Miss Finland is Legacy to Sheikh Maktoum

Miss Finland, the 50th winner of the Golden Slipper (Aust-I), is a legacy of an arrangement between Arrowfield Stud principal John Messara and the late Sheikh Maktoum.

Until Darley set up in Australia, Sheikh Maktoum sent Miss Finland's dam Forest Pearl and other mares to Australia and Arrowfield to breed horses to race in partnership. Forest Pearl is by Woodman from Moonshell (Sadler's Wells--Moon Cactus), one of the earliest major successes for Godolphin in taking the English Oaks (Eng-I).

Miss Finland is by Arrowfield's white-hot Danehill son, Redoute's Choice, sire of last year's Slipper hero, Stratum. She is trained for several syndicates, including Arrowfield, by David Hayes, 21years after his late father, Colin, handled the Slipper winner.

The filly was listed as sold, at last year's Easter sale, to English agent Grant Pritchard-Gordon at $450,000. Her third win in five starts added $1,823,775 to the $266,300 she had accrued before April 8.

She romped the $3 million (Australian funds) feature by 4 1/2 lengths after Craig Williams brought her from 12th of 16 at the home turn. Her margin is the widest by any of the 22 female winners. The 1:09.52 for the 1,200 meters was almost a second wide of the race mark.

Pure Energy (by Mossman) made up a lot of ground in the stretch to grab second a long head in advance of Danehill son Churchill Downs.

Woodman featured as the paternal grandsire of Eramein, who landed the $2 million Tancred Stakes (Aust-I) by 1 3/4 lengths from Railings two races earlier. The reigning Australian Derby winning son of Timber Country has now amassed $3.5 million in winning nine of 20 starts for owner/breeders Geoff and Beryl White.

In other news: Stravinsky's Victoria Oaks (Aust-I) winner Serenade Rose advanced to the Australian Oaks April 19 in taking the Arrowfield Stud Stakes (Aust-I) on the Rosehill undercard. Encosta de Lago, Coolmore's only non-shuttler, had a group I double with Racing to Win and Mnemosyne in the George Ryder and Queen of the Turf.

In New Zealand, Coolmore's Spinning World is the sire of Arlingtonboulevard, winner of the Te Aroha Breeders' Stakes (NZ-I) April 8. Spinning World stayed south this year for the first time since the Nureyev son first shuttled from Ashford in 1998.