Beijing Sun is the latest son of Redoute’s Choice to sire a winner after Monsoon Poon scored an easy victory at Murray Bridge on Wednesday.

Monsoon Poon (3g Beijing Sun – Punchline by Distorted Humor) is trained by Tony McEvoy for owner-breeder Robert Hill-Smith and he railed up to score by more than two lengths in the Winning Edge Presentations Hcp (1400m).

McEvoy believes Monsoon Poon has a bit of a future.  “He is still very immature but shows enough to measure up,” McEvoy said.  “His Murray Bridge win was very good and I’m sure he can keep improving.”

Hill-Smith is managing director of Yalumba Wines and his family raced hundreds of winners with Colin and David Hayes.  McEvoy was hands-on with the majority of them during 30 year’s service at Lindsay Park before branching out on his own at Kildalton Park.

Hill-Smith’s association with Monsoon Poon goes back to the 2000 Inglis Easter yearling sale when he purchased a Carnegie filly from Trelawney Stud for $125,000.  “I named her Shanghai Moon and she was talented but never really ran up to her ability,” Hill Smith recalled.  “Having said that, she did win at Cheltenham and Victoria Park and was third in the Listed Nitschke Stakes.”

Deciding to keep her for stud duties, Hill-Smith sent Shanghai Moon to Redoute’s Choice when he was still standing for a $40,000 fee at Arrowfield.  It was a timely choice because, within the blink of an eye, his fee sky-rocketed to $220,000!

“The colt was being prepared for the yearling sale but a final x-ray showed there were cysts on his legs and would have to be withdrawn from the auction,” Hill-Smith said.  “So from hopefully fetching up to $200,000, he was virtually worth nothing.

“We called him Beijing Sun but he couldn’t stand a preparation and never raced.  I had him sold five times as a stallion prospect but the cash never arrived so I threw him into a paddock with three mares.  He got two of them in foal and the colt out of Punchline is Monsoon Poon.”

Hill Smith eventually sold Beijing Sun to Lancefield trainer Steve Noble at the 2009 Inglis Melbourne March Sale.  “We got six foals in his first year here,” Noble said.  “They’re two year-olds now and one in particular is showing plenty of ability.”

Unfortunately, Beijing Sun was kicked by a mare in his second season at Lancefield and had to be gelded.  Still only a seven year-old, he has started a new life as a show horse at Bacchus Marsh.

– Karl Patterson