Yarraman Park were on fire last weekend with a string of winners and followed up at Randwick on Saturday with Group Two AJC Villiers Stakes hero Something Anything, a modest $40,000 purchase from their draft at the 2005 Inglis Classic Yearling Sale.
A powerful bay son of the Yarraman Park based sire Magic Albert, Something Anything has been in career best form this preparation and went into the Villiers off an impressive win carrying 59.5 kg at Rosehill last Saturday.
Dropping to 54.5 kg for this harder assignment and drawn ideally in gate eight, the Gary Portelli trained Something Anything was given the run of the race by comeback jockey Chris Munce and prevailed by the narrowest of margins at the end of the arduous 1600 metres, scoring by a whisker from Hey Elvis.
“I’m just overwhelmed,” said Portelli.
“That was fantastic, a great ride. The plan has come together perfectly.”
When Something Anything returned from a spell to embark on his current preparation the plan was always to target the Villiers, with Portelli hoping to give the horse a good hit out the Saturday before over 1400 metres to help him settle in the grand final, a tactic that played out a treat.
A hard puller at times, Something Anything has frequently been his own worst enemy in the past, but with maturity has come strength of character and the five year-old has now won seven races and placed 13 times from 33 starts earning $564,420 for his lucky connections.
Something Anything is the sixth foal of the Kala Dancer (GB) mare Maline (now pensioned), a three-quarter sister-in-blood to We’re Dancing and half-sister to Group Three winner Allez Glen.
Something Anything is the fourth stakes-winner for Magic Albert, a value son of Zeditave that stands at a fee of $16,500 and is one of the very few Northern Dancer free commercial sires.
The sire of more than 90 winners with progeny earnings in excess of $5million, Magic Albert has three yearlings catalogued for the 2009 Magic Millions Yearling Sale including a sister to Group Three placed General Albert and a brother to Group Two placed Magic Jet.
At the 2009 Inglis Classic Yearling Sale, Magic Albert is poised to play a major part with an impressive draft of 18
Something Anything continues the success of Yarraman sold horses this year joining freakishly good Redoute’s Choice filly Amelia’s Dream, winner of the Group Two STC Silver Slipper; as well as stakes-winners Viennese, Lorne Dancer and Here de Angels.
