Sweet victory for Sweet Seventeen

It was obvious from the start of Aqueduct's Busher Stakes that Sweet Seventeen was going to make an impact, and that she did. In the 1700m contest, the Hard Spun three-year-old positioned herself smartly in second. Down the backstretch she began to press the pace, and took over the lead in the stretch to dig in and post the strong victory. Sweet Seventeen went off at even-money.

The Busher Stakes score was the first Stakes victory for the Graham Motion-trained filly, who becomes the fifth Stakes winner for her sire. Sweet Seventeen was bred by John Oxley and is out of the Saint Ballado more Play Ballado, a Stakes winner and Graded-placed herself.

Hard Spun, a son of Danzig, currently tops all second-crop sires in the US. He is the sire of five Stakes winners and six Graded Stakes horses from his impressive first crop of runners. These runners include G2 winner Red Duke and Stakes winners Yvete Sangalo, Hard Not To Like, and Midnight Transfer. Hard Spun had a strong 11 second-crop yearlings top $200,000 in 2011.

Hard Spun will be represented by ten yearlings at the forthcoming Inglis Premier yearling sale which commences on February 27, highlighted by lot 472, a half-brother to the G3-winning, G1-placed Chong Tong.