Blue blooded fillies from Ashdon Valley

Ashdon Valley Racing principal Neville Ismaili, who brought out the three-time Group winner and Inter Dominion Final runner-up Our Uncle Sam, is offering a quartet of well bred harness racing fillies at the Australian Pacing Gold South Australian Yearling Sale at Magic Millions, Morphettville on Sunday. 

All are by quality North American racehorses and sires from the best families in the Australian stud book and have been bred and raised in Victoria’s lush Goulburn Valley district. 

The first of the Ashdon Valley draft is Lot 507, a filly by the world champion and now sensational sire Always B Miki from the family of the dual Inter Dominion winner Beautide and the outstanding youngster Ignatius. 

She’s the third foal of the unraced American Ideal mare Ideal Taxes, whose second foal an Art Major two-year-old filly has had one preparation, has been spelled and is ready to go with. 

Her grand-dam Death And Taxes ($125,300) won 15 races and left three sub 2:00 winners and was a half-sister to the dual Horse of the Year Beautide 1:50.2 ($2.1 million), the dual Group 3 winner Ashkalini ($124,338) and Acutabovetherest ($82,291). 

“She’s got a bit of bling,” Neville commented. 

Boasting two strong strains of Western Ideal, the filly is bred on a similar cross to the top racemare Aardie’s Express. 

Lot 522, a strongly built bay filly, is a daughter of the Canadian Horse of the Year and USA Breeders Crown champion Century Farroh 1:49 ($1.5 million) and one of his first crop. 

Her dam, Soho Aphrodite(by Grinfromeartoear), is a half-sister to five sub 2:00 winners including Lord Denzel ($111,149), while the third dam left 10 winners highlighted by the Group and Listed winner Ball Gown 1:51 ($534,675) and the APG Final placegetter The Accurate One. 

Lot 529 was meant to go through the ring at the APG Ipswich sale but due to a transport issue was transferred to Adelaide will be going through the ring first on the weekend. 

A beautiful filly by the Top Ten sire A Rocknroll Dance, she is a close relative of the former pacing standout and six-time Group winner Manifold Bay ($538,604) and the dual WA Pacing Cup winner and successful colonial bred sire My Hard Copy 1:51.6 ($1.2 million). 

She is from the lightly raced Ruthless Bay, whose dam, Wineglass Bay (by Safely Kept), was a full sister to Manifold Bay. 

“She looks like an early goer,” Neville said. 

The last of the Ashdon Valley entry and last lot of the sale is Lot 530, an athletic filly by the USA 3YO Colt and Aged Pacer of the Year Bettor’s Wish 1:47.6 ($2.6 million), whose first Australian crop has produced the WA two-year-old classic winners Ma Petite Dam and Wishing Belle. 

A half-brother to the filly in the four-year-old Sorriso De Praia showed plenty of promise before being injured as a two-year-old but qualified in 1:57 at Maryborough recently. 

The dam, Big Girl Grin, is a half-sister to the Vicbred champion Out To Play 1:53.3 ($363,407) and to Paintball ($100,508), dam of the Breeders Crown winner The Pantheist 1:50.8 ($421,520), and traces to the prized matron Larrakeyah Lady, the ancestress of Ride High, Safe And Sound, Always Hot and so on. 

For full details of these or any other yearlings in the 2025 Adelaide Yearling Sale please visit APG’s Online Sales Catalogue or Register as a Buyer today! 

From APG Ltd