life Is Good (USA), Tiz The Law (USA), Not This Time (USA), Constitution (USA), Curlin (USA) and Nyquist (USA).
Females within the family have also been bred to the likes of Gun Runner (USA), Yaupon (USA), Constitution, Flightline (USA) and Whiskey Decision's sire, Into Mischief.
It is a family very much on the rise, with the quality of stallions being used providing further encouragement for prospective buyers.
For breeders, that offers the opportunity to become involved in a female family that is continuing to attract the attention of powerful breeders, with considerable investment already being made in its future.
