Miss Finland’s son wins on debut

Miss Finland, the champion daughter of Redoute’s Choice, can now add another line to her illustrious CV: dam of a debut winner.

Her 3YO son Woodbine (by Hussonet) started favourite over 1000 metres at Hawkesbury today and did not let punters down, settling just behind the early leaders and driving forward on the turn to score handily by 2.5 lengths from Trent’s Quest and Earnest Desire.

Trained by Gai Waterhouse for a partnership headed by Blue Sky Thoroughbreds Stallion Fund No. 5, Woodbine trialled twice last season, in September, when he ran third to Va Pensiero and Whittington, and again in July. He then won a trial by 3.5 lengths at Randwick on 19 August, and on the back of that performance his trainer expected a big run from him today.

Miss Finland won eleven races, five of them at Group 1 level, during a splendid career that established her as a champion of her generation. Her first foal, the unraced Miss Helsinki (also by Hussonet) has been retired to stud this year, and Woodbine is followed by a pair of Street Cry fillies. Miss Finland is due to foal to More Than Ready this spring and will then visit Arrowfield’s latest acquisition, Dubai World Cup winner Animal Kingdom.

Woodbine’s sire Hussonet was purchased in 2003 by Arrowfield where he stood for eight seasons before his transfer to Cornerstone Stud, South Australia. A multiple champion sire in Chile, Hussonet has a career tally of 88 stakeswinners, 30 of them from his Australian crops, with four (Horse of the Year Weekend Hussler, Reaan, Gold Trail & Eagle Falls) successful at Group 1 level. 

Woodbine was purchased for $750,000 from the Arrowfield draft at the 2012 Inglis Australian Easter Sale by Blue Sky and Gai Waterhouse.