First-season sires to the fore

New winners for Any Given Saturday and Henny Hughes

Darley’s first-season sires Henny Hughes and Any Given Saturday were both represented by impressive new winners in the last few days in the southern hemisphere.

Distorted Humor’s G1 Haskell Invitational winner Any Given Saturday got the ball rolling when his two-year-old daughter Saturlina scored by three-quarters of a length on April 8 over 1200m at Mudgee.

Bred by Gooree Park Stud, Saturlina is out of the Anabaa mare Devilina. A half-sister to the Stakes performer Devils Arcade, Saturlina comes from the family of Stakes winners Chalee, Hippomenes, Swiss Echo, Be Positive and the Champion two and three-year-old Singapore runner Better Than Ever.

Any Given Saturday is the sire of two Stakes winners thus far in his first northern hemisphere crop. His daughter Sunday's Child was a winner of the Sarah Lane's Oates Stakes at Fair Grounds in March, while his unbeaten daughter Princess Arabella was a recent eight length winner of the Sunland Park Oaks.

A day later, Henny Hughes filly Henny’s Lass became the fourth individual southern hemisphere winner for her sire, winning at her racetrack debut over 1000m at Muswellbrook.

Out of the Stravinsky mare Steinway Lass, Henny’s Lass was bred by Mrs H Lawrence. Sent back to Henny Hughes in the latest breeding season, Steinway Lass is a daughter of the G1 New Zealand Oaks placegetter No Alimony, from the family of Stakes winners Bill’s Pill, State Of Play and Addictive.

The sire of five winners from 13 runners in Australia, including the Stakes performer Lil Red Corvette, Henny Hughes is also the sire of six Stakes winners in the northern hemisphere including G3 winners She Digs Me and Henny Hound, Stakes winner My Due Process as well as the track record-breaking J C's Pride.