Stakes racing in Adelaide on Saturday produced some smart new stakes-winners, but none more regally bred than Snitzel filly Meuse, a $500,000 Inglis Easter purchase for Hilldene / Gelagotis Racing from the draft of Newgate Farm.
Trained by Anthony Freedman, Meuse has been working though the grades and showed serious stakes potential when third in the Group II VRC The Vanity behind Bonvicini in February.
Sent across to Adelaide for the Listed SAJC Laelia Stakes (1600m), she was tenacious to the line in grasping a short half head win, her fourth victory from seven starts with prizemoney topping $190,000.
Meuse runs for Nick Wakim, who has established boutique breeding venture Hilldene in Victoria.
Bred by Blake Sandblom and Henry Field and foaled and raised at Newgate Farm, Meuse is the first winner for Group III winning Encosta de Lago mare Precious Lorraine, a full sister to stakes-winner Lucky Raquie from stakes-placed Monsoon Wedding, a full sister to Group I winners Redoute’s Choice and Platinum Scissors.
Precious Lorraine was bought by Newgate Farm for $1.5million at the Teeley Assets Dispersal in 2014 and re-sold at the Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale in 2018 when snapped up by Gerry Harvey’s Baramul Stud for $650,000.
She’s produced a yearling filly and weanling colt by I Am Invincible for Gerry Harvey and is back in foal to the same sire again.
Newgate Farm have several female members of this great family and will offer two fillies at Inglis Easter that are closely related to Meuse.
Lot 152 Filly Snitzel x Quench the Thirst, by Encosta de Lago – Huge pedigree update for this filly as she is a half-sister to this year’s slick Flemington stakes-winner Sangria and is a full sister in blood to Meuse.
“A filly with great residual value. She is a big strong, good moving filly and most importantly descends from the great Shantha’s Choice, one of the blue hen mares of the Australian studbook,” Henry Field.
Lot 295 Filly I Am Invincible x Your Lifestyle, by Hussonet (USA) – From the same stellar family as the previous filly. Three-quarter sister-in-blood to this year’s stakes-winner Sangria, who is by her sire I Am Invincible from Quench the Thirst, who is a half-sister to her dam.
“This a really star filly, direct descendant of Shantha’s Choice and from a young Hussonet mare we have real confidence in. Her three year-old Café Royal has won three from four and should probably be unbeaten,” Henry Field.
Meuse is the 99th stakes-winner for champion sire Snitzel and has some intense line breeding to Redoute’s Choice and his sister Monsoon Wedding.
So not only does she have a double cross of Danehill, but also blue hen Shantha’s Choice.
Line breeding to Shantha’s Choice has produced five stakes-winners to date from 100 runners and it was very nearly six stakes-winners as Snitzel colt Bottega was narrowly beaten in the Group III ATC Carbine Club Stakes.