When Direct Scooter's son In The Pocket was first shuttled into New Zealand in the mid 1990s, one of the first comments from breeders with knowledge of the North American scene was don't go near a filly by either Direct Scooter or any of his sons.
They had acquired a terrible reputation in North America for not trying and a 50% discount was available to breeders if they bred a filly by Direct Scooter in the Northern Hemisphere.
Of course In The Pocket put that bogey man to rest in year one with the brilliant filly Under Cover Lover 1:51.8 ($864,923) but the stigma around the Direct Scooter line and fillies has never really gone away in some quarters.
Most of the fillies associated with the Direct Scooter line down under have a reputation for getting 'hot' at times but that hasn't stopped them producing some outstanding fillies and mares in the last few years.
Mach Three took over from In The Pocket as Direct Scooters flag bearer down under a few years back and has produced a string of fillies of the highest class in the last few seasons which has earned the son of Matts Scooter a belated acknowledgement that he is a top filly sire in his own right.
In North America he has had such standouts as Money On My Wheel1:49.6 ($1,705,434), Mach You And Me 1:50.2 ($800,819) and the two top three-year-old fillies in 2015, Solar Sister 1:50.3s ($769,028) and Wrangler Magic 1:50.2s ($737,040), while in New Zealand we have Venus Serena 1:52.1 ($796,397), Joyfuljoy 1:51.6 ($480,442), Millwood Meg 1:53.5 ($336,795) and Supersonic Miss 1:54.1 ($308,517) to name just a few.
There are only half a dozen Mach Three fillies in the Australasian Classic Yearling Sale this year at Karaka on February 22nd and we thought that Lot 69, Jersey Bay ticked all the boxes for us.
The third foal from the former outstanding age group performer in Pullover Brown 1:56.7 ($311,937) who won the New Zealand Oaks, Victoria Oaks and Australian Oaks at three, Jersey Bay is a full sister to the very promising Runaway Bay 1:53.7 ($77,723)
Not only was Pullover Brown a star on the track, but she has a pedigree straight out of the top drawer as well.
She is a full sister to the brilliant Montecito 1:49.4 ($527,559) and a half sister to Against The Wind 1:59 who is the dam of Pass Them By 1:51.4 ($276,348)
The third dam Precious Dina won eight in New Zealand and is the grand-dam of the brilliant racemare Flight South 1:1:56.3 ($290,766) who won The Auckland Cup, so there is no shortage of quality fillies and mares close up in the pedigree.
Jersey Bay herself is a typical Mach Three in type which was another big plus for us.
On breeding and type, Jersey Bay should attract a lot of buyer interest at Karaka in a months time.
To view the catalogue for the Australasian Classic Yearling Sale click here.
Harnesslink Media
