Best On Breeding

With the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale in full swing, these are heady days for Tyreel Stud’s Linda Monds whose anxiety must be rising with three runners out the farm’s star broodmare Couredge set down to contest races worth over a combined $3,100,000 on Saturday.

Linda and her husband Laurence run the former Jim Fleming showpiece at Agnes Banks and one of the first mares on the property was Couredge who they purchased off Davali Thoroughbreds for $190,000 at the 2016 Inglis Australian Broodmare Sale. They have not looked back since.

A daughter of Show A Heart, Couredge has four named foals.

Her 2yo Choisir filly Every Rose will be among the favourites for the $2 million Magic Millions 2yo Classic, her 3yo Shamus Award gelding Academy is favoured to win the 3&4-Y-O, BM70 over 1600 metres at Randwick while the super-consistent 5yo Smart Missile gelding Smartedge should make his presence felt in the $1 million Magic Millions Cup (1400m) at the Gold Coast.

The progeny of Couredge have hit the sweet spot for syndicators with Every Rose making $160,000 at the 2019 MM Gold Coast Yearling Sale to the bid of Darby Racing/De Burgh Equine who also picked up Academy for $150,000 at the 2018 Inglis Classic Yearling Sale, while Smartedge went the way of Triple Crown Syndications/Snowden Racing for $120,000 at the 2016 MM Gold Coast Yearling Sale.

The odd one out is the 4yo Choisir gelding Moon Peaks who was sold to the Hong Kong Jockey Club for $325,000 at the 2017 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale. Moon Peaks looks quite promising. He has made just three starts and most recently was second over 1200 metres at Sha Tin on December 21.

Excitingly for Linda Monds, she bought back a share in Every Rose who has not been further back than second in her three-start career, which began memorably with an easy win in the Group III Keeneland Gimcrack Stakes at Randwick on October 5 last year. She then ran into two leading chances in the race on Saturday when second to Aquis Farm & Phoenix Thoroughbred’s undefeated Not A Single Doubt colt Farnan in the Wyong Magic Millions and second again to the $1.4 million Redoute’s Choice colt King’s Legacy in the Group III BJ McLachlan Plate at Eagle Farm.

Tyreel Stud purchased Couredge with Wallings Bloodstock, which is owned by Linda’s parents, Helen and David Wallings.

A modest performer on the track, earning just a single win in a Wyong maiden in a 10-start career, Couredge is a half-sister to the Group II VRC Matriarch Stakes winner Vintedge (Flying Spur) and the Listed stakes winner Youth’s Edge (Jeune) out of the Melbourne winning Rory’s Jester mare Alterative Edge who is a sister to the top-class Racer’s Edge who numbered a Group 1 VATC CF Orr Stakes among his eight wins and was third in the Golden Slipper.

Couredge has plenty more to offer. She has a yearling filly by Hinchinbrook, a filly foal by Hellbent and was covered by Exceed And Excel on November 2.