Somewhere in the hills at the back of Gundy, deep in the Hunter Valley near Scone, runs a herd of 100 polo mares.  They roam like brumbies in more than 1200 hectares of bush and scrub.

Recently, Kitchwin Hills stud manager Mick Malone and some of his staff have been seen scouring the nearby paddocks, sifting through the polo mares.  Their search, so far fruitless, is for a gem that has got away, a mare whose fortunes have turned in the past four years.

This is not old Regret, but a mare with an even more apt name – No Finding.  The Hula Chief mare hasn’t been seen since 2007 when Malone let her go to run with the polo pack after her owner decided he no longer wanted her.  And for good reason – No Finding’s first eight foals had produced only two minor winners at Mount Isa and Broome.

And then along came Dane Shadow, a magnificent son of champion sire Danehill and the champion Centaine mare Slight Chance.  He covered No Finding in 2005 and 2006 and her fortunes suddenly took a dramatic turn for the better.

The first foal Coroner is a promising city winner in Queensland and the second was weaned by Malone before his dam was released into the Gundy wilderness.

Now named Turnitup, he could be Peter Moody’s next stakes winner.  The gelding was having only his second start for Moody when he charged home to win at Caulfield last Saturday.  

“We have been searching for No Finding since we had the information that Turnitup is stakes class,” Malone said this week.  “But, true to her name, we can’t find any trace of her.”

Malone said that at the time he let No Finding run the through the back gates, nobody knew of the incredible upgrading qualities of Dane Shadow.  In his first couple of crops, he has sired stakes horses like Hurtle Myrtle, Red Tracer, Shadow Assassin, Shellscrape and Holdontoyahorses.

“In those early days we took whatever mares we could for Dane Shadow.  It makes you wonder just what Dane Shadow can achieve from the better mares he has served in his past two seasons.  He has covered some very serious mares and we have a lot to look forward to.”

But one thing is assured – the days of Dane Shadow covering mares who run with polo ponies are long gone.