Celebrations were afoot during Hobart's Sunday meeting, with Armidale-affiliated horses taking out four of the feature races.
Two-year-old Needs Further filly Needs Sugar (ex Galeocerdo) kicked off the day with a barnstorming three-length victory in the Listed Elwick Stakes (1100m).
Her wins comes as a timely reminder of how dominant Needs Further's progeny have been in this race.
"He [Needs Further] never ceases to amaze us," said Armidale's Rhiannon Whishaw.
"From seven racing crops, his two-year-olds have now won this race four times. Needs Sugar's win was pretty special to us, as she was born and raised at Armidale, bred by a great supporter of ours Tyson Barwick and trained by our good friend Stuart Gandy."
The Whishaws barely had time to draw breath with Needs Further's daughter Just A Needs (ex Paddy's Jubilee) following up with a win in the Thousand Guineas (1600m).
"She was ultra-impressive last start, winning by three lengths and is a great example of the high-class fillies that Needs Further is capable of siring."
"His stakes-winning daughters Pateena Arena and Mystical Pursuit have won this race, so we look forward to hopefully watching Just A Needs follow in their footsteps," said Rhiannon.
Alpine Eagle mare Queenborough Flyer (ex Silandro) reminded punters of how good she is with a victory in the Lady Lynette (1100m).
"She has developed into a powerful sprinter and has been such a consistent race filly and mare. She's won four from seven starts, including three this prep and on her day, she just does it so easily," said Rhiannon.
Rounding out the day was Armidale's homebred hero Swoop Dog. The consistent gelding flashed home in the Armidale silks to record a 1.3-length victory in the WFA Summer Cup (2200m).
It was his third consecutive win, seventh career victory and the talented cups horse has now banked over $384,000 in prizemoney.
In a turn of fate, he was passed in at the 2019 Tasmanian Magic Millions Yearling Sale but the Whishaw's high opinion of him landed him a spot in their racing team.
"We loved him as a yearling and weren't prepared to give him away," said Rhiannon.
"He has been such a star for us, winning the Tasmanian and Launceston Guineas and has really come into his own as an older horse."
"We're so proud of him and he's a great example of the calibre of racehorses that we pride ourselves on breeding here at Armidale."
Armidale will offer 27 yearlings at the upcoming Tasmanian Magic Millions Yearling Sale on Feb 20.
News from Armidale Stud
