Bootlegger defies all in Listed Leon Macdonald Stake

Four-year-old Bootlegger underlined his consistency when stepping up to weight-for-age company with a gritty win in the Listed Leon Macdonald Stakes at Morphettville on Saturday, 22 August.

One of Adelaide’s better-performed three-year-olds last season after claiming the Listed Morphettville Guineas over 1,600m, Bootlegger took the necessary improvement to upset an open-age field over 1,400m.

Ridden by stable apprentice Tala Hutchinson for trainers Dan Clarken and Oopy MacGillivray, Bootlegger staved off his rivals in scoring by three-quarters of a length.

It was a victory admired for its tenacity after Hutchinson pushed forward when Bootlegger was trapped deep in a speed battle.

Hutchinson took Bootlegger to the front at the 800m and eased her mount wider on the track to find better going, keeping his rivals at bay.

By Darley’s internationally successful sire Too Darn Hot, Bootlegger is out of the English mare Princess Youmzain, was bred by Vintage Bloodstock and is raced by Robert Hill-Smith and partners.

He was passed in at the 2024 Inglis Premier Yearling Sale and has now recorded four wins and six placings from 15 starts.

Too Darn Hot continues to set the benchmark among Australia’s young sires, with his first crop outperforming Redoute’s Choice, Zoustar and Fastnet Rock at the same stage of their careers.

From just 153 Australian runners, he has produced 14 Stakes winners and nine Group winners, headed by four-time G1 winner and Champion two-year-old Broadsiding and G1 Oakleigh Plate winner Tropicus.

His commercial appeal has matched his racetrack results, with a million-dollar yearling from each of his first four crops.

A son of Dubawi and a Champion two-year-old himself, Too Darn Hot has returned to Australia for the 2026 breeding season and headlines Darley’s Kelvinside roster at $275,000 inc GST.