Darley Australia sire Ad Valorem is straight on to the front foot with his precocious youngster Tax Evader.  The Toowoomba colt will be floated to Melbourne this week for a crack at the $250,000 Inglis Banner at Moonee Valley on Saturday.

Tax Evader (2c Ad Valorem – Zebithea by Barathea) has well and truly jumped the gun ahead of our new season two year-olds.  Cox Plate day will be his third visit to the races in a month.

He is trained by Michael Nolan and has been runner-up to Double Impact (Mossman) at his first two starts at Toowoomba and Eagle Farm.

Tax Evader cost Toowoomba media personality David Silver only $16,000 at the 2010 Inglis Classic Sale in January.  He syndicated the colt with local race caller Pat O’Shea to listeners of their radio show on the Darling Downs.

Ad Valorem (USA) is by Danzig and he was a G1 winner of the Middle Park Stakes (1200m) as a two-year-old and the Queen Anne Stakes (1600m) at four.  He shuttles to Darley Australia and averaged 80 mares in his first three seasons at Kelvinside.  His 2010 service fee is $11,000 (inc gst).

Ad Valorem has sired 11 first-crop winners of 15 races so far this year in Europe headed by Rome Listed winner Samaden.  He stands at Coolmore in Ireland and Darley in Australia.  Coolmore originally stood him in partnership with Woodlands Stud in Australia.  When Bob Ingham sold up to Sheikh Mohammed, his share of Ad Valorem was absorbed by Darley.

Tax Evader is following in the footsteps of his older half-brother Hewentwhoosh (Dane Shadow) who won the $100,000 Scone Inglis 2YO Challenge in May 2009.

Cox Plate day is a world away from Toowoomba’s Clifford Park but the locals have already claimed a Group 1 this season courtesy of Captain Sonador in the AJC Epsom Hcp.

Nolan is no stranger to the Melbourne spring carnival.  His colt Laurie’s Lottery was runner-up to Kenwood Melody in the 1998 Caulfield Guineas before returning home to win a Group 1 in the Doomben 10,000.  

“Tax Evader will work anti-clockwise on Tuesday and then be floated straight to Mick Price’s stables at Caulfield,” Nolan said.  “These opportunities do not come around all that often and it’s such a buzz for all the owners.”