Armidale Stud sire Ladoni has struck a purple patch since August 1 with the winners of 5 races in the first 9 days of the season.

Ladoni (GB) is a stakes winning son of Danehill and has now sired 168 individual winners of 575 races.  His strike-rate is a very impressive 57% winners-to-runners.

Ladoni can keep the flag flying when his classy mare Lady Lynette starts first-up in the G3 Cockram Stakes at Caulfield this Saturday.  Trainer David Brunton sent her to Robert Smerdon for last year’s spring carnival after she won the Listed Vamos Stakes in Launceston.

Lady Lynette (6m Ladoni – Queen’s Own by Coronation Day) won first-up for her new stable at Sandown and then lifted again for black-type victories in the Listed Ladies Day Vase at Caulfield and G3 Tesio Stakes at Moonee Valley on Cox Plate day.

Lady Lynette was runner-up to Typhoon Tracey in the G1 Myer Stakes when racing switched to Flemington and a week later she was beaten a nose and a nose by Purple and Moment In Time in the G2 Matriarch Stakes at headquarters.

Ladoni started the season with winning doubles in Hobart and Coleraine last Sunday.  Ladali struck first when he won on debut at Elwick for trainer George Blacker.  Ladali’s dam Ali’s Blessing won 13 races for Blacker and was runner-up to Showery in the 1997 Hobart 1000 Guineas.  Former Armidale resident Aliocha sired both fillies.

Rocky Times brought up a Ladoni double at Elwick for Seven Mile Beach conditioner Jason Clifford.  It was his third win in four starts this year.  Clifford reached a career-high in the training ranks when he prepared Ladoni gelding Our Dashing Dane to win the G3 Hobart Cup in 2005.

Ladoni sired Rocky Times from Armidale Stud’s former top-class filly Fracas (Ali-Royal) who was a Listed winner of the Gold Sovereign Stakes at Mowbray in 2002.

Ladoni’s winning double in Victoria came courtesy of Sea Town and Royal Laddie over the tall timber at Coleraine.

Sea Town is trained by Anthony Cosgriff at Ballarat and Royal Laddie by Quinton Scott at Cranbourne.  Like the rest of the jumps community, they would have been heartened to hear Racing Victoria Limited will consider a three-year commitment to jumps racing and its next board meeting.

Royal Laddie began his career in Tasmania with the late Allan Stubbs.  “Before he died, Allan told me he had one back home that would make a jumper,” Scott recalled.  “He asked me to give Royal Laddie a try and the horse has now won seven jumps races for Allan’s widow Nancy and my wife Barbara.”

Seymour mare Karli filled out Ladoni’s full-house when winning for the second time in a fortnight at Swan Hill on Monday.  She is part owned and trained by Peter Krikas and is a younger half-sister to Singapore stakes performer Ocean Butterfly (Danzig Connection).  

Ladoni will stand for a $2,750 (inc gst) fee at Armidale Stud in 2010.