Perth star for Queensland Sunday Silence sire
Racing & Breeding News - Brian Russell - Bloodstock Media Service - 29 April 2008
SUNDAY KNIGHT, the Australian bred Sunday Silence sire standing at Plaintree Farms Stud near Toowoomba, can upgrade his mares. This indicated by the impressive display of his first crop 3-year-old gelded son Marunouchi in winning his fourth race in only six outings when an easy winner over 1100m at Perth’s Ascot on Saturday.
Marunouchi only had his first start on December 26, winning over 1100m at provincial Bunbury. Since then he has won three sprints on Perth’s Ascot, Saturday’s effort being preceded by victories by clear cut margins on February 13 (by 2.25 lengths) and April 6 (1.75 lengths). Sold by Plaintree Farms for a client at the Gold Coast yearling sales, he is the first metropolitan winner and only the second money earner in the first six foals from the Perth winner Flower Dancer. The other earner, the filly Yosheena, has however been a very handy performer in Western Australia’s Albany region, winning eight of 33 starts. She is nearly a three-quarter sister to Marunouchi, being by Hideyoshi, a son of Devil’s Bag, himself by Sunday Silence’s sire Halo.
Flower Dancer is by the good Western Australian used Nijinsky sire Serheed and from Tazetta, a daughter of Jevington, a son of the first Golden Slipper winner, the great Star Kingdom galloper Todman. One of Todman’s best sons, racing and sire, Imposing, is a from Sandown Guineas winner and AJC Oaks third Hialeah, a half-sister to Daffodil, the third dam of Marunouchi.
As Sunday Knight was got to southern hemisphere time in Japan for the Arrowfield Stud in the Hunter Valley from Wrap Around, an Australian Group1 sprint winner by the champion Biscay sire Bletchingly, Marunouchi has three of the fastest descendants of Star Kingdom in his pedigree. Actually there are four doses of Star Kingdom speed in the breeding as Sunday Knight’s third dam, Padami Miss, was by Taipan 11, an American bred son of Bold Ruler and Ritmar, an exported Stat Kingdom VRC Lightning Stakes winner.
Sunday Knight, a resident at Plaintree Farms with two Danehill sires, Conatus, a descendant of Denise’s Joy, and Platinum Scissors, a brother to Redoute’s Choice, could do well with Danehill influenced mares. His pedigree is free of Danehill’s grandsire Northern Dancer and also of Mr. Prospector.