Two chapters to the ever unfolding story of the Rainbird family, one which opened when a 4-year-old mare of this name in the spring of 1944 followed up a second in the Caulfield Cup with a comfortable win in the Melbourne Cup, were added to by two winners at Rosehill Gardens on Saturday July 2.

Successful in races at sprint distances, the winners were close relations, the 4-year-old mare Rain Melody (Lonhro – Rain in Spain, by Marauding) and the exciting 3-year-old gelding Rain Affair (Commands – I Believe, by Octagonal).

They are both raced by their breeder, Parramatta solicitor and former longtime Sydney Turf Club committeeman Don Story, a mainstay of the Rainbird family for half a century. Since he acquired Rain Mist a1955 foaled winner of one race, a1000m event, by the Hyperion sire Helios and from Rainbird, a daughter of the imported Carbine line sire The Buzzard, a top English stayer and a leading Australian sire from use at the Lyndhurst stud, Warwick, he has had lot of success with the descendants from a small number of mares.

His latest budding star from the family is the Joseph Pride trained Rain Affair, a performer who, when he cruised effortlessly to a 3.3 lengths win over 1100m at the Rosehill Gardens meeting, was recording his fifth Sydney win in six starts.This effort and his 5.8 lengths victories at Warwick Farm and Kensington in the autumn, suggests he could be formidable in major sprints at four.

Rain Affair’s success and that of other runners in the past week has pushed the 2010-11 statistics of his Danehill sire Commands, a resident at Darley, Hunter Valley after starting his career with the Inghams at Woodlands, to at least 145 winners of 246 races and $6.9million.The leader for the year by winners and wins and fourth by earnings, he has established a new national record for the most number of wins in a year.

The previous record of was 243 was held by Lion Hunter, while the best by individual winners,147, belongs to Coolmore’s Encosta de Lago.

Commands got Rain Affair and his good Sydney winning half-brother Anything (by Viscount) from the Octagonal Sydney winner I Believe.The breeding gives Rain Affair a 3x3 inbreeding to wonder broodmare Eight Carat, the grandam of Commands and the dam of Octagonal.

I Believe also has a close inbreeding, one to Sir Tristram, the grandsire of Octagonal through Zabeel and of the Sydney winner Rain in Spain, the grandam of Rain Affair, through his Golden Slipper winning son Marauding.

Sir Tristram also doubles up in the breeding of Don Story’s other winner at Rosehill Gardens on Saturday, the Chris Waller conditioned mare Rain Melody. Now winner of four of her 12 starts, she is by Octagonal’s Australian Horse of the Year son Lonhro and from Rain in Spain, grandam of Rain Affair.

The bottom line of the two winners continues back to Rainbird through three more Don Story bred mares, in accession Rain Cloud (by Rory’s Jester’s sire Crown Jester), Little Shower (by Regal Light, a Sovereign Path sire) and Rain Shadow (by Todman), and then her daughter Rain Mist.

Both the Story winners are by sires now at Darley after starting off at Woodlands. Lonhro, in addition, was bred and raced by the Inghams.

With his oldest five, Lonhro has surged to take the 2010-11 Australian Champion Sire title on earnings with at least 123 winners (12 stakes winners, 12 2-year-old winners) of 216 races and $8.2million. He looks likely to be third behind Commands and Encosta de Lago by most winners and wins.