War Chant (USA) mare Dainty Tess has been a pin-up girl for Yarradale Stud and the Westspeed Scheme.

At last count, the Dan Morton-trained sprinter had won 10 of her 29 starts for prizemoney of $763,200 and that includes a record return of $202,500 from Westspeed.  She overhauled Military Reign (Universal Ruler) to top the bonus list last year.

Dainty Tess collected her first bonus of $10,000 when she won the Raceday Hospitality Plate (1100m) at Ascot second time out in February 2016.  “She’s only small and I struggled to sell shares in her after the 2015 Magic Millions,” Morton said.  “Picking up all that Westspeed money is like a dream for the owners.”

The Dainty Tess syndicate includes Morton’s wife Carol, Fred Fairthorne, Brett Niall, Peter Mitchinson, Paula Sullivan, Geoff & Danielle Pratt, Andrew Hayden, Tim & Skye Hewitt, Jo-Anne Beggs, Allen Ryan and Laurence Torpy.

The pocket-rocket reached a career-high winning the G3 Prince Of Wales Stakes (1000m) at Ascot in November and was a beaten a head and a head in the LR Summer Scorcher (1000m) on New Year’s Day.

The Western Platinum is the most lucrative bonus schemes in Australia and its logo appears on all bar a few of the 302 lots catalogued for the 2018 Perth Magic Millions.

Yarradale Stud sire War Chant (USA) has 19 yearlings for sale and they will be popular after the exploits of Dainty Tess, Silent Sedition (G1 William Reid St), Variation (G2 WA Guineas) and rising star War Room (LR Sir Ernest Lee-Steere Classic).

Graduates from Yarradale have built up an excellent strike-rate from the Magic Millions – the latest to emerge is massive gelding Missile Launch who was a $40,000 buy for Vaughn Sigley at the 2015 Yearling Sale.

Missile Launch won first-up over 1200m at Bunbury in November and then stepped up a furlong at Pinjarra before unleashing a dominant turn of foot over a mile at Ascot on December 23 and Pinjarra on January 6.  

“We’re in no hurry with this bloke,” Sigley said.  “He’s well over 17 hands and will continue to improve as gets over more ground.”

Missile Launch has a roundabout link with 1987 Railway Stakes winner Jungle Dawn through his USA-bred dam Takeiteasyedye.  She won 10 races in New York and was one of 6 winners foaled by Jungle Dawn after she relocated to the USA.

Yarradale is also prepping a half-dozen yearlings for Misty Valley Thoroughbreds owner Tony Patrizi.  First to parade is Lot 16, a War Chant filly from Ylang Ylang (Ire) who is a three-quarter sister to Saratoga Group 1 winner November Snow (Storm Cat).

MISSILE LAUNCH