Light Fantastic's Redoute's Choice three-quarter brother may be seen at a major Australian sale next year, while his dam and half-sister will continue the Danehill line theme with their respective matings this season.

Lectrice
Photo by Racing and Sports  




Light Fantastic (Danehill Dancer-Leica Or Not, by Kendor) confirmed his place as one of Australia's best racehorses with a brilliant return win in Saturday's G2 Liston Stakes, maintaining his unbeaten record in five starts.

Given Leica Or Not is also the dam of G1 New Zealand Derby winner Leica Guv and the G3 winner Lectrice, she has earned her place in rare company and any offspring to see a sales ring would most certainly be highly sought after.

Speaking with Racing & Sports today, the mare's owner Bob Scarborough admitted it is tempting to sell the Redoute's Choice colt from Leica Or Not .

“Possibly” was his response when questioned on whether the now yearling would be sold in 2009.

“He may fall into the category of potentially being worth too much to keep,” Scarborough said.

“So yes, he could well be sold. We have got a little bit of time to sort him out and I'll do so over the next couple of months.

“He's certainly been entered for sales.

“He's a very attractive colt. He looks very much like Light Fantastic - very stretchy, powerful, strong limbs and a nice head on him.”

Scarborough was more forthright in confirming that Leica Or Not would be returning to Danehill Dancer in 2008, seeking a full relation to Light Fantastic.

“I couldn't not! She's going back there this year,” he said.

Danehill Dancer now stands at a fee of $110,000, but Light Fantastic was conceived off a fee of $27,500, a figure Scarborough felt was good value at the time.

“It's not so much that I was matching pedigrees, although I did think the Danzig element – not so much Danehill, but Danzig element – may well have been a favourable factor,” he said.

“(But) I think it was more that I had seen a lot of his progeny in Europe in the previous couple of years and he had been doing particularly well there and not necessarily doing overly well here – certainly wasn't being disappointing here, but he was excelling in the northern hemisphere and I just thought it was opportune and I thought he was being undervalued (in Australia).”

Leica Or Not missed the year after producing Light Fantastic, but foaled an Elvstroem filly in 2006, who has been retained to race by the Scarboroughs.

“She's certainly not an early 2yo,” the owner-breeder said.

“She's been broken in and is a really nice sort, but she's certainly not a Blue Diamond or Golden Slipper type.”

Another of Leica Or Not's progeny is Lectrice (by Encosta De Lago), the Group 3 winner who retires to stud this year.

“She's going to Redoute's Choice and she's let down beautifully,” he said.

“She's wonderful so I'm really pleased with her and she just looks like she's going to make into a fabulous broodmare.”

Other mares of note include the Blue Diamond winner Sleek Chassis, who is going to More Than Ready, replicating the successful cross that produced Golden Slipper winner Sebring.

Patasi, a stakes placed daughter of Danehill Dancer purchased by Scarborough's Wood Nook Farm for $1.6million from the 2006 Inglis Easter Sale also retires to stud in 2008.

“She's had a little bit of a problem with an inflamed joint every time she gets under a lot of pressure. We just can't seem to get to the bottom of it, so she's been retired and is in fact going to go to Encosta De Lago.”