BOOM Time recently won the Group 1 Caulfield Cup and he brought into focus once again a sire who is just one short of having 100 stakes winners. Pensioned off at Arrowfield Stud after 15 seasons there, Flying Spur was a high-class son of Danehill (Danzig) and one of that stallions near 350 stakes winners. A half-brother to the dam of Encosta De Lago (Fairy King), Flying Spur won the Group 1 Golden Slipper Stakes at two and added two more Group 1 successes, the Australian Guineas and the AJC All-Aged Stakes.

At stud Flying Spur was crowned champion sire in Australia in 2006-2007. He briefly shuttled to the Irish National Stud but without making any real impact. His 13 Group 1 winners include champion two-year-old filly Forensics (Golden Slipper Stakes and two others), joint-champion three-year-old Mentality (Champagne Stakes and two others), champion sprinter Sacred Star, dual Group 1 winning juvenile Juanmo, Alverta (Coolmore Classic), Inspiration (Hong Kong Sprint), Casino Prince ( also a successful sire) and Magnus (successful sire).

Boom Time has now won seven of his 32 starts, the Caulfield Cup being easily his best ever performance. Previously he twice won at listed level and was Group 2 placed a few times. With winnings now of nearly Aus$2.5 he is the latest star to emerge in his pedigree, though he comes from a family that has produced one of the best and best-known runners of recent times.

Boom Time is the best offspring of his Snippets (Lunchtime) dam Bit Of A Ride who won seven times. Her dam Lover’s Chariot (Zephyr Zip) was a half-sister to the unraced Song Of Norway (Vain) and she has established quite a dynasty in the southern hemisphere. All but one of her 12 foals raced and won and included four stakes winners. The best of these was the Snippets mare Scandinavia who won the Group 2 QTC Cup and was placed in four Group 1 races, twice finishing runner-up.

Just like her dam, Scandinavia bred four stakes winners, the Group 1 winner and sire Magnus (Flying Spur), Group 2 winners Wilander (Exceed And Excel) and Scandiva (Fastnet Rock), and Magnus’ own-sister and listed winner Arctic Flight. Another of Scandinavia’s daughters was the unraced Helsinge (Desert Sun) and she is the dam of a pair of Group 1 winners, notably Black Caviar.

A daughter of Bel Esprit (Royal Academy), Black Caviar retired to the breeding shed having won all of her 25 starts, 15 of them at Group 1 level. Horse of the Year three times in Australia and a multiple champion in many categories, she won a heart-stopping Group 1 Diamond Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot and she dominated the Australian racing scene where she amassed almost Aus$7 million.

She was a legend.