Sunlight's ensured Zoustar fillies are in big demand (pic: Steve Hart)

Beautifully positioned in Victoria’s lush Yarra Valley region, Devon Park Stud has been dedicated to the meticulous preparation of high quality boutique yearling drafts for over two decades.

It is therefore no surprise that the operation’s 2018 Melbourne Premier line-up delivers in both the pedigree and physicality stakes.

The first of five lovely fillies in the Devon Park draft is Lot 57, by Black Caviar’s Gr1 winning half-brother and highly commercial sire All Too Hard. The dam Running Hot, by Red Ransom, was a metro performed winner of 7 and half-sister to Gr3 VRC Thoroughbred Breeder’s placed Sublime Girl. She has already tasted breeding success in producing 5-time winner Making Mayhem. The family also traces to Gr1 VRC Derby winner and sire King’s High and Derby 4^th Regal Artery, as well as Gr2 Doomben Roses winning filly Arabian Gold.

Just over 100 lots later (Lot 168) is the Sebring colt from Sublime Girl herself, producer already of 2 winners, Long Juan Feng and Loquacious Lass. Interestingly, both are by More Than Ready, sire of course of Sebring, adding additional confidence to the mating.

Next up is Lot 342, by the sire of Gr1 Caulfield Cup winner Fawkner and Gr1 Cox Plate winner Pinker Pinker in Reset. From Testa Rossa mare Devon Princess, a half-sister to Listed winner Testa Gee Gee, this is a very consistent winner-producing family able to get the class of Gr1 Thousand Guineas winner Lady of the Pines.

On the topic of class, dual Gr1 winner Zoustar (a son of the late and prodigious sire Northern Meteor) has had a terrific start to his sire career. His 2YOs are seriously up and running and headlined by recent Magic Millions winner and current Slipper favourite Sunlight. Zoustar’s filly (Lot 413) in this draft is from Flying Spur mare Hanover First. This is a gilt-edged residual goldmine. Hanover First is the dam of Gr3 winner Red Bomber and stakes-placed filly Ready to Fight. Plus, she’s a three-quarter-sister to Gr2 Silver Slipper winning sprinter Shaft. This is also the family of Champion South African mare and producer Tracy’s Element.

The penultimate Devon Park lot is 578, by All Too Hard’s sire Casino Prince from Red Ransom mare Queen’s Ransom. So far she’s one-from-one in the winner stakes as a broodmare. This is the family of Lady of the Pines again and definitely worthy of consideration.

Lot 646 rounds out an outstanding draft and is the filly by Myboycharlie from Academy Winner. The most obvious point about this mating is the care in the considered mating plan, with the nice top and bottom, sex-balanced cross (3x3) of breed-shaper Danehill. It’s a speed family with potential distance depth, and most notable on the page is Listed Blue Diamond Prelude winner and Gr1 Blue Diamond placed filly Worth.