Brilliant Group 1 winning mare La Baraka will visit emerging young sire Dane Shadow at Kitchwin Hills this spring.

La Baraka (Euclase – Triscay by Marscay) lived up to her pedigree in an outstanding career that included a G1 victory in the 1998 The Galaxy at Randwick.  She is the dam of G2 Magic Night Stakes winner Alizes (Rory’s Jester).  She was exported to the United States by Darley after a northern-hemisphere cover to Redoute’s Choice in March 2007.

Alizes’s first foal is Lee Freedman’s exciting prospect Essaouria (Exceed And Excel) who won on debut for Darley at Moonee Valley in February.

La Baraka will be represented by an outstanding Redoute’s Choice filly in the Kitchwin Hills draft at the 2010 Inglis Easter yearling sale.  She is just one of a number of high-class mares that will visit Dane Shadow this spring.

Owner Carl Holt, a long time Kitchwin Hills’ client, said he decided on Dane Shadow for La Baraka after a close study of his first crop, which includes the exciting 3YO spring contenders Shellscrape, Hurtle Myrtle and Shadow Assassin.

“Carl follows the up-and-coming stallions pretty closely and I do respect his judgement,” Kitchwin Hills’ stud manager Mick Malone said this week.  “He sent Nancy Eleanor to More Than Ready in 2005 and that mating produced Phelan Ready who won a Golden Slipper and Magic Millions Classic.”

Like many other breeders, Holt has been impressed with Dane Shadow’s ability to get tough, fast two-year-olds who are showing they will be better with age.

“Carl is also sending Asian Reef, the dam of Bon Hoffa, to Dane Shadow this season,” Malone revealed.  The G1 winning son of Belong To Me is currently covering his first book at Riverdene Stud in NSW.  Asian Reef (Manila) is also the dam of G2 MVRC Champagne Stakes winner Before Too Long (Belong To Me) and Listed STC Triscay Stakes winner Okanui (Barathea).

The winners have continued for Dane Shadow this week with the exciting Shadows ‘N’ Stars winning impressively at Ipswich on Thursday.  The Alan Bailey-trained filly is set for bigger things when she is tested over further ground.

On Tuesday, the Chris Waller-trained filly Dee Lilly flew home to be beaten a head over 1100 metres at Warwick Farm.  Waller has a big opinion of the filly and she is likely to be set for the 2010 Group 1 AJC Oaks in the autumn.

On Monday, Shadow Assassin was an easy trial winner at Wyong, and the gelding’s trainer Gai Waterhouse has pencilled him in to resume at stakes level in Sydney in the coming weeks before he goes to Melbourne.