MAKING Light’s victory in the final group race of the 2016 season in Ireland, the Group 3 Killavullen Stakes, was surely special for her owner Eva-Maria Bucher-Haefner and her Moyglare Stud. She is just the latest in a long and lengthening list of top-class fillies to emerge from her family, all of which carried the stud’s distinctive colours. Many of them raced during the lifetime of Eva-Maria’s father Walter.

Making Light, by Tamayuz, is the third offspring and second winner for her dam Instant Sparkle, an impressive winner at Galway during her racing career when she helped trainer Dermot Weld to one of his many leading trainer titles there. A daughter of Danehill, Instant Sparkle’s first foal was the Pivotal gelding Instant Update and he ran once for Weld before being sold to Mohammed Ghazali, the leading trainer in Qatar. The gelding won there as a four-year-old.

Also in training is a three-year-old filly Smokey Quartz and this daughter of Dark Angel was a promising fifth on one of her starts at Leopardstown. Making Light is produce number three and she is followed by a yearling half-sister by Dream Ahead.

Instant Sparke is a sibling to seven winners but I will concentrate on two of them here. Her full-sister Irresistible Jewel was one of the best fillies of her generation and won the Group 2 Ribblesdale Stakes. At stud she has excelled and her three group-winning offspring are Princess Highway (by Street Cry), Royal Diamond (by King’s Best) and Mad About You (by Indian Ridge).

BRAVE WINNER

Royal Diamond was a brave winner of the Group 1 Irish St Leger as a six-year-old and his career total of nine wins also included the Qipco British Champions Long Distance Cup. Princess Highway emulated her dam and won the Ribblesdale Stakes at Royal Ascot and was classic-placed when third in the Darley Irish Oaks. Mad About You was also classic-placed when runner-up in the Irish 1000 Guineas and occupied the same position in the Group 1 Pretty Polly Stakes.

The Highest Honor mare Diamond Trim is a stakes winning half-sister to Instant Sparkle and she bred the multiple group-winning Danehill mare Profound Beauty. Now at stud in Moyglare, she is the dam of the 2016 stakes-winning Dubawi three-year-old Rose De Pierre. Another of Diamond Trim’s daughters worth a special mention is the unraced Linamix mare Majestic Silver and her daughter Carla Bianca (by Danehill’s son Dansili) was an appropriate winner of the Group 3 Dance Design Stakes in Eva-Maria’s colours.

They all trace to one of the great Moyglare Stud foundation mares Aptostar who is the third dam of Making Light.

A daughter of Fappiano, Aptostar won the Grade 1 Acorn Stakes in the USA and four of her six wins were in stakes races. She was also runner-up in both the Grade 1 CCA Oaks and Ballerina Stakes.