While scrolling through the Stud Book website recently I noticed, with some sadness, that a favourite mare to many, Special Harmony, had died a few weeks back.
A $95,000 Magic Millions yearling purchase by bloodstock agent Robert Roulston on behalf of a group of owners headed by Grant and Annabelle Ahearn, the gorgeous chestnut daughter of Spinning World (USA) was among the best of her generation.
She banked almost $1.9 million in a stellar career on the track, with 10 wins including the Group 1 VRC Oaks, Group 1 Thousand Guineas, Group 1 Arrowfield Stud Stakes, Group II A.V Kewney Stakes, Group II Edward Manifold Stakes, Group II Angus Armanasco Stakes, and Group II Moonee Valley Oaks.
She left her mark with her first foal, Little Surfer Girl, a $1.5 million purchase by Bob Ingham, who won seven times including a trio of Listed stakes.
Special Harmony was the best of 10 winners from 13 to race out of the remarkable broodmare Marooned Lady who was a daughter of Robert Sangster’s 1986 Sydney Cup winner Marooned (GB), a son of Mill Reef, who was purchased to stand in Western Australia at Dallas Dempster’s Tilden Park Stud.
Before heading to the broodmare barn, Marooned Lady proved herself more than capable on the track. Trained by Lou Luciani, Marooned Lady captured the Group III WATC Sires' Produce Stakes.
Luciano also trained some of Marooned Lady’s best performers including the 2004 Group II Perth Cup winner King Canute (King Of Kings) and his full-brother Redwoldt, who won the Karrakatta Plate the same year.
To my knowledge, Marooned Lady never took a step off Coolmore Stud in her long and distinguished career.
That can be backed up by the stallions she visited, which was a veritable roll call of that stud’s passing parade, which included Danehill’s brother Eagle Eyed (IRE), Dehere (USA), King Of King’s (IRE), Fasliyev (USA), Rock Of Gibraltar (IRE), Encosta de Lago, Galileo (IRE) and High Chaparral (IRE).
Brian Bradley, Peter Walsh and John Ciprian have bred and raced many of Marooned Lady’s progeny including the Perth Magic Millions winner Gambei (Dehere) who is the dam of Listed Hobart Guineas winner Reprisal (Galileo) and three stakes-placed performers Hifalutin (Peintre Celebre), Europa Point (Rock Of Gibraltar) and Pickin’ Time (Fastnet Rock).
Runner-up in the Group III WATC Champion Fillies Stakes, Hifalutin had for foals before she died back in February 2017 after producing a colt foal by Redoute’s Choice
The three of racing age are the 6-time winner Vaunting (Fastnet Rock), the winner Uptown Girl (Fastnet Rock) who was runner-up in a benchmark 64 at Cranbourne last week, and the Redoute’s Choice gelding Mig Energy who is set to make his racetrack debut for Brent Stanley in the 3-Y-O C&G Hcp (1000m) at Moonee Valley on Saturday.
Mig Energy (pictured as a yearling) was a $350,00 purchase by Cloud 9 Thoroughbreds out of the Segenhoe draft at the 2017 Inglis Easter Yearling Sale
With two seemingly unspectacular public barrier trials behind him, Mig Energy is likely to start the longest price of the eight acceptors, which include Godolphin’s stakes-placed Sanglier (Albrecht) and the impressive Geelong winners All In Brawl (War) and Yulong Wain (I Am Invincible.
