WA-based stallion Trade Fair is on the verge of siring his 100th individual winner.
A double by the debutantes Virtual Trader and Ghost Trader at Bunbury last Wednesday gave Trade Fair nine individual winners world-wide for March – and lifted his career tally to 95 individual winners.
The March winner’s list illustrated Trade Fair’s versatility: Highly-promising Full Steam Ahead won over 1100m at Ascot; Virtual Trader also scored over 1100m; Ghost Trader was successful over 1200m; Topico won over 1400m in Italy; Jacob McCandles and Smart Affair over 1610m in England; Fair Hunter over 2000m at Pinjarra (beating Group 3 WA Oaks runner-up The Social Network); Flag Of Glory over 2012m in England and Tradeside over 2200m in France.
Virtual Trader, bred by Nerida Barnden-Brown and trained by Brett Pope, led and forged away over the final stages to win the A Healthier WA Maiden by 1 1/2 lengths in 1.06.37.
His dam, Virtual, by Encosta de Lago, has also produced the winners The Zeustar (by Galileo), Mums Apparition (by Bel Espirit) and Circle The World (by Spinning World).
Virtual’s dam, In Reality, by Fair Sir, won the Listed VATC Bounding Away Handicap and is a half-sister to Blazing Reality (10 wins, Group 2 SAJC Angas Brut Stakes, Group 3 QTC Mercedes-Benz Stakes, QTC Lightning Handicap and VATC Bletchingly Stakes and Listed MVRC Mitchell McKenzie Stakes) and to Chetwynd South (3 wins, Listed MRC Boronia Stakes).
She traces directly to crack US filly Evening Out, who won 11 times, including the Monmouth Oaks, Spinaway Stakes, Matron Stakes, Schuylerville Stakes, Fashion Stakes, Regret Handicap and National Stallion Stakes.
Ghost Trader was steadied at the 850m but ran on to win the Back A Winner Smokefree Maiden by 1 1/4 lengths in 1.11.56, the fastest of four over 1200m at the meeting.
Bred by Miss W.D. Liddelow and Des de Largie and trained by Jayne Busslinger, he is from Silentium, a 1400m winner by Fimiston. Ghost Trader’s second dam, Old Tricks, by And Behold, won twice and was placed in the Listed Aquanita Stakes, Pinjarra Oaks Trial and Burgess Queen Stakes.
. Trade Fair made a great start to April when Packing Whiz won the $120,000 Class 2 (1600m) in Hong Kong on Sunday. He raced as Al Rep in Europe, where he won in Group 3 and Listed company in Italy.