Perth/ Melbourne, November 25 – The loss of our former top sire Catbird was highlighted on Saturday with Moonlight Bay taking out the Listed WATC Tattersalls Cup at Ascot in Perth and a Moonee Valley success for Louisville Dancer, a $35,000 Inglis Easter purchase from the draft of Yarraman Park.
The Grant Williams trained Moonlight Bay (pictured courtesy Perthracing) turned in a good staying performance to score a half-length victory in the 2100 metre contest and has the overall record of six wins from 25 starts with prizemoney in excess of $290,000.
A homebred for leading WA breeder Bob Peters, Moonlight Bay will now be aimed towards the Group II WATC Perth Cup on New Year’s Day, a race won in 2008 by another of Catbird’s offspring in Cat’s Fun.
A five year-old mare, Moonlight Bay is the best of four winners from stakes-placed Moonfire, a half-sister by Geiger Counter (USA) to Group I winner Old Money and Group II winner Old Cobber.
The Robert Smerdon trained Louisville Dancer has been sparingly raced for a six year-old mare, but showed why connections have chosen to persist when powering home to win over 1200 metres at Moonee Valley on Saturday.
Bred and offered for sale by Yarraman Park, Louisville Dancer has won four of 13 starts earning in excess of $124,000 for her lucky owners.
A half-sister to stakes-placed Top Slice and Bull Market, she is one of eight winners from Deja Slew (USA), who passed away last year, but gained fame and fortune as the dam of a Redoute’s Choice colt that topped the 2006 Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale for Yarraman Park when knocked down to big spending South African trainer Charles Laird for $3million.
