Better Than Ready x Bellanca Filly - Ladies Only

SIRE: BETTER THAN READY

One of Queensland’s most successful and popular stallions, Lyndhurst Stud’s very fast and very talented Better Than Ready did a great job winning half of his 16 starts over sprinting trips.

A horse with an exciting turn of foot, Better Than Ready was a two-year-old debut winner at Eagle Farm, in his second campaign progressing to Listed class and he ended up being four times successful at that level.

The Gr.1 placed galloper served a nice book of mares during his first season at stud and has been consistently supported by breeders who appreciate his upgrading ability.

One of the 236 stakes winners sired by the great shuttling success story than is More Than Ready, Better Than Ready is one of that horse’s 17 sons to have sired stakes winners and one of the eight to have passed on Gr.1 quality.

Amongst the 15 stakes winners sired by Better Than Ready - a horse whose overall strike rate sits at a very good 68% - are two Gr.1 winners, the Kingsford-Smith Cup winner Apache Chase and the Railway Stakes winner Port Lockroy.

Hidden Wealth, Alpine Edge, Metalart and Tiger Legend are also Group winners for Better Than Ready who has also sired nine stakes placed horses and 102 metropolitan winners… his progeny in the winner’s circle week in, week out.

DAM: BELLANCA

Bellanca is an unraced daughter of the mighty Lonhro’s Gr.1 Golden Rose winning son Denman who has been somewhat of a quiet achiever as a broodmare sire - his daughters doing a good job already producing six stakes winners including the Group winners Casino Seventeen and Run Harry Run.

Bellanca’s first three foals have all shown ability with Already Better a lightly raced winner over 1400m and Betta Than Presley a consistent last Gold Coast winner (both of those horses full siblings to this filly) whilst her 3Y0 Cornerback is close to a win having finished off nicely for second last time out.

SECOND DAM: BELLANGER

Bellanger is an unraced daughter of one of the great Danehill’s best sons in Holy Roman Emperor whose daughters are doing a terrific job;their 49 stakes winners including seven Gr.1 winners.

All three of Bellanger’s foals to race are winners.

THIRD DAM: HANSUYEN

By the outstanding influence that is Zabeel (earner of six Champion Sire titles in Australia and New Zealand), Hansuyen has contributed to his impressive record as the dam sire of stakes winners - his daughters well represented by 251 stakes winners including 48 Gr.1 horses.

A city placed winner, Hansuyen produced the Gr.2 winning mare Champagne Harmony (in turn dam of the Listed winner Grace And Harmony and the Gr.1 runner-up Sezanne) and the dam of the Listed winner Swiftfalcon who raced so well in elite company last spring.

Hansuyen is one of the six winners for the high class broodmare L’Quiz, dam of the Gr.1 winners St Reims and Champagne (remembered for her close second to fellow Zabeel mare Jezabeel in the Gr.1 Melbourne Cup) and ancestress of the Gr.1 winners Charmont and Bonneval and fellow stakes winners Nadedge, Martinique, Meg, Jericho Missile, Resortman, Fitocracy, Full Of Spirit, Imposing Lass, Lady Cumquat, Frontman and Megamea.

This is a wonderful international family that has been producing Gr.1 performers for generations, this filly able to boast amongst her relations the big race winners Silver Ending, Siberian Summer, Nathaniel (sire of the star mare Enable), Playful Act, Great Heavens, Dike, Levee, Shuvee, Meneval, Bayou, Batteur, Talking Picture, Slew O’Gold, Croco Rouge and Polonia.

 PEDIGREE ANALYSIS

Nine (60%)  of Better Than Ready’s stakes winners are out of mares carrying a strain of the great Danehill whose multiple Gr.1 winning son Holy Roman Emperor is Bellanca’s dam sire.

This is part of the great success story that is the More Than Ready/Danehill cross, those two star shuttlers combining in the pedigrees of 206 stakes winners - 30 Gr.1 winners including More Joyous, Fireburn, Sebring, Knight’s Choice, Bivouac and Shinzo.

More Than Ready is a grandson of Halo whose grandam Almahmoud is the dam of Natalma to whom Danehill is closely line-bred 3 X 3 (she being his third dam, and the dam of Northern Dancer).

Nine of Better Than Ready’s 13 runners out of Denman mares are winners including his fast stakes winner Steady Ready. Better Than Ready’s pedigree is strongly influenced by the wonderful Mumtaz Mahal family - and that legendary matriarch is the ancestress of Denman’s grandsire Octagonal. 

Better Than Ready is bred on a Danzig/Vain cross, the opposite to Bellance and both stallions are proven high class line-breeding forces.