The right Trade for WA

Shuttle stallion Trade Fair (pictured) has kicked off his Australian career with his first winner at Ascot, on Perth Cup day.

Absolute Pleasure (br f 2007, ex Magic Puff, by Octagonal (NZ)), trained by Trevor Andrews, was impressive on debut winning the BMW Lifestyle Plate (1100m), beating the favourite Totteridge Green (by Pearl Of Love (IRE)).

The filly is the second starter for Trade Fair, who shuttles to Wendy Liddelow’s Evergreen Lodge, Myalup, WA, south of Perth, near Bunbury. Absolute Pleasure is one of 58 2YOs from Trade Fair’s first WA crop – the son of Zafonic has a promising crop of 3YOs (as of Jan. 1, 2010) in England, including a Derby contender in Fair Trade.

Trade Fair was a winner of five of his 12 starts in England and Ireland, including four wins at Stakes level – the Group 3 Minstrel Stakes (1400m) at The Curragh, the Group 3 Criterion Stakes (1400m) at Newmarket, the Listed Duty Free Cup (1400m) at Newbury and the Listed King Charles II Stakes (1400m) at Newmarket.

As you can see from his racing resumé, Trade Fair was a superior galloper at 1400m; he also was placed third in the Group 1 Dewhirst Stakes (1400m), behind Tout Seul, at Newmarket, as a 2YO.

In 2003, Trade Fair was awarded an international classification rating of 124, making him the second highest 3YO miler in the United Kingdom.

Top jockey Richard Hughes claims that Trade Fair is the best 1400m-1600m horse “on his day” that he has ridden. But he arrived in WA as a virtual unknown to most people in Australia, and remained so until Friday.

Trade Fair is one of many good sons of Zafonic, the Group 1 winning Gone West stallion that tragically died at Arrowfield Stud in 2002 in his first shuttle season in his first week of covering. In Europe, Zafonic is the sire of 53 Stakes winners, including the Group 1 winning fellow WA-based stallion Xaar.

Trade Fair has substantial depth to his pedigree, and appeal to Australians, as his dam Danefair is a Stakes-winning daughter of Danehill. Danefair’s four wins were from 2000m to 2400m in France, and she is a sister to two Group 3 winners Vortex (up ton 1750m) and Prove (up to 2000m). Trade Fair’s third dam Cairn Rouge was a champion filly, who won the Group 1 One Thousand Guineas (1600m) and the Group 1 Champion Stakes, both at Newmarket.

Trade Fair, a big, strong stallion of 16.1 hands, didn’t cover in 2007 because of the equine influenza outbreak, but he covered 91 mares in 2008 and 87 mares in 2009 – his latest season at a fee of $7150 (incl. GST). Unfortunately, there are no yearlings in the upcoming Perth sales by Trade Fair to capitalize on Absolute Pleasure’s success.

His cross of Mr. Prospector line over Danehill makes him close to unique in the stallion world, and a very interesting prospect for breeders if his stock are as good as Absolute Pleasure.

Absolute Pleasure’s dam Magic Puff is out of the imported Diesis mare Dragoncello, who is best known as the dam of the outstanding Sydney Group winner Gallant Tess, by Galileo.

Trade Fair stands the northern hemisphere season at Tweenhills Farm, Hartpury, Gloucester, in England.