Stakes wins in Sydney by Red Tracer (3yo filly, the Listed P.J. Bell at Canterbury on Friday night) and Hurtle Myrtle (4yo mare, the Group 2 Yellow Glen Sapphire Stakes at Randwick on Saturday) by the good Danehill sire Dane Shadow has added to the appeal of the Hunter Valley breeders annual yearling sale to be conducted by Inglis Bloodstock over the two days of Thursday and Sunday May 13 and 15.

Dane Shadow, a former prominent Sydney sprinter who makes his home at the Kitchwin Hills stud near the junction of the Pages and Isis rivers in the Scone district, has ten of his offspring in the 392 lots catalogue. They are out of nicely related mares by Beautiful Crown, Quest for Fame, Best Western, Snowland, Luskin Star, Peace Command (by Marauding), Coronation Day, Nediym, Over and Show a Heart.

Perusal of the catalogue of Scone yearlings now on the Inglis website and in book form, suggests it is the strongest in the 65 year history of Scone selling. The quality has been boosted by the big number of mares now being served by prominent sires each season and the added attraction of Australia’s richest country racing carnival, this year a $1.8million dollar two day racing showpiece scheduled for Friday and Saturday, May 13 and 14.

Besides Dane Shadow, the sires represented by the 2011 Scone yearlings include Flying Spur, Redoute’s Choice, Snippetson, General Nedym, Casino Prince, Stratum, Not a Single Doubt, Snitzel, Bernardini, Elusive Quality, Testa Rossa, Show a Heart, Lonhro, Beautiful Crown, Hussonet, Excites, Nadeem, Youthful Legs, Al Maher, Magic Albert, Mossman, Nothin’ Leica Dane, Zizou, Royal Academy and Murphy’s Blu Boy, to mention a few.

The sire with the biggest representation is booming Widden winner getter Snippetson (oldest three) with 23 lots. A son of Snippets, Snippetson is a brother to Snowland, the sire of the dam of one of the Dane Shadow yearlings, a filly out of Snow Girl, a grandaughter of AJC Oaks winner Just Now.

The pedigree is similar to that which produced the siblings Red Tracer (eight starts and first three place cheques; four wins, three in Sydney, and two close Group 2 seconds, the AJC Surround Stakes and Light Fingers Stakes) and Shellscrape (25 starts, six wins, $720,500, won AJC The Galaxy, Roman Consul Stakes, San Domenico Stakes, Queensland Tattersall’s 2YO Stakes; third VRC Ascot Vale Stakes, Lightning Stakes, AJC The Shorts). Both out of the Snippets mare Kisma, they are raced by their breeder, G. Grimish, in partnerships out of the Chris Waller stables.

Shellscrape and Saturday’s Randwick winner Hurtle Myrtle (13 starts, won STC 2YO Handicap, AJC Yellowglen Sapphire Stakes; second AJC Surround Stakes, NSW Tattersall’s Furious Stakes, third AJC Flight Stakes, Silver Shadow Stakes, Inglis Classic) are among 32 first crop Dane Shadow winners.