A leading contender for Saturday’s $2,000,000 Inglis Millennium is a fourth-generation descendant of a mare with a legion of fans in the first decade of this century.
The Peter and Paul Snowden-trained Pierro filly Paris Dior has a favourites chance to cash the $1,160,000 winner’s cheque following two impressive displays.
She was a luckless second to the $1,800,000 Not A Single Doubt colt Man in The Mirror when on debut at Warwick Farm on December 22 before powering to victory over 1100 at Canterbury on January 7, defeating She Will Reign’s $650,000 half-brother Current King.
Paris Dior was retained to race by her breeders Steve Wilde and Bill Hilton after failing to make her $300,000 reserve when offered by Marquee Stud at Inglis Easter last year.
The daughter of Pierro is the first foal from metro winning Exceed And Excel mare Entrancing, a half-sister to Group II placed Miss West Coast out of the stakes-placed Coast To the Post.
A daughter of Anabaa (USA), Coast To The Post is a half-sister to the Joe Pride-trained flyer, De Lightning Ridge, who lowered Zephry Bay’s 35-year-old track record for the Randwick 1000m in the Group II Challenge Stakes.
De Lightning Ridge was the best of four winners from as many to race out of the charismatic mare Nanny Maroon.
Trained at Muswellbrook by Paul Englebrecht, Nanny Maroon raced for Peter Wynne and Charles Cropper, who owned the former Lloyd Foyster showpiece, Guntawang Stud, at Mudgee.
The daughter of Alquoz (USA) won eleven of her 32 starts, highlighted by four stakes wins.
Three of those came at Rosehill, the STC Millie Fox Stakes, Sheraco Stakes and Festival Hcp and scored a memorable win in the 2001 Dark Jewel Classic at Scone.
Often coming with a booming finish, Nanny Maroon had several other notable performances. She finished second to the outstanding sprinter Spinning Hill in the Sapphire Stakes at Randwick and was third in the Group 1 Coolmore Classic won by the champion Sunline from Gentle Genius.
A win by Paris Dior in the valuable feature at Randwick on Saturday will be a dream result for Steve Wilde and Bill Hilton.
Near the end of the Monday session of the Inglis Classic Yearling Sale, Marquee Stud will be offering a full-sister to Paris Dior (lot 533).
