Lyndhurst Stud Farm

Cover: Skirt The Law by Better Than Ready wins the 2023 Magic Millions 2YO classic, her half-brother by Nicconi is Lot 17 in the 2024 Lyndhurst draft.

With the exception of just one race the Magic Millions Gold Coast raceday is all about speed, and if you are serious about having a runner on the fantastically rich card then Lyndhurst Stud’s Jeff Kruger reckons Better Than Ready is the stallion to get you there.

And who can argue with him. In each of Better Than Ready’s six crops he has had at least one runner in the Classic and of course his daughter Skirt The Law brilliantly won the 2023 edition. Jeff explained, “Overall, Better Than Ready is a tremendous sire but in particular he is a tremendous juvenile winner-getter. Every season he is high up on the juvenile winners’ and individual winners’ tables. In the history of Australian breeding only one stallion has sired more individual two year-olds winners in his first crop, and that was Without Fear in the late 1980’s. And he backs it up every year, consistently getting twenty or so two year-old winners, so getting the Magic Millions Classic winner last year was just the icing on the cake. He has already sired three winners of Magic Millions races, Skirt The Law in the Classic and Alpine Edge and The Odyssey both won the QTIS Open Quality, so he’s really the go-to stallion for Magic Millions success.” And last season Better Than Ready created a little bit of history becoming the first Queensland stallion to surpass $10 million in earnings in a season. As the Lyndhurst slogan says, “if you want an early runner, look no further.”

This year seven of the 13 strong Lyndhurst draft have the brilliant sprinter as their sire, the remainder made up of first crop sires Earthlight and Time To Reign, and promising young stallions in Tassort, Brave Smash and Dubious.

Despite the expected demand for the Better Than Readys he isn’t the sire of Jeff’s pick of the draft. “We have a Nicconi half-brother to Skirt The Law that will go through as Lot 17 and he will probably be the star lot in our draft. As a late October foal he won’t be the finished product when he steps in the ring, but it won’t take long for him to catch up. He’s a precocious looking type by a stallion I think is underrated even though he sired one of the world’s best in Nature Strip. He is a consistent winner-getter and this colt is certainly a nice type.” And he has a pedigree page, his dam Outlaw Kate was Listed placed at two and is out of She’s Got Gears, a brilliant winner of the Listed Ottawa Stakes at two at Flemington but better known now as the dam of the mercurial Gr1 William Reid Stakes winner Masked Crusader.

Last season Better Than Ready created a little bit of history becoming the first Queensland stallion to surpass $10 million in earnings in a season.

Better Than Ready, the stallion who continues the Lyndhurst tradition as one of Australia’s most prolific sires of 2YOs and Magic Millions day runners. His 2024 offering will be his best ever.

Getting back to Better Than Ready and when pressed to single out his best Jeff couldn’t split two very nice fillies with the first interestingly in Book 2, Lot 1345, the threequarter sister to the tough Queensland star of a season back in Apache Chase. “She’s a really good sort, I’m a little surprised she’s not in Book 1.” Apache Chase won the Gr1 Kingsford-Smith Cup amongst nine wins while his Danehill half-brother Churchill Downs won the Gr2 Bill Stutt Stakes and was third in the Golden Slipper. No wonder then Rockette Rocket, their Captain Sonador half sister and dam of the filly for sale, was able to win nine races as well.

Jeff then told us “My second pick on type would be Lot 145, the half-sister to Scorched Earth, and being out of an Exceed And Excel mare she is bred on the same cross as Skirt The Law and should be well received.” Here

is another lot with a real Magic Millions pedigree for besides being a Listed winner at Moonee Valley and runner up in the Gr2 Blue Diamond Prelude, the brilliantly fast Scorched Earth also won the Magic Millions SA 2YO Classic. Their dam Scorched is a full sister to Furnaces who won the Gr3 Kindergarten Stakes further emphasising that precocity runs through the family.

Lot 1276 is a Better Than Ready colt out of Monte Bella, a Bel Esprit mare who has a 100% record from her five foals to race. Amongst them is Muschialli, a full brother to this yearling and now a five time winner, four in Brisbane metropolitan company and earnings just shy of $250,000. The other Better Than Readys are Lot 1108, a half-brother to cult favourite Oink, Lot 97 a full sister to the Listed winner Better Get Set out of the Fastnet Rock mare Ridolfi, Lot 473, a half-sister to the Listed placed Foxwedge filly Goldifox and a colt out of Redoute’s Choice’s daughter Louisiana Miss that sells as Lot 1239.

So there you have it, a baker’s dozen good reasons to inspect the Lyndhurst draft, a move that will greatly enhance your chance of having a Magic Millions raceday runner in years to come.